Skip to main content
Museum of Freemasonry

Masonic Periodicals Online

  • Explore
  • Advanced Search
  • Home
  • Explore
  • The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine
  • Dec. 22, 1860
  • Page 3
  • STRAY THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS.
Current:

The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, Dec. 22, 1860: Page 3

  • Back to The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, Dec. 22, 1860
  • Print image
  • Articles/Ads
    Article FREEMASONRY AND THE PRESS. ← Page 3 of 3
    Article STRAY THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS. Page 1 of 2 →
Page 3

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Freemasonry And The Press.

different is the opinion we form of the abilities of the writers . The one full of false assertions , the other taking just so much for granted as the work before him reveals . As we before said , Bro . Donald Campbell has brought this upon us ; but we can endure it , for Freemasonry will flourish ages after Mr . Ilepworth Dixon and The

Atliencsum will rank with the Curlls , Mists , Foggs , and the other ribalds of the last century , and become as clean forgotten as any of those antiquated Grub-street authors who , with The Athenccum and its puritanical editor , will be remembered only hy the book-worm to show how low had been the standard of morality , and " to point a moral and adorn a tale" for posterity .

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

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

BY DIACOBAS . No . IX .

The first step in the erection of a hut would doubtless be , the enclosure of a space in the form of a square or parallelogram , by placing a number of posts vertically in the ground ; compare these with the columns of a stone edifice . On the tops of the posts would be laid a horizontal beam , along each of the four sides , corresponding to which we see the architrave or episiylium .

Over these would be p laced horizontal beams , parallel to one of the sides of the building , in order to support the roof , and their ends , appearing over the face of the architrave at equal distances from each other , are represented in stone temples by the rectangular divisions called iriyh / phs . Smaller beams might yet have been

required for the support of the bed of the roof ; the projecting ends of these beams we find represented by the ¦ modillio . is , aud the extremities of another upper course called dentils . The ivhole system of horizontal beams , comprehending architraves , triglyphs , and the spaces between them called metopes , is called by the

general name of entablature . But if trunks of trees are found to have given the idea of the columns which supported the edifice , from whence was derived the p linth , or chief part of the base of the column ? In

the wooden hut , the main supports , if resting exclusively on the ground , ivould be liable to sink beneath the surface , and to rot or decay , owing to the humidity of the soil : an effort would likely be made to prevent these evils , by placing a tile , or flat stone , beneath the post , to prevent it from sinking , but , from the wei ght

above , the bottom of the post woidd be liable to split ; a band surrounding it would prevent this , from which the idea of the ornaments above the plinth were derived ; so that the base of the columns in the wooden hut might have afforded the model for those of a more magnificent edifice . The spiral curvesor voluteswhich

, , adorn some columns , have been supposed , as before remarked , to be in imitation of the curls of hair on a woman ' s head , or of the horns of animals slain in sacrifice ; the capitals of other columns are adorned with double rows of leaves , arising , as I have stated , from the casual observation of such foliage round a

bell-shaped vessel at Corinth . The shaft of a column , when fluted , is ascribed to a wish to imitate the folds of a woman ' s dress ; or , as has been ingeniously suggested , as a resting-place for spears , when warriors were entering the temple . It is impossible , however , to account

for all the varieties of mouldings which occur m tire columns and entablature of an edifice , recognised by the terms astragal , torus , echinus , cymatia , cacetto , and the bird's-heaJc moulding . All these are capable of being much improved and embellished , and we accordingly find them displaying the scul ptor ' s skill and taste in beautiful

imitations of leaves , flowers , fruit , & c . Such , then , according to Yitruvius , is the orig in of the orders of architecture amongst the Greeks ; it may or may not be true . I will not presume to decide ivhether it is true or false ; whether the Greeks derived their ideas of architecture from Egypt , and improved upon the cumbrous

models of that country , or not ; but shall now proceed to lay before the reader a slight sketch of the principal characteristics of the various orders . A g lossary of some of the technical terms used in architecture may be suitable here—an order in architecture is that proportional disposition of materials which is peculiar to itself , and distinguished by two principal features , the JESTABLAXUEE and the c ' oLrin ? . The former consists of the

cornice , tho frieze , and the architrave ; the latter , of the capital , the shaft , and the base . The architrave , called by the Greeks tiie epistyle , is that part which is in immediate contact with , or rests upon , the columns , and represents the main-beam of the primitive wooden hut . The frieze is the central division which rests on the architraveand is generallornamented ; the Eomans

