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not confine ourselves to any one period of time, as the wordhas been variously applied under different circumstances.We find the word up-^iriKTiov employed by Herodotus , andalso by Homer, in their respective works, who seem to havegiven to it a very extensive signification. In one and thesame passage, (iii. 60,) Herodotus uses the term in two dif-I ferent senses, for he speaks of the “architect” of a tunnel

, for supplying water, as well as of the “ architect ” of the

great temple of Samos . Homer uses the same term to sig-nify a carpenter, a house-builder, and also a ship-builder. Itseems probable, then, that in these early ages, the word“ architect ” was not restricted to any one signification, butwas applied as circumstances required. In succeeding ages,however, when the more perfect civilization of mankindrequired structures not only more numerous and more ele-gant, but also in greater variety, and suited to multifarioususes, it was found inconvenient, if not utterly impracticable,for any single individual to qualify himself to superintend[ the construction of so great a variety of buildings. ThusI resulted a division of labour : the duties of the “ architect ”were alleviated by allotting to several the task originally: undertaken by one. Thus arose the distinct duties of archi-

tect and engineer, which are again subject to several subdi-visions, distinct departments of one grand and comprehensive| whole.

ARCHITECTOGRAPI-IIA, the description of ancientbuildings, as temples, theatres, amphitheatres, triumphalarches, baths, pyramids, tombs, mausoleums, aqueducts, &c.

ARCHITECTURE, the art of building. Did we applyto this word the signification derivable from the originalGreek, we should have before us a very extensive field forinvestigation. Custom, however, has limited the applicationof the term to the science of erecting artificial structures.

The origin of this department of science is involved inimpenetrable obscurity. It is reasonable to expect that man,

| a being of acute feelings, should soon have sought out some; j method of protecting himself against the inconveniences toI which his physical conformation rendered him obnoxious.

I Exposed to the vicissitudes of the weather and the variations1 j of temperature, he must, at a very early period, have dis-| covered some means of shelter and security ; the method,

: j however, which he adopted for effecting this object, is leftentirely to conjecture. Various speculative opinions havei been hazarded on the subject, remarkable for the most partnot more for the inventive imaginations of their authors,than for the crudeness and absurdity of the speculationsthemselves. Vitruvius, the first writer on the subject, hasi given a very elaborate, if not very correct account of thecontrivances of our primeval ancestors in the way of house-; : building ; this account, strange to say, has been transmittedas an authority from time to time almost down to our ownage, gathering in its progress additional strength from thenames of those who have given credence to its manifoldabsurdities.

1 In considering the subject, we must not forget that man-I kind originally inhabited a warm climate, where the incle-

; meney of the weather was comparatively but little felt, andI where consequently there was no need of such defences as inI a colder region. The chief inconvenience arose probably! from the extreme heat, a natural retreat from which wasi found in the shelter afforded by the luxuriant foliage of theI trees. We might reasonably suppose that, as there was no[ necessity for a very substantial edifice, tents formed of thel skins of beasts offered in sacrifice, or of other convenient' substance, would have formed the primitive dwellings ofmankind ; this, however, there is some reason to suppose,was not the case, as we read that Jabal was the father

of such as dwelt in tents, whereas Cain had built a citysometime before Jabal’s birth. What this city was, we haveno means of judging; of its materials and its form we arealike ignorant. The next mention made of a city in thesacred writings is that of Babylon, which was built byNimrod ; here it was that the famous tower of Babel wascommenced, in the building of which, it is stated, burntbricks and slime (bitumen) were made use of. The sameNimrod is related to have built Nineveh and three othercities. Whether the above were the first cities that werebuilt after the flood is left doubtful, for we find no mention Iin the sacred history of any Egyptian cities, yet doubtlesssuch must have existed at a very early period; we cannot,therefore, say for certain whether the sons of Cush orMizraim took the precedence in such works; nor can wetell whether the buildings seen by Herodotus and otherpagan historians were in any part the same as those whoseerection is mentioned by Moses. These, as well as all othersubjects connected with the early age3 of mankind, mustever remain matters of mere conjecture ; yet with respect tothe latter question, it does appear somewhat worthy of atten-tion, that Herodotus relates having visited, situate in themidst of Babylon, a tower of vast dimensions and unusual jheight ; the coincidence of the two accounts is, to say theleast, remarkable. If we allow the towers spoken of by the |two historians to be identical, and also that the separation ofmankind did not take place, at least to any extent, beforethe confusion of languages, we shall have no difficulty inaccounting for the remarkable affinity of the Persian , Hin-doo, and Egyptian architecture, especially with reference to !the pyramidal form of their structures: we shall also be (enabled to form some notion of the progress of mankind in !

this art, as well as of the nature and method of building at !

the period. :

We have hitherto been considering the first rise and pro- jgress of architecture in the earliest ages of the world ; we !must bear in mind, however, that some people in later ages ■have, by some means or other, lost all traces of the civiliza- :tion of their ancestors. This fact may appear strange, butit is not our part to account for it in this place ; the fact is j ibefore us, startling perhaps, but undeniable notwithstanding, jWe intend here briefly to consider, how those people, after j ;having lost all their previous knowledge of architectural ] jscience, set about to regain it. And here we might intro- j ;duce the theory of Vitruvius , but not, as he does, in the shape ! iof a general fixed rule ; for although it may be true, even in j ;the majority of cases, that the first rude attempts in the i !erection of dwellings have been, as he states, of a conical j jform, yet this was by no means universally the case. The i 'fact is, the method of building so much depended upon thecharacter of the people, the nature of the locality inhabitedby them, as well as that of its productions, upon the materialsand resources for building, and lastly, upon the exampleswhich nature more prominently set before them; that it is I

utterly impossible to lay down any rule as that by which j

mankind have been universally governed in the erection oftheir first structures. ;

Although Architecture had its rise doubtless in the con- !struction of buildings for the purposes of shelter and defence, Iyet it is no less certain that it is indebted for its rapid jadvancement, and its ultimate perfection, to the religiousfeelings of mankind. It is in the temples we look for beautyof design, for appropriateness of embellishment, for grandeur,ideality, and magnificence. Had it not been for religion,architecture would never have risen to that eminence whichit so early attained in the sacred edifices of the ancients;and which have attracted such universal admiration. It is