Chap. XXXI.
PRINCIPLES OF PROPORTION.
1593
In proportioning the architrave, frieze, and cornice, care must be taken that no moreis laid upon the columns than their own bulk : when the latter are one diameter apart,this quantity will be greater in height than when they are further distant; so thatthe greater the intercolumniation, the lighter in appearance will be the entablature, thecolumns still bearing the same weight, nor need they be increased after it is ascertainedthat they are competent to their duty : to do so would be to employ material in excess,which it should be the aim of an architect to avoid.
If we now examine the portico of the Pantheon, we cannot fail to perceive the agreementexisting between the parts supported and their supports.
The mean diameter of the columns isTheir height, including capital and baseThe solid content of eachConsequently the cube of the whole 8 is
The mean width of the architrave and frieze is
Their height -------
The solid contents of the entire length, 110 feet, is -The mean width of the cornice is 7 feet, length 114 feet, height 3-6 feet,and its cubical contents ------
The solid content of entablature
ft. in.-47- 46 5
765 10-6
6027 0
ft. in.
- 4 3
- 6 8-3
3125 11
2793 0
5918 11
which leaves little more than 100 cubical feet of difference between one and the other;and if the crown moulding returned on the flank be comprised, the quantity contained inthe entablature would equal that of the eight columns.
The pediment is omitted altogether in this calculation, it being in reality, though notin appearance, an additional load for the eight columns beyond their regular entablature,which is of marble, and weighs probably 452 tons ; the granite columns with their marblebases and capitals are something more than that quantity, and these, including the entabla-ture and pediment, probably contain upwards of 1000 tons of material.
The Capitals of the Columns of the Pantheon are admitted to rank among the best examplesfound in Rome : though not so highly and elaborately worked as those which decorate thecolumns of the temple of Jupiter Stator, yet they are remarkable for the elegant
Fig. 2984.
CAPITALS OF THE PANTHEON.