, y called it phryyium—that is , embroidery-work—and the Greeks zoophorus , because they carved figures of animals upon it . The cornice , from the Latin coronis , is the upper part which supports the roof ; it projects considerably beyond the rest , to protect the lower parts . The capital is the crown of the column ; on this the architrave rests ,

and is ornamented in a manner peculiar to the order to which it belongs . The shaft is that part of the column included between thc capital and the base . The base is the lower termination of the column , resting on the flooring , or on a pedestal ; it is composed of projecting mouldings aud a p linth , in number and form according

to the order . The word p lintli is from the Greek , and implies a- square tile . The proportions of all the parts of an architectural structure are regulated by the lower diameter of the shaft , ivhieh is divided into sixty parts or lines ; this is the module , or architectural scale . The facade , or front of a building is its most finished part ,

and is usually ornamented with a portico , surmounted by a pediment . The pediment is that part of the portico which rises above its entablature , to cover the end ofthe roof . The space between the columns is called an intercolumniation . Any particular order may be easily recognised by attending to a few simple points of difference , which are these . In the Doric order there is no

base or moulding at the bottom of tne column ; tne plain capital consists merely of the ecldnes , or convex moulding , ancl the abacus , or square stone : there is also a triglyp hed or three-channeled frieze . The Ionic , or Corinthian , is recognised by the voluted or the foiiaged capital ; the principal difference between these two orders being confined to the italas there is no

precap , cise difference between thc columns or entablatures of either order , except the modillions , which are certain regularly recurring ornaments in the Corinthian . With respect to the shaft , the flutes in thc Doric order are broad and shallow , forming sharp ridges on the circumference of the shaftbut in the other two orders the

; flutes are narrower and deeper , and are separated from each other by spaces left between the flirtings on the surface of the shaft . The architrave of the Doric consists of a p lain face surmounted by the taenia , or band ; but in the other two orders the architraves are generally divided into three faces , projecting somewhat one above

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1860-12-22, Page 3” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 11 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_22121860/page/3/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
FREEMASONRY AND THE PRESS. Article 1
STRAY THOUGHTS ON THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS. Article 3
ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHÆOLOGY. Article 4
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 7
Literature. Article 7
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Article 9
Poetry. Article 11
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 12
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 12
METROPOLITAN. Article 12
PROVINCIAL. Article 14
MARK MASONRY. Article 16
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 16
INDIA. Article 16
THE WEEK. Article 19
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
Page 1

Page 1

1 Article
Page 2

Page 2

1 Article
Page 3

Page 3

2 Articles
Page 4

Page 4

3 Articles
Page 5

Page 5

1 Article
Page 6

Page 6

1 Article
Page 7

Page 7

4 Articles
Page 8

Page 8

1 Article
Page 9

Page 9

3 Articles
Page 10

Page 10

1 Article
Page 11

Page 11

3 Articles
Page 12

Page 12

3 Articles
Page 13

Page 13

1 Article
Page 14

Page 14

2 Articles
Page 15

Page 15

1 Article
Page 16

Page 16

5 Articles
Page 17

Page 17

1 Article
Page 18

Page 18

1 Article
Page 19

Page 19

2 Articles
Page 20

Page 20

3 Articles
Page 3

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Freemasonry And The Press.

different is the opinion we form of the abilities of the writers . The one full of false assertions , the other taking just so much for granted as the work before him reveals . As we before said , Bro . Donald Campbell has brought this upon us ; but we can endure it , for Freemasonry will flourish ages after Mr . Ilepworth Dixon and The

Atliencsum will rank with the Curlls , Mists , Foggs , and the other ribalds of the last century , and become as clean forgotten as any of those antiquated Grub-street authors who , with The Athenccum and its puritanical editor , will be remembered only hy the book-worm to show how low had been the standard of morality , and " to point a moral and adorn a tale" for posterity .

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

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

BY DIACOBAS . No . IX .

The first step in the erection of a hut would doubtless be , the enclosure of a space in the form of a square or parallelogram , by placing a number of posts vertically in the ground ; compare these with the columns of a stone edifice . On the tops of the posts would be laid a horizontal beam , along each of the four sides , corresponding to which we see the architrave or episiylium .

