Temples of Vesta. There are two Temples of Vesta, probably both erected during the reign of Augustus. The one in Rome, of which three slender columns are still standing in the Forum, was one of the most beautiful examples of Roman architecture, and was prob ably of Greek workmanship. The other, a circular temple over hanging the gorge of the river at Tivoli, has a capital very similar in general character and outline to the two examples illustrated from Cora. The temple itself has a cella, which yet retains one of its two windows and a doorway, the latter illustrated separately on a plate that is referred to later. This cella is 21 feet in diameter, possibly of an earlier date than the 18 columns of the peristyle which surround it. These columns are 18 feet 5 inches high, and are placed on a podium 6 feet high. The columns, it will be seen, are rather stumpy in effect, being only about 01 diameters high, with the capital 1 diame ter—proportions of unusual strength, and evidently in part adapted to the location of the temple on the top of a cliff overhanging the river below. The carving of these capitals is especially vigorous and most effectively suited to the pro portions of the column shaft. (See Fig. 130).
There is much knowledge of Greek precedent displayed in this remarkable example; but the treatment is yet novel, original, and, all in all, one of the most interesting capitals of the Roman Corinthian form. There is a vigor in the placing, cutting, and distribution of the members that displays great strength, virility, and feeling on the part of its designer.
Comparison of Three Exam ples. The height and proportions of the columns of three of the best-known examples of the Co rinthian Order may be interest ingly compared. The column used in. the Portico of the Pan theon is 45 feet 3 inches high; in the Temple of Castor, 48 feet 3 inches; and in the Temple of Mars Lltor, 57 feet 9 inches. The proportions of their diame ters to their heights are respect ively 1 to 9;, 1 to 104, and 1 to 10, including the square plinth; the inter-columniations are 24, 14, 14, respectively. The stur dier or heavier the column, the greater the intercolumniation.
Temple of Minerva, Assisi. There is an example of the Augus tan era that is comparatively little known—that of the Temple of Minerva at Assisi. The capitals resemble those of the Temple of Castor and Pollux at Cora. The steps of this example are carried back between the columns, which therefore have the appearance of being placed on pedestals. This is the only Italian example of this custom, although it is occasionally found used in Syrian buildings, where pedestals are frequently used with the Corinthian as well as with the other Roman Orders.
Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, . Rome. The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is an exceptionally pure example, although of late date. • Possibly a Greek artist may have been employed on this work, in which case its beauty and refinement may be explained by that fact. This temple is shown in Plate LIV, and is of special interest owing to the unusual judgment displayed in the ornamentation of the entablature. The carved members are here alternated and con
trasted with the plain mouldings, with a reserve and discretion that is seldom attained in Roman workmanship. The capital suggests a study of the better and earlier Greek and Roman forms.
Temple of Nimes, France. The Maison Carrce or Temple of Nimes in France (Fig. 131), to which the approximate date of 122 A. D. has been given, may certainly be included within the dates mark ing the beginning and the end of Hadrian's reign (117-138 A. D.). This temple is rectangular in shape, and is raised on a podium and approached by a flight of steps. The columns of this temple are 30 feet high, with a diameter of 6 feet 9 inches, and the intercolumniation is two diameters. This building is to-day in an exceptionally good state of preservation.
Temple of the Sun, Rome. On the same plate with the Order from the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (Plate LIV), is shown the Order from the Temple of the Sun on the Quirinal Hill. This build ing, otherwise called the Frontispiece or Portico of Nero, was built by Aurelian on his return from Palmyra in 273 A. D., and the work is exceptionally refined in character for so late a date. The carving and ornamentation are here arranged with a discretion worthy of work of a better period. The form of the entablature itself is unusual, with the brackets that were afterwards relegated to be used with the Com posite Order; and the modillion course forms the principal member of the bed-mould; but the proportions to one another of the separate parts of this cornice are remarkably successful, and the foliated scroll carving of the frieze is done with such strength and vigor of compo sition that its use is here amply justified. A fault which is more ap parent in the plate than in the actual building, is that the entire entab lature is somewhat heavy and over-large in scale for the diameter and thickness of the column and capital which support it. The column is 58 feet high, and the entablature is nearly 16 feet high.
Comparison of Early and Late Examples. It should be noticed that each of these Orders increases in elaborateness of carving and of design over its predecessors. In certain of them, this has resulted in a mere complexity of moulding and carved detail, often without suffi cient meaning or apparent reason, and without due relation to its place or to the moulding which it is intended to ornament. The capitals themselves display this same retrogression; and in place of the crisp leafage and cutting, the firm upright lines, the decision of composition, and the boldness of massing of the Greek and early Roman examples, they run to mere profusion of ornament. The outline appears flabby, and the capital of insufficient strength to resist the superimposed weight. The bell of the capital is so entirely covered with foliage that it is merely restless and monotonously uninteresting in mass.