But previous to the publication of Mr Adam's draw'. ings, England had been instructed and astonished by the most splendid phenomenon which the Roman school ever exhibited : We here refer to the ruins of Palmyra and Balbec, which Messrs Dawkins and Wood visited in 1751, and published descriptions of in 1753 and 1757. The particulars respecting the architecture of these ex traordinary edifices, will be presented in considerable detail under the head of Practice ; but we consider it only as justice to the memory of Mr Dawkins, here to observe, that the whole expence attending the journey, draftsmen, engravers, and publications, was defrayed by him, without any view of participation in the returns made by the publications, which were very considerable, but which he generously assigned to his colleague Mr Wood : And, what is perhaps equally deserving of admiration, was his indefatigable attention to the measurements on the spot, and afterwards to their being accurately represent ed in the engravings ; to the truth of which the writer of this article is enabled to bear witness, by the kindness of his nephew James Dawkins, Esq. M. P. in whose posses sion the beautiful original drawings now are ; and who, with his uncle's liberality of disposition, inherits his taste for the fine arts. From that gentleman we also learn, that Britain had nearly been deprived of these architectural treasures, by the Italian architect who had been employ ed as a draftsman. This person, though inimitably expert as an artist, was so unprincipled as to abscond with all the finished drawings. By immediate and active pursuit, those relating to the architectural parts were all recover ed ; but twenty-six finely executed landscapes in Egypt, Greece, and Asia Minor, were, only a few years ago, accidentally discovered and purchased by the present Mr Dawkins, in a public auction room in London. From the publications of Messrs Dawkins and Wood, we learn, that Palmyra is situated in the middle of a sandy desert, 203 miles from the Mediterranean, 176 from Damascus, and 333 from Seleucia : That it had risen to great splen dour in the time of Zenobia, when it was taken and much injured by the Roman emperor Aurelian, who ordered Ceionius Bassus to repair the temple of the Sun, with the value of the gold and jewels found in Zenobia's pos session. It appears by an inscription copied by our tra vellers, that Dioclesian erected a considerable edifice at Palmyra, under the charge of Hicrocles; but that no inscription was discovered older than the Christian ara, nor any later than Justinian; that the eldest have Palmy rean names, and the latter Roman pranomina ; that, with the exception of two Ionic semi-columns at each end of the cell of the temple of the Sun, and two in one mauso leum, the whole of the architecture has been of the Co rinthian order, highly decorated ; and that, with the ex ception of four granite pillars in the middle of the long portico, the whole was composed of white marble.
The temple of the Sun at Balbec, of uncommon mag nitude and splendour, appears to have been built under that excellent Roman emperor Anus Antoninus Pius, near Libanus in Phccnicia, at a resting place between Tyre and Palmyra.
It was a singular circumstance, that, until the time of Messrs Stuart and Revet in 1751, there had been no re course to the school from whence the Romans derived all their knowledge of architecture. The indefatigable and faithful labours of these deserving artists, who were also supported chiefly by the munificence of Air Dawkins, furnished correct plans and profiles of many magnificent and beautiful remains in Attica, and other parts of Greece. This undertaking occupied four years, during three of which they resided chiefly in Athens. Nothing can ex - VT" r ITT D. •T ceed the accuracy of their measurements and delinea tions ; and their work put England for the first time in possession of Grecian architecture. By comparing these specimens with those copied from the best Roman works, it is evident how much architecture had suffered in the bands of the rude conquerors of the world. The cor
rect simplicity, bold features, and delicate proportions of the Greek architecture, display the superiority of genius and taste of that extraordinary people. Stuart's Antiquities of Athens was followed by a similar work upon those of Ionia, delineated with equal judgment and care by Messrs Revet and Pars, who returned in 1766 from a journey made by the direction and at the expence of the Dilettanti Society, and which has secured to us the taste and manner of the refined inhabitants of Ionia. These works, and the buildings erected under the direc tion of Mr Stuart, have produced a consider change in the architecture of this country. The re ation of the chapel of Greenwich Hospital, is a fine display of the application of the Greek style.
After the introduction of pure Greek architecture, it has been fortunate that an architect (Mr Wyatt) has risen to eminence, whose taste exceeds in correctness that of his predecessors. The work which at once displayed his talents, and introduced him to extensive employment, the Pantheon, falls under the head of those for public amusements. In the front of the library of Oriel college in Oxford, he has given a correct Ionic ; but even here the basement is too high for the order it supports, and the ornamental superstructure is too evidently- restricted to the front only. It is a fine screen set up against a building, of which it does not appear to form a compO nent part, which it might have been rendered, by em ploying a pilaster instead of a column, and break at each extremity. His Doric gateway to Canterbury court, though not purely Greek, is a fine instance of the beau tiful simplicity of that order. When compared to the Greek, the columns appear too slender, and the alter nate square and circular tablets, recesses, and niches, do but imperfectly harmonize with the gravity of the Doric. Mr Wyatt has been very extensively employed in repairing and restoring many Gothic cathedrals, al though he has been, in some instances, accused of not being sufficiently correct in keeping distinct the different orders of this school. He has, in general, succeeded admirably well in preserving the spirit of the originals. The public are much indebted to him, not only for what he has himself performed, but for proving, that these fine structures may be preserved to posterity.
Legislation.
Buildings for the purposes of legislation and the dis tribution of justice, in the time of the Greeks and Ro mans, were known by the name of the forum and ba silica. In England, they are distinguished by the names of senate-house, courts of justice, jails, and bridewells. The national senate-house of these kingdoms is situated in the old palace of Westminster, erected by Edward the Confessor, to which William Rufus added the great hall as an appendage. The hall was rebuilt by Richard II. in 1397, and is 270 feet in length, and 74 in breadth. The apartment called the House of Commons was ori ginally a chapel built by king Stephen, and dedicated to St Stephen the martyr. It was rebuilt by Edward III. in 1347. There is little architectural merit in those edi fices, yet, notwithstanding this, the features of antiquity which every way present themselves, associated with the scenes they have witnessed, create a solemnity, and in spire a respect, which more modern and regular archi tecture would probably fail to command. The courts of justice, though apparently confined, and externally fitted up with bad taste, derive much dignity from the magni ficent hall in which they are placed, and it also affords much real conveniency to the concourse or people, whom business frequently obliges to attend upon the courts. It answers the same purposes as the extensive porticos of the Greeks and Romans, and is much more suitable to this climate.