---
title: "On Architecture · De architectura"
author: "Vitruvius"
translator: "Morris Hicky Morgan"
languages: [la, en]
shelf: "Classical Latin"
section: 13 of 22
url: https://scriptura.si/works/vitruvius-on-architecture/13/
cite: "Vitruvius, tr. Morris Hicky Morgan, On Architecture · De architectura, section 13. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/vitruvius-on-architecture/13/"
---

# On Architecture · De architectura

*Vitruvius, tr. Morris Hicky Morgan*

The only architectural treatise to survive from antiquity: firmness, usefulness and beauty, temples and the proportions of the human body, water, sundials and machines.

> Latin: ed. Fritz Krohn, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit, phi1056.phi001, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Morris Hicky Morgan, from the Perseus Digital Library (phi1056.phi001.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (books, chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 13. Book VI · chapters 3–8

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/vitruvius-on-architecture/13/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/vitruvius-on-architecture/13/#p-N

[¶0] 3.9. 9. The following will be the distinction between Corinthian and Egyptian oeci: the Corinthian have single tiers of columns, set either on a podium or on the ground, with architraves over them and coronae either of woodwork or of stucco, and carved vaulted ceilings above the coronae. In the Egyptian there are architraves over the columns, and joists laid thereon from the architraves to the surrounding walls, with a floor in the upper story to allow of walking round under the open sky. Then, above the architrave and perpendicularly over the lower tier of columns, columns one fourth smaller should be imposed. Above their architraves and ornaments are decorated ceilings, and the upper columns have windows set in between them. Thus the Egyptian are not like Corinthian dining rooms, but obviously resemble basilicas.

> Latin: 3.9. Inter corinthios autem et aegyptios hoc erit discrimen. corinthii simplices habent columnas aut in podio positas aut in imo; supraque habent epistylia et coronas aut ex intestino opere aut albario, praeterea supra coronas curva lacunaria ad circinum delumbata. in aegyptiis autem supra columnas epistylia et ab epistyliis ad parietes, qui sunt circa, inponenda est contignatio, supra coaxationem pavimentum, subdiu ut sit circumitus. deinde supra epistylium ad perpendiculum inferiorum columnarum inponendae sunt minores quarta parte columnae. supra earum epistylia et ornamenta lacunariis ornantur, et inter columnas superiores fenestrae conlocantur; ita basilicarum ea similitudo, non corinthiorum tricliniorum videtur esse.

[¶1] 3.10. 10. There are also, though not customary in Italy, the oeci which the Greeks call Cyzicene. These are built with a northern exposure and generally command a view of gardens, and have folding doors in the middle. They are also so long and so wide that two sets of dining couches, facing each other, with room to pass round them, can be placed therein. On the right and left they have windows which open like folding doors, so that views of the garden may be had from the dining couches through the opened windows. The height of such rooms is one and one half times their width.

> Latin: 3.10. Fiunt autem etiam non italicae consuetudinis oeci, quos Graeci cyzicenos appellant. hi conlocantur spectantes ad septentrionem et maxime viridia prospicientes, valvasque habent in medio. ipsi autem sunt ita longi et lati, uti duo triclinia cum circumitionibus inter se spectantia possint esse conlocata, habentque dextra ac sinistra lumina fenestrarum valvata, uti de lectis per spatia fenestrarum viridia prospiciantur. altitudines eorum dimidia latitudinis addita constituuntur.

[¶2] 3.11. 11. All the above-mentioned symmetrical relations should be observed, in these kinds of buildings, that can be observed without embarrassment caused by the situation. The windows will be an easy matter to arrange if they are not darkened by high walls; but in cases of confined space, or when there are other unavoidable obstructions, it will be permissible to make diminutions or additions in the symmetrical relations,—with ingenuity and acuteness, however, so that the result may be not unlike the beauty which is due to true symmetry.

> Latin: 3.11. In his aedificiorum generibus omnes sunt faciendae earum symmetriarum rationes, quae sine inpeditione loci fieri poterunt, luminaque, parietum altitudinibus si non obscurabuntur, faciliter erunt explicata; sin autem inpedientur ab angustiis aut aliis necessitatibus, tunc erit ut ingenio et acumine de symmetriis detractiones aut adiectiones fiant, uti non dissimiles veris symmetriis perficiantur venustates.

