The Universal British Builder.

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were under the same predicament with respect to theheight of the mouldings ; and in order to remedyone defect, plunged into numberless absurdities.

The proportions of the orders are of such sensiblemagnitudes that nothing artificial can surpass. I sin-cerely wish, that every professor of Architecturewas convinced of this; for instead of gaudy, weshould see magnificent productions; and for artsand sciences, we might justly vie with the world,and bid the greatest nation defiance.

I do not mean by what I have advanced, that anArchitect should be confined to produce nothing butthe works of the ancients. No : I must beg my read-er to understand, that I have the greatest venerationfor taste and improvement, and hold that to be thegreat support of the individual: but I would not ex-tend this beyond the rule of propriety; I wouldnot, because it is the fashion to wear a club to myhair, stretch that beyond the bounds of reason, tothe enormous size of my leg, nor, because it is thetaste of the times, to make small cornices and largefriefes to my rooms, to be in the very pink of themode, make all friefes and no cornice at all, which,to the disgrace of beauty and propriety, is now al-most the cafe. There is a medium or strikingeffect in all the works of art, like the perfection ofnature, which cannot be overtopped. But this iswithin the limits of beauty, which I shall mentionhereafter : Therefore shall only propose a standardfor the propriety of walls, consequence of light,size of cnimnies, &c. and then give some observa-tions on the beauties of building. — What propor-tions of unity the present taste of building has or willbear with propriety, I shall mention in my criterionof practice separately as they occur.

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