Vitruvius The Ten Books on Architecture

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(translated by morris hicky morgan, in 1914, edited by tom turner in 2000).

You are reading: Vitruvius 10 books on architecture summary

this is the first and most famous text in the history of western landscape architecture, architecture, engineering, and urban planning. in Roman times the architect was, from the Greek etymology of the word, a “chief technician”. the list of contents for all ten books reveals that most aspects of engineering, including ports, site planning, clocks, aqueducts, pumps, and siege engines, come within the author’s technical reach. only a small proportion of these topics fall within the scope of 21st century ‘architecture’. Vitruvius Pollio’s treatise on architecture was written around 27 B.C. c. and it is the only such book to have survived from antiquity. These online excerpts from Vitruvius comprise the first book and his comments on what we would now classify as garden design.

ian thompson reinterpreted vitruvius for modern landscape architecture in his book on ecology, community, and delight: sources of value in landscape architecture (1999). argued that delight is still a useful name for the aesthetic aspect of landscape design, but that it makes sense to interpret firmness as ecology and merchandise as a community.

with regard to design methods appropriate for landscape architecture, tom turner has suggested a ‘simple approach’, also derived from vitruvius, based on an understanding of natural patterns, social patterns, cultural patterns, and aesthetic patterns.

the ten architecture books

book 1, the preface is used by the author as an opportunity to flatter his emperor. Chapter 1 deals with education, which includes a broader range of subjects than the curricula of current design schools, and Chapter 2 with the five fundamental principles of design (order, strong>eurythmy, symmetry, correspondence and economics). chapter 3 contains the most famous section of the book, defending commodity, firmness and delight. Chapter 4 and Chapter 6, on planning a site in relation to climate, lay the groundwork for landscape architecture. Chapter 5 may seem outdated, but modern cities are beefing up in response to fears of crime and terrorism. chapter 7 has a fascinating commentary on the location of important buildings. Book 1 is followed by books on materials and on different types of construction. Roman cities had little space available for what we would now call gardens. but some land was set aside for outer habitation, and Vitruvius’ comments are quoted on the treatment of this land, from his section on colonnades and walks (book 5, chapter 10) and on the palaestra (book 5, chapter 11), which was a gym .

the themes of the ten books of vitruvius, using modern terminology, are:

  1. landscape architecture
  2. building materials
  3. temples (part 1)
  4. temples (part 2)
  5. public places: square, meeting room, theater, park, gym, port
  6. private homes
  7. finishes and colors
  8. water supply
  9. sundials and clocks
  10. mechanical engineering

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book 1 landscape architecture

preface

  1. the education of the architect
  2. the fundamental principles of architecture
  3. architecture departments
  4. the site of a city
  5. the city walls
  6. the directions of the streets; with comments on winds
  7. sites for public buildings

book 2 materials

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  1. the origin of housing
  2. on the primordial substance according to physicists
  3. brick
  4. sand
  5. lime
  6. pozzolan
  7. stone
  8. wall construction methods
  9. wood
  10. highland and lowland spruce

book 3 temples (part 1)

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  1. on the symmetry in the temples and in the human body
  2. classification of the temples
  3. the proportions of the intercolumns and of the columns
  4. the foundations and substructures of temples
  5. proportions of the base, capitals and entablature in the Ionic order

Chapter 1 of Book 3 contains the famous tips (below) on ratios and proportions that inspired Leonardo da Vinci’s even more famous drawing of Vitruvian Man. The ideas it illustrates are related to Plato’s theory of forms and ideas of ‘sacred geometry’ that promoted the use of circles and squares in Renaissance architecture and garden design.

1. the design of a temple depends on symmetry, the principles of which must be carefully observed by the architect. they are due to proportion, in Greek [Greek: analogia]. proportion is a correspondence between the measurements of the members of an entire work, and of the whole to a certain part selected as a pattern. from this result the principles of symmetry. without symmetry and proportion there can be no principles in the design of any temple; that is, if there is no precise relationship between its members, as in the case of those of a well-formed man. 2. because the human body is designed by nature in such a way that the face, from the chin to the top of the forehead and the lowest roots of the hair, is one tenth of the total height; the open hand from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger is the same; the head from the chin to the crown is one eighth, and with the neck and shoulder from the upper chest to the lowest roots of the hair it is one sixth; from the middle of the chest to the top of the crown there is a quarter. if we take the height of the face itself, the distance from the bottom of the chin to the bottom of the nostrils is one third of it; the nose from the bottom of the nostrils to the line between the eyebrows is the same; from there to the lower roots of the hair there is also a third, which comprises the forehead. the length of the foot is one sixth of the height of the body; of the forearm, a fourth; and the width of the chest is also a quarter. the other members also have their own symmetrical proportions, and it was by their use that the famous painters and sculptors of antiquity achieved great and unending renown. 3. In the same way, in the members of a temple there must be the greatest harmony in the symmetrical relations of the different parts with the general magnitude of the whole. on the other hand, in the human body the central point is naturally the navel. for if a man is placed on his back, with his hands and feet extended, and a compass centered at his navel, his fingers and toes will touch the circumference of a circle described from them. and just as the human body produces a circular outline, so can a square figure be found. for if we measure the distance from the soles of the feet to the top of the head, and then apply that measurement to the outstretched arms, the width will be found to be equal to the height, as in the case of flat surfaces which are perfectly squares. 4. therefore, since nature has designed the human body so that its members are properly proportioned to the structure as a whole, it seems that the ancients had good reasons for their rule, that in perfect buildings the different members must be in exact symmetrical relations to the whole general scheme. hence, in conveying to us the proper provisions for buildings of all kinds, they took special care to do so in the case of the temples of the gods, buildings in which the merits and defects often endure forever.

