rens Hifpanorum ædificia, fic ait; Quid! non in Africa, Hifpaniaque ex terra parietes, quos appellant formaceos, (quoniam in forma circumdatis utrinque duabus tabulis, inferciuntur verius, quàm inftruuntur,) *avis durant, incorrupti imbribus, ventis, ignibus, omnique cemento firmiores? Specta etiam nunc fpeculas Hannibalis Hifpania, terrenafque turres, jugis montium impofitas. Adde B. Ifidorum, Lib. XV. cap. 9. Plinii verba defcribentem, & Palladium, Lib. I. cap. 34. Vides quomodo ædificaretur in Hifpania, Pœnis dominantibus. Vidifti jam & oculis tuis confirmafti, aquæductus Segovienfis architecturam effe Romanam. Ergo cum videatur non fuiffe Plinii hiftoria antiquior, non multo pofteriorem ea fuiffe credendum eft. Fulcit hanc conjecturam, Plinium, & fcriptores eo antiquiores, non meminiffe Segoviæ, ut urbis ampliffimæ. Oportet autem magnam urbem fuiffe, quæ fumptus fufficeret ad ædificandum aquæductum longiffimum & fumtuofiffimum in fuorum civium ufum, ita firmum atque magnificum, ut duratione, integritate, atque magnificentia vincat omnia antiquitatis monumenta, quæ hodie fuperfunt, infervitque ufui, cui deftinatus fuit: quod permirum eft. Si vero a me fcire cupis, quid exiftimem de ipfius urbis antiquitate, ego ita judico. Antiquæ civitates, quæ originem fuam non debent Romanis, ut Emerita Augufta: ne que Græcis, ut Rhoda, Emporia, Arthemifium aut Dianium, Alone (hodie Guardamar); neque Pœnis, ut Carthago Nova; neque Phænicibus, ut Cartalias, Cartima, Carteja, Gaddir; eam debent prifcis Hifpanis, inter quas Segovia numerari debet: nam exteri, qui ante Romanos in Hifpaniam venerunt, negotiatores erant, idcoque colonias fuas ftabiliebant in ora maritima, a qua longe diftat Segovia, quæ cum inter Arevacorum urbes nominetur a Plinio & aliis, inter Hifpanas antiquiores civitates adnumerari debet. Cupio ut judicio tuo meam fententiam confirmes, aut meliora me doceas. Deus Optimus Maximus Tibi propitius fit, ut enixe oro. OLIVE, quinto Idus Novembres, Anno MDCCLXI. As odd as this paffage of PLINY may appear to the Reader, it is right: and he defcribes their manner of building in SPAIN to this very day-they place two planks on each fide, and then throw in their mortar and bricks all together, which the fun afterwards hardens to a wall. LETTER LETTER XI. Some Account of the Antiquities at CORDUBA, SE- THE HE city of CORDUBA is finely fituated on the banks of the GUADALQUIVIR, in a wide plain. The streets are narrow, not unlike thofe of TOLEDO. The MosQUE is a large, fquare building, nineteen naves running from north to fouth, feparated by fmall beautiful columns of black marble, jasper, alabafter, &c. fome with fine Corinthian capitals, taken out of the old temple of JANUS AUGUSTUS, as appears by the following Infcription, on a pillar of green marble, which in MARIANA's time ftood in the Francifcan convent there. IMP. CAESAR. DIVI. F. AVGUSTVS. COS. VIII. TRIB. POTEST. BAETE. ET. IANO. OCEANVM. CXXI, CONSTANTIAE. AETERNITATI QUE. AVGVST. (Vide Marianam, L. III. C, xxiv. P. 129.) 1 This must have been a noble Roman road, for it reached from SALAMANCA to CADIZ, paffing through MERIDA and SEVILLE, to the distance of above three hundred miles. The latter The latter part of it, from CORDUBA through EZIJA to the fea, was finished in the eleventh confulate of AUGUSTUS, as appears by another infcription, relating to the fame road, which I shall now give you. See MARIANA, p. 49. UDAL AP RHYS, p. 122. IMP. CAES. DIVI. F. AVGVSTVS. PONT. MAX. COS. XI. TRIBVNIC. POTEST. X. IMP. VIII. ORBE. MARI. ET. TERRA. PACATO. TEMPLO. IANI. CLVSO. ET. REP. P. R. OPTIMIS. ET, SANCTISSIMIS. INSTITVTIS. REFORMATA. VIAM. SVPERIOREM. COS. TEMPORE. INCHOATAM. ET. MULTIS. LOCIS. INTERMISSAM. PRO. DIGNITATE. IMPERII. P. R. LATIOREM. LONGIOREM QUE. GADEIS. USQ. PERDUXIT. This road was afterwards repaired by the Emperor HADRIAN, as is plain from a third inscription found in its neighbourhood. IMP. CAESAR. DIVI. TRAIANI. PAR- III. RESTIT VIT. But to return to the MOSQUE; the columns in the church would have a beautiful effect, if they were not interrupted with cross walls, walls, altars, and the choir, and the prefbytery, which is built in