87 ESSAY V. PROPORTION, OR THE SYMMETRY AND EURITHM Symmetria cujus rationem diligentissime Architecti tenere debent." analysis of and sym not suff 1. PROPORTION is a subject upon which Vitruvius Vitruvius's cannot be mistaken; but the beautiful distinction eurithm which he has handed down to us of Eurithm, and metry, Symmetry, seems in no way to have been noticed by ciently esmodern writers, so as to give us the least idea of the great importance which obviously attaches to it. teemed. tant sub ject, Burke 2. When I talk of the importance which obviously An imporattaches to the division of Vitruvius into eurithm and symmetry, I of course conceive that every one acknowledges, that proportion is capable of being agreeable or disagreeable. It would be hardly possible to though doubt such a truth, had not a great writer started thought such a possibility; that celebrated person, Edmund no part of Burke, seems to have been as remarkable in his beauty. opinions on proportion, as he was on utility. Though the admiration of beautiful proportion is in every mouth, though its effects have often been enlarged proportion gument. upon in the Corinthian pillar, in the human figure, in the proportion of entire edifices, and all the various works of nature, it is remarkable, that the great Burke should have thought proportion no part of A false ar- beauty; he argues, that "if it was, the same proportion ought to be found in all beautiful objects.” Without entering farther into the subject of a future essay on character, where the fallacy of such an argument will more fully appear, it must be evident to every one, that if this were true, we should not see every day so many cases, where the most different objects are equally beautiful, though with different forms and having remotely different proportion, and yet the proportion in all is perhaps, what gives the greatest appearance of perfection; in fact this argument is as preposterous, as if a person were to say, "a rose is not a beautiful flower, because, if it was, all beautiful flowers ought to be roses :" as there are no stronger arguments against it than this, we may proceed to consider the power of proportion as acknowledged. Its application in all its various combinations will come more under our observation in the essay on character; but without reference to this, we shall simply consider, what is not offensive in proportion; and to understand this, we cannot dispense with the Vitruvian distinction of eurithm and symmetry. This essay should be on diathe 3. Vitruvius, who so obscurely explains this, and before that all the other qualities in composition, has placed diathesis before proportion; if, however, diathesis means effective arrangement, it can hardly be understood without proportion; it is for this reason, that sis. here proportion has the precedence: but this will be more dwelt upon in the next essay. on eurithm and sym 4. This important distinction of eurithm and sym- Vitruvius metry, which should be so forcibly impressed on our minds, and without which, neither diathesis, nor metry. character, can be rightly understood, is given by Vitruvius in these words, "Eurithmia est venusta species commodusque in compositionibus memborum aspectus. Hæc efficitur, cum membra operis convenientia sunt, altitudinis ad latitudinem, latitudinis ad longitudinem, et ad summam omnia respondeant suæ symmetriæ. Item symmetria est ex ipsius operis membris conveniens consensus, ex partibus que separatis, ad universæ figuræ speciem, ratæ partis responsus, ut in hominis corpore e cubito, pede, palmo, digito, ceterisque partibus symmetros est, sic est in operum perfectionibus." There is nothing obscure in this, except the passage "ad summam sua respondeant symmetria," where symmetry and eurithm are evidently confused together; so that upon the whole we may explain them in the following manner. defined. 5. Eurithm is the proportion of any one part, mem- Eurithm ber or composition, or the beautiful rithm or measure of the length or height of an object to its breadth. 6. Thus, we may talk of the eurithm of a house, Explained. which is composed of many less parts, each of which has its own particular eurithm: and whether we talk of the eurithm of the whole, or of one of its parts, the same explanation would apply. of symme 7. Symmetria implies a measuring together: it Derivation might be said, that eurithmia is a measuring together tria. of length and breadth; so that the derivation of Symmetry defined. Explained. Our present object, what? Vitruvius gives no summary guide to proportions. symmetria, does not embrace all that is really meant by it. 8. Symmetry, however, must be here understood to mean the rythms or the measures of the length, breadth, and height (or any two of them) of two or more distinct wholes; it is, to speak more plainly, the rythm or proportion of any two or more distinct eurithms. 9. As, therefore, symmetry necessarily involves more than one whole part or member, we may talk of the symmetry of the whole house, with any of its parts, as a pillar, door, &c.; or we may talk of the symmetry of any two small parts, as of a pillar to a door, or of a pillar to a pedestal. When, therefore, we talk of the symmetry of a building, we should mean the proportion of all the parts, one with another. 10. A proper understanding of this distinction, and the results that spring from it, as we shall see presently, will solve all the seeming mysteries in proportion; we must, however, first consider, in what the excellence of proportion, independent of its giving character, or forming contrast consists; or, in fact, in what consists the beauty of a most simple eurithm, unconnected with any other parts; in this we shall find, that the principle of mere good proportion applies as much to symmetry, as to eurithm. 11. In Vitruvius's writings, we find the proportions of the different parts of buildings given, but no general rule or rules, as a summary guide in all cases. It may even be a question, whether our British author Hogarth, who wrote upon the analysis of beauty, ever had such an opinion of Vitruvius as even to study that author, for he seems to think the whole theory of proportion a mystery: in quoting the preface to Le Blond's translation of the French treatise on the Beau Ideal, Beau ideal. though he seems to think the work quoted a meagre performance, he quotes passages, which evidently show some knowledge in the author of the Vitruvian distinction of eurithm, and symmetry; for when speaking of the sublime parts of the art, he reports him to use this phrase, "a touching and moving unity, a pathetic agreement, or concord, not only of each member to its body, but also of each part to the member of which it is a part." Though this Though this passage certainly remotely intimates some knowledge of eurithm and symmetry, we are still left in the dark as to the principles of good proportion. 12. As a further proof of the mystery, the principles of proportion, which the ancient Greeks followed, are supposed by the modern to be involved. The same French author, in a former part of the preface, is reported to state, that "the Greeks cared not to communicate the secret of the analogy, but nevertheless the Romans used well the proportions, which the Grecians long before had reduced to certain rules." Proporposed to be mystery. tions sup involved in αναλογία : secret) 13. These certain rules of the Greek analogy, Ho- The Greek garth seems to have considered the grand secret: what then is this grand secret of the avaλoya? On (the grand referring to Vitruvius, (lib. iii. cap. 1,) we find avaλo- merely yia means nothing more than proportion: we must means protherefore not be perplexed by so mysterious a word as the Greek analogia; but proceed to consider what portion. |