The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-11-12

than the rebuilding of the temple, for
the ruins, especially the architrave in
the eastern IS well as the western
front, are apparently ready to fall to
pieces at the slightest shock, and
should these architraves so the ruins
will have lost their chief grandeur;
nothing but the beautiful columns
would remain. Mr.. st. Clair presents
the following facts, which are inter-
esting enough to repeat:
'"The ruins are yellow as crocus from
age, and since the new Pentelic marble
is sugary white, the insertion of new
stone they argue would destroy all
venerableness But the real difficulty
is not sentimental. 1t is how to take
the ruins apartt without destroying too
much of them. Every good stone must
be preserved, If possible, and the ma
sonry is so complete that it wasinever
meant to be disturbed. 1t has been
suggested that the ruins be braced up
with bronze rods tiles and then let
alone; but this would not arrest the
disintegration that is steadily going on.
New stones must be inserted and, If
there Us money enough, the broken col
umns will be replaced and a temporary
roof put on.
''Three eminent psychologists have
been chosen to superintend 1.-THE work of
preservation of what is left of the
great Phidias and Ictinus in this tenn
pie. They are Herr Durn, of Germa-
ny; M. Magne, of France, and F, G.
Penrose, the famous Englishman who
discovered the lines of the Parthenon
some fforty years ago. Mr.. Penrose IS
the chief living authority on the princi-
pies of Greek architecture. He is now
an old man, but without his personal
supervision 1t lis doubtful whether this
important work could be undertaken
with absolute confidence. For many
years after Mr.. Penrose published his
Investigations the widest diversity Of
opinion was entertained among con-
temporary archaeologists as to the
lines of the Parthenon. Mr.. Penrose
discovered that there was not a
straight line in the temple. but that it
was a series of curves from foundation
to comb of roof, and that these curves
described complete parabolas. He
found the steps at the center of the
building three inches higher than at
the ends, and the columns of the peris-
lyle slightly sloping inward. He also
found the proportions of the temple
and reduced them to figures. and there
was one of the chief secrets of its Won
derful beauty
1.-THE Parthenon was not the largest
of Greek temples, it being only twenty
three by one hundred and two feet, the
peristyle columns being twenty feet in
height and six and one-haf feet in di-
ameter at the base, but the length,
breadth and depth were as nearly alb
solute in their harmony and complete
ness of proportion las has ever been
conceived. Nowhere else has such
complete sweetness of proportion been
approached, and it issin this one essen
tial quality that the Parthenon will al
ways stand out alone in the supremacy
of it's beauty. Had the edifice been six
feet longer, or two feet higher, or three
feet wider, this harmony would have
been spoiled. 1t has beeR asked IL this
complete harmony of proportion in this
one building was not an accident but
1t was was, perhaps, no more so than
the building itself, which was erected
in the proudest days of Athens, when
Pericles was in authority and when
Phidas waS<inyited to do his best