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Article TO SIR GEORGE STAUNTON, BART. ← Page 6 of 6 Article HISTORY OF MASONRY. Page 1 of 10 →
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To Sir George Staunton, Bart.
from the filth Of streets and the fermentation of the earth , I am not undertaking to prove : I speak only of fact , which any body may observe by the rings and bolts in wharfs aiid other watery situations . I never yet saw the iron chain affixed to a well-bucket consumed or even injured by rust , and I believe it is impossible to find iron exposed to the open air in the same preserved condition as that which is exposed
over water . A method for extending the span and lessening the hei ght of arches has always been the desideratum of bridge architecture . These points are accomplished b y this construction . But it has other advantages . It renders bridges capable of becoming a portable manufacture , as they may , on this construction , be made and sent to any part of the
world read y to be erected : and at a time that it greatly encreases the magnificence , elegance and beauty of bridges , it considerably lessens their expence , and their appearance by re-painting will be ever new ; and as they may be erected in all situations where stone bridges can be erected , they may , moreover , be erected in certain situations , whereon account of iceinfirm foundations in the beds of rivers
, , , low shores , and various other causes , stone bridges cannot be erected . The last convenience , and which is not inconsiderable , that I shall mention is , that , after they are erected , they may very easily be taken down , without any injury to the materials of the construction , and be re-erected elsewhere . I am , Sir ,
Your much obliged , and obedient humble Servant , THOMAS PAINE ,
History Of Masonry.
HISTORY OF MASONRY .
[ Continued from Vol . IV . p . 3 6 7 , 3 MIZRAIM , or Menes , the second son of Ham , carried to , and preserved in E gypt , or the land of Mizraim , their original skill , and much cultivated the art : for ancient history celebrates the early fine taste of the Egyptianstheir edifices
, many magnificent and great elites , as Memphis , Heliopolis , Thebes , with an hundred gates , & c besides their palaces , catacombs , obelisks and statues particularl y the colossal statue of sphinx , whose head was 120 feet round ; and then-famous pyramids , the largest of which was reckoned the first of the seven wonders of art , after the general migration ; These pyramids are standing evidences of the extraordinary works of masons in too remote to be
ages ascertained : and indeed their form and solidity , as beginning from a broad square base , tapering as they rose , up to a " narrow apex , and with few interior cavities , wete
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
To Sir George Staunton, Bart.
from the filth Of streets and the fermentation of the earth , I am not undertaking to prove : I speak only of fact , which any body may observe by the rings and bolts in wharfs aiid other watery situations . I never yet saw the iron chain affixed to a well-bucket consumed or even injured by rust , and I believe it is impossible to find iron exposed to the open air in the same preserved condition as that which is exposed
over water . A method for extending the span and lessening the hei ght of arches has always been the desideratum of bridge architecture . These points are accomplished b y this construction . But it has other advantages . It renders bridges capable of becoming a portable manufacture , as they may , on this construction , be made and sent to any part of the
world read y to be erected : and at a time that it greatly encreases the magnificence , elegance and beauty of bridges , it considerably lessens their expence , and their appearance by re-painting will be ever new ; and as they may be erected in all situations where stone bridges can be erected , they may , moreover , be erected in certain situations , whereon account of iceinfirm foundations in the beds of rivers
, , , low shores , and various other causes , stone bridges cannot be erected . The last convenience , and which is not inconsiderable , that I shall mention is , that , after they are erected , they may very easily be taken down , without any injury to the materials of the construction , and be re-erected elsewhere . I am , Sir ,
Your much obliged , and obedient humble Servant , THOMAS PAINE ,
History Of Masonry.
HISTORY OF MASONRY .
[ Continued from Vol . IV . p . 3 6 7 , 3 MIZRAIM , or Menes , the second son of Ham , carried to , and preserved in E gypt , or the land of Mizraim , their original skill , and much cultivated the art : for ancient history celebrates the early fine taste of the Egyptianstheir edifices
, many magnificent and great elites , as Memphis , Heliopolis , Thebes , with an hundred gates , & c besides their palaces , catacombs , obelisks and statues particularl y the colossal statue of sphinx , whose head was 120 feet round ; and then-famous pyramids , the largest of which was reckoned the first of the seven wonders of art , after the general migration ; These pyramids are standing evidences of the extraordinary works of masons in too remote to be
ages ascertained : and indeed their form and solidity , as beginning from a broad square base , tapering as they rose , up to a " narrow apex , and with few interior cavities , wete