Over these would be p laced horizontal beams , parallel to one of the sides of the building , in order to support the roof , and their ends , appearing over the face of the architrave at equal distances from each other , are represented in stone temples by the rectangular divisions called iriyh / phs . Smaller beams might yet have been

required for the support of the bed of the roof ; the projecting ends of these beams we find represented by the ¦ modillio . is , aud the extremities of another upper course called dentils . The ivhole system of horizontal beams , comprehending architraves , triglyphs , and the spaces between them called metopes , is called by the

general name of entablature . But if trunks of trees are found to have given the idea of the columns which supported the edifice , from whence was derived the p linth , or chief part of the base of the column ? In

the wooden hut , the main supports , if resting exclusively on the ground , ivould be liable to sink beneath the surface , and to rot or decay , owing to the humidity of the soil : an effort would likely be made to prevent these evils , by placing a tile , or flat stone , beneath the post , to prevent it from sinking , but , from the wei ght

above , the bottom of the post woidd be liable to split ; a band surrounding it would prevent this , from which the idea of the ornaments above the plinth were derived ; so that the base of the columns in the wooden hut might have afforded the model for those of a more magnificent edifice . The spiral curvesor voluteswhich

, , adorn some columns , have been supposed , as before remarked , to be in imitation of the curls of hair on a woman ' s head , or of the horns of animals slain in sacrifice ; the capitals of other columns are adorned with double rows of leaves , arising , as I have stated , from the casual observation of such foliage round a

bell-shaped vessel at Corinth . The shaft of a column , when fluted , is ascribed to a wish to imitate the folds of a woman ' s dress ; or , as has been ingeniously suggested , as a resting-place for spears , when warriors were entering the temple . It is impossible , however , to account

for all the varieties of mouldings which occur m tire columns and entablature of an edifice , recognised by the terms astragal , torus , echinus , cymatia , cacetto , and the bird's-heaJc moulding . All these are capable of being much improved and embellished , and we accordingly find them displaying the scul ptor ' s skill and taste in beautiful

imitations of leaves , flowers , fruit , & c . Such , then , according to Yitruvius , is the orig in of the orders of architecture amongst the Greeks ; it may or may not be true . I will not presume to decide ivhether it is true or false ; whether the Greeks derived their ideas of architecture from Egypt , and improved upon the cumbrous

models of that country , or not ; but shall now proceed to lay before the reader a slight sketch of the principal characteristics of the various orders . A g lossary of some of the technical terms used in architecture may be suitable here—an order in architecture is that proportional disposition of materials which is peculiar to itself , and distinguished by two principal features , the JESTABLAXUEE and the c ' oLrin ? . The former consists of the

cornice , tho frieze , and the architrave ; the latter , of the capital , the shaft , and the base . The architrave , called by the Greeks tiie epistyle , is that part which is in immediate contact with , or rests upon , the columns , and represents the main-beam of the primitive wooden hut . The frieze is the central division which rests on the architraveand is generallornamented ; the Eomans

, y called it phryyium—that is , embroidery-work—and the Greeks zoophorus , because they carved figures of animals upon it . The cornice , from the Latin coronis , is the upper part which supports the roof ; it projects considerably beyond the rest , to protect the lower parts . The capital is the crown of the column ; on this the architrave rests ,

and is ornamented in a manner peculiar to the order to which it belongs . The shaft is that part of the column included between thc capital and the base . The base is the lower termination of the column , resting on the flooring , or on a pedestal ; it is composed of projecting mouldings aud a p linth , in number and form according

to the order . The word p lintli is from the Greek , and implies a- square tile . The proportions of all the parts of an architectural structure are regulated by the lower diameter of the shaft , ivhieh is divided into sixty parts or lines ; this is the module , or architectural scale . The facade , or front of a building is its most finished part ,

and is usually ornamented with a portico , surmounted by a pediment . The pediment is that part of the portico which rises above its entablature , to cover the end ofthe roof . The space between the columns is called an intercolumniation . Any particular order may be easily recognised by attending to a few simple points of difference , which are these . In the Doric order there is no

base or moulding at the bottom of tne column ; tne plain capital consists merely of the ecldnes , or convex moulding , ancl the abacus , or square stone : there is also a triglyp hed or three-channeled frieze . The Ionic , or Corinthian , is recognised by the voluted or the foiiaged capital ; the principal difference between these two orders being confined to the italas there is no

precap , cise difference between thc columns or entablatures of either order , except the modillions , which are certain regularly recurring ornaments in the Corinthian . With respect to the shaft , the flutes in thc Doric order are broad and shallow , forming sharp ridges on the circumference of the shaftbut in the other two orders the

; flutes are narrower and deeper , and are separated from each other by spaces left between the flirtings on the surface of the shaft . The architrave of the Doric consists of a p lain face surmounted by the taenia , or band ; but in the other two orders the architraves are generally divided into three faces , projecting somewhat one above

  • Prev page
  • 1
  • 2
  • You're on page3
  • 4
  • 20
  • Next page
  • Accredited Museum Designated Outstanding Collection
  • LIBRARY AND MUSEUM CHARITABLE TRUST OF THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1058497 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2025

  • Accessibility statement

  • Designed, developed, and maintained by King's Digital Lab

We use cookies to track usage and preferences.

Privacy & cookie policy