Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/262

 238 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud.ea. by placing a chamber ten cubits high over the debir, so as to carry the line of the terraced roof throughout on the same level, thus (Plate V.) ' preserving a stupendous length of line eminently satis- factory from an architectural standpoint. Nor is this all ; we are the first who have remedied what at all times must have been a positive eyesore, namely, the discrepancy between a pylon 120 cubits in height and the mean edifice adjoining it, with plain per- pendicular walls upon which no more thought or care had been bestowed than upon a garden enclosure. Then, too, we have retained the spur-like appearance of the wall which divides the cells one from the other, by setting it slightly in rear of the fore- ground, so that its extremities stand out as sturdy pillars, in agree- able contrast with the plain, sunken spaces interposing. This aspect is heightened by the high relief of the cornice and the embattled edge at the top, which secure strength of line and amplitude to the block of masonry. In order to show the whole extent of the latter, we have supposed the side building to be in an unfinished state (Plate V.). The elevation of the upper story of the cells with the roof is twenty cubits, or ten cubits less than the wall of the sanctuary. In this upper story are placed the windows that are to light the hecal and the debir ; but for this provision the latter would have no light save through the door (Fig. 134). The outer wall of the haram is graduated to the height of the third story, but the space left by diminution in the thickness of the wall is taken up by the cells which increase one cubit at each story, measuring five cubits on the ground-floor and seven on the third. Our sketch (Fig. 152) will enable the reader to understand the relative position of wall and cells. 2 One end of the beams which support the ceilings or floors of these cells is fixed into the 1 " Upper chambers " are alluded to in Chronicles, loc. cit. See also Reuss's restoration and note upon 1 Kings vi. 20. He has had the ludicrous idea, somewhat ante-dated, of placing a powerful electric battery in the chamber of the debir, to cause a " fire from heaven," in the midst of which God might be made to appear to the people. 2 M. Chipiez' drawing coincides with Kings and Chronicles, for the discrepancy between the two disappears if we suppose — and no other solution is possible — that the author of Chronicles measured the cells from the base of the temple wall and the first spur of the side building. We know that this has a salience of one cubit, which added to the four cubits of the cells would give us the five cubits which we require.