[¶3] 4.1. 1. WE shall next explain how the special purposes of different rooms require different exposures, suited to convenience and to the quarters of the sky. Winter dining rooms and bathrooms should have a southwestern exposure, for the reason that they need the evening light, and also because the setting sun, facing them in all its splendour but with abated heat, lends a gentler warmth to that quarter in the evening. Bedrooms and libraries ought to have an eastern exposure, because their purposes require the morning light, and also because books in such libraries will not decay. In libraries with southern exposures the books are ruined by worms and dampness, because damp winds come up, which breed and nourish the worms, and destroy the books with mould, by spreading their damp breath over them.

> Latin: 4.1. Nunc explicabimus, quibus proprietatibus genera aedificiorum ad usum et caeli regiones aptas debeant spectare. hiberna triclinia et balnearia ad occidentem hibernum spectent, ideo quod vespertino lumine opus est uti, praeterea quod etiam sol occidens adversus habens splendorem, calorem remittens efficit vespertino tempore regionem tepidiorem. cubicula et bybliothecae ad orientem spectare debent; usus enim matutinum postulat lumen, item in bybliothecis libri non putrescent. nam quaecumque ad meridiem et occidentem spectant, ab tineis et umore libri vitiantur, quod venti umidi advenientes procreant eas et alunt infundentesque umidos spiritus pallore volumina corrumpunt.

[¶4] 4.2. 2. Dining rooms for Spring and Autumn to the east; for when the windows face that quarter, the sun, as he goes on his career from over against them to the west, leaves such rooms at the proper temperature at the time when it is customary to use them. Summer dining rooms to the north, because that quarter is not, like the others, burning with heat during the solstice, for the reason that it is unexposed to the sun's course, and hence it always keeps cool, and makes the use of the rooms both healthy and agreeable. Similarly with picture galleries, embroiderers' work rooms, and painters' studios, in order that the fixed light may permit the colours used in their work to last with qualities unchanged.

> Latin: 4.2. Triclinia verna et autumnalia ad orientem; tum enim praetenta luminibus adversus solis impetus progrediens ad occidentem efficit ea temperata ad id tempus, quo his solitum est uti. aestiva ad septentrionem, quod ea regio, [non] ut reliquae per solstitium propter calorem efficiuntur aestuosae, eo quod est aversa a solis cursu, semper refrigerata et salubritatem et voluptatem in usu praestat. non minus pinacothecae et plumariorum textrina pictorumque officinae, uti colores eorum in opere propter constantiam luminis inmutata permaneant qualitate.

[¶5] 5.1. 1. AFTER settling the positions of the rooms with regard to the quarters of the sky, we must next consider the principles on which should be constructed those apartments in private houses which are meant for the householders themselves, and those which are to be shared in common with outsiders. The private rooms are those into which nobody has the right to enter without an invitation, such as bedrooms, dining rooms, bathrooms, and all others used for the like purposes. The common are those which any of the people have a perfect right to enter, even without an invitation: that is, entrance courts, cavaedia, peristyles, and all intended for the like purpose. Hence, men of everyday fortune do not need entrance courts, tablina, or atriums built in grand style, because such men are more apt to discharge their social obligations by going round to others than to have others come to them.

> Latin: 5.1. Cum ad regiones caeli ita ea fuerint disposita, tunc etiam animadvertendum est, quibus rationibus privatis aedificiis propria loca patribus familiarum et quemadmodum communia cum extraneis aedificari debeant. namque ex his quae propria sunt, in ea non est potestas omnibus intro eundi nisi invitatis, quemadmodum sunt cubicula, triclinia, balneae ceteraque, quae easdem habent usus rationes. communia autem sunt, quibus etiam invocati suo iure de populo possunt venire, id est vestibula, cava aedium, peristylia, quaeque eundem habere possunt usum. igitur îs, qui communi sunt fortuna, non necessaria magnifica vestibula nec tabulina neque atria, quod aliis officia praestant ambiundo neque ab aliis ambiuntur.

