e a y
351
E G Y
tn^ U3^Ust
the,.' ev er^ e fU of
ts ty ‘ utility is not its only characteristic : but in beauty,. as in strength and originality, it deserves the highestdij)j c at j°n. And when we remember the extraordinary8 Urr 0 U ties V which a work like this must have beenoti) er Un<le d, we must own, that had its constructor left no8 t% “^ento of his genius, the Eddystone alone would beto immortalize the name of Smeaton .
Soli,} the intersection of the two planes or surfaces of aiiig t' Q ' V j h is consequently either straight or curved, accord-1 le direction of the surfaces. See Arris.
"'eh,
is also that side of a rectangular prismatic bod)',
hie tg Contu >ns the length and thickness, but in this sense of1° }, rm » the body to which it applies is generally understoodvery thin ■ thus we say, “ the edge of a door,” the
eiL,
vft n .
fioc 01 a hoard,” meaning the narrow side.gr° U|l , E or, A Tool, the meeting of the surfaces, whenJj, t( i a very acute angle.
of w ®'Tools, all those which chip or shave in the operationkt) ' n g.
0f tuft in carpentry, the reducing of the edges of ribs
Opl^ 3 . whether externally or internally, so as to range in'’""Ur ’ ° r ' n aI1 y curved surface required ; backing is a par-t>bs 0 ,. Case °f edging, and only applies to the outer edges of8 Ppl; es ^ af ters, but ed ging, or ranging, is a general term, and^ee y (e E| hiiierently, either to the backing or internal surface.
«tr.
t)I'>Ttfr r ” w Backing and Ranging,
. /•,._.... r..:_
oh!
"etefi
Plied
"rch,
cither for use or ornament,
to
a mean or inferior
The word is not usuallybut to temples,
building,
cee jj ’ °r elegant mansions, and to other great structures.. House, Temple, &c.
• I ' a «cie ’ ^ Hatin, cedilis, from cedes , a Duilding,) an officer*"gs of ,'o % tae > whose business was to superintend build
os
Portin'! hinds, more especially those of a public character,liphl a queducts, bridges, &c.
Ofti, i . HY, a representation or likeness of anything, the' lf h Uttl , ln 8 Particularly applied to sculptured representationser «et e q a ^ ®gures. Such effigies were very common on tombsV 0 j. r °‘n the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, and^ H»e n Var i°us materials, stone, marble, alabaster, and even,, JltJo’^cions metals.
« h ’ 0l 'naments in the form of oblong spheroids, having"1 th-- a t f ■
i e ^ "Cf axis inclined, projecting at the top and recedingQ , tota > but each axis in a plane perpendicular to the" in t j° t l‘ e ovolo. In straight mouldings, all the axes willi cra t -j Sa me plane ; but in annular mouldings, or those" tl le p ound an axis, all the axes of the spheroids will be. l|( l win 1 a ce of a cone, whose vertex will be downwards,treated ei ' m ' na te in the apex. The eggs are most generally° 1,„ ’. 0r i*ave their upper part cut off by a plane parallel
See Echinus.
L^Ptiaii 1 lAN ARCHITECTURE. The character of the(p'i Us t 0 8 ’ as developed in early history, would naturally^ of ^ Su Ppose, that an inquiry into their style and man-C 0, ‘ly U , “'S would form a subject for interesting study,lii e st i n ° ll “c antiquary, but also to all such as take any<, 0 p general history; and such doubtless is the case. TheofVted 1 . Piace attaches an unusual interest to everything°tli Wlt * 1 . !t - tlie early history of Egypt , like thatSif^rrati 61 P r ' ln ®val nations, we know but little for certain,of „ ' Ve dating back beyond a certain period, having anabout it, which it is not easy to penetrate,^ |S s , 's more especially true, as regards the origin of
and others, we shall have to carry back the date of its originfar beyond the period generally assigned as the commence*ment of history. Manetho gives us a series of dynastiesupon dynasties, which, if successive, reach beyond the boundsof time; to obviate which difficulty, it has been suggested, thatthey were not all successive, but several contemporaneous,reigning over different parts of the country; but, indeed, thewhole matter would seem to be fabulous, for in the sameplace is related the gigantic stature of several kings, theirwonderful exploits, and other circumstances characteristic ofmystical and confused tradition. The first king alluded to byhistorians is Menes or Men, who is supposed to have livedabove 2,000 years b. c., about the time of the foundation ofAssyria by Nimrod, and of the reign of the Chinese emperorYao, with whom the historical period of China begins. It isdoubtful which of these nations came first into existence ; weare inclined to give the preference to the Assyrians, but which-ever takes the lead,_ there was probably but little differencebetween them in point of time. It is certain that Egypt stoodout pre-eminent in civilization, and that, too, at a very earlyperiod; its success in the cultivation of the arts, and in the pur-suit of science, was greater than that of any contemporaneouspeople, as is evident from their remains to be seen at the pre-sent day. At the close of Manetho ’s sixteenth dynasty, theirruption of the Hyksos, or shepherds, is supposed to havetaken place ; his seventeenth dynasty consisting of shepherd-kings, from which period it is alleged that the erection of theexisting edifices must commence, all the previously existingbuildings having been destroyed by the shepherds. Asa proof of this, is adduced the circumstance, that at Carnac,and other of the oldest monuments of Thebes , sculpturesand painted stones, of good workmanship, are to be found,used as mere materials in the body of the walls.
Besides the ancient authors already mentioned, we haveStrabo and Diodorus Siculus , who have given some accountof Egypt and its buildings, and to these we shall have torefer occasionally as we proceed.
In turning to modern writers on this subject, we shall findbut few who enter fully into the subject previous to the com-mencement of the present century, little or nothing havingbeen known of Egyptian buildings, unless it were of thePyramids, until the French expedition, at the close of thelast century ; no satisfactory delineations of the temples, ortheir details, had been taken, but only such sketches as werecalculated to convey some general idea of their characteristicmassiveness. To Denon, and the contributors to the greatFrench work on this subject, we are principally indebted forour present information. Pococke and Norden have treatedsomewhat largely on their researches in this country, buttheir remarks are too general and too loose to be of muchservice. Denon had advantages unattainable by any of hispredecessors ; independent of his own high qualifications, hisefforts were seconded by the able assistance of men of talent,sent out for the purpose, themselves well fitted for the task.Besides these, we may mention Belzoni and Cbampollion; and,amongst our own countrymen, Savary and Wilkinson.
According to Manetbo s account, the temples to which theremains described by Denon belong, were erected by the firstdynasties of the Pharaohs , or about 2,200 before Christ :these first structures, however, were destroyed by the inva-ding shepherds, as before noticed. These usurpers were, inturn, driven out by the Pharaohs , who were restored to theirthrone about 2,000 years b.c., and thereupon set aboutrebuilding the temples, the remains of which are seen atthis day.
The character of Egyptian architecture is that of massygrandeur and severe simplicity, as exhibited in the simple,