403 



parts absolutely plain, which in so many buildings 

 are covered with ornaments. 



But in order to give such a relief as may accord 

 with highly finished sculptural ornaments, the 

 mere absence of enrichment is not all that is re- 

 quired : the unenriched parts must not only be 

 plain, but of an even surface and colour; and the 

 roughness as well as dinginess of the Tiburtine stone 

 so ill accords with them, that if no remains of the 

 stucco had been found, it might very reasonably 

 have been conjectured that some covering must 

 have been employed, and the circumstance I am 

 going to mention would very much have strength- 

 ened such a conjecture. The walls of the circu- 

 lar cell or tower are built of rubble, or small 

 irregular stones roughly put together; and it is 

 quite incredible that such a coarse piece of work, 

 could have been suffered to appear amidst stately 

 columns, and all the splendour of ornament : and 

 if that was covered, it is extremely improbable 

 that the rough dingy stpne, though in larger 

 masses, and m$re carefully and regularly worked, 

 should have been left uncovered in other parts. 



Again, the manner in which these walls were 

 built, suggests another reflection. Mr. Knight, 

 in speaking of the temple, has laid particular 

 stress on " the compact firmness of its construc- 

 tion, which nothing but some convulsion of na- 

 ture, or the mischievous exertions of man, could 

 have destroyed :" and now it appears that the 

 most massive part of it, described by him as u a 



DD 2 



