DECORATION XXVII. CORNICE AND CAPITAL 381

two great families of capitals are therefore distinguished, not merely by their concave and convex contours, but by the ornamentation being left outside the bell of the one, and cut into the bell of the other; so that, in either case, the ornamental portions will fall between the dotted lines at e, Fig. 5, and the pointed oval, or vesica piscis,¹ which is traced by them, may be called the Limit of ornamentation.

§ 38. Several distinctions in the quantity and style of the ornament must instantly follow from this great distinction in its position. First, in its quality. For, observe; since in the Doric profile, c, of Fig. 5, the contour itself is to be composed of the surface of the ornamentation, this ornamentation must be close and united enough to form, or at least suggest, a continuous surface; it must, therefore, be rich in quantity and close in aggregation; otherwise it will destroy the massy character of the profile it adorns, and approximate it to its opposite, the concave. On the other hand, the ornament left projecting from the concave must be sparing enough, and dispersed enough, to allow the concave bell to be clearly seen beneath it; otherwise it will choke up the concave profile, and approximate it to its opposite, the convex.

§ 39. And, secondly, in its style. For, clearly, as the sculptor of the concave profile must leave masses of rough stone prepared for its outer ornament, and cannot finish them at once, but must complete the cutting of the smooth bell beneath first, and then return to the projecting masses (for if we were to finish these latter first, they would assuredly, if delicate or sharp, be broken as he worked on): since, I say, he must work in this foreseeing and predetermined method, he is sure to reduce the system of his ornaments to some definite symmetrical order before he begins; and the habit of conceiving beforehand all that he has to do, will probably render him not only more orderly in its arrangement, but more skilful and accurate in its

¹ [The Vesica Piscis (fish bladder), or in French “the mystic almond,” is an oval with pointed end, but in reality struck from two centres and forming part of two circles cutting each other; a frequent form of aureole in Christian art.]

[Version 0.04: March 2008]