Marcus Vitruvius Pollio Quotes & Sayings

If then, at this great distance, our human vision can discern that sight, why, pray, are we to think that the divine splendor of the stars can be cast into darkness? — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

All these soft kinds [of stone] have the advantage that they can be easily worked as soon as they have been taken from the quarries. Under cover, they play their part well; but in open and exposed situations the frost and rime make them crumble, and they go to pieces. On the seacoast, too, the salt eats away and dissolves them, nor can they stand great heat either. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Dimension stone, flint, rubble, burnt or unburnt brick, use them as you find them. For it is not every neighborhood or particular locality that can have a wall built of burnt brick like that at Babylon , where there was plenty of asphalt to take the place of lime and sand, and yet possibly each may be provided with materials of equal usefulness so that out of them a faultless wall may be built to last forever. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

There are also half bricks ... As the bricks are always laid so as to break joints, this lends strength and a not unattractive appearance to both sides of such walls. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The larch ... is not only preserved from decay and the worm by the great bitterness of its sap, but also it cannot be kindled with fire nor ignite of itself, unless like stone in a limekiln it is burned with other wood ... This is because there is a very small proportion of the elements of fire and air in its composition, which is a dense and solid mass of moisture and the earthy, so that it has no open pores through which fire can find its way ... Further, its weight will not let it float in water. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Water from clay pipes is much more wholesome than that which is conducted through lead pipes, because lead is found to be harmful for the reason that white lead is derived from it, and this is said to be hurtful to the human system. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Nothing suffers annihilation, but at dissolution there is a change, and things fall back to the essential element in which they were before. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Architect's designs must refer to the unquestionable perfection of the body's symmetry and proportions. If a building is to create a sense of eurythmia, it is essential that it mirrors these natural laws of harmony and beauty — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Remembering ... that Eratosthenes of Cyrene, employing mathematical theories and geometrical methods, discovered from the course of the sun, the shadows cast by an equinoctial gnomon, and the inclination of the heaven that the circumference of the earth is two hundred and fifty-two thousand stadia, that is, thirty-one million five hundred thousand paces. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

In order that the mortar in the joints may not suffer from frosts, drench it with oil-dregs every year before winter begins. Thus treated, it will not let the hoarfrost enter it. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

From food and water, then, we may learn whether sites are naturally unhealthy or healthy. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

A harmonious design requires that nothing be added or taken away. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

As regards the efficacy of the art and the theories of it, I promise and expect that in these volumes I shall undoubtedly show myself of very considerable importance not only to builders but also to all scholars. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Burn shavings and splinters of pitch pine, and when they turn to charcoal, put them out, and pound them into mortar with size. This will make a pretty black for fresco painting. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

In fact, all kinds of men, and not merely architects, can recognize a good piece of work ... — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Bricks will be most serviceable if made two years before using; for they cannot dry thoroughly in less time. When fresh undried bricks are used in a wall, the stucco covering stiffens and hardens into a permanent mass, but the bricks settle and ... the motion caused by their shrinking prevents them from adhering to it, and they are separated from their union with it ... at Utica in constructing walls they use brick only if it is dry and made five years previously, and approved as such by the authority of a magistrate. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The leaves of these [larch] trees are like those of the pine; timber from them comes in long lengths, is as easily wrought in joiner's work as is the clearwood of fir, and contains a liquid resin, of the color of Attic honey, which is good for consumptives . — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Economy denotes the the proper management of materials and of site, as well as a thrifty balancing of cost and common sense in the construction of works ... the architect does not demand things which cannot be found or made ready without great expense. For example: it is not everywhere that there is plenty of pitsand, rubble, fir, clear fir, and marble ... Where there is no pitsand, we must use the kinds washed up by rivers or by the sea ... and other problems we must solve in similar ways. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The [engineer] should be equipped with knowledge of many branches of study and varied kinds of learning, for it is by his judgement that all work done by the other arts is put to test. This knowledge is the child of practice and theory. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

There are two styles of walls "opus reticulatum," now used by everybody and the ancient style called "opus incertum." Of these, the reticulatum looks better, but its construction makes it likely to crack ... On the other hand, in the opus incertum, the rubble lying in courses and imbricated , makes a wall which though not beautiful, is stronger. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

