386 THE STONES OF VENICE

were but to add Honesty (or Truth), a wiser or shorter list could be made out.

§ 65. We will now take the pillars of the Ducal Palace in their order. It has already been mentioned¹ (Vol. I. Chap. I. § 46) that there are, in all, thirty-six great pillars supporting the lower story; and that these are to be counted from right to left, because then the more ancient of them come first: and that, thus arranged, the first, which is not a shaft, but a pilaster, will be the support of the Vine angle; the eighteenth will be the great shaft of the Fig-tree angle; and the thirty-sixth, that of the Judgment angle.

§ 66. All their capitals, except that of the first, are octagonal, and are decorated by sixteen leaves, differently enriched in every capital, but arranged in the same way; eight of them rising to the angles, and there forming volutes; the eight others set between them, on the sides, rising half-way up the bell of the capital; there nodding forward, and showing above them, rising out of their luxuriance, the groups or single figures which we have to examine.* In some instances, the intermediate or lower leaves are reduced to eight sprays of foliage; and the capital is left dependent for its effect on the bold position of the figures. In referring to the figures on the octagonal capitals, I shall call the outer side, fronting either the Sea or the Piazzetta, the first side; and so count round from left to right; the fifth² side being thus, of course, the innermost. As, however, ever, the first five arches were walled up after the great fire, only three sides of their capitals are left visible, which

* I have given one of these capitals carefully already in my folio work, and hope to give most of the others in due time.³ It was of no use to draw them here, as the scale would have been too small to allow me to show the expression of the figures.

¹ [At this point-“It has already been mentioned”-the “Travellers’ Edition” resumes: see above, § 43 n.]

² [By a slip of the pen Ruskin wrote “fourth,” which has appeared in all previous editions. He reads the capitals, it should be noted, from right to left, from the spectator’s point of view; as will be seen by comparing the description of Capital No. 20 with the plate of it (No. 1 in the Examples in Vol. XI.). The first five arches are no longer walled up. For a list showing which capitals have been renewed, see below, p. 465.]

³ [Capital No. 20; Plate 1 in the Examples. The additional plates in contemplation were not issued.]

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