Stray Thoughts On The Origin And Progress Of The Fine Arts.

STRAY THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS .

LOJYDOK , SATWRDAT , TAXTTART 12 , 1801 .

Br DlAfiORAS . PART XL { Continual from p . 23 . ) In tlie time of Augustus , the then-known -world "was almost entirely subject to Rome ; a general peace

prevailed , and tlie line arts were cultivated under the ausp ices of the Emperor ; and architecture shared in the o-eneral prosperity . Augustus caused the erection of many superb edifices , and so changed the aspect of " Imperial Rome , " as to gain the hig h encomium of " having found it built of brick , and left it of marble . " The

justice of this encomium , in its strictest sense , is open to question . Hoivever , the exaggerated accounts of travellers , who talk of marble temples , palaces , & c , have contributed to raise a false idea of the richness of the materials used in building at Rome . The majority of the edifices are of brickand there are only a few columns

, , and their entablatures , that are of marble or granite , and two or three buildings of Travertine stone . At Rome and in the provinces the fronts of the buildings were covered with stucco , and this often received much

decoration . The Romans used the arch in the construction of almost every building , thus superseding the use of long beams of timber . Indeed , the opinion used to be prevalent that the Romans were very little skilled in the application of timber to their dwellings ; but , while this opinion is favoured by the appearance of portions of the ancient houses discovered at Romeand by the use

, of mosaic pavement instead of flooring , arid stucco instead of wainscoating , it becomes at the same time very questionable ; for the dreadful conflagration which took place in the time of Nero could hardly have prevailed to the extent it did , had not timber been employed in the ordinary houses . Although the Romans did not use

marble in the lavish and luxurious manner described by poets and travellers , yet costly stones and marbles of every variety -were in requisition , and columns were made of granite and porphyry . Even in Greece , theRoman edifices mi ght have been distinguished by the application of foreign marbles in their construction had there been no other sign of their origin arising from difference of style and execution . It would be an endless task to enumerate the

constructions so well adapted for every useful purpose , and for every object of regal magnificence and splendour reared at Rome and in its vicinity . A queducts of enormous leno-th , carrying from the neighbouring mountains copious streams of pure water ; sewers of time-defying solidity , conveying away every species of impurity ; indestructable roads ; bridgesgigantic and durable ; forums or

, public porticoes , where the jiopulation met and discoursed , sheltered from heat or rain ; baths , erected by Augustus , Nero , Titus , Caracalla , and Diocletian , each containing all that could be brought to bear upon cleanliness , health , exercise , and amusement , eacli seemino-a palace in splendour , and a city in size , and by their ruins

still instructing and astonishing the world ; the Circus Maximus for chariot races , & c ., whose stupendous size and unparalleled magnificence did not prevent several others _ little inferior to it from successively arising . The Amphitheatre of Vespasian was computed to contain 109 , 000 spectators ( think of that , Drury lane , Covent Garden , and Haymarket ) , and even after one-half had been pulled down in 1084 , and the other half had furbished the Popes wifch . materials to build the palaces

Farancse , of « t . Mark , and of the Cancellaria , the remains struck with amazement every beholder ; gorgeous palaces , temples innumerable , triumphal arches , and other architectural works . The subject of Roman architecture being so vast , I cannot be expected to enter into descriptive details of

the particular structures , but a sli ght comjiaris on between Greek and Roman architecture may , with propriety , find a p lace in these sketches . In Grecian architecture , a simplicity and unity is observable wliich are due to the system of unbroken horizontal lines in the upper aud lower parts of their

buildings ; these lines serve at a glance to mark the length and breadth ofthe building , as the columns serve to indicate its height . The scul ptured ornaments are so arranged as not to interfere with the outline of the building , and a monotonous character is avoided by the elegant curves of the various mouldings ; and the skilful adjustment of

the parts so as to produce a varying effect of li g ht and shade , according to the position of the spectator , must not be forgotten among the many excellencies of Grecian architecture . The Romans adopted the Grecian structures for their models , and often excelled them in extent and magnificencebut nearly always at the

, sacrifice of taste . They preferred the Corinthian order , as admitting of greater ornament than the others ; but in the external aspect of their buildings , a great departure from the Grecian model may be noticed in the construction of domes , lofty pediments , and the superposition of the orders . . The

eon--I struction of the dome . implies great mechanical skill , which must he readily acknowledged , when we think of such solid materials held in equilibrium hy the mutual pressure of single blocks of brick or stone . I am not aivare of any Grecian example of the superposition of orders , because the Greeks did not build in stories ; but tlie Romansin buildings of great hei ghtfound it difficult

, , if not impossible to make columns of one order extend from bottom to top ; they consequently divided the building into several stories , marking each by a particular order , tlie strongest being placed undermost . Thus the Tuscan is stronger than the Doric , tlie Doric than the Ionic , and the Ionic than the Corinthian ; therefore if the

Doric be lowest , the Ionic follows next , and the Corinthian succeeds the Ionic . The goldeu age of architecture in Rome was during the reigns of Augustus , Vespasian , Trojan , and Hadrian ; but the honour of adornin g Rome was uot due to soverigns alone , it was shared with them by private individuals . Iferodes Atticus , a citizen of Athens , encouraged and materially assisted architecture

by his munificence and zeal . There was one circumstance which exerted considerable influence on the forms of ancient buildings—that was the want of window glass ; that beautiful and admirable substance which , we enjoy so much as a matter of course , that we cannot imagine a house pr large building destitute of it , and yet the ancients for a considerable time were unable to admit

any great quantity of light into their apartments without at the same time exposing themselves to all the inclemencies of climate and season ; to avoid which , and at the same time to enjoy light , they had recourse to lamps . It was however customary with them , in the construction of their dwellings , either to leave small open sjiaces near

the ends of the rafters which rested on the walls , or to introduce just under the projections of the eaves a sort of wide , low window ; by either method a small share of light was obtained from without . In their smaller temples the requisite illumination was obtained through , a spacious entrance door , and their larger temples were only partially roofed , so that light might descend and