Grass Valley telegraph., 1858-06-19
A New DiscOvery-Ancient Archilec-


New York Times:
"First p word on new discovery. Why
is 1t that the present century is so far infe-
rior to the centuries of the dark ages in the
harmony and sublimity of its architecture
For long time it has been an~opinion that
| the singular harmony which reigns in the
proportions of the architec tural monuments
of that age was not the result of mere acci-
dent, and that there must have been some
mathematical secret unknown to the present
age. This secret German. Mr.. Henzle-
mann. has found. It was secret which be-
longed to antiquity as we'll as to the Greek
and Roman epochs. 1t presided as we'll at
the construction of Solomon's temple as at
Parthenons of Rome and Athens. The dis
coveE!tof Mr. Henzlemann was the result of
study. W45h hir nlasnb1ine, compass and
square, be travelled through Germany, Ita-
ly. France, aud England, measuring and cal
cnlatlng, and finding in all the structures of
the different ages of the past the same bar
mOnlous lines. He has demonstrated beyond
contradiction the CO relation of the Greek
with the mddle-age architecture.
This secret, which was the property of the
Brother Masons (Free Masons of the present
day., from the time of the building of Solo
mons temple down to the fifteenth, perhaps
even to the sixteenth century, was at last
lost by them, and the sublime art of archi-
lecture entered its age of decadence, The
Greeks and Hebrews took great pains to keep
this secret. Pythagoras in Greece. Moses,
David, and Solomon among the Israelites,
were among the number of it's possessors.-
The Free Masons, who are the descendants
of these Israelite Masons, were undoubtedly
the heirs of the art of Hiram. the great ar>
chltect, but unfortunately they bave lost it.
In the PGraLipOaneneS we see David giving
to his son the plans and descriptions which
he had received from God, to raise him a
temple at Jerusalem; and in the proportions
and forms indicated by the different books OF
the Bible. we can trace the elements OF the
harmonious system recognized by Mr.. Hen
zlemann."
The reported discovery by this German
architect, according to the correspondent of
the Times, appears to be creating a great
degree of interest in France. so much so that
NJ. Lenoir, a distinguished architect of Paris,
has submitted report upon the same to
the Minister of Public instruction and Wor-
ship. NJ. Lenoir not only endorses the real
ity of the discovery but supports it's truth
and correctness with additional proofs.
To US, at this distance from the scene of
the alleged discovery, it will be time enough
to enquire whether it is reality or mere
morbid architectural dream, when we learn
definitely what it is. Meanwhile we can
keep it in view. and await further develop
ments.
Itwould really be fne thing, as the cor
respondent of the Times says. 'If the me-
thodical plodding Of this German has really
seized upon the living spirit of the dead body
of ancient architecture, as it hovered over
the glorious ruins of its material shrines-
what would all the glory of all the antigua
rians be compared to this ~
Architecture, in its simplest forms was ev-
identity among the earliest inventions of man,
but its progress varied In almost every local
ity, taking its peculiarities from the form of
structures first used, by the leading races
Whatever rude structures the climate and
materials, most convenient, obliged the in
habitants of a country to use at first, the
same style of structure, in all its prominent
features. was afterwards kept up and i'm
proved upon by their refined and progressive
posterity.
| From this cause the inhabitants of ancient
Petrea and Egypt who first inhabited caves
and grottoes adopted the dreary, sombre
style of architecture now known as Egyptian.
The Greeks first occupied cabins, formed
probably of logs, and hence the various
orders of Greek architecture differing so
materially from the earlier Egyptians The
Gothic was derived from the bowers of trees
amid which the founders dwelt in their
primitive days, and took from thence the Pc
culiarities of the forest in the sharp angles
and tall spires of their architecture. The
| Chinese style of architecture, with its pavil-
ion oofs and pointed minarets, is evidently
moulded from the tents of the rowing Tar
tars. Thus local circumstances everywhere
produced their peculiar styles of archtec-
ture, which were brought to the utmost de-
gree of perfection as each different people
arrived at their eliminating point in arts
and refnements. Of the progressive steps
of architecture history affords but little ac-
count. All the wealth and skill of the an
clients appear to have been lavished upon their
temples and imperial cities, and modern re-
searches have revealed the most stnpendous
monuments of labor. such as would absolute
ly appal the inhabitants of the present age.
1t is matter of serious doubt. notwith
standing the plausibility with which the
above discovery is announced. whether any
general principles of architecture, common
to the cultivated nations of antiquity, and
unknown to moderns, ever existed, except in
the imaginative brain of some theoretical
enthusiast.
The harmony and sublimity of ancient ar
chitecture, without doubt, grew up naturally
and gradually, as above related, taking its
various forms from the different circumstan-
| ces under which men lived. The mechanical