[¶6] 5.2. 2. Those who do business in country produce must have stalls and shops in their entrance courts, with crypts, granaries, storerooms, and so forth in their houses, constructed more for the purpose of keeping the produce in good condition than for ornamental beauty. For capitalists and farmers of the revenue, somewhat comfortable and showy apartments must be constructed, secure against robbery; for advocates and public speakers, handsomer and more roomy, to accommodate meetings; for men of rank who, from holding offices and magistracies, have social obligations to their fellow-citizens, lofty entrance courts in regal style, and most spacious atriums and peristyles, with plantations and walks of some extent in them, appropriate to their dignity. They need also libraries, picture galleries, and basilicas, finished in a style similar to that of great public buildings, since public councils as well as private law suits and hearings before arbitrators are very often held in the houses of such men.

> Latin: 5.2. Qui autem fructibus rusticis serviunt, in eorum vestibulis stabula, tabernae, in aedibus cryptae, horrea, apothecae ceteraque, quae ad fructus servandos magis quam ad elegantiae decorem possunt esse, ita sunt facienda. item feneratoribus et publicanis commodiora et speciosiora et ab insidiis tuta, forensibus autem et disertis elegantiora et spatiosiora ad conventus excipiundos, nobilibus vero, qui honores magistratusque gerundo praestare debent officia civibus, faciunda sunt vestibula regalia alta, atria et peristylia amplissima, silvae ambulationesque laxiores ad decorem maiestatis perfectae; praeterea bybliothecas, pinacothecas, basilicas non dissimili modo quam publicorum operum magnificentia ⟨habeant⟩ comparatas, quod in domibus eorum saepius et publica consilia et privata iudicia arbitriaque conficiuntur.

[¶7] 5.3. 3. If, therefore, houses are planned on these principles to suit different classes of persons, as prescribed in my first book, under the subject of Propriety, there will be no room for criticism; for they will be arranged with convenience and perfection to suit every purpose. The rules on these points will hold not only for houses in town, but also for those in the country, except that in town atriums are usually next to the front door, while in country seats peristyles come first, and then atriums surrounded by paved colonnades opening upon palaestrae and walks. I have now set forth the rules for houses in town so far as I could describe them in a summary way. Next I shall state how farmhouses may be arranged with a view to convenience in use, and shall give the rules for their construction.

> Latin: 5.3. Ergo si his rationibus ad singulorum generum personas, uti in libro primo de decore est scriptum, ita disposita erunt aedificia, non erit quod reprehendatur; habebunt enim ad omnes res commodas et emendatas explicationes. earum autem rerum non solum erunt in urbe aedificiorum rationes, sed etiam ruri, praeterquam quod in urbe atria proxima ianuis solent esse, ruri ab pseudourbanis statim peristylia, deinde tunc atria habentia circum porticus pavimentatas spectantes ad palaestras et ambulationes. Quoad potui urbanas rationes aedificiorum summatim perscribere, proposui; nunc rusticorum expeditionum ⟨apparationes⟩, ut sint ad usum commodae quibusque rationibus conlocare oporteat eas, dicam.

[¶8] 6.1. 1. IN the first place, inspect the country from the point of view of health, in accordance with what is written in my first book, on the building of cities, and let your farmhouses be situated accordingly. Their dimensions should depend upon the size of the farm and the amount of produce. Their courtyards and the dimensions thereof should be determined by the number of cattle and the number of yokes of oxen that will need to be kept therein. Let the kitchen be placed on the warmest side of the courtyard, with the stalls for the oxen adjoining, and their cribs facing the kitchen fire and the eastern quarter of the sky, for the reason that oxen facing the light and the fire do not get rough-coated. Even peasants wholly without knowledge of the quarters of the sky believe that oxen ought to face only in the direction of the sunrise.

> Latin: 6.1. Primum de salubritatibus, uti in primo volumine de moenibus conlocandis scriptum est, regiones aspiciantur et ita villae conlocentur. magnitudines earum ad modum agri copiasque fructuum comparentur. chortes magnitudinesque earum ad pecorum numerum, atque quot iuga boum opus fuerit ibi versari, ita finiantur. in chorte culina quam calidissimo loco designetur. coniuncta autem habeat bubilia, quorum praesepia ad focum et orientis caeli regionem spectent, ideo quod boves lumen et ignem spectando horridi non fiunt; item agricolae religione inpediti non putant oportere aliam regionem caeli boves spectare nisi ortum solis.

