IIISTOKY OF ENGINEERING.
Book I.
82
The civil engineer, when calledupon to work out masses of rock, hasopportunities afforded him to imitatethese original conceptions, and pro-duce an effect upon stone which al-most indicates the employment of an-other material; not that the eye shouldbe wantonly deceived at any time.
In these sepulchral abodes thecharacter aimed at is that of anhabitation ; the hewer of stone herehas, perhaps, impressed upon hismaterial the resemblance of thedwelling once tenanted by the oc-cupier of the tomb ; from so humblean effort we have handed down, in animperishable material, the style ofconstruction used by the Evcians ata very early period, and so uni-versally adopted by the nationsspread along the shores of theMediterranean. We must not in-quire into the fitness of the materialemployed to give expression, butallow praise to the design, on ac-count of its conveying to us a re-semblance of what was most dear to ''the deceased when living ; here wehave an abode provided for the dead,far more cheerful in its character thanthe pyramid or conical mound ofearth.
Fig. 07
That the inhabitants of Lveia retain the forms of their earlier constructed buildings, wehave evidence in the ex-amples before us, wherethe several cottages andstorehouses resemble tem-ples. (See.Zfy.98.) Othersbuilt of mud and straware covered with tim-bers, on which is spreada layer of stone, abovewhich is laid a tenaciousearth, kept pressedand rolled down till itbecomes perfectly watcr-
Fig. 09.
tight. Plants spring up on this artificial terrace, which may have suggested the variousforms which the Greek architects gave to the covering of their buildings. (See Jiff. 99.)
The maritime works of the Greeks are now only known to us by reading the accountshanded down by their historians. Most of their harbours are destroyed, and theirconstructions in stone overthrown, yet, by a careful examination of the remains, muchmight yet be discovered •. the smallness of their vessels did not require very deep water fortheir security; shallow seas or inlets from the main were usualy preferred by their ma-riners, around which they constructed arsenals, magazines for stores, lighthouses, and otherbuildings necessary for commerce and for protection.