Marcus Vitruvius Pollio Quotes

Architecture depends on Order, Arrangement, Eurythmy, Symmetry , Propriety , and Economy.

The architect must not only understand drawing, but music.

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.

A harmonious design requires that nothing be added or taken away.

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.

Consistency is found in that work whose whole and detail are suitable to the occasion. It arises from circumstance, custom, and nature.

Bricks should be made in Spring or Autumn so that they may dry uniformly.

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

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.

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.

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

For not all things are practicable on identical principles

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

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

Bodies which contain a greater proportion of water than is necessary to balance the other elements, are speedily corrupted, and lose their virtues and properties.

Wind is a floating wave of air, whose undulation continually varies.

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.

From the exterior face of the wall towers must be projected, from which an approaching enemy may be annoyed by weapons, from the embrasures of those towers, right and left.

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.

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

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.

Architecture is a science arising out of many other sciences, and adorned with much and varied learning; by the help of which a judgment is formed of those works which are the result of other arts.

The oak has not the efficacy of the fir, nor the cypress that of the elm.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Cold winds are disagreeable, hot winds enervating, moist winds unhealthy.

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.

When it passes towards the east, the sun begins to have less effect upon it, and a thin line on the edge of its bright side emits its splendour towards the earth.

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

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

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

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

The thickness of the walls should be sufficient for two armed men to pass each other with ease.

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.

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?

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