[¶9] 6.2. 2. Their stalls ought to be not less than ten nor more than fifteen feet wide, and long enough to allow not less than seven feet for each yoke. Bathrooms, also, should adjoin the kitchen; for in this situation it will not take long to ready a bath in the country. Let the pressing room, also, be next to the kitchen; for in this situation it will be easy to deal with the fruit of the olive. Adjoining it should be the wine room with its windows lighted from the north. In a room with windows on any other quarter so that the sun can heat it, the heat will get into the wine and make it weak.

> Latin: 6.2. Bubilium autem debent esse latitudines nec minores pedum denûm nec maiores quindenûm; longitudo, uti singula iuga ne minus pedes occupent septenos. balnearia item coniuncta sint culinae; ita enim lavationi rusticae ministratio non erit longe. torcular item proximum sit culinae; ita enim ad molarios fructus commoda erit ministratio. habeatque coniunctam vinariam cellam habentem ab septentrione lumina fenestrarum; cum enim alia parte habuerit, qua sol calfacere possit, vinum, quod erit in ea cella, confusum ab calore efficietur inbecillum.

[¶10] 6.3. 3. The oil room must be situated so as to get its light from the south and from warm quarters; for oil ought not to be chilled, but should be kept thin by gentle heat. In dimensions, oil rooms should be built to accommodate the crop and the proper number of jars, each of which, holding about one hundred and twenty gallons, must take up a space four feet in diameter. The pressing room itself, if the pressure is exerted by means of levers and a beam, and not worked by turning screws, should be not less than forty feet long, which will give the lever man a convenient amount of space. It should be not less than sixteen feet wide, which will give the men who are at work plenty of free space to do the turning conveniently. If two presses are required in the place, allow twenty-four feet for the width.

> Latin: 6.3. Olearia autem ita est conlocanda, ut habeat a meridie calidisque regionibus lumen; non enim debet oleum congelari, sed tepore caloris extenuari. magnitudines autem earum ad fructuum rationem et numerum doliorum sunt faciundae, quae, cum sint cullearia, per medium occupare debent pedes quaternos. ipsum autem torcular, si non cocleis torquetur sed vectibus et prelo premitur, ne minus longum pedes XL constituatur; ita enim erit vectiario spatium expeditum. latitudo eius ne minus pedum senûm denûm; nam sic erit ad prelum opus facientibus libera versatio et expedita. sin autem duobus prelis loco opus fuerit, quattuor et viginti pedes latitudini dentur.

[¶11] 6.4. 4. Folds for sheep and goats must be made large enough to allow each animal a space of not less than four and a half, nor more than six feet. Rooms for grain should be set in an elevated position and with a northern or north-eastern exposure. Thus the grain will not be able to heat quickly, but, being cooled by the wind, keeps a long time. Other exposures produce the corn weevil and the other little creatures that are wont to spoil the grain. To the stable should be assigned the very warmest place in the farmhouse, provided that it is not exposed to the kitchen fire; for when draught animals are stabled very near a fire, their coats get rough.

> Latin: 6.4. Ovilia et caprilia ita sunt magna facienda, uti singula pecora areae ne minus pedes quaternos et semipedem, ne plus senos possint habere. granaria sublimata et ad septentrionem aut aquilonem spectantia disponantur; ita enim frumenta non poterint cito concalescere, sed ab flatu refrigerata diu servantur. namque ceterae regiones procreant curculionem et reliquas bestiolas, quae frumentis solent nocere. equilibus, quae maxime in villa loca calidissima fuerint, constituantur, dum ne ad focum spectent; cum enim iumenta proxime ignem stabulantur, horrida fiunt.

[¶12] 6.5. 5. Furthermore, there are advantages in building cribs apart from the kitchen and in the open, facing the east; for when the oxen are taken over to them on early winter mornings in clear weather, their coats get sleeker as they take their fodder in the sunlight. Barns for grain, hay, and spelt, as well as bakeries, should be built apart from the farmhouse, so that farmhouses may be better protected against danger from fire. If something more refined is required in farmhouses, they may be constructed on the principles of symmetry which have been given above in the case of town houses, provided that there is nothing in such buildings to interfere with their usefulness on a farm.

