Hindoos, inhabitants of Hindostan, in India.

     Moors, inhabitants of Morocco, a kingdom of Barbary, in
     Africa.

     Harmonious, corresponding in all its parts with equal
     beauty and elegance.

     Picturesque, like a picture.

     Saxons, inhabitants of Saxony, a portion of Germany.

     Semi-circular, only half circular.

Describe the Five Orders of Architecture.

The Tuscan (from Tuscany,) is the most simple and devoid of ornament, and its columns or pillars are plain and massive.  The Doric (from the Dorians, in Greece,) is durable and noble in appearance, having its columns plain like the Tuscan, but the upper parts more ornamental.  The Ionic, (from Iona, in Greece,) is neither so plain as the Doric, nor so richly elegant as the Corinthian; but is distinguished from the first two orders by having its columns or pillars fluted instead of plain, and the upper part of them (called the capitals,) adorned by the figures of rams’ horns carved on them.  The Corinthian is very rich and delicate, with fluted pillars, and the tops beautifully ornamented with leaves, &c.  The invention of this order is ascribed to Callimachus, a Corinthian sculptor.  The Composite is compounded of the other four; it is very much like the Corinthian, and is also called the Roman or Italian order.

     Devoid, free from, destitute.

What is Sculpture?

The art of cutting or carving wood, stone, and other materials; and forming of them various figures or representations of men, beasts and other objects.  The term is mostly limited to carving images or statues in stone.  This art is of great antiquity; the sacred writings inform us of it in many passages, as for instance in those in which are mentioned Laban’s images, carried away by Rachel; the golden calf of the Israelites, &c.  Sculpture as an art is probably more ancient than painting.

What country was the most highly celebrated for its sculpture?

Greece, which produced many celebrated sculptors, of whom the most eminent were Phidias, an Athenian, the great master of this art, who lived in the time of Pericles, 408 years before Christ; Lysippus, a native of Sicyon, near Corinth; and Praxiteles, a native of Magna Grecia.

What event proved fatal to this art?

The death of Alexander the Great was followed by a visible decline in all the fine arts; but the fatal blow to their existence was given by the success of the conquering Romans, who reduced Greece to a Roman province.

Was Sculpture always performed in Stone?

No; at first statues and other figures were formed of wood or baked clay, afterwards of stone, marble and metals; though these last were not brought to any degree of perfection, till about three hundred years before Christ.  The Greeks were famous for their works in ivory; the great master of the art of carving statues in it was Phidias.