90 ARCHITECTURE. BOOK I. 



A similar comparison may be made between pilasters of dif- 

 ferent degrees of projection. Where they project one-third, or 

 even one-fourth of their width; they frequently have a good 

 effect ; we are then ready to allow, that they may strengthen 

 the wall, because they appear of a form capable of being well 

 united with it. They also throw a considerable shadow and 

 appear jto connect the cornice with the wall, especially in low 

 buildings, where they reach from the ground to the roof. When 

 introduced at the corner of a break, they take away from the 

 poverty of a naked angle, But when, in place of one-third, 

 they scarcely project one-fifth, or when they are sunk into the 

 wall entirely, and only distinguished by the form and size of the 

 stones of which they are composed, as in the Bank of England, 

 and other places, they are miserable substitutes either for 

 beauty, variety, or fitness, and had much better be absent al- 

 together. 



Large pediments, which are intended to represent the ends 

 of roofs, have been equally misplaced. In situations where 

 they are of real or apparent fitness, they are a great beauty, by 

 producing both variety and intricacy. They are conspicuous 

 in almost all Grecian or Roman buildings ; and as their form is 

 easily retained by the architect, they are with him a common 

 resource upon all occasions. They are frequently reared for no 

 other purpose than that of varying a roof, and often stuck upon 