> Latin: 6.5. Item non sunt inutilia praesepia, quae conlocantur extra culinam in aperto contra orientem; cum enim in hieme anni sereno caelo in ea traducuntur matutino boves, ad solem pabulum capientes fiunt nitidiores. horrea, fenilia, farraria, pistrina extra villam facienda videntur, ut ab ignis periculo sint villae tutiores. si quid delicatius in villis faciundum fuerit, ex symmetriis, quae in urbanis supra scriptis sunt constitutae, ita struantur, uti sine inpeditione rusticae utilitatis aedificentur.

[¶13] 6.6. 6. We must take care that all buildings are well lighted, but this is obviously an easier matter with those which are on country estates, because there can be no neighbour's wall to interfere, whereas in town high party walls or limited space obstruct the light and make them dark. Hence we must apply the following test in this matter. On the side from which the light should be obtained let a line be stretched from the top of the wall that seems to obstruct the light to the point at which it ought to be introduced, and if a considerable space of open sky can be seen when one looks up above that line, there will be no obstruction to the light in that situation.

> Latin: 6.6. Omniaque aedificia ut luminosa sint, oportet curari; sed quae sunt ad villas, faciliora videntur esse, ideo quod paries nullius vicini potest obstare, in urbe autem aut communium parietum altitudines aut angustiae loci inpediundo faciunt obscuritates. itaque de ea re sic erit experiundum. ex qua parte lumen oporteat sumere, linea tendatur ab altitudine parietis, qui videtur obstare, ad eum locum, quo oporteat inmittere, et si ab ea linea, in altitudinem cum prospiciatur, poterit spatium puri caeli amplum videri, in eo loco lumen erit sine inpeditione.

[¶14] 6.7. 7. But if there are timbers in the way, or lintels, or upper stories, then, make the opening higher up and introduce the light in this way. And as a general rule, we must arrange so as to leave places for windows on all sides on which a clear view of the sky can be had, for this will make our buildings light. Not only in dining rooms and other rooms for general use are windows very necessary, but also in passages, level or inclined, and on stairs; for people carrying burdens too often meet and run against each other in such places. I have now set forth the plans used for buildings in our native country so that they may be clear to builders. Next, I shall describe summarily how houses are planned in the Greek fashion, so that these also may be understood.

> Latin: 6.7. Lumen erit sine inpeditione. sin autem officient trabes ea lumina aut contignationes, de superioribus partibus aperiatur et ita inmittatur. et ad summam ita est gubernandum, ut, ex quibuscumque partibus caelum prospici poterit, per eas fenestrarum loca relinquantur; sic enim lucida erunt aedificia. cum autem in tricliniis ceterisque conclavibus maximus est usus luminum, tum etiam in itineribus, clivis, scalis, quod in his saepius alii aliis obviam venientes ferentes sarcinas solent incurrere. Quoad potui, distributiones operum nostratium, ut sint aedificatoribus non obscurae, explicui; nunc etiam, quemadmodum Graecorum consuetudinibus aedificia distribuantur, uti non sint ignota, summatim exponam.

[¶15] 7.1. 1. THE Greeks, having no use for atriums, do not build them, but make passage-ways for people entering from the front door, not very wide, with stables on one side and doorkeepers' rooms on the other, and shut off by doors at the inner end. This place between the two doors is termed in Greek θυρωρεῖον. From it one enters the peristyle. This peristyle has colonnades on three sides, and on the side facing the south it has two antae, a considerable distance apart, carrying an architrave, with a recess for a distance one third less than the space between the antae. This space is called by some writers “prostas,” by others “pastas.”

> Latin: 7.1. Atriis Graeci quia non utuntur, neque aedificant, sed ab ianua introeuntibus itinera faciunt latitudinibus non spatiosis, et ex una parte equilia, ex altera ostiariis cellas, statimque ianuae interiores finiuntur. hic autem locus inter duas ianuas graece θυρωρεῖον appellatur. deinde est introitus in peristylon. id peristylum in tribus partibus habet porticus inque parte, quae spectat ad meridiem, duas antas inter se spatio amplo distantes, in quibus trabes invehuntur, et quantum inter antas distat, ex eo tertia dempta spatium datur introrsus. hic locus apud non nullos prostas, apud alios pastas nominatur.

[¶16] 7.2. 2. Hereabouts, towards the inner side, are the large rooms in which mistresses of houses sit with their wool spinners. To the right and left of the prostas there are chambers, one of which is called the “thalamos,” the other the “amphithalamos.” All round the colonnades are dining rooms for everyday use, chambers, and rooms for the slaves. This part of the house is termed “gynaeconitis.”

