The History of Civilization, Volume 7J. Munsell, 1869 - Civilization |
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aesthetic nature aisles angles approved precepts apse end arcades architects architectural art arrangement basilica beautiful becoming the cause buildings Byzantine architecture Byzantine style character choir Christian temple Christian worship civilization clerestory column complete Constantinople distinct dome early Romanesque edifice effect Egypt elements entablature Europe exhibitions facade feature Ferguson final cause Freeman gable gallery genius Gothic style Grecian Greece Greek church habitual power harmonious hence horizontal style ideal Idem influence Italy Justinian latter long nave massive pier ment Norman style objective octagonal origin ornament outline perfect pilasters pointed arch portico portion present prevailing principle proportion pure race rising Roman archi Roman architecture Romanesque style Rome roof round arched construction round arched style Saracenic sculpture smaller semidomes soaring sometimes spire square stone structures style of architecture style which adopts tecture Teutonic Teutonic races towers transepts triforium variety vast central cupola vault western
Popular passages
Page 13 - It is thus that, looking on an ancient building, we can not only tell in what state of civilization its builders lived, or how far they were advanced in the arts, but we can almost certainly say also to what race they belonged, and what their affinities were with the other races or tribes of mankind. So far as my knowledge extends, I do not know a single exception to this rule ; and, as far as I can judge, I believe that architecture is in all instances as correct a test of race as language, and...
Page 5 - If it be asked of us, on what subject art operates, we can answer, on a contingent which is within the reach of the human powers to influence. If it be asked us, for what reason, for the sake of what, art operates, we may reply, for the sake of some absent good relative to human...
Page 21 - ... halls, one over the other, 202 ft. in length internally, by about 26 in width. The church itself is nearly an exact square of 229 ft. north and south by 243 ft. from east to west, surmounted in the centre by a great dome, 107 ft. in diameter, rising to a height of 182 ft. from the floor of the church. East and west of this are two semi-domes of the same diameter. These are again cut into, each by three smaller semi-domes, supported by two tiers of pillars. On the lower range of these stands a...
Page 7 - If it be asked us, On what Subject Art operates? We can answer, On a contingent, which is within the reach of the Human Powers to influence. If it be asked us. For what Reason, for the sake of what, Art operates? We may reply, For the sake of some absent Good, relative to Human Life, and attainable by Man, but superior to his natural and uninstructed Faculties. Lastly, if it be asked, Where it is the Operations of Art end"? We may say, Either in some Energy, or in some Work.
Page 13 - that looking on an ancient building, we can not only tell in what state of civilization its builders lived, or how far they were advanced in the arts; but we can almost certainly say also to what race they belonged, and what their affinities were with the other races or tribes of mankind.
Page 24 - The necessary arrangements for Christian worship were readily made ; the altar was placed at the end of the nave, on the chord of the apse ; the Bishop's throne behind it took the place of that of the judge, while the subordinate seats of the presbytery were ranged on either side of him along the walls of the semicircle. The choir for the inferior ministers, not marked in the construction, was formed in the nave by screening off a sufficient space in front of the altar ; while the long nave and aisles...
Page 18 - Byzantium, and to forms of art which have not the slightest affinity with those practised in that capital, that it is now difficult to confine it within its true and only signification. Properly speaking, it applies only to that form of art invented in Constantinople after its virtual separation from the Western Empire, and practised by the Greek Church during the whole of the middle ages. As now used, the name comprises every building possessing a dome...
Page 20 - Byzantine architecture sacrificed everything to the dome, making that the centre, the crowning point of all, to which every other portion of the pile converges and rests under the shadow of its majestic canopy. "The western limb of the basilica is too long, the others too short; its oblong form is, therefore, rejected, and the church assumes a square or octagonal form; the surrounding portions only radiating around, and supporting the vast central cupola...
Page 14 - GER. : a construction of bricks or stones over an opening, so arranged as by mutual pressure to support each other, and to become capable of sustaining a superincumbent weight. The origin of the arch is involved in an obscurity which is never likely to be cleared away, and it is a disputed point where the earliest examples of its use are to be found. Some contend that it was unknown to the Greeks during the best...