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ARCHITECTURE , Architectura , the Art of Building ; i. e. of ereffing Edifices proper for Habitation, or Defence. See Building, Edifice,^.
Architecture is ufually divided, with refpecr to its Ob- jects, into three Branches, Civil, Military, and Naval.
Civil Architecture, called alfo abfoiutely and by way of Eminence Architecture, is the Art of contriving and executing commodiuus Buildings for the Ufes of Civil Ijfej as Hottjes, Temples, Theatre! , Halts, 'Bridges , Colleges , 'Portico's, &c. See House, Temple, Theatre, ts-c.
Architecture is fcarce inferior to any of the Arts in Point of Antiquity. — Nature and Ncceffity taught the firlt Inhabitants of the Earth to built themfelves Hutts, Tents, and Cottages ; from which, in courfe of Time, they gradu- ally advanced to more regular and ftately Habitations, with Variety of Ornaments, Proportions, efc. See Vitruvius's Account of the Origin of Architecture under the Article Order.
The antient Writers reprefent the Tyrians as the firft among whom Architecture was carried to any tolerable Pitch ; and hence it was that Solomon had Rccourie thither for Workmen to build his Temple. Villalpandus, indeed, contends, that only Under-workmen were lent for from Tyre, Artificers in Gold, Silver, Brafs, Z$c. and that the Rules of Architecture were delivered by God himfclfto So- lomon. Hence, he adds, the Tyrians rather learnt their Architecture from Solomon ; which they afterwards com- municated to the Egyptians ; thele to the Grecians, and thefe again to the Romans — In effect, the Author laft cited, undertakes to prove, that all the Beauty and Advantages of the Greek and Roman Buildings, were borrow'd from this Fabrick. Tern. ii. 'Part ii. Lib. Ijagcg. iii. C. ix. x.
To confirm this, Sturmills produces feveral Paffages in Vitruvius, where the Rules given by that Architect, Lib. vi. C. ii. and Lib. v. C. i. quadrate exactly with what Jofe- fhus relates of the Jewijh Temple, Antiq. Jud. Lib. vi. & viii. cSfc. See Temple.
To what a Pitch of Magnificence the Tyrians and Egyp- tians carried Architecture, ere it came to the Greeks, may be learnt from Ifaiah xxiii. 8. and Vitruvius's Account of the Egyptian Oecus ; their Pyramids, Obelifks, £gc. See Obelisk, Pyramid, &c.
Yet, in the common Account, Architecture fliould be al- moft wholly of Grecian Original : Three of the regular Or- ders or Manners of Building, are denominated from them, viz. Corinthian, Ionic, and fDoric : And fcarce a Part, a fingle Member, or Moulding, but comes to us with a Greek Name. See Corinthian, Doric, Ionic ; fee alfo Mould- ing, \f.c.
Be this as it will, 'tis certain the Romans, from whom we derive it, borrow'd what they had entirely from the Greeks ; nor feem, till then, to have had any other Notion of the Grandeur and Beauty of Buildings, befide what arifes
from their Magnitude, Strength, £?<; Thus far they were
unacquainted with any Order befidcthe Tufcan. See Tus- can-
Under Auguftus, Architecture arrived at its Glory : Ti- berius neglected it, as well as the other polite Arts. Nero, amongft a Heap of horrible Vices, {till retain'd an uncom- mon Paflion for Building, but Luxury and DiiTolutenefs had a greater Share in it, than true Magnificence. — Apollodorus, excelled in Architecture, under the Emperor Trajan, by which he merited the Favour of that Prince ; and it was he who raifed the famous Trajan Column, fubfifting to this Day. See Trajan.
After this, Architecture began to dwindle ; and tho the Care and Magnificence of Alexander Severtis fupported it for fome Time, yet it fell with the weftern Empire, and funk into a Corruption, from whence it was not recovered for the Space of twelve Centuries.
The Ravages of the Vifigoths, in the 5 th Century, de- ftfoy'd all the mod beautiful Monuments of Antiquity; and Architecture thence forwards, became fo coarle and arrlefs, that their profels'd Architects underftood nothing at all of juft Defigning, wherein its whole Beauty confifts : Hence a new Manner of Building took its Rife, called the Gothic. See Gothic.
Charlemagne did his utm'oft to reftore Architecture, and the French applied themfelves to it with Suc.efs, un- der the Encouragement of H. Capet: His Son Robert fucceeded him in thisDefigh; till by Degrees the modern Architecture was run into as great an Excels of Delicacy, as the Gothick had before done into Maffivcnefs. To thefe may be added, the Jrabesk and Morisk, or Moorith Architecture ; which were much of a-piece with the Go- thic, only brought in from the South by the Moors and Sa- racens, as the former was from the North by the Goths and Vandals. See Arabesk, Morisco, Grotesk, &c.
The Architeasofthe 15th, 14th, and 15th Century, who had fome Knowledge of Sculpture, feem'd to make Perfec- tion confift altogether in the Delicacy and Multitude of Or- naments, which they beflowed on their Buildings, with a"
World of Care and Sollicitude; tho' frequently without any Conduct or Tafte.