It was a wise and useful provision of the ancients to transmit their thoughts to posterity by recording them in treatises, so that they should not be lost, but, being developed in succeeding generations through publications in books, should gradually attain in later times, to the highest refinement of learning. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

In felling a tree we should cut into the trunk of it to the very heart, and then leave it standing so that the sap may drain out drop by drop throughout the whole of it ... Then and not till then, the tree being drained dry and the sap no longer dripping, let it be felled and it will be in the highest state of usefulness. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Architecture depends on Order, Arrangement, Eurythmy, Symmetry , Propriety , and Economy. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

It is no secret that the moon has no light of her own, but is, as it were, a mirror, receiving brightness from the influence of the sun. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Marshes that are stagnant and have no outlets either by rivers or ditches, like the Pomptine marshes, merely putrefy as they stand, emitting heavy, unhealthy vapors. A case of a town built in such a spot was Old Salpia in Apulia ... 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 seek and find them a proper place to which to remove their city. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Philosophy treats of physics where a more careful knowledge is required because the problems which come under this head are numerous ... 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 trained in these subjects by the philosophers. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

In all matters but particularly in architecture ... that which is signified is the subject of which we may be speaking and that which gives significance is a demonstration on scientific principles ... One who professes himself an architect should be well versed in both directions. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

A liberal education forms ... a single body. Those, therefore, who from tender years receive instruction in the various forms of learning, recognize the same stamp on all the arts, and an intercourse between all studies, and so they more readily comprehend them all. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

There will be no propriety in the spectacle of an elegant interior approached by a low mean entrance. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

There are also in some places springs which have the peculiarity of giving fine singing voices to the natives, as at Tarsus in Magnesia and in other countries of that kind. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

For siege works against bold and venturesome men should be constructed on one plan, on another against cautious men, and on still another against the cowardly. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The design of a temple depends on symmetry , the principles of which must be most carefully observed by the architect. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Some springs are acid, as at Lyncestus and in Italy in the Velian country, at Teano in Campania, and in many other places. These when used in drinks have the power of breaking up stones in the bladder, which form in the human body. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Dinocrates did not leave the king, but followed him into Egypt. There Alexander, observing a harbor rendered safe by nature, an excellent center for trade, cornfields throughout all Egypt, and the great usefulness of the mighty river Nile, ordered him to build the city of Alexandria , named after the king. This was how Dinocrates, recommended only by his good looks and dignified carriage, came to be so famous. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Leave a cavity behind the [wall] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick or lava in courses, and then bind them to the fronts by means of iron clamps and lead ... the beds and builds, all settling equally and bonded at the joints, will not let the work bulge out, nor allow the fall of the face walls which have been tightly fastened together. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

There are also kinds of water that cause death, as they run through harmful juices in the soil and become poisonous. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Basilicas should be constructed on a site adjoining the forum and in the warmest possible quarter, so that in winter business men may gather in them without being troubled by the weather. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

There will ... be natural propriety in using an eastern light for bedrooms and libraries, a western light in winter for baths and winter apartments, and a northern light for picture galleries and other places in which a steady light is needed; for that quarter of the sky grows neither light nor dark with the course of the sun, but remains steady and unshifting all day long. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Thus by such victory, not by machines but in oppositions to the principle to the principles of machines, has the freedom of states been preserved by the cunning of architects. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

While all bodies are composed of the four elements, that is, of heat, moisture, the earthy, and air, yet there are mixtures according to natural temperament which make up the natures of all the different animals of the world, each after its kind. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Propriety is that perfection of style which comes when a work is authoritatively constructed on approved principles. It arises from prescription, from usage, or from nature. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The third order, called Corinthian , is an imitation of the slenderness of a maiden; for the outlines and limbs of maidens, being more slender on account of their tender years, admit of prettier effects in the way of adornment. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Heat is a universal solvent, melting out of things their power of resistance, and sucking away and removing their natural strength with its fiery exhalations so that they grow soft, and hence weak, under its glow. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

As for philosophy, it makes an architect high-minded and not self-assuming, but rather renders him courteous, just, and honest without avariciousness. This is very important, for no work can be rightly done without honesty and incorruptibility. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

