ARCHITECTURE, 
divested of that sublime grandeur and ele- 
gance which are so conspicuous in the solidity 
and flirtings of the Grecian Doric. The 
dentils in the cornice are too effeminate a 
substitute for the masculine mutules which 
are so characteristic of the origin of this 
order. 
The Ionic in the same building is ill exe- 
cuted. The channels of the volutes, of the 
capitals, of the Ionic columns on the Colo- 
seum, and the dentil band of the cornice, 
are not cut. The Ionic order of the Tem- 
ple of Fortune, though it has been held out 
as a model, is ill proportioned, and the spi- 
rals of the volutes are ungracefully formed. 
The Ionic of the Temple of Concord is out 
of character, the volutes are insignificantly 
small, and mutules supply the place of den- 
tils in the cornice. The Romans placed 
one order upon another, on the exterior, in 
tire several stories of some of their build- 
ings; but the Greeks only emp'oyed them 
around the cells of their temples, forming a 
peristyle. 
The Romans carried the method of ce- 
mentitious buildings to the utmost degree 
of perfection. Their most considerable edi- 
fices had the facings of their walls, and the 
arches and angles of brick, or small ruble 
stones squared ; the cores built with peb- 
ble and ruble stones, grouted or run with 
liquid mortar; and at regular intervals were 
strengthened with courses of bond stones. 
This construction of walls was frequently 
stuccoed, or incrusted with marble. It is 
much more expeditious and economical 
than that built of wrought stone, which oc- 
casions a greater waste of materials and loss 
of lime. The durability and solidity of the 
Roman cementitious buildings is such, that 
mortar has acquired a hardness superior to 
the stones which connected by it. This, 
when compared with the frigility and crum- 
bling nature of the mortar used by modern 
builders, had led some to suppose that the 
ancients possessed processes in the making 
of cements, which have, from the lapse of 
time, been lost to the present day. But the 
information and experiments of ingenious 
men have exploded this opinion ; and there 
is no doubt, that if proper attention be paid 
to die choice of lime-stone and sand, to the 
burning of the lime, and above all, that care 
he taken in the mixing and tempering these 
materials, workmen will be enabled to rival 
those of Rome. This has been tried in some 
instances, though the lapse of ages may be ne- 
cessary to make the comparison complete • 
however, it will appear from the following ac- 
count of Vitruvius, that the method of making 
lime by the Romans was not very different 
from what it is at the present day. “ Lime 
should be burnt from white stone, or flint, 
of which the thigh and hard sort are more 
proper for building walls, as those which 
are porous are for plastering. When the 
lime is burnt the ingredients are thus to be 
mixed: with three parts of pit sand, one 
part of lime is to be mingled ; but if river 
or sea sand is used, two parts of sand, and 
one of lime must be united ; for in these 
proportions the mortar will have a proper 
consistence: if bricks, or tiles, pounded, 
and sifted, be joined with river or pit sand, 
to the quantity of a third part, it will make 
the mortar stronger and fitter for use.” 
The works of wrought stone of the Ro- 
mans as well as those of the Greeks, wore 
constructed without cement; but cramps 
and ligatures of iron and bronze were used 
in great abundance. The use of metal was 
not confined to cramps and bolts, for they 
even constructed roofs of bronze, which was 
also used in magnificent profusion in the de- 
corations of buildings. It excites regret to 
reflect, that the means employed by the an- 
tients to increase the beauty, and ensure 
the duration of their edifices, have only, in 
many instances, served to accelerate their 
destruction. 
These valuable materials have caused 
much dilapidation, and more buildings 
have Men ruined by rapine, than by the in- 
juries of lime. In the works of the Greeks 
and the Romans, of hewn stone, they ap- 
pear to have wrought only the beds of the 
stones, before they were placed in the 
building, leaving the faces to be worked af- 
ter the completion of the edifice. By this 
means, the arisses and the mouldings were 
preserved from injury, and the faces made 
exactly in the same plane, or surface, which 
is not generally the case in tiie facings of 
our modern works. Our workmen pass 
them over in the most slovenly manner, 
with the greatest indifference, by rounding 
the stones which happen to project at the 
joints, which gives them a false and irregu- 
lar appearance in sunshine. By this means, 
also, the ancients diminished and fluted 
their columns, which could not be done with 
the same accuracy any other way. 
Alter the fall of the Roman empire, the 
Goths having now the dominion of those 
places formerly the seat of the arts, and 
having sdon become converts to Christianity, 
but having no established rules of tlieir own, 
in the principles of architecture, either built 