In the two laft Centuries, the Architects of Italy and France were wholly bent upon retrieving the primitive Sim- plicity and Beauty of antient Architecture-, in which they did not fail of SuccefsL Infomuch, that our Churches, Pa. laces, &c. are now wholly built after the Antique - ■
Civil Architecture may be diftiriguifh'd, with regard ro the feveral Periods or States thereof, into Antu/ue, Antient, Go- thic, Modern, &c. See Antique, Antient, Gothic, and Modern, t?c.
Another Divifion of Civil Architecture, arifes from the different Proportions which the different Kinds of Build- ings render'd neceflary, that we might have fome proper lor every Purpofe, according to the Bulk, Strength, Deli- cacy, Richnefs, or Simplicity required.—
Hence arofe five Orders or Manners of Building, all in- vented by the Antients at different Times, and on different Orations, viz. Tufcan, 'Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Com- pofite; the Iiifiory, Charaaers, XSc. of each whereof fee under their refpeflive Articles, Tuscan, Doric, Ionic,' Corinthian, and Composite.
What forms an Order, is the Column with its Safe and Capital; furmounted by an Entablature, contilting of Archi- trave, Frieze, and Cornice : and fuftain'd by a Pcdeftal. See Order; lee alio Column, Entablature. Pedes- tal,^, fee alfo Capital, £jV.
For a general. View of the Elements of Architecture, ivitb the Rules which obtain with rcfpcCt to the Matter, Form, 'Proportion, Situation, Foundation, 'Dijlributiou, Covering, Apertures, &c. See the Article Building.
For Particulars; fee Foundation, Wall, Roof, Win- dow, Door, Ceiling, £j?c. fee alfo Beauty, Lie.
There are feveral Arts fu'bfervient to Architecture, as Carpentry, Mafonry, Paving, Joynery, Smithery, Glazery, llumbery, Plaftcring, Gilding, (g c . See Carpentry,' Masonry, Paving, Joynery, Smithery, Glazery, Ilumbery, Plastering, Gilding, fife— Sec alfo Tim- ber, Stone, Brick, Tyle, Mortar, Lead, Glass, lye.
We have no Greek Authors extant on Architecture
The firft who wrote of it was Agatkarens the Athenian,
who was feconded by 'Dcmocritus and Tbeopbraftus
Among the Latins; the younger 'Pliny leems 10 fpeak the beft; and indeed /hews. himfelf very knowing therein.
Of all the Antients, Vitruvius is the only entire Author; tho' Vegetius relates that there were 700 Architects at Rome in his Time — He lived under Auguflus, and compofed a compleat Syftem of Architecture, in ten Books, which he- dedicated to that Prince. There are two Things eerifured by the Moderns in this excellent Work, vie. Want of Me-. thod, and Obfcurity. The Mixture of Latin, Greek, in Vitruvius, is fuch, that Leon Bapti/l Alberti, has obferved, he wrote Latin to the Greeks, and Greek to the Latins : He adds, that the Work contains abundance of Things fuperflu- ous and foreign to the Putpofe. — For this Re a ion M. Per- rault has _ extracted all the Rules out of Vitruvius's prolix Work, methodized and publi/hed them in a little Abridg- ment: — Several Authors have alfo endeavoured to explain the Text of Vitruvius, particularly 'Philander, Barbara, ind Salma/ins, in Notes added to their feveral Latin Editions; Rivius andPcrrault'm the Notes to their German and French Verfions ; avid Ba/dus in his Lexicon Vitruvianum: — The fame M. Perrault has alfo compofed an excellent Treatifc- Of the five Orders, which may be efteemed a Supplement to Vitruvius, who left the Doarine of the Orders defec- tive.
The Authots upon Architecture fmce Vitruvius, rte — Leon. Baptift Alberti, who in 1512, pubiilhcd ten Books" of the Art.of Building, in Latin, defigned to outvie Vitru- vilh ; in which, however, he has not fucceeded : His Work has abundance of good Things, but is deficient in the' Doc- trine of the Orders— Seb. Serlio, who wrote feven Books of Architecture, five of which concerning the five Orders, were made publick in idoz; throughout all which,' he religi- oujly keeps to Vitruvius's Rules : The feventh wa's fines publifh'd in 1 575 ; but the fixth, concerning private Build- ings, has not yet appear'd.— And. Palladio,'wha wrote four Books of Architecture, containing the fundamental Rules of the Art, with various In [lances of all the Kinds of Works;" publifh'd in Italian 1111575:. The two firft Books are rett'i der'd into High-Dutch, and enlarg'd with Annotations: by Boeckler—Pbil. de Lorme, who' publifh'd nine Books of Architecture, in French, in 1567 — J. Barozzio de Vi^nola, who in 1631, made publick his Rules of the. five Orders, in Italian; fince tranilated, with large Additions, by Tra- veler, under the Title of Cows d 'Architecture, &c. and fince alfo into High-Dutch, with Notes. —
To thefe are to be added Vincent.' Scamozzi , his Idea of Univerfal Architecture, publi/h'd in tiSi;, in Italian; Cat: Phil. THeuffart, in his Theatre of Civil Architecture, pub- lifh'd in High-Dutch in KJ97 ; wherein he not only delivers the Rules of ArchitcCiurc, but explains and compares the F i fivs
