gs. In many of these points, and also in the
architectural use which was made of sculpture, the style of building
resembled, to some extent, that of Assyria; the propylaea, however, were
less Assyrian than Egyptian; while in the main and best features of the
architecture, it was (so far as we can tell) original. The solid and
handsome stone platforms, the noble staircases, and the profusion of
light and elegant stone columns, which formed the true glory of
the architecture--being the features on which its effect chiefly
depended--have nowhere been discovered in Assyria; and all the
evidence is against their existence. The Arians found in Mesopotamia an
architecture of which the pillar was scarcely an element at all--which
was fragile and unenduring--and which depended for its effect on a
lavish display of partially colored sculpture and more richly tinted
enamelled brick. Instead of imitating this, they elaborated for
themselves, from the wooden buildings of their own mountain homes, a
style almost exactly the reverse of that with which their victories had
brought them into contact. Adopting, of main features, nothing but the
platform, they imparted even to this a new character, by substituting
in its construction the best for the worst of materials, and by further
giving to these stone structures a massive solidity, from the employment
of huge, blocks, which made them stand in the strongest possible
contrast to the frail and perishable mounds of Babylonia and Assyria.
Having secured in this way a firm and enduring basis, they proceeded to
erect upon it buildings where the perpendicular line was primary and the
horizontal secondary--buildings of almost, the same solid and massive
character as the platform itself--forests of light but strong columns,
supporting a wide-spreading roof, sometimes open to the air, sometimes
enclosed by walls, according as they were designed for summer or winter
use, or for greater or less privacy. To edifices of this character
elaborate ornamentation was unnecessary; for the beauty of the column is
such that nothing more is needed to set off a building. Sculpture
would thus be dispensed with, or reserved for mere occasional use, and
employed not so much on the palace itself as on its outer approaches;
while brick enamelling could well be rejected altogether, as too poor
and fragile a decoration for buildings of such strength and solidity.

The origination of this columnar architecture must be