book 4 temples (part 2)

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  1. the origins of the three orders and the proportions of the Corinthian capital
  2. the ornaments of the orders
  3. the proportions of the Doric temples
  4. the cella and the pronaos
  5. how the temple should look
  6. the portals of the temples
  7. Tuscan temples
  8. circular temples and other varieties
  9. altars

book 5 public places: forum, basicila, theaters, walks, arena, ports

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  1. the forum and the basilica
  2. the treasury, the prison and the senate house
  3. the theater: its location, foundations and acoustics
  4. harmonics
  5. sound vessels in the theater
  6. plan of the theater
  7. Greek theaters
  8. acoustics of a theater site
  9. columns and walkways
  10. bathrooms
  11. the arena
  12. ports, breakwaters and shipyards

book 6 private houses

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  1. on the climate as a determinant of the style of the house
  2. symmetry and modifications in it to adapt to the site
  3. proportions of the main rooms
  4. proper exposures of the different rooms
  5. how the rooms should be adapted to the position of the
  6. owner
  7. the farm
  8. the house Greek
  9. on foundations and substructures

book 7 finishes and colors

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  1. floors
  2. lime slaking for stucco
  3. vaults and stucco
  4. on stucco in damp places, and in the decoration of dining rooms
  5. the decadence of fresco painting
  6. marble for stucco
  7. natural colors
  8. cinebar and quicksilver
  9. artificial colors black, blue, burnt ochre
  10. lead white, verdigris, and artificial sandarach
  11. purple
  12. substitutes for purple, yellow ochre, malachite green, and indigo

book 8 water

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  1. how to find water
  2. rainwater
  3. various properties of different waters
  4. tests of good water
  5. leveling and leveling instruments
  6. aqueducts, wells and cisterns

book 9 sundials and clocks

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  1. the zodiac and the planets
  2. the phases of the moon
  3. the course of the sun through the twelve signs
  4. the constellations of the north
  5. the southern constellations
  6. astrology and weather forecasts
  7. the analemma and its applications
  8. sun and water clocks

book 10 mechanical engineering

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  1. machines and implements
  2. elevating machines
  3. moving elements
  4. motors to raise water
  5. hydraulic wheels and water mills
  6. the water screw
  7. the ctesibius pump
  8. the water organ
  9. the odometer
  10. the catapults or scorpions
  11. ballistas
  12. the stringing and tuning of catapults
  13. siege engines
  14. the turtle
  15. hegetor’s tortoise
  16. defense measures
  17. note on odd scamilli

book i

preface above

1. while your divine intelligence and will, imperator caesar, occupied themselves with acquiring the right to command the world, and while your fellow citizens, when all their enemies had been struck down by your invincible courage, rejoiced at your triumph and victory, – while all the foreign nations were in subjection awaiting their entire disposition, and the Roman people and senate, freed from their alarm, beginning to be guided by their noblest conceptions and policies, I scarcely dared, in view of their serious employments, to publish my writings. and long pondered ideas about architecture, for fear of subjecting myself to their displeasure by an untimely interruption.

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2. but when I saw that you were paying your attention not only to the welfare of society in general and the establishment of public order, but also to the provision of public buildings intended for utilitarian purposes, so that not only the state has been enriched with provinces by your medium, but so that the greatness of his power might be equally attended with distinguished authority in his public buildings, I thought I should take advantage of the first opportunity to expose my writings on this subject. because in the first place it was this matter that made me meet your father, to whom I dedicated myself because of his great qualities. after the council of heaven gave him a place in the abodes of immortal life and transferred your father’s power into your hands, my devotion continuing unchanged by remembering him inclined me to support you. and so with marcus aurelius, publius minidius, and gnaeus cornelius, I was willing to supply and repair crossbows, scorpions, and other artillery, and have received rewards for good service with them. after you first granted them to me, you continued to renew them on your sister’s recommendation.

3. because of this favor I must not be afraid to love until the end of my life, and being thus obliged I began to write this work for you, because I saw that you have built and now build a lot, and that in the future you will also take care that our buildings public and private are worthy to go down in history along with your other splendid achievements. I have drawn up definite rules to enable you, by observing them, to have a personal knowledge of the quality of both existing buildings and those yet to be built. because in the following books I have revealed all the principles of the art.

chapter i

architect training up

1. the architect must be equipped with knowledge of many branches of study and varied types of learning, because it is by his judgment that all the work done by the other arts is put to the test. this knowledge is the son of practice and theory. the practice is the continuous and regular exercise of employment where manual work is carried out with any necessary material according to the design of a drawing. theory, on the other hand, is the ability to demonstrate and explain the productions of skill on the principles of proportion.

