The PREFACE.

jsohie which depend on the Will of the Legislators, and the Consent of thePeople, which the natural Light of Equity does not disco']’er to us.

Xt

If) then, true ArchiteBs, in confdering Works of different Proportions tas was said before, approve only of those that are in a Mean between thetwo Excesses in the Examples before cited, it doth not follow, from thence,that these Excesses offend a judicious Eye, on account of any Deformity,that, for a natural and poftive Reason, must: necessarily displease every one,as being contrary to good Sense ; but only as not being according to thatManner which has us’d to please in the beautiful Works of the Ancients,where these excessive Proportions are not ordinarily encountred ; and whereeven this Manner is not pleasing so much in itself, as because it is accom-panied with other poftive, natural and rational Beauties, which, if 1 mayso speaks, make it loYd for company.

But because this Manner, cons sing in a Mean, equally diflant from theExtremes, observable in the propos’d Examples, has not only a Latitude, notprecisely determind in these different Works, which, for the mof part, areequally approYd ; but has likewise no reason in it that should require so Ve-ry nice and precise an ExaBnefs to make it agreeable j and that by conse-quence, properly speaking, ArchiteBure has no Proportions true in them-selves 3 it remains to be examind, if we can efiablish those that are pro-bable and likely, founded upon poftive Reasons, without departing too farfrom the Proportious usually received.

The Modern ArchiteBs, who have wrote of the Pules of the five Ordersof ArchiteBure, have treated of this SubjeB two Ways: Some have only col-leBedfrom the Ancient and Modern Works, the mof illufrious and approYdExamples ; and as these Works contain different pules, they have contentedthemselves with propofng all, and comparing them together, without deter-mining scarce any thing as to the Choice we ought to make. Others havethought that in this Divers ty of Opinions of ArchiteBs, concerning the Pro-portions which ought to be obferYd in the several Members of each Order, itmight be permitted them to give their Judgments on those Opinions which hadall Authors, so great, that they could not efiablish a bad Choice : and theyhaVe even made no Scruple to propose their own private Sentiments, as apule: For we may fay, that Palladia, Vignola, Scamozzi, and most