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 PollioThere will be no propriety in the spectacle of an elegant interior approached by a low mean entrance.
Marcus Vitruvius PollioNext I must tell about the machine of Ctesibius, which raises water to a height.
Marcus Vitruvius PollioThere are many names for winds derived from localities or from the squalls which sweep from rivers or down mountains.
Marcus Vitruvius PollioAn architect ought to be an educated man so as to leave a more lasting remembrance in his treatises.
Marcus Vitruvius PollioBricks 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