architecture. 
femes, and to shew their dominion over 
those whom they conquered ; and for this 
purpose also it may be employed in modern 
structures to celebrate the achievements 
of conquerors and virtues of legislators. 
PRINCIPLES OF BUILDING 
Are those parts of geometry, mechanics, 
mensuration, and chemistry, which shew how 
to design and construct the parts of a build- 
ing so as to be the most durable, the destina- 
tion, situation, and other fixed data of the 
intended structure being known. These 
parts of the sciences are the foundation of 
the art of construction. 
Construction may in general be divided 
into two parts, the science of masonry, and 
that of carpentry ; though there are other 
branches, as slatery, plumbry, &c. some- 
times also employed as constituent parts ; 
but these may be considered as rather ad- 
ventitious. 
The science of masonry shews how to 
construct walls and vaults. A wall should 
be built so as to resist a given force, either 
acting uniformly over the whole, or par- 
tially upon the surface: such as to resist 
the pressure of vaults or roofs unrestrained 
from the want of tie beams, acting along 
one continued buttment, as in plain vault- 
ing ; dr to resist different forces, acting at 
intermitted points, as in groin vaulting ; or 
to resist the force of the wind acting uni- 
formly over the whole surface. An arch 
should be so constructed as to balance itself 
equally on all parts of the intrados, whether 
it be of uniform thickness, or to support a 
given load. 
The science of carpentry comprehends 
the sizing, cutting, disposition, and joining of 
timbers. By chemistry we are enabled to 
judge of the quality of materials, such as 
stone, mortar, wood, iron, slate, lead, &c. 
Taste. Taste consists in introducing 
such forms in the construction and embel- 
lishments, as appear agreeable to the eye. 
of the beholder. The arrangement of the 
plan, figure of rooms, and contour of the 
whole building, and character, as to its des- 
tined purpose, depend much on taste. 
Invention. Invention is the art of com- 
bining or arranging the various apartments 
in the most convenient order. 
Basements. A basement is the lower 
story of a building on which an order is 
placed ; its height will therefore be variable, 
according as it is the cellar story or the 
ground story ; or, when it is the ground 
stoiy, according as there are principal 
rooms in both stories or only in one of them. 
It is proper, however, to make the base- 
ment no higher than the order of the next 
story ; for this would be making the base 
more principal in the composition, than 
the body to be supported. If the cellar 
story is the basement, and if the height does 
not exceed five or six feet at the most, it 
may be plain, or with rustics, or formed 
into a continued pedestal ; but if the base- 
ment is on the ground story, the usual man- 
ner of decorating it is with rustics sup- 
ported on a base, and surmounted with a 
crowning string-course : the base may either 
be a plinth alone, or with mouldings over it: 
in like manner the string-course may either 
be a plat band or with mouldings under it ; 
or it may form a cornice. The rustics are 
either made of a rectangular, or triangular 
section, by imagining one of the sides of 
these sections to be a line extending across 
the front of the joint. The joints of the 
rustics may he from an eighth to a tenth 
part of their height. The depth of the 
joint of the triangular rustic may be half 
of its breadth, that is, making the two 
planes by which it is formed a right angle, 
and the depth of the rectangtilar-sectioned 
rustics from one-fourth to one-third of their 
breadth. The ancients always marked both 
directions cf the joints of the rustics ; whereas 
the moderns not only employ the ancient 
manner, but they sometimes make them 
with horizontal joints alone. Those with 
horizontal joints represent rather a boarded 
surface than that of a stone wall, which 
must have two directions of joints. The 
height of the string-course should not exr 
ceed the height of a rustic with its joint : 
the plinth, or zocholo, ought not to be less 
than the height of the string-course. When 
the basement is perforated with arcades, 
the imposts of the arches may he a plat- 
band, which may be equal to the height of 
a rustic, exclusive of the joint. When the 
string-course is a cornice, the base may be 
moulded, and the projection of the cornice 
may be two- thirds of its height ■ so as to be 
less prominent than that which finishes the 
building. The height of the cornice may 
be about one-eighteenth part of the height 
of the basement, and that of the base about 
twice as much, divided into six parts, of 
which, the lower five-sixths form the plinth, 
and the upper sixth the mouldings. 
Pedestals. A pedestal is a part of some 
buildings, with a base, surmounted with a 
rectangular prismatic solid, called the die, 
and thistle again crowned with a cornice, 
for supporting a colonade, or pilastrade, or 
sometimes for supporting the upper part of 
