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 PollioConsistency is found in that work whose whole and detail are suitable to the occasion. It arises from circumstance, custom, and nature.
Marcus Vitruvius PollioThere are many names for winds derived from localities or from the squalls which sweep from rivers or down mountains.
Marcus Vitruvius PollioThere are also kinds of water that cause death, as they run through harmful juices in the soil and become poisonous.
Marcus Vitruvius PollioThere 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 PollioAt 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