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republic was under the direction of Pericles : at this periodalso existed the first of statuaries, Praxiteles . Where thateminent artist and their admirable architects were employed,in the words of Pausanias, “ they rendered the whole of Acro-polis as an entire ornament.” There are various characteristicdistinctions to be made in the several orders of architecturewhicli distinguish the Grecian people : the Doric is eminentfor primaeval simplicity; the Tuscan embraces more ornament;the Ionic unites simplicity and elegance; but the sum of allexcellence appears to be united in the Corinthian : the Com-posite is also a most elegant order, but appears to have addedbut little to the Corinthian elegance and majesty. Variousnations have a great diversity of architecture ; as the Egyp-tian, Persian (distinguished bv human figures supporting en-tablatures,) Hindostanee, Arabasque or Morisquo, which arevery peculiar, generally having the walls to project most atthe top, which is indicative of the natural jealousy of all ori-ental people ; they all regarding their women as their chieftreasure, it appears meant for their especial preservation.
A greater simplicity does not appear any where than in thearchitecture of the Druids, consisting of most extensivecircles of immense stones, chiefly raised perpendicular withoccasionally a larger single stone placed upon the apex of twoothers horizontally. There are in Britain numerous of theremains of these constructions, the chief are Stonehenge ,near Salisbury; at Avebury, also, in Wiltshire ; Pomona , inthe Orkneys; Rolliight, in Oxfordshire : but the mosteminent spot for Druid temples was Mona, or Anglesey, inWales . The reason for such apparently unmeaning erec-tions will be found in their peculiar belief, in the religionthey professed.
The Saxon is a very heavy order of architecture : it wasused in this kingdom much in the erection of religiousedifices, and is frequently found mixed with the Norman insuch structures. The grand and most obvious distinction isa semicircular arch, with massy columns variously ornamented,and most frequently the columns which support the same archare diversely sculptured. The chief structures of the kindin this kingdom are Gloucester Cathedral ; MalmsburyAbbey, Wilts; some more cathedrals; Ledbury Church,Herefordshire ; several churches in Rutland, Lincoln,Somerset, Devon, and other counties.
There appears to us to be no order of architecture bettercalculated for the purpose, to which it is generally adopted thanthe chaste and pure Norman style, barbarously denominatedGothic : it affords a great variety of light airy beauty, and