built by Pompey, 54 B. c., and was capable of containing 40,000 persons.

In the time of Augustus (from 30 B. c. to 14 A. D.) we find that the Italian buildings attained a point of magnificence far beyond all that preceded. The conquest of nearly the whole of the then known world, added to a general peace, allowed the sovereign to turn his thoughts to the improvement of his country; and a constellation of illustrious philosophers and poets, who shone at this time in the metropolis of the empire, gave the minds of the people an inclination towards subjects more useful and honorable than the conquest of remote and unoffending nations. The patronage of literature with the fine arts by Augustus produced the most brilliant results, and has caused a veneration for the age in which he lived. The perfection which literature and architecture attained during his dominion effected more towards immortalizing Rome than all the conquests of its emperors, and raised its inhabitants to a state of civilization never before equalled. By him was erected the temple and forum of Mars the Avenger, the theatre of Marcellus, and a large number of other public buildings. His boast was not a vain one, when he asserted that he found his capital built of brick, and he left it of marble.

Nero was the next emperor (with the exception of Claudius*) who seemed to have given his attention to Architecture; but his buildings must be considered more as monuments of his prodigality and expenditure than of correct taste. A palace was erected for him, than which nothing could be more gorgeous, nor could the pomp of decoration be carried further.

The reigns of Vespasian and Titus are justly celebrated by the erection of baths and amphitheatres of such magnitude as to astonish the world, and to which nothing of their

* During the reign of Claudius, one of the finest aqueducts of Rome was com pleted, whose length is 46 miles, and the water passes over arches raised more than 100 feet from the surface of the ground for nearly 10 miles of it.

kind, either before or since, will bear comparison. The Coliseum, so named from its gigantic dimensions, was commenced and finished by Vespasian and Titus: it was capable of containing 109,000 spectators, who could view the sports and combats in the arena. The baths of Titus were among the wonders of the age; but their remains are not so perfect as those of others, although they are still majestic.* The Temple of Peace, the largest covered building of antiquity, and another temple dedicated to Minerva, of the richest and most exquisite workmanship, were erected at this time, from 70 to 81 A.D.

To give a further description of the buildings of ancient Rome would be unnecessary, as our object is only to treat of the history of the Styles of Architecture, to show the periods at which they attained their greatest excellence, and to trace, as far as possible, the connection of one with the other. We therefore pass over the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian, celebrated for some fine architectural works, and proceed to the styles that sprung up, on the decline of the empire, among those nations that borrowed their first principles of art from the Romans.

CHAPTER IV.

Byzantium and Romanesque.

From the time of Hadrian, 117 A.D., to that of Constantine, a general decline in the Arts took place, which, however, seemed to revive in the reign of the emperor, and many proofs are still extant. The churches that were built immediately after Constantine's espousal of the Christian faith. The basilica, or halls of justice of the ancient Romans, were undoubtedly the types from which these churches were taken; and the ruins of these buildings were often the materials used. The columns that divide the centre of the church

* The baths of Diocletian, erected 294 A. D., were of great extent and magnis cence, and are in a better state of preservation than those of Titus.

were often taken from old buildings-some were reduced in height, others were mounted on pedestals to suit the purposes to which they were applied.

Among the edifices demanding

notice are: the basilicia of St. Clement at Rome, said to be built on the spot occupied by St. Clement, the immediate successor of St. Peter. This is the only edifice of this style which we can describe in this work. It is entered by a court, which is surrounded by porticoes and supported by columns and piers; on the sides parallel to the front of the church arches spring from the columns, but on the others there are only architraves. Under the portico nearest the temple were placed the holy-watervases, until in after times they were removed in the body of the church at the western door. The centre part of the atrium was then used for burial purposes. The sacristy, like all Christian churches then, was semicircular

Atrium.

in plan, and the altar, the throne for the bishop, and exedra, or benches for the priests. It was surmounted by a halfcupola, the front of which is richly ornamented with marble and paintings of Christ and the Saints. The cupola is covered with paintings of foliage on a gold ground; the remainder of this semicircular part, known by the name of "apsis," is richly ornamented with figures of the Saints. On each side of the apsis were small apis sides. One of them was called the vestiarium, and contained the priests'

robes and the consecrated vessels; the other, the evangelium, received the sacred books, charters, &c. &c. This arrangement still exists in Greece. The chancel, which was used by the inferior ecclesiastics, and contained the pulpit and ambones, was situated in front of the apsis, and enclosed by a low partition of marble; it is raised one step from the level of the church. The floor is decorated with mosaics.

The Church of St. Sophia was consecrated May 330. It is built like a Grecian cross. It cost one million dollars. Besides this, Constantine built 25 churches. The cathedral at Pisa, in Italy, was built 700 years after that of St. Sophia. Its plan is the Latin cross. The length is 304 feet, ⚫ and the width 107; the transverse branch is 234 feet by 55 feet in width. A detailed account we cannot give a mere sketch is all we promised.

CHAPTER V.

The Architecture of Germany, France, and Normandy.

THE sacredness of religious edifices seems to have protected them from demolition and the hand of the destroyer.

Germany lays claim to churches of antiquity superior to those of any other country this side of the Alps: those existing of the tenth and eleventh centuries are very important in the history of the art, and testify extraordinary solidity and magnificence. Such are the churches of Spire, Mentz, and Worms. That of Spire was founded by Conrad, in 1030; the east end of that at Worms, still earlier, was commenced in 996, and the building was consecrated in 1016; the oldest part of the cathedral of Mentz is said to be of the date of Archbishop Willigris, between 978 and 1009.

One of the most instructive as well as the most ancient of these churches is that at Worms, now in a very perfect state of preservation. The plan is strongly distinguished by the cross; the piers separating the nave from the aisles are square,

with columns at alternate piers, to carry the stone vaulting, which embraces two compartments of the lateral arches between each groin or rib. The east end is square on the face externally, but semicircular inside; thus retaining one of the principal features of the Romanesque basilicæ. On each side are circular turrets containing staircases, and corresponding with two at the west end, although of somewhat larger dimensions. The entrances are in the north and south sides, and nearer the transepts than the west end. This arrangement is quite at variance with all preceding buildings; as instead of the three doorways at the west front, there is an apsis of the form of three sides of an octagon, which is used as a chapel. At the intersection of the nave and transepts springs an octagonal tower, which is scarcely higher than the nave roof, and covered with a cupola: the turrets are carried to a great height, and terminate conically. This church, as well as those of the same date, is vaulted with stone throughout, which caused the introduction of the shaft on the face of the piers, and is one great deviation from the arrangement of the Roman basilicæ, which were covered with horizontal ceilings; or else the wooden roofs were left exposed, which rested on the walls, having no relation vertically to the substructure.

The church of St. Castor, at Coblentz, part of which was built in the eleventh century, is likewise executed with semicircular arches, which spring from square piers, to each face of which a square column is attached. This may be considered as one of the steps leading towards the clustered columns, which gradually were introduced into the naves of all churches throughout the western part of Europe.

The early German churches, although differing considerably from each other in their general plan, still retain peculiarities that are not to be seen in those of other countries, though erected about the same period, or rather later. The octagonal form of the apsides and turrets, and their enrichments generally retaining a primitive character, made their Lombardic origin perceptible. The square piers which support the