House & Garden 
secret of it lies somewhat in the fact that in 
them To and In stand symbolized and con¬ 
trasted. Indeed, in rendering such forms, 
sexually expressive as it were, the construc¬ 
tion itself is sometimes weakened or falsified. 
T h e fa m i 1 i a r 
classic console or 
modi I lion is an ex¬ 
ample. Although 
in general con¬ 
tour it is well 
adapted to its 
function as a sup¬ 
porting bracket 
embedded in and 
projecting from a 
wall, yet the 
scroll-like orna¬ 
ment with which 
its sides are em¬ 
bellished gives it 
the appearance ot 
not entering the 
wall at all, but 
of being stuck 
against it in 
some miraculous 
m anne r. T his 
defect in func¬ 
tional expressive¬ 
ness is more than 
compensated by the perfection with which 
feminine and masculine characteristics are 
expressed and contrasted in the exquisite 
double spiral opposed to the simple straight 
lines of the moulding which 
it subtends. By fluting the 
shaft of a column its area of 
cross-section is diminished, 
but it appears stronger 
because its masculine 
character as a supporting 
member is emphasized. 
The importance of the 
so-called “orders” lies in the 
fact that they are architecture 
epitomized. A building 
consists usually of walls 
upholding a roof,—support 
and weight. The type of 
the first is the column, for 
it may be conceived of as a 
condensed section of wall; 
and of the second, the lintel, which may be 
conceived of as a condensed section of roof. 
The column, being vertical is To, the lintel 
being horizontal is In. To mark an entabla¬ 
ture with horizontal lines in the form of 
mouldings, and 
the columns with 
vertical lines or 
flutes is a gain in 
functional and sex 
expressiveness, 
and consequently 
in art. 
The column is 
again divided into 
the shaft, which is 
To in relation to 
the capital which 
is In; and the 
capital is itself 
twofold, consist¬ 
ing of a curved 
member and an 
angular member. 
In the echinus 
{In) and the 
abacus {To) of a 
Grecian Doric 
cap, these appear 
in their utmost 
simplicity. The 
former was adorned with painted leaf forms, 
characteristically feminine, and the latter 
with the angular fret and meander. The 
Ionic capital, belonging to a more feminine 
style, exhibits the abacus 
subordinated to that curious 
and beautiful cushioned- 
shaped member with its two 
spirally marked volutes. 
This, though less fitted for 
the position which it 
occupies and for the office 
which it performs than is 
the echinus of the Doric 
cap, is a far more perfect, 
and for that reason more 
beautiful, expression of the 
feminine element in nature. 
There is an essential identity 
between the Ionic cap and 
the classic console before 
referred to, alt h o u g h 
,r„ - ,,■ fXwVp b 
01 
? YO 
CAPITAL FROM 
THD TOWER OF 
THE WIND£ 
ATHENS 
✓ 
ROSETTE FROM 
TEMPLE OF MARS. 
ROME 
CORINTHIAN CAP 
FROM HADRIAN 
BUILDINGS. 
ATHENS- 
•i CAULICULUSls 
OF CORINTH IAN 
CAP 
BALUSTER BY SAN GALLO 
> 
93 