2. It follows, therefore, that architects who have set out to acquire manual dexterity without scholarship have never been able to attain a position of authority corresponding to their efforts, while those who have relied solely on theory and erudition were obviously looking for shadow, not substance. but those who have full knowledge of both, like armed men at every point, have reached their goal first and carry authority with them.

3. in all subjects, but particularly in architecture, there are these two points: the thing signified and that which gives it its meaning. what is meant is the subject we may be talking about; and what gives meaning is a demonstration on scientific principles. it seems, then, that whoever professes to be an architect must be well versed in both directions. he must, therefore, be naturally gifted and disposed to instruction. neither natural ability without instruction nor instruction without natural ability can make the perfect artist. who is educated, skillful with a pencil, schooled in geometry, who knows a great deal of history, who has followed the philosophers carefully, who understands music, who has some knowledge of medicine, who knows the opinions of jurists, and who is familiar with astronomy and the theory of the heavens.

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4. The reasons for all this are as follows. an architect must be a cultured man to leave a more lasting memory in his treatises. secondly, he must have knowledge of drawing so that he can easily make sketches that show the appearance of the work that he proposes. geometry is also very helpful in architecture, and in particular it teaches us the use of the ruler and the compass, for which we especially acquire preparation for making plans for buildings on their grounds, and correctly apply the square, the level and the plumb by means of optics, again, the light in buildings can be drawn from fixed points in the sky. It is true that it is through arithmetic that the total cost of buildings is calculated and measurements are calculated, but the difficult questions related to symmetry are solved by geometrical theories and methods.

5. extensive knowledge of history is a requirement because, among the ornamental parts of an architect’s design for a work, there are many whose underlying idea of ​​whose use he should be able to explain to those interested. For example, suppose he erects the marble statues of long-robed women, called caryatids, to take the place of the columns, with the mutulae and crowns placed directly on their heads, he will give the following explanation to his questioners. Caryae, a state in the Peloponnese, sided with the Persian enemies against Greece; later the greeks, having gloriously won their freedom by victory in the war, made common cause and declared war against the people of caryae. They took the city, killed the men, abandoned the state to desolation, and carried off their wives into slavery, not allowing them, however, to cast off the long robes and other marks of their rank as married women, so that they they might be compelled not only to march in triumph but to appear forever as a kind of slave, burdened with the weight of their shame and thus atoning for their estate. For this reason, the architects of the time designed statues of these women for public buildings, placed to carry a load, so that the sin and punishment of the Caryae people would be known and transmitted even to posterity.

6. likewise the Lacedaemonians under the command of Pausanias, son of Agesipolis, after defeating the Persian armies, infinite in number, with a small force at the battle of Plataea, celebrated a glorious triumph with the spoils and loot, and with the money obtained from the sale of it he built the Persian portico, to be a monument to the renown and valor of the people and a trophy of victory for posterity. and there they put effigies of the prisoners clad in barbarian dress and holding up the roof, their pride punished with this deserved affront, so that the enemies might tremble for fear of the effects of their valor, and that their own people, looking at this example of their valor and encouraged by its glory, they might be ready to defend their independence. so since then many have put up statues of Persians holding entablatures and their ornaments, and thus have greatly enriched the diversity of their works. there are other stories of the same type that architects should know.

7. As for philosophy, it makes the architect magnanimous and not conceited, but rather courteous, fair and honest without greed. this is very important, because no job can be done properly without honesty and incorruptibility. may he not be greedy or have his mind preoccupied with the idea of ​​receiving gratuities, but with dignity maintain his position by cherishing a good reputation. these are some of the precepts of philosophy. in addition, philosophy deals with physics where a more careful knowledge is required because the problems that fall under this rubric are numerous and of a very diverse nature; as, for example, in the case of water pipes. because at the entrance points and in the curves, and in the places where it rises to a level, drafts of one form or another naturally form; and no one who has not learned from philosophy the fundamental principles of physics will be able to foresee the damage they do. so the reader of Ctesibius or Archimedes and the other writers of treatises of the same class will not be able to appreciate them unless he has been instructed in these matters by the philosophers.

8. the music, in addition, must be understood by the architect so that he has knowledge of canonical and mathematical theory, and can also tune crossbows, catapults and scorpions in the right key. for to the right and left of the rafters are the holes in the frames through which the twisted sinew strings are stretched by means of windlasses and bars, and these strings must not be fastened and fastened until they give the same correct note to the ear of the skilled worker. for the arms passed through those taut cords must, on being released, deliver their blow together at the same moment; but if they are not in unison, they will prevent the projectiles from going straight.

