Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/284

 252 GRECIAN ARCHITECTUHE. Part I. inclined to believe they were more fanciful than real.* It would, however, be as reasonable in a person with no ear, or no musical edu- cation, to object to the enjoyment of a complicated concerted piece of music experienced by those differently situated, or to declare that the 'j)ain musicians feel from a false note was mere affectation. The eyes of the Greeks were as perfectly educated as our ears. They could appreciate harmonies which are lost in us, and were offended at false quantities which our duller senses fail to perceive. But in spite of ourselves, we do feel the beauty of these harmonic relations, though we hardly know why ; and if educated to them, we might acquire what might almost be considered a new sense. But be this as it may, there can be no doubt but that a great deal of the beauty which all feel in contemplating the architectural j^roductions of the Greeks, arises from causes such as these, which we are only now beginning to appreciate. To understand, however, the Doric order, we must not regard it as a merely masonic form. Sculpture was always used, or intended to be used, with it. The Metopes between the triglyphs, the pediments of the porticoes, and the acroteria or pedestals on the roof, are all unmeaning and useless unless filled or surmounted with sculptured figures. Sculpture is indeed, as essential a part of this order as the acanthus-leaves and ornaments of the cornice are to the capitals and entablature of the Corinthian order ; and without it, or without its place being supplied by painting, we are merely looking at the dead skele- ton, the mere framework of the order, without the flesh and blood that gave it life and purpose. It is when all these ]iartsare combined toge- ther, as in the ])ortico of the Parthenon (Woodcut No. 136), that M-e can understand tills order in all its perfection; for though each part was Iteautiful in itself, their full value can be aj^preciated only as parts of a great whole. Another essential jiart of the order, too often overlooked, is the ]o6. The Parthenon. Scale 50 ft. to 1 in. ^ The pyramid-bnildiiig kinus of Lower Egypt seem to have had some distinct ideas of a system of definite proportions in architectural building, and to have put it into practice in the pyramid, and possibly elsewhere, but it has not yet been sought for in the other buildings of that age. At times I cannot help suspecting more afiinity to have existed between the in- habitants of Lower Egypt and those of Greece than is at first sight apj^arent.