the middle. The arches round and re-entering; the coving and roof modern. The re-entering arch was probably first taken from the crefcent, or Mahometan-device. THERE are many Roman inscriptions at COR DUBA, in the poffeffion of a private perfon; chiefly fepulchral, but no names of note in them; tho' there are fome of families, that had received their freedom. The whole will be foon fully explained by PADRE RUANÓ, a Jefuit, who intends publishing the antiquities of this church and city. From CORDUBA the road leads you to the city of SEVille. SEVILLE ftands in an immense plain, on the GUADALQUIVIR, having a bridge of boats across the river; it is a city of great extent, and I am not sure whether it does not contain as many inhabitants as MADRID. The streets are worse than those of ToLEDO, but the houses are clean, built round a fquare-court, with green lattices, and shaded from the fun by a canvas on the top. THE cathedral of SEVILLE is an extreme fine Gothic structure, raised on noble pointed arches, and adorned with good painted glafs-windows. It confifts of five naves, but the whole is spoilt by the screen of the choir, which intercepts your view to a magnificent altar, and a miraculous virgin at the east end. Before that altar is a farcophagus of filver, within which lies the body of FERNANDO SANTO. There is much plate belonging to this church; one whole altar and frontifpiece of plate, and a most beautiful filver cuftodia. They have a pleafing oval room for a chapter-house; befides there is a tower about 44 feet square, and upwards of 130 feet high, built by the Moors in the year 1000, with turrets, and a cupola added by the Chriftians, which makes it altogether about 300 feet to the top of the image upon the cupola. The afcent of the tower is fo eafy, that there are no steps, and an horfe might eafily afcend to the top. In the convents are many capital pictures by MURILLO. In a convent of Jeromites, upon the river, is a the river, is a glorious ftatue of St. Ferom, in clay; and from the turrets one has a lovely prospect of the plain, E e the the river, and the city. SEVILLE is watered by a Roman aqueduct, extending from CARMONA to the city, the diftance of twenty English miles. There are two fine, large Corinthian pillars, taken from a temple of DIANA, on which they have placed the ftatues of JULIUS CAESAR and HERCULES. In the house of the Duke of MEDINA CALI, are fome Roman pillars, ftatues, and infcriptions. The walls of SEVILLE are all Roman. AT CADIZ there are fome fine pictures of MURILLO, particularly an altar-piece, from whence he fell, and loft his life. There are great Roman remains and infcriptions in the high church, and bits of columns every where ferving as thresh-holds and pofts. In the corner of one house they have stuck into the wall, the remains of a confular toga, and have added to it an head, painted red and white, and a green laurel crown. In one convent there is a farcophagus, with curious marble bas-reliefs: it is now a cistern, and the good fathers have ftruck two brasscocks into the bellies of two water-nymphs, who are henceforward condemned to a perpetual diabetes. They discovered lately a beautiful column, which to prevent trouble and expence, they buried carefully again. The place is plainly a mount, made up of ruins, so that they can hardly ftir the ground, but the rubbish turns up fomething curious. THERE are fome Roman infcriptions at MEDINA SIDONIA; but you would be moft delighted with the city of GRANADA: it stands at the foot of a moft noble ridge of barren mountains and rocks, which stretch round on each fide, in fuch a manner as to embrace a lovely plain, which is varied with plantations, gardens, and villages: had it but a river, like the GUADALQUIVIR, nothing could exceed it, unless it were an English profpect of the THAMES from CLIFFDEN, or the TRENT from CLIFTON. THE AL-HAMBRA, at GRANADA, is built on a high hill, which overlooks the city and the valley, containing many grand apartments, all in the MOORISH ftyle, with alcoves, domes, fountains, Arabic infcriptions, &c. &c. befides which there is a part built by CHARLES V. but not finished. The front is hand |