9. in the theaters, likewise, there are the bronze vessels that are placed in niches under the seats according to musical intervals on mathematical principles. these vessels are arranged with a view to musical concord or harmony, and spread over the beat of the fourth, fifth, and eighth, and so on up to the double octave, in such a way that when an actor’s voice falls in unison with any of them increases its power, and reaches the ears of the public with greater clarity and sweetness. the water organs, too, and the other instruments that resemble them cannot be made by someone who lacks the principles of music.

10. the architect must also have a knowledge of the study of medicine due to issues of climate air, health and unhealthiness of the sites, and the use of different waters. because without these considerations the healthiness of a home cannot be ensured. and as for principles of law, he must know those that are necessary in the case of buildings with party walls, as to the dripping of water from the eaves, and also the laws on drains, windows and water supply. and other things of this kind should be known to architects, so that, before they start building, they can be careful not to leave points of contention for the homeowners to settle after the works are finished, and so that In drafting contracts the interests of both the employer and the contractor can be wisely safeguarded. because if a contract is skilfully drawn up, each can obtain a release from the other without disadvantage. of astronomy we find the east, the west, the south and the north, as well as the theory of the heavens, the equinox, the solstice and the courses of the stars. if one has no knowledge of these matters, he will not be able to have any understanding of the theory of sundials.

11. consequently, this study being so vast in extent, embellished and enriched as it is with many different kinds of learning, I think that men have no right to profess themselves architects hastily, without having climbed from childhood the rungs of these studies and thus, nourished by knowledge of many arts and sciences, having reached the heights of the sacred ground of architecture.

12. but perhaps to the inexperienced it seems a wonder that human nature can comprehend so many studies and commit them to memory. even so, the observation that all studies have a common link and relationship with each other, will lead to the belief that this can be easily done. because a liberal education forms, as it were, a single body composed of these members. therefore, those who from an early age receive instruction in the various forms of knowledge, recognize in all the arts the same stamp, and a relationship between all the studies, and thus understand them all more easily. This is what led one of the ancient architects, Pytheos, the famous builder of the temple of Minerva at Priene, to say in his comments that an architect should be able to achieve much more in all the arts and sciences than men who, by their own particular types of work and the practice of it, have brought each of them to the highest perfection. but this, in fact, has not been done.

13. because an architect should not be and cannot be as much a philologist as an Aristarchus, although not illiterate; nor a musician like an aristoxeno, although not absolutely ignorant of music; nor a painter like apelles, although he was not lacking in skill in drawing; nor a sculptor like myron or polyclitus, although not alien to the plastic arts; neither is a doctor like Hippocrates, though not ignorant of medicine; nor in the other sciences does he need to excel at each, although he must not be clumsy at them. because, in the midst of all this great variety of subjects, an individual cannot reach perfection in each one, because he is hardly in the power of him to assimilate and understand the general theories of them.

14. still, it is not only architects who cannot reach perfection in all matters, but even men who individually practice specialties in the arts do not all reach the highest point of merit. therefore, if among the artists who each work in a single field not all, but only a few in a whole generation acquire fame, and that with difficulty, how. Can an architect, who must be skilled in many arts, perform not only the feat – in itself a great wonder – of not being deficient in any of them, but also that of surpassing all those artists who have dedicated themselves with tireless labor to one? fields?

15. It seems, then, that Pytheos made a mistake in failing to observe that the arts each consist of two things, the actual work and the theory of it. one of them, the realization of the work, is typical of men trained in the individual subject, while the other, the theory, is common to all scholars: for example, to doctors and musicians the rhythmic beat of the pulse and its metric movement . but if there is a wound to heal or a sick person to save from danger, the musician will not call, because the business will correspond to the doctor. so in the case of a musical instrument, not the doctor but the musician will be the man who will tune it so that the ears can find due pleasure in its notes.

16. astronomers also have common ground to discuss with musicians on the harmony of the stars and musical concordances on the tetrads and triads of the fourth and fifth, and with geometers on the subject of the vision; and in all other sciences many points, perhaps all, are common as far as their discussion is concerned. but the actual making of works that are brought to perfection by the hand and its manipulation is a function of those who have been specially trained to deal with a single art. it seems, therefore, that he has done enough and to spare who in each subject has a fairly good knowledge of those parts, with their principles, which are indispensable for architecture, so that if he is asked to make a judgment and express his approval in the case of those things or arts, cannot be found wanting. As for the men whom nature has endowed with such ingenuity, wit and memory that they are capable of having a thorough knowledge of geometry, astronomy, music and the other arts, they go beyond the functions of architects and become pure mathematicians. therefore, they can easily take a stand against those arts because many are the artistic weapons they are armed with. such men, however, are seldom to be found, but have been at times; for example, Aristarchus of Samos, Philolaus and Archytas of Tarentum, Apollonius of Perge, Eratosthenes of Cyrene, and among the Syracusans Archimedes and Scopinas, who through mathematics and natural philosophy discovered, exposed and left to posterity many things related with mechanics and sundials.

