parallel to any of the fide walls, or colonnades, inftead of a deception that makes the building more extended than it is, you are cut off from a confiderable part (two thirds) of its actual length; and to prevent all poffibility of progreffion, the arms of the cross taking a new direction, make a right angle with the beam, and thereby wholly turn the imagination from the repetition of the former idea. Or suppose the spectator placed where he may take a direct view of fuch a building, what will be the confequence? the neceffary confequence will be, that a good part of the basis of each angle formed by the interfection of the arms of the cross, must be inevitably loft; the whole muft of course affume a broken unconnected figure; the lights must be unequal, here ftrong, and there weak; without that noble gradation, which the perspective always effects on parts difpofed uninterruptedly in a right line. Some or all of these objections will lie against every figure of a cross, in whatever view you take it. I exemplified them in the Greek cross, in which these faults appear the most strongly; but they appear in fome degree in all forts of croffes. Indeed there is nothing more prejudicial to the grandeur of buildings, than to abound in angles; a fault obvious in many; and owing to an inordinate thirst for variety, which, whenever it prevails, is fure to leave very little true taste.

SECT.

SECT. X.

MAGNITUDE IN BUILDING.

To the fublime in building, greatness of dimenfions feems requifite; for on a few parts, and thofe fmall, the imagination cannot rifse to any idea of infinity. No greatnefs in the manner can effectually compenfate for the want of proper dimenfions. There is no danger of drawing men into extravagant designs by this rule; it carries its own caution along with it. Because too great a length in buildings destroys the purpose of greatness, which it was intended to promote; the perspective will leffen it in height as it gains in length; and will bring it at last to a point; turning the whole figure into a fort of triangle, the poorest in its effect of almost any figure that can be prefented to the eye. I have ever obferved, that colonnades and avenues of trees of a moderate length, were without comparison far grander, than when they were fuffered to run to immenfe diftances. A true artist should put a generous deceit on the fpectators, and effect the noblest designs by easy methods. Designs that are vaft only by their dimensions, are always the fign of a common and low imagination. No work of art can be great, but as it deceives; to be otherwife is the preroga tive of nature only. A good eye will fix the me

.t.

dium betwixt an exceffive length or height (for the fame objection lies against both), and a short or broken quantity: and perhaps it might be af certained to a tolerable degree of exactness, if it was my purpose to defcend far into the particulars of any art.

SECT. XI.

INFINITY IN PLEASING OBJECTS.

INFINITY, though of another kind, caufes much of our pleasure in agreeable, as well as of our delight in fublime images. The spring is the pleasantest of the seasons; and the young of most animals, though far from being completely fafhioned, afford a more agreeable fenfation than the full-grown; because the imagination is entertained with the promise of fomething more, and does not acquiefce in the present object of the sense. In unfinished sketches of drawing, I have often feen fomething which pleased me beyond the best finishing; and this I believe proceeds from the cause I have juft now affigned.

SECT.

T

*ANOTHER fource of greatness is Difficulty. When any work feems to have required immenfe force and labour to effect it, the idea is grand. Stonehenge, neither for difpofition nor ornament, has any thing admirable; but thofe huge rude maffes of ftone, fet on end, and piled each on other, turn the mind on the immenfe force neceffary for fuch a work. Nay, the rudeness of the work increases this caufe of grandeur, as it excludes the idea of art and contrivance; før dexterity produces another fort of effect, which is different enough from this.

SE C T. XIII.

MAGNIFICENCE.

MAGNIFICENCE is likewife a fource of the fublime. A great profusion of things, which are splendid or valuable in themselves, is magnificent. The starry heaven, though it occurs fo very frequently to our view, never fails to excite an idea of grandeur. This cannot be owing to the stars themselves, feparately confidered. The number is

* Part IV. fect. 4, 5, 6.

certainly

certainly the cause. The apparent disorder augments the grandeur, for the appearance of care is highly contrary to our ideas of magnificence. Befides, the ftars lie in fuch apparent confusion, as makes it impoffible on ordinary occafions to reckon them. This gives them the advantage of a fort of infinity. In works of art, this kind of grandeur, which confifts in multitude, is to be very cautioufly admitted; becaufe a profufion of excellent things is not to be attained, or with too much difficulty; and because in many cafes this fplendid confusion would deftroy all ufe, which fhould be attended to in most of the works of art with the greatest care; befides it is to be confidered, that unless you can produce an appearance of infinity by your disorder, you will have diforder only without magnificence. There are, however, a fort of fire-works, and fome other things, that in this way fucceed well, and are truly grand. There are also many descriptions in the poets and orators, which owe their fublimity to a richnefs and pro-i fufion of images, in which the mind is fo dazzled as to make it impoffible to attend to that exact coherence and agreement of the allufions, which we should require on every other occafion. I do not now remember a more ftriking example of this, than the description which is given of the king's army in the play of Henry the Fourth:

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