ARCHITECTURE. 
with wood, and to avoid rain and heat, they 
made a covering with reeds and boughs ; but 
finding that this roof could not resist the 
winter rains, they made it sloping and point- 
ing at the top, plastering it over with clay, 
and by that means discharged the rain water. 
That the origin of things was as above writ- 
ten may be concluded from observing, 
that to this day some foreign nations con- 
struct their dwellings of the same kind of 
materials, as in Gaul, Spain, Lusitania, and 
Aquitain, they use oak shingles or straw. 
The Colchians, in the kingdom of Pontus, 
where they abound in forests, fix trees in 
the earth, close together in ranks to the 
right and left, leaving as much space be- 
tween them as the length of the trees will 
permit; upon the ends others are laid trans- 
versely, which circumclude the place of ha- 
bitation in the middle; then at the top the 
four angles are braced together with alter- 
nate beams ; and thus the walls, by fixing 
other trees perpendicularly ori these below, 
may be raised to the height of towers. The 
interstices which, on account of the coarse- 
ness of the materials, remain, are stopped 
with chips and loam. The roof is also 
raised by beams laid across from the ex- 
treme angles, gradually converging, and 
rising from the four sides to the middle point 
at the top, and then covered with boughs 
and loam. In this manner the barbariaus 
make the testudinal roofs of their towers. 
Tire .Phrygians, who inhabit a champaign 
country, being destitute of timbers by rea- 
son of the want of forests, select little natu- 
ral hills, excavate them in the middle, dig 
an entrance, and widen the space within as 
much as the nature of the place will permit : 
above they fix stakes in a pyramidal form, 
bind them together and cover them with 
reeds or straw, heaping thereon great piles 
of earth. This kind of covering renders 
them very warm in winter and cool in sum- 
mer ; some also cover the roofs of their huts 
with the weeds of lakes; and thus in all na- 
tions and countries the dwellings are formed 
upon similar principles. At Marseilles we 
may observe the roofs without tiles, and 
covered with earth and straw. At Athens 
the Areopagus is an example of the ancient 
roofs of loam : at the Capitol also the house 
of Romulus in the sacred citadel may re- 
mind us of the ancient manner of covering 
our roof with straw. By these examples 
therefore we may be assured, that the first 
inventions of building happened in the man- 
ner we have related ; but at length man- 
kind by daily practice improved, and by re- 
peatedly exercising their faculties and ta- 
lents arrived at the full knowledge of the 
art, those who were most experienced pro- 
fessing themselves artificers. When there- 
fore these things were thus far advanced, 
as nature had not only given to mankind 
sense in common with other animals, but 
had also furnished their minds with judg- 
ment and foresight and had subjected other 
animals to their power, they from the art of 
building gradually proceeded to other arts 
and sciences, and from a savage and rustic 
way of life became humane and civilized. 
Then when their minds were thus enlighten- 
ed, and they became more judicious by ex- 
perience, and tie advancement of tiie vari- 
ous arts and sciences, they no longer built 
huts, but founded houses with walls con- 
structed with bricks, stones, or other mate- 
rials, covering the roofs with tiles.’’ 
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE. 
The origin of architecture is, like that of 
most other arts, involved in great obscurity. 
We are informed by Moses that Cain built a 
city, aud called it after the name of his son 
Enoch ; but concerning the mode of con- 
structing the houses, or the quality of the 
materials, he is quite silent. The same 
author also informs us that Jabal was the 
father of such as dwell in tents. In the 
days of Noah architecture must have ar- 
rived at great perfection: to construct the 
ark of sufficient strength to withstand the 
tempests raging over the surface of the 
watery element would require considerable 
skill in the art of carpentry. Ashur built 
the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth Calah, and 
Resen. The city and tower of Babel were 
built of well-burnt brick, and slime for 
mortar. Brick-making must have been w'ell 
understood then, and perhaps at a period 
much anterior. Moses does not say, what 
either the dimensions or figure of the tower 
was, but that it was the intention of the people 
to make its top reach unto heaven : this vain 
design being frustrated by the intervention of 
the Almighty, the building was left unfinished . 
Whether this city and tower be the same 
Babylon and tower as described by Hero- 
dotus and Strabo is uncertain ; the former 
says it was- a square building, each side of 
which at the base was a furlong, consequently 
half a mile in circumference ; from a wind- 
ing stair, or rather an inclined plane, which 
went around the exterior, making eight re- 
volutions, the building appeared as if eight 
stories had been placed one upon the other ; 
each such story was 75 feet high, and con- 