17. since therefore the possession of such talents due to natural ability is not randomly bestowed upon whole nations, but only upon some great men; since, in addition, the function of the architect requires training in all learning departments; and finally, as reason, by the breadth of the subject, grants that I do not possess the highest, but not necessarily a moderate knowledge of the subjects of study, I pray, caesar, both to you and to those who may read said books, that if something is stated with too little regard for the grammatical rule, it can be excused. because it is not as a great philosopher, nor as an eloquent rhetorician, nor as a grammarian trained in the highest principles of his art, that I have made an effort to write this work, but as an architect who has only had an immersion in those studies . still, as far as the efficacy of art and its theories are concerned, I promise and hope that in these volumes I will undoubtedly show a very considerable importance not only to builders but to all scholars as well.

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the five fundamental principles of architecture

1. architecture depends on order, eurythmy, symmetry, decoration and economy.

2. the order gives the due measure to the members of a work considered separately, and the symmetrical concordance to the proportions of the whole. It is a quantity adjustment. by this I mean selecting modules from the members of the work itself and, from these individual member parts, building the entire work to match. the arrangement includes the placement of things in their proper places and the elegance of effect due to adjustments appropriate to the character of the work. Its forms of expression are these: plan, elevation and perspective. a plan is made through the proper and successive use of compasses and ruler, through which we obtain contours for the flat surfaces of buildings. an elevation is an image of the front of a building, placed in a vertical position and correctly drawn in the proportions of the contemplated work. perspective is the method of outlining a front with the sides receding into the background, all lines meeting in the center of a circle. all three arise from reflection and invention. reflection is careful, laborious thought and watchful attention directed to the pleasing effect of one’s plan. invention, on the other hand, is the solving of intricate problems and the discovery of new principles through brilliance and versatility. These are the departments belonging under agreement.

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3. Eurythmy is beauty and fitness in member settings. this is found when the members of a work have a height appropriate to their width, a width appropriate to their length and, in a word, when they all correspond symmetrically.

4. symmetry is an adequate concordance between the members of the work itself, and relationship between the different parts and the general scheme of the whole, according to a certain part selected as a pattern. thus, in the human body there is a kind of symmetrical harmony between the forearm, foot, palm, finger and other small parts; and so it is with perfect buildings. in the case of temples, the symmetry can be calculated from the thickness of a column, a triglyph or even a module; in the crossbow, from the hole; in a boat, from the space between the tholepins; and in other things, of several members.

5. property is that perfection of style that arises when a work is built authoritatively on approved principles. arises from prescription, use or nature. by prescription, in the case of hypoetral buildings, open to the sky, in honor of the lightning of jupiter, the sky, the sun or the moon: because these are gods whose appearances and manifestations we behold before our very eyes in the sky when it is clear and sparkly. The temples of Minerva, Mars, and Hercules will be Doric, since the virile strength of these gods makes delicacy entirely inappropriate for their houses. in the temples dedicated to venus, the flora, proserpina, the spring water, and the nymphs, the corinthian order will be found to have a peculiar meaning, for these are delicate divinities, and therefore their rather slender outlines, their flowers , leaves and ornamental scrolls will lend decorum where it is due. the construction of temples of the Ionic order to Juno, Diana, Father Bacchus, and other gods of that kind, will be in accordance with the middle position they occupy; for their construction it will be an appropriate combination of the severity of the Doric and the delicacy of the Corinthian.

6. ownership arises from use when buildings that have magnificent interiors are provided with corresponding graceful entrance courtyards; for there will be no decorum in the spectacle of an elegant interior approached by a low and stingy entrance. or, if teeth are carved into the cornice of the Doric entablature, or triglyphs depicted in the Ionic entablature on the cushion capitals of the columns, the effect will be marred by the transfer of the peculiarities of one order of construction to the other. , usage in each class was fixed a long time ago.

7. finally, the decoration will be due to natural causes if, for example, in the case of all the sacred precincts we select very healthy neighborhoods and with adequate water sources in the places where the sanctuaries are going to be built, particularly in the case of those of Aesculapius and of health, gods by whose healing powers apparently a large number of patients are cured. for when their diseased bodies are moved from an unhealthy place to a healthy one, and treated with health-giving spring waters, they will grow well faster. the result will be that the divinity will be held in higher esteem and her dignity increased, all due to the nature of her site. there will also be a natural property in using an eastern light for bedrooms and libraries, a winter western light for bathrooms and winter apartments, and a northern light for picture galleries and other places where constant light is needed; because that part of the sky does not lighten or darken with the course of the sun, but remains constant and unalterable throughout the day.

8. the economy denotes the correct management of the materials and the place, as well as an economic balance and common sense in the construction of the works. this will be observed if, in the first place, the architect does not demand things that cannot be found or prepared without great expense. For example: sand, rubble, spruce, light fir and marble are not abundant everywhere, as they are produced in different places and assembling them is difficult and expensive. where there are no wells, we must use the types carried by the rivers or by the sea; the lack of light spruce and spruce can be avoided by using cypress, poplar, elm or pine; and other problems that we must solve in a similar way.

