Architecture and Speculative Masonry

By RALPH E. LEGEMAN Grand Master of Indiana

Part 4

AS WE continue with the study of the Middle Chamber Lecture, we come to

THE CORINTHIAN

The Corinthian, the richest of the five orders, is deemed a masterpiece of art.

One has only to look at the stateliness of this order, enriched with the elaborate capital of the column, to appreciate this statement.

Its column is ten diameters high;

(Figure 15 shows the general proportions of the Corinthian Order.)

And its capital is adorned with two rows of leaves and eight volutes, which sustain the abacus.

(Figure 16 shows the column capital, as well as the entablature above the capital.)

The column capital is the distinguishing detail of the Corinthian order. The leaves undoubtedly have their origin in the acanthus leaf, which varies somewhat between the Greek and Roman versions. While the lecture refers to the eight volutes of this capital, the volutes are not as large as those of the Ionic orders,, and can probably better be described as scrolls. The eight volutes are in pairs, with one pair merging at each corner of the capital. The abacus is the top cap of the capital, and is also shown in Figure 16.

The frieze is ornamented with curious devices,

This is particularly applicable to the Roman Corinthian. Examples can be found in the various friezes of all kinds of figures, animals, and ornaments. Figure 16 shows one type of treatment of the frieze with such ornament. A typical treatment often consists of a series of ox heads connected with garlands, the origin of which was influenced by the actual skulls and garlands hung on the altars after such beasts had been slain.

The cornice with dentils and modillions.

The dentils are similar to those found in the Ionic. The modillions are the brackets under the cornice, and while they do express a form of support for the cornice, they are mainly ornamental. Figure 16 shows these details.

The better known examples of the Corinthian order are found in the Roman style. Figure 17 shows the Pantheon at Rome, one of the better known examples of the Roman Corinthian. The portico shown in this view is supported by eight Corinthian columns.

The origin of the Corinthian column capital is attributed to several sources, and the one given in the lecture seems to be a Masonic version. It can be just as true as any other version.

This order is used in stately and superb structures.

It was invented at Corinth by Callimachus, who is said to have taken the hint of the capital of this pillar from the following remarkable circumstance: Accidentally passing by the tomb of a young lady, he perceived a basket of toys, covered with a tile, placed over an acanthus root, having been left there by her nurse. As the branches grew up they encompassed the basket, till, arriving at the tile they met with an obstruction and bent downward. Callimachus, struck with the object, set about imitating the figure. The vase of the capital he made to represent the basket, the abacus the tile, and the volutes the bending leaves.

(Figure 18 gives a visual presentation of this version of the origin.)

We now come to the last of the five orders:

THE COMPOSITE

The Composite is compounded of the other orders, and was contrived by the Romans. Its capital has the two rows of leaves of the Corinthian, and the volutes of the Ionic.

It is rather hard to distinguish between the Corinthian and the Composite orders. As we find here, the main difference is in the column capital.

As for the capital, the main difference is in the fact that the volutes of the Corinthian order are enlarged in the Composite order to the point where they are about the same as the volutes of the Ionic order. Figure 19 shows the Composite column capital.

Its column has the quarter-round as the Tuscan and Doric orders, is ten diameters high, and its cornice has dentils or simple modillions.

This statement shows the justification of the name Composite. Webster gives the definition of Composite as "Made up of distinct parts or elements." The description in the lecture mentions the Tuscan and the Doric, the ten diameters as well as the dentils and modillions suggests the Corinthian, and we already have found that the capital has the volutes of the Ionic. Hence the Composite order is compounded of parts of all of the other orders.

This pillar is generally found in buildings where strength, elegance and beauty are displayed.

The principal use of the Composite order by the Romans was in the construction of their triumphal arches, a symbol of strength and, of course, where they would want beauty to be displayed. Figure 20 shows a view of the Arch of Septimius Severus at Rome, built in 204 A.D. to commemorate Parthian victories. It is an example of the Composite order, applied to a triumphal arch.

We now come to the final portion of the lecture, which is a general summary of the orders, which will be the subject of the fifth and last of this series, to be published in the February issue of The Indiana Freemason.

Pronunciation (Phonetic)

acanthus--a-can'thus (first "a" as in about; second "a" short)
callimachus--kal-lim'a-kuss (first "a" as in about; second "a" short; "i" short)
composite--kom-poz'it
corinthian--ko-rin'thi-an (both "i's" short)
modillions--mo-dil'lions ("o" long; remainder of word rhymes with millions)
pantheon--pan'the-on ("a" short; "eon" as in neon)

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