If our designs for private houses are to be correct, we must at the outset take note of the countries and climates in which they are built. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Nobody draws the light for covered wine rooms from the south or west, but rather from the north, since that quarter is never subject to change but is always constant and unshifting. So it is with granaries: grain exposed to the sun's course soon loses its good quality, and provisions and fruit, unless stored in a place unexposed to the sun's course, do not keep long. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Oak ... lasts for an unlimited period when buried in underground structures ... when exposed to moisture ... it cannot take in liquid on account of its compactness, but, withdrawing from the moisture, it resists it and warps, thus making cracks. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

There are ... many ... names for winds derived from localities or from the squalls which sweep from rivers or down mountains. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

In accordance with the foregoing investigations on mathematical principles, let bronze vessels be made, proportionate to the size of the theatre, and let them be so fashioned that, when touched, they may produce with one another the notes of the fourth, the fifth, and so on up the double octave. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Now architecture consists of order, which in Greek is called taxis ... Order is the balanced adjustment of the details of the work separately, and, as to the whole, the arrangement of the proportion with a view to a symmetrical result. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Music, also, the architect ought to understand so that he may have knowledge of the canonical and mathematical theory, and besides be able to tune ballistae , catapultae, and scorpiones to the proper key. For to the right and left in the beams are the holes in the frames through which the strings of twisted sinew are stretched by means of windlasses and bars, and these strings must not be clamped and made fast until they give the same correct note to the ear of the skilled workman. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

All machinery is derived from nature, and is founded on the teaching and instruction of the revolution of the firmament. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The architect must not only understand drawing, but music. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Our ancestors, when about to build a town or an army post, sacrificed some of the cattle that were wont to feed on the site proposed and examined their livers. If the livers of the first victims were dark-coloured or abnormal, they sacrificed others, to see whether the fault was due to disease or their food. They never began to build defensive works in a place until after they had made many such trials and satisfied themselves that good water and food had made the liver sound and firm ... healthfulness being their chief object. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The construction of temples of the Ionic order to Juno , Diana , Father Bacchus, and the other gods of that kind, will be in keeping with the middle position which they hold; for the building of such will be an appropriate combination of the severity of the Doric and the delicacy of the Corinthian . — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

For we must not build temples according to the same rules to all gods alike, since the performance of the sacred rites varies with the various gods. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Of course, we need not be surprised if artistic excellence goes unrecognized on account of being unknown; but there should be the greatest indignation when, as often, good judges are flattered by the charm of social entertainments into an approbation which is a mere a pretence. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The Phrygians ... select a natural hillock, run a trench through the middle of it, dig passages, and extend the interior space as widely as the site admits. Over it they build a pyramidal roof of logs fastened together, and this they cover with reeds and brushwood, heaping up very high mounds of earth above their dwellings. Thus their fashion in houses makes their winters very warm and their summers very cool. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Astronomers ... have a common ground for discussion with musicians in the harmony of the stars and musical concords in tetrads and triads of the fourth and the fifth, and with geometricians in the subject of vision; and in all other sciences many points, perhaps all, are common so far as the discussion of them is concerned. But the actual undertaking of works which are brought to perfection by the hand and its manipulation is the function of those who have been specially trained to deal with a single art. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

With the ripening of the fruits in Autumn the leaves begin to wither and the trees, taking up their sap from the earth through the roots, recover themselves and are restored to their former solid texture. But the strong air of winter compresses and solidifies them. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

At Halicarnassus , the house of that most potent king Mausolus, though decorated throughout with Proconnesian marble, has walls built of brick which are to this day of extraordinary strength, and are covered with stucco so highly polished that they seem to be as glistening as glass. That king did not use brick from poverty; for he was choke-full of revenues, being ruler of all Caria . — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Fresh pitsand, however, in spite of all its excellence in concrete structures, is not equally useful in stucco, the richness of which, when the lime and straw are mixed with such sand, will cause it to crack as it dries on account of the great strength of the mixture. But river sand, though useless in "signinum" on account of its thinness, becomes perfectly solid in stucco when thoroughly worked by means of polishing instruments. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

When the juices of trees have no means of escape, they clot and rot in them, making the trees hollow and good for nothing. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