9. A second stage in economics is reached when we have to plan the different types of dwellings suitable for the ordinary heads of families, for great wealth or for the high position of the statesman. a house in the city obviously requires a form of construction; the one in which the products of the haciendas flow requires another; This will not be the same in the case of moneylenders and different even for the opulent and luxurious; for the powers under whose deliberations the community is governed, must provide dwellings according to their special needs: and, in a word, the proper form of economy in the construction of houses for each and every class must be observed. p>

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architecture departments

1. there are three departments of architecture: the art of building, the manufacture of watches and the construction of machinery. strong>. the construction is divided, in turn, into two parts, of which the first is the construction of fortified cities and works for general use in public places, and the second is the construction of structures for individuals. there are three classes of public buildings: the first for defensive purposes, the second for religious purposes and the third for utilitarian purposes. under defense comes the planning of walls, towers and gates, permanent devices of resistance against hostile attacks; under religion, the erection of shrines and temples to the immortal gods; under utility, the provision of meeting places for public use, such as ports, markets, colonnades, baths, theaters, promenades, and all other similar arrangements in public places.

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2. all of these should be built with due reference to durability, comfort and beauty. [note: the best known translation of these values ​​’comfort, firmness and delight’, comes from henry wotton’s 1624 principles of architecture) durability will be assured when the foundation is driven down to solid ground and materials are selected wisely and liberally; convenience, when the arrangement of the apartments is impeccable and does not present impediments to use, and when each class of building is assigned its adequate and appropriate exposure; and beauty, when the appearance of the work is pleasing and in good taste, and when its members are in due proportion according to correct principles of symmetry.

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the site of a city

1. for fortified cities the following general principles shall be observed. first comes the choice of a very healthy place. such a place will be high, neither foggy nor icy, and in a climate neither hot nor cold, but temperate; in addition, without marshes in the surroundings. because when the morning breezes blow into the town at dawn, if they bring with them mists from the swamps and, mixed with the mist, the poisonous breath of the swamp creatures to be drawn into the bodies of the inhabitants, they will cause the unhealthy site. again, if the town is on the coast with a southern or western exposure, it will not be healthy, because in summer the southern sky gets hot at sunrise and is scorching hot at noon, while a western exposure gets hot after sunrise, it makes midday heat. noon, and at dusk all resplendent.

2. these variations in heat and subsequent cooling are detrimental to the people who live in such places. the same conclusion can be reached in the case of inanimate things. for example, no one draws the light from the covered cellars from the south or west, but from the north, since that side is never subject to change, but is always constant and unchanging. so it is with granaries: grain exposed to the course of the sun soon loses its good quality, and provisions and fruit, unless stored in a place not exposed to the course of the sun, do not keep for long.

3. for heat is a universal solvent, melting away from things their power of resistance, and absorbing and removing their natural strength with its fiery exhalations, so that they soften, and therefore grow weaker, under its radiance. we see this in the case of iron which, hard as it may be naturally, when thoroughly heated in a furnace can easily be worked into any sort of shape, and even then, if cooled while soft and red-hot , hardens. again with a simple dip in cold water and it acquires its previous quality.

4. we can also recognize the truth of this from the fact that in summer the heat weakens everyone, not only in unhealthy places but also in healthy ones, and that in winter even the most unhealthy districts are much healthier because it gives them heat fastness. cool down similarly, people transferred from cold to hot countries cannot bear it but are consumed; while those who pass from the hot places to the cold regions of the north not only do not suffer from the change of residence but even gain from it.

5. It seems, then, that in founding cities we must beware of districts from which hot winds may spread over the inhabitants. for while all bodies are composed of the four elements, that is, of heat, moisture, earth, and air, yet there are admixtures according to natural temperament, which constitute the natures of all the different animals of the world, each according to its kind. . kind.

6. therefore, if one of these elements, heat, becomes predominant in any body, it destroys and dissolves all the others with its violence. this defect may be due to the violent heat of certain parts of the sky, which pours into the open pores in too great a proportion to admit a mixture adequate to the natural temperament of the body in question. moreover, if too much moisture enters the channels of a body, and thus introduces disproportion, the other elements, adulterated by the liquid, are damaged and the virtues of the mixture dissolve. this defect, in turn, can arise from the cooling properties of humid winds and breezes blowing over the body. in the same way, the increase or decrease of the proportion of air or earth that is natural to the body, can weaken the other elements; the predominance of being earthy due to overfeeding, that of air to a heavy atmosphere.

7. if one wants a more precise understanding of all this, one need only consider and observe the nature of birds, fish, and land animals, and thus one will come to reflect on distinctions of temperament. one form of mixture is typical of birds, another of fish and another very different of terrestrial animals. winged creatures have less of the earthly, less humidity, heat in moderation, air in great quantity. Being composed, therefore, of the lightest elements, they can rise more easily in the air. fishes, with their aquatic nature, being moderately supplied with heat, and composed largely of air and earth, with as little moisture as possible, can more easily exist in moisture for the very reason that they have less of it than of the other elements of their bodies; and thus, when they are drawn to earth, they leave life and water at the same moment. In the same way, terrestrial animals, being moderately supplied with the elements of air and wind, and having less of the land and much moisture, cannot continue to live long in water, because their portion of moisture is already abundant.

