Gabb, Thomas: Finis pyramidis or Disquisitions concerning the antiquity and scientific end of the great pyramid of Giza, or ancient Memphis, in Egypt, and of the first standard of linear measure (Retford, 1806)

( 18? J

liare place in the canon of symmetries, the modern*
have no authority or precedent from Grecian architect
tare, to assign appropriate symmetries to jt. And the con*
elusion feirly is, that the stylobate is not a constituent
©f an intire exemplar of Grecian architecture. But I have
already observed an exemplar which f substitute for
order, is, after all* foreign to Grecian usage ; the subject,
which contained columns in their appropriate characters
was the primary, the columns only the secondary, idea;
as in Temples, a prostyle, hexastyle, octastyle &c, were
epithets used for substantives, which were necessarily
understood to make sense of such terms. And when
we say a Doric hexastyle, an Ionic octastyle &c, the
Sense is good, and the terms intelligible and architects
ral ; and it would be equally good sense to say, an
hexastyle or, an octastyle ordination. But to say, an
order or ordination of architecture, or, the Doric or
Ionic order, were to utter terms of no meaning, and
•sounds without sense. The business of order, or, ordir
nation, is, to settle the number, the size, and distances
of columns, walls, pofticees &c; bût the character, or,
ünd of column and entablature, is clearly ascertained
by the names Doric, Ionic, Corinthian. And it is equally
-incongruous to say, the Ionic order, as to predicate, Ionic
ipctastyle, or, Ionic systyle, because Ionic is here predi-
cated of octastyle, instead of columns : but β» Ionic oc*
#¡í/.yfc jaeans an ostastyle Temple with Ionic columns»

SECT.