History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v1.c19.s1.3

v1.c19.s1.3

It has been explained, in speaking of Pelasgic art,¹ how prevalent these forms were in ancient Greece and Asia Minor, and how long they continued to be employed even after the principles of the true arch were perfectly understood. In India, however, the adherence to this form of construction is even more remarkable. As the Hindûs quaintly express it, "an arch never sleeps"; and it is true that a radiating arch does contain in itself a *vis viva* which is always tending to thrust its haunches outwards, and goes far to insure the ultimate destruction of every building where it is employed: while the horizontal forms employed by the Hindûs are in stable equilibrium, and, unless disturbed by violence, might remain so for ever.