8. therefore, if all this is as we have explained, our reason showing us that the bodies of animals are made of the elements, and these bodies, as we believe, give way and break through excess or lack of this or that. With this element, we cannot help but believe that we must be very careful in selecting a very temperate climate for the location of our city, since health is, as we have said, the first requirement.

9. I cannot insist too much on the need to return to the method of the old days. our ancestors, when preparing to build a city or a military post, slaughtered some of the cattle that used to feed on the proposed site and examined their livers. if the livers of the first victims were dark or abnormal, others were sacrificed, to see if the deficiency was due to disease or to their diet. they never began to build defensive works in a place until after they had made many such tests and were satisfied that good food and water had made the liver healthy and firm. if they continued to find it abnormal, they argued from this that the food and water supply found in such a place would be equally unhealthy for man, so they moved on and moved to another neighborhood, healthiness being their primary goal.

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10. That grasses and food can indicate the healthful qualities of a site is a fact that can be observed and investigated in the case of certain grasses in Crete, on either side of the River Pothereus, which separates the two Cretan states of Gnosus and Gortyna. there are cattle grazing on the right and left banks of that river, but while the cattle feeding near gnosus have the usual spleen, those on the other side near gortyna have no discernible spleen. Investigating the matter, the doctors discovered on this side a kind of herb that cattle chew and thus shrink their spleens. therefore, the herb is collected and used as a medicine to cure splenic people. From food and water, then, we can tell if sites are naturally unhealthy or healthy.

11. if the walled city is built between the swamps themselves, as long as they are by the sea, facing north or northeast, and above the level of the seashore, the site will be quite reasonable. because ditches can be dug to let the water out on the shore, and also in times of storms the sea swells and returns to the swamps, where its bitter mixture prevents the usual swamp creatures from reproducing, while anyone who swims from the upper levels to the shore they are immediately killed by the salinity to which they are not accustomed. An example of this can be found in the Gallic swamps surrounding Altino, Ravenna, Aquileia and other cities in such places, near the swamps. they’re wonderfully healthy, for the reasons I’ve given.

12. But swamps that are stagnant and have no outlets either by rivers or ditches, like Pomptine swamps, simply rot in their state, giving off heavy, unwholesome fumes. A case of a city built on such a site was the ancient Salpia in Apulia, founded by Diomedes on his return from Troy, or, according to some writers, by Elpias of Rhodes. Year after year there was sickness, until finally the suffering inhabitants came with a public petition to Marcus Hostilius and got him to agree to search and find a suitable place to move their city. without delay he made the most skillful investigations, and at once purchased a property near the sea in a healthy place, and petitioned the Roman senate and people for permission to remove the city. he built the walls and laid out the house lots, granting one to each citizen for a mere trifle. this done, he opened an opening from a lake to the sea, and thus made the lake a port for the city. The result is that now the people of Salpia live in a healthy place and only four miles away from the old town.

chapter 5 top

the city walls

1. after assuring on these principles the healthiness of the future city, and selecting a neighborhood that can supply enough food to support the community, with good roads or convenient rivers or seaports providing easy means of transportation to the city, the following to do is lay the foundations of the towers and walls. dig to solid bottom, if it can be found, and place them there, going as deep as the magnitude of the proposed work seems to require. they must be much thicker than the part of the walls that will appear above the ground, and their structure must be as solid as possible.

2. the towers should project beyond the line of the wall, so that an enemy wishing to approach the wall to storm it may be exposed to shell fire on their open flank from the towers to their right and left. special precautions must be taken so that there is no easy path by which to assault the wall. paths should be circled at steep points and planned to approach the gates not in a straight line, but from right to left; because as a result of this, the right side of the raiders, unprotected by their shields, will be next to the wall. cities should not be laid out in an exact square or with projecting angles, but in a circular fashion, to give a view of the enemy from many points. defense is difficult where there are protruding angles, because the angle protects the enemy more than the inhabitants.

8. in my opinion, the thickness of the wall must be such that the armed men who gather on top of it can cross without interference. A very tight succession of carbonized olive wood ties must be placed in the thickness, joining the two faces of the wall like pins, to give it lasting resistance. because that is a material that neither decomposition, nor climate, nor time can damage, but even if buried in the ground or put in water, it remains healthy and useful forever. and therefore, not only city walls, but also substructures in general and all walls that require a thickness like a city wall, will take a long time to fall if tied in this way.

4. the towers must be placed at intervals of no more than one arrow shot, so that in the event of an assault on any of them, the enemy can be repelled with scorpions and other means of launching projectiles from the towers to the right and left . facing the inner side of each tower, the wall must be interrupted by a gap the width of the tower, and have only a wooden floor through, leading into the interior of the tower but not firmly nailed down. this must be cut off by the defenders in case the enemy seizes any part of the wall; and if the job is done quickly, the enemy will not be able to get to the other towers and the rest of the wall unless he is ready to face a fall.

