Order, a word synonymous with method, is applied to any methodical or regular process of performing a thing.
1. Nothing can be more beautiful in religion and morals than order. The neglect of it exposes us to the inroads of vice, and often brings upon us the most per- plexing events. Whether we consider it in reference to ourselves, our families, or the Church, it is of the greatest importance. (1.) As to ourselves, order should be attended to as respects our principles (Heb. xiii, 9; James i, 8), our tempers (Prov. xvii, 14 ; Ephes. iv, 31), our conversation (Col. iv, 6), our business (Prov. xxii, 29), our time (Psa. xc. 12; Eccles. iii, 1), our recrea- tions, and our general conduct (Phil, i, 27; 2 Pet. i, 5), etc. (2.) As regards our families, there should be or- der as to the economy or management of their concerns (Matt, xii, 25), as to devotion, and the time of it (Josh. xxiv, 15), as to the instruction thereof (Ephes. vi, 1 ;
Gen. xviii, 19; 2 Tim. i, 5). (3.) In respect to the Church, order should be observed as to the admission of members (2 Cor. vi, 15), as to the administration of its ordinances (1 Cor. xiv, 33, 40), as to the attendance on its worship (Psa. xxvii, 4), as to our behavior there- in (Col. i, 10 ; Matt. V, 16). To excite us to the prac- tice of this duty, we should consider that God is a God of order (1 Cor. xiv, 33); his works are all in the ex- actest order (Ephes. i, 11 ; Psa. civ, 25 ; Eccles. iii, 1 1) ; heaven is a place of order (Rev. vii, 9). Jesus Christ was a most beautiful example of regularity. The ad- vantages of order are numerous. " The observance of it," says Dr. Blair, "serves to correct that negligence which makes us omit some duties, and that hurry and precipitanc}' which makes us perform others imperfect- ly. Our attention is thereby directed to its proper ob- jects. • We follow the straight path Avhich Providence has pointed out to us, in the course of which all the varied business of life presents itself regularly to us on every side" {Serni. ii, 23).
Philosophers lay great stress on man's right compre- hension of order. They teach that while other beings tend blindly towards it, man knows the end of his be- ing, and the place he holds in the scheme of the uni- verse, and can freely and intelligently endeavor to re- alize that universal order of which he is an exponent or constituent. " There is one parent virtue, the uni- versal virtue, the virtue which renders us just and per- fect, the virtue which will one day render us happy. It is the only virtue. It is the love of the universal order as it eternally existed in the divine reason, where every created reason contemplates it. The love of order is the whole of virtue, and conformity to order consti- tutes the morality of actions." Such is the theory of Malebranche ( Traite de Morale), and more recenth' of Jouffroy. In like manner, science, in all its discoveries, tends to the discovery of universal order. Art also, in its highest attainments, is only realizing the truth of nature; so that the true, the beautiful, and the good ultimately resolve themselves into the idea of order. For order is the intelligent arrangement of means to accomplish an end, the harmonious relation established between the parts for the good of the whole. The primitive belief that there is order in nature is thQ
ORDER
407
ORDER
ground of all experience. In this belief we confidently anticipate that the same causes, operating in the same circumstances, will produce the same effects. Tliis may be resolved into a higher belief in the wisdom of an infinitely perfect being who orders all things. See Krauth's Fleming, Vocabulary of Philosophy, s. v.
2. The word order is also used to designate the rules or laws of a monastic institution ; and in a secondary sense, the several monastics living under the same rule or order. Thus the Order of Cliigni signifies literally the new rule of discipline prescribed by Odo to the Benedictines already assembled in the monastery of Clugni ; but secondarily, and in the more popular sense, the great body of monastic institutions, wherever estab- lished, who voluntarily subjected themselves to the same rule. See, however, Orders, Religious.
3. In Classic Architecture the word order is used as synonymous with ordonnance, and comprises the col- umn with its base and capital and the entablature. There are five orders: (1) Tuscan, (2) Doric, (3) Ionic, (4) Corinthian, (5) Composite. The first and fifth are Roman orders, and are simply modifications of the oth- ers. The remaining three are the Greek orders.
a. Of the Tuscan order little can be said, there being no regular example of it among the remains of antiqui- ty. The best masters of classic architecture have failed to furnish the needed information. Piranesi has given a drawing of a Tuscan base, but of what date is uncer- tain ; Vitruvius, in an indistinct manner, has mentioned the general proportions, but through his whole book does not refer to one structure of this order. See Tus- cans.
h. The Doric Order is the oldest and simplest of the three orders used by the Greeks, but it is ranked as the second of the five orders adopted by the Romans. The