But as for me, Emperor, nature has not given me stature, age has marred my face, and my strength is impaired by ill health. Therefore, since these advantages fail me, I shall win your approval, as I hope, by the help of my knowledge and my writings. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Noting all these things with the great delight which learning gives, we cannot but be stirred by these discoveries when we reflect upon the influence of them one by one. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Next I must tell about the machine of Ctesibius, which raises water to a height. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Architects should be educated, skillful with the pencil, instructed in geometry, know much history, have followed the philosophers with attention, understand music, have some knowledge of medicine, know the opinions of the jurists, and be acquainted with astronomy and the theory of the heavens — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The proper form of economy must be observed in building houses for each and every class. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Bricks should be made in Spring or Autumn so that they may dry uniformly. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Some have held that there are only four winds: Solanus from the east; Auster from the south; Favonius from due west; Septentrio from the north. But more careful investigators tell us that there are eight. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Some people do indeed say that Eratosthenes could not have inferred the true measure of the earth. Whether true or untrue, it cannot affect the truth of what I have written on the fixing of the quarters from which the different winds blow. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Cold winds are disagreeable, hot winds enervating, moist winds unhealthy. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

An architect ought to be an educated man so as to leave a more lasting remembrance in his treatises. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Geometry ... is of much assistance in architecture, and in particular it teaches us the use of the rule and compasses, by which especially we acquire readiness in making plans for buildings in their grounds, and rightly apply the square, the level, and the plummet. By means of optics ... the light in buildings can be drawn from fixed quarters of the sky ... Difficult questions involving symmetry are solved by means of geometrical theories and methods. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The oak ... has not the efficacy of the fir , nor the cypress that of the elm . — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The stone in quarries is found to be of different and unlike qualities. In some it is soft ... in others it is medium ... in still others it is hard as in lava quarries. There are also numerous other kinds: for instance, in Campania , red and black tufas ; in Umbria , Picenum, and Venetia , white tufa which can be cut with a toothed saw like wood. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

For not all things are practicable on identical principles — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

In the midst of all this great variety of subjects, an individual cannot attain to perfection in each, because it is scarcely in his power to take in and comprehend the general theories of them. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Trees which grow in places facing the course of the sun are not of porous fiber but are solid, being drained by the dryness ... The trees in sunny neighborhoods, therefore, being solidified by the compact texture of their fiber, and not being porous from moisture, are very useful, so far as durability goes, when they are hewn into timber. The lowland firs, being conveyed from sunny places, are better than those highland firs, which are brought here from shady places. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

At Jaffa in Syria and among the Nomads in Arabia , are lakes of enormous size that yield very large masses of asphalt, which are carried off by the inhabitants thereabouts. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Altars should face the east, and should always be placed on a lower level than are the statues in the temples, so that those who are praying and sacrificing may look upwards towards the divinity. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The fact is that pictures which are unlike reality ought not be approved, and even if they are technically fine, this is no reason why they should offhand be judged to be correct, if their subject is lacking in the principles of reality carried out with no violations. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

From prescription, in the case of hypaethral edifices, open to the sky, in honor of Jupiter Lightning, the Heaven, the Sun, or the Moon: for these are gods whose semblances and manifestations we behold before our very eyes in the sky when it is cloudless and bright. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The winter oak ... is very useful in buildings but when in a moist place it takes in water to its centre ... and so it rots. The Turkey oak and the beech both ... take in moisture to their centre and soon decay. White and black poplar , as well as willow , linden , and the agnus castus ... are of great service from their stiffness ... they are a convenient material to use in carving. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Pytheos made a mistake by not observing that the arts are each composed of two things, the actual work and the theory of it. One of these, the doing of the work, is proper to men trained in the individual subject, while the other the theory is common to all scholars. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Apollo at Delphi, through the oracular utterance of his priestess, pronounced Socrates the wisest of men. Of him it is related that he said with sagacity and great learning that the human breast should have been furnished with open windows, so that men might not keep their feelings concealed, but have them open to the view. Oh that nature, following his idea, had constructed them thus unfolded and obvious to the view. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

In Sparta , paintings have been taken out of certain walls by cutting through the bricks, then have been placed in wooden frames, and so brought to the Comitium to adorn the aedileship of [C. Visellius] Varro and [C. Licinius] Murena. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Fir : it contains a great deal of air and fire with very little moisture and the earthy, so that, as its natural properties are of the lighter class, it is not heavy. Hence, its consistence being naturally stiff, it does not easily bend under the load, and keeps its straightness when used in the framework. But it contains so much heat that it generates and encourages decay, which spoils it; and it also kindles fire quickly because of the air in its body, which is so open that it takes in fire and so gives out a great flame. — Marcus Vitruvius Pollio