5. the towers themselves must be round or polygonal. square towers are sooner smashed by military machines, because battering rams smash their angles to pieces; but in the case of round towers they can do no harm, since they are engaged, as it were, in driving wedges into their center. the wall and tower fortification system can be made more secure by adding earthen ramparts, as they cannot be damaged by battering rams, mining, or other engineering devices.

6. the defensive wall form, however, is not required everywhere, but only where outside the wall there is high ground from which an assault can be made on the fortifications in a level space in between . in places of this type we must first make very wide and deep ditches; next, lay a foundation for a wall in the bed of the trench and build it thick enough to support an earth movement with ease.

7. then within this substructure lay a second base, just far enough inside the first to leave ample room for the line-of-battle cohorts to take up position on the broad top of the wall for defense. after placing these two footings at this distance from each other, build transverse walls between them, joining the outer footing and the inner footing, in a comb-like arrangement, arranged like the teeth of a saw. With this form of construction, the enormous load of earth will be distributed in small bodies, and will not fall with all its weight in a crushing mass to push the substructures.

8. With regard to the material from which the present wall is to be built or finished, there can be no definite prescription, because we cannot get the supplies we want everywhere. dimension stone, flint, rubble, burnt or unburnt brick, use them as you find them. For not every particular neighborhood or locality can have a wall built of fired brick like that of Babylon, where there was plenty of asphalt to replace lime and sand, and yet each can possibly be provided with materials of equal utility. so that a flawless wall may be built from them that lasts forever.

chapter 6 top

street addresses; with comments on the winds

1. Once the city is fortified, the next step is the distribution of house lots within the wall and the layout of streets and alleys with respect to climatic conditions. they will be properly arranged if provision is made to exclude alley winds. cold winds are unpleasant, hot winds are enervating, humid winds are harmful to health. we must, therefore, avoid mistakes in this matter and distrust the common experience of many communities. for example, mytilene on the island of lesbos is a magnificently and tastefully built town, but its position betrays a lack of foresight. in that community when the wind is south, people get sick; when it is northwest, it makes them cough; with a north wind they do recover, but they cannot stand in the alleys and streets, due to the intense cold.

2. wind is a wave of flowing air, moving here and there indefinitely. Occurs when heat meets moisture, the blast of heat generates a powerful current of air. that this is the fact that we can learn from the bronze aeolipiles, and thus by means of a scientific invention discover a divine truth that lurks in the laws of the heavens. Aeolipiles are hollow bronze balls, with a very small opening through which water is poured into them. placed before a fire, not a breath comes out of them before they are heated; but as soon as they begin to boil, a strong breath comes out due to the fire. so from this small and very brief experiment we can understand and judge the powerful and wonderful laws of the heavens and the nature of the winds.

3. by closing the winds of our dwellings, therefore, we will not only make the place healthy for the people who are healthy, but also in the case of illnesses due perhaps to unfavorable situations in other places, the patients, who in other healthy places could be cured. by a different form of treatment, they will heal here more quickly because of the softness that comes from the exclusion of the winds. The diseases that are difficult to cure in neighborhoods such as those I have referred to above are catarrh, hoarseness, cough, pleurisy, consumption, spitting blood and all the others that are not cured by depressing the system, but by strengthening it. they are difficult to cure, first, because they are originally due to chills; secondly, because the patient’s organism being already exhausted by the disease, the air there, which is constantly agitated by the winds and therefore deteriorated, drains all the life sap from their diseased bodies and leaves them thinner every day. on the other hand, a soft and dense air, without drafts and not constantly blowing from side to side, builds their bodies by its unshakable stability, and thus strengthens and restores people suffering from these diseases.

4. some have held that there are only four winds: solanus from the east; austere south; west favonian; northern north. but more careful researchers tell us that there are eight. Chief among them was Andronicus of Cirrus, who on trial built the octagonal marble tower in Athens. On the various sides of the octagon he executed reliefs representing the various winds, each facing the point from which it blows; and on the top of the tower he placed a conical piece of marble and on it a bronze triton with a rod extended on his right band. it was designed to turn with the wind, always stopping to face the breeze and holding its wand like a pointer directly over the representation of the blowing wind.

5. thus eurus is placed to the southeast between solanus and auster: africus to the southwest between auster and favonius; caurus, or, as many call it, corus, between favonius and septentrio; and aquilo between septentrio and solanus. such, then, seems to have been his device, including wind numbers and names and indicating the directions from which particular winds blow. once these facts are determined, to find the directions and quarters of the winds, the procedure method of it should be as follows.

6. in the middle of the city place a marble amussium, aligning it to the level, or else let the place be so real by means of ruler and level that an amussium is not necessary. in the very center of that spot he places a bronze gnomon or “shadow finder”. About the fifth hour in the morning, take the end of the shadow cast by this gnomon, and mark it with a point. then, opening the compass to this point which marks the length of the shadow of the gnomon, draw a circle from the center. in the evening watch your gnomon’s shadow lengthen, and when it touches the circumference of this circle again and the evening shadow is the same length as the morning shadow, mark it with a dot.

7. From these two points, describe with your compasses intersecting arcs, and through their intersection and the center, draw a line to the circumference of the circle to give us

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