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well-defined outline, and in the colossal dimensions of theirtemples, and the immense blocks of material employed intheir construction. The great object of the builders seemsto have been, that the strength and durability portrayed in: the prodigious magnitude of their structures should serve toJ typify their own greatness. They did not consider, wheni they were erecting their temples, that they were building! them for an age, but for eternity; nor, comparatively speaking,were they deceived in the estimate of their works ; for now,j after the lapse of three or four thousands of years, we havesome portions which are likely to last as many more centuries,

; unless wantonly destroyed by the hand of man. Had, indeed,j the buildings only to contend with the ravages of time, wej should have many a structure perfect, where it is now aheap of ruins: had it not been for the reckless destruction ofthese wonderful monuments by Cambyses , it is questionablei whether they would not all have been entire at the presenti day, and certainly in a better state of preservation thanj many modern buildings which have not numbered as manyj ten years as the former have centuries. Even now, thej carving, and, in some instances, paintings, to be seen in thej ruins, are as fresh and bright as if only just executed.

The immense size of the stones employed, and the mecha-i nical art necessary for transporting them from the quarry,j and afterwards raising them to the required elevation in thej temples, when building, cause these sacred structures to! appear like works of superhuman labour. In every degree,j they exhibited a solemn majesty of style, and imposing| grandeur; while austere simplicity, combined with order,uniformity, and regularity, pervade the whole design,j This, with the solidity and massiveness of the parts, and thej prodigious dimensions of the stones, imparted an air of the most: impressive and awful sublimity on the mind of the beholder.

Belzoni, who visited Egypt , observes, in his enthusiastic| manner, when entering this magnificent temple—“I wasj lost in a mass of colossal objects, every one of which wasI more than sufficient of itself to attract my attention; I; seemed alone in the midst of all that is most sacred in theworld; a forest of enormous columns, adorned all roundi with beautiful figures, and various ornaments, from top tobottom; the graceful shape of the lotus, which forms thebell-shaped capitals, and which is so well-proportioned tothe columns ; the friezes, also adorned in every part withsymbolical figures in low relief, representing battles, pro-cessions, triumphs, priests, and sacrifices ; all relating tothe ancient history of the country. The walls of the sanc-tuary, usually formed of red porphyry granite ; the highportal, seen at a distance from the openings of this vastlabyrinth of sacred edifices on each side of me, had such aneffect upon my soul as to separate me in imagination fromthe rest of mortals, exalt me on high above all, and cause meto forget entirely the trifles and follies of life !” “It furtherappears,” he says, on entering the city of Thebes , “ likeentering a city of giants, who, after a long conflict, were alldestroyed, leaving ruins of their various temples as the onlyproof of their former existence.” Champollion exclaims ofCarnac, “ These porticos must be the work of men onehundred feet in height;” and Denon adds, “ Such struc-tures appear like dreams, or the works of giants !”

Of the impression made upon the mind of Denon by thesestupendous structures, we have sufficient evidence in hiswork on the subject; the few following passages have beenselected from a multitude of a similar kind.

Of the portico of Hermopolis , he says, “ This was the firstmonument which gave me an idea of the ancient Egyptian architecture, the first stones that I had seen which hadpreserved their original distinction without being altered or ,

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deformed, and had remained there for four thousand 'J ^here I fancied I saw engraven on every stone the g*Posterity—Eternity. It gave an idea of the immense^and high perfection to which the arts had arrivedcountry. If a peasant should be drawn out from m ^ j , 8cottage, and placed before such an edifice as this, 'f tvf ee ttnot believe that there must exist a wide difference ^ an d,himself and the beings who were able to construe^ ^. g j gwithout any idea of architecture, would he not say, 0 rthe work of a god; a man could not dare to o° ’inhabit it.’ ” , . n less

This is his first impression, nor is his admira 1 ^jteapparent at the close of his researches ; novelty maywonder and interest, but merit alone can maintaiAt a later period, the description of Tentyra calls °following remarks:— . r tba®

“ Nothing is more simple and better put toget £gfP'the few lines which compose this architecture. ■*. nat j 0 nS,tians, borrowing nothing from the style of 0 ^ ier d U ityhave here added no foreign ornament, no su P ermaterials; order and simplicity are the principuhli®*'*^'they have followed, and they have carried them to s ^ ^cbAt this point they have stopped, and have attache t jj 0 ugbimportance to preserving the unity of design, tnathey have loaded the walls of these edifices with no n ®inscriptions, historical and scientific representation , er glthese rich additions intersects a single line of t tb®plan, all of which are religiously preserved un ' )r0 , gn c loS®sumptuous decorations which appear to the eye ye fell

to the building, all vanish at a short distance, an —itii

to view the grand elements of architectural coiwhich are dictated by sound reason. It never £ plat*climate, all that is wanted therefore is a coverI £° n0 r p®°*bands to give shade, but beyond this neither roo ^ g 0 iiditY'diment are added; the plain-slope is the principle 0 . n g up'they have therefore adopted this form for every firsjporter, doubtless with the idea that stability i egge ntia*impression that architecture should give, and is a ^ tb®constituent of this art. "With these people the 1 q £ flisimmortality of the Deity is presented by the eter^/ alwaystemple ; these ornaments, which are always ratl ? -dines® Pconsistent, always significant, demonstrate a s ^ tr aiOprinciple, a taste founded upon truth „M 1 “convictof reasoning; and if we even had not a full a bst raCthe eminent height to which they had attained m w jjj c b v/esciences, their architecture alone, in the state i t da/ 9now find it, would give the observer of the P ^j^van 00 ’high opinion of the antiquity of this nation,^of 1 3and the impressive gravity of its character. _ fatig ue ^ •Of Carnac he at last exclaims—“One 13 con cept'° 9 gdescribe, and to read, and to think, of such a ^ 0 f tafter having seen it, one can hardly credit the r ^ 0 f tb® 1 ^existence of so many structures collected in one , $ ^ n ee) "size, of the determined resolution (constanee o eX pepS®exacted their erection, and of the incalcula ^

such magnificence.” _ v 1 itect lire ’,,vlt

Of the msthetic character of Egyptian arc ^ wb 1 jauthor observes:—“ These monuments,imprinted on the mind the respect due to gC jenc® j.the divinity, were the open volumes in w hi® Br oniulg at aunfolded, morality dictated, and the useful ar t be 3 * geverything spoke, every object was animate pr 1

mind. The opening of the doors, the angles, ^^jrabl®recess, still presented a lesson, a precept o ^ fea tu ^ c tmony; and the lightest ornament on the g r ^ t j, e »bsthe architecture, revealed under living imagtruths of astronomy.”