> Latin: 7.2. In his locis introrsus constituuntur oeci magni, in quibus matres familiarum cum lanificis habent sessionem. in prostadis autem dextra ac sinistra cubicula sunt conlocata, quorum unum thalamos, alterum amphithalamos dicitur. circum autem in porticibus triclinia cotidiana, cubicula, etiam cellae familiaricae constituuntur. haec pars aedificii gynaeconitis appellatur.

[¶17] 7.3. 3. In connexion with these there are ampler sets of apartments with more sumptuous peristyles, surrounded by four colonnades of equal height, or else the one which faces the south has higher columns than the others. A peristyle that has one such higher colonnade is called a Rhodian peristyle. Such apartments have fine entrance courts with imposing front doors of their own; the colonnades of the peristyles are decorated with polished stucco in relief and plain, and with coffered ceilings of woodwork; off the colonnades that face the north they have Cyzicene dining rooms and picture galleries; to the east, libraries; exedrae to the west; and to the south, large square rooms of such generous dimensions that four sets of dining couches can easily be arranged in them, with plenty of room for serving and for the amusements.

> Latin: 7.3. Coniunguntur autem his domus ampliores habentes lautiora peristylia, in quibus pares sunt quattuor porticus altitudinibus, aut una, quae ad meridiem spectat, excelsioribus columnis constituitur. id autem peristylum, quod unam altiorem habet porticum, rhodiacum dicitur. habent autem eae domus vestibula egregia et ianuas proprias cum dignitate porticusque peristyliorum albariis et tectoriis et ex intestino opere lacunariis ornatas, et in porticibus, quae ad septentrionem spectant, triclinia cyzicena et pinacothecas, ad orientem autem bybliothecas, exhedras ad occidentem, ad meridiem vero spectantes oecos quadratos ita ampla magnitudine, uti faciliter in eo quattuor tricliniis stratis ministrationum ludorumque operis locus possit esse spatiosus.

[¶18] 7.4. 4. Men's dinner parties are held in these large rooms; for it was not the practice, according to Greek custom, for the mistress of the house to be present. On the contrary, such peristyles are called the men's apartments, since in them the men can stay without interruption from the women. Furthermore, small sets of apartments are built to the right and left, with front doors of their own and suitable dining rooms and chambers, so that guests from abroad need not be shown into the peristyles, but rather into such guests' apartments. For when the Greeks became more luxurious, and their circumstances more opulent, they began to provide dining rooms, chambers, and store-rooms of provisions for their guests from abroad, and on the first day they would invite them to dinner, sending them on the next chickens, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and other country produce. This is why artists called pictures representing the things which were sent to guests “xenia.” Thus, too, the heads of families, while being entertained abroad, had the feeling that they were not away from home, since they enjoyed privacy and freedom in such guests' apartments.

> Latin: 7.4. In his oecis fiunt virilia convivia; non enim fuerat institutum matres familiarum eorum moribus accumbere. haec autem peristylia domus andronitides dicuntur, quod in his viri sine interpellationibus mulierum versantur. praeterea dextra ac sinistra domunculae constituuntur habentes proprias ianuas, triclinia et cubicula commoda, uti hospites advenientes non in peristylia sed in ea hospitalia recipiantur. nam cum fuerunt Graeci delicatiores et fortuna opulentiores, hospitibus advenientibus instruebant triclinia, cubicula, cum penu cellas, primoque die ad cenam invitabant, postero mittebant pullos, ova, holera, poma reliquasque res agrestes. ideo pictores ea, quae mittebantur hospitibus, picturis imitantes xenia appellaverunt. ita patres familiarum in hospitio non videbantur esse peregre, habentes secretam in his hospitalibus libertatem.

[¶19] 7.5. 5. Between the two peristyles and the guests' apartments are the passage-ways called “mesauloe,” because they are situated midway between two courts; but our people called them “andrones.” This, however, is a very strange fact, for the term does not fit either the Greek or the Latin use of it. The Greeks call the large rooms in which men's dinner parties are usually held ἀνδρῶνες, because women do not go there. There are other similar instances as in the case of “xystus,” “prothyrum,” “telamones,” and some others of the sort. As a Greek term, ξυστός means a colonnade of large dimensions in which athletes exