Fergusson, James: The illustrated handbook of architecture: being a concise and popular account of the different styles of architecture preveiling in all ages and all countries (London, 1859)

Chap. III.

OEDEES.

303

COBINTHIAN.

The fate of this order in
the hands of the Eomans was
different from tiiat of the otlier
two. The Doric and Ionic
oi'ders had reached their acme
of perfection in the hands of
the Grecian artists, and seem
to have heen incapable of
further improvement. The
Corinthian, on the contrary,
was a recent invention ; and
althongh nothing can surpass
the elegance and grace with
which the Greeks adorned it,
this new capital never ac-
quired with them that fulness
and strength requisite to ren-
der it an appropriate archi-
tectural ornament. These
were added to it by the Eo-
mans, or rather perhaps by
Grecian artists acting under
their direction, who thus, as
shown in the woodcut No.
242, produced a column which
for richness combined with
harclly been surpassed.

242. Corinthian Order. From theTempie of Jupiter Stator.

proportion and architectural fitness has
The base is elegant and appropriate; the shaft is
of the most pleasing proportion, and the fluting gives it just the requisite
degree of richness and no more ; and the capital, though bordering on


meaning and all the grace of the order. This was not effected at once,
but was the result of a great. many attempts to get over the difficulties
inherent in the employment of this order.

When used as a three-quarter column these alterations were not
required, and then
the order looked
more like what it
originally was ;
but even in this
state it was never
equal to the Greek
examples, ancl gradually clete-
riorated to the corrupt form
as seen in the Temple of Con-
cord in the Eorum, which is
the most degenerate example
of the order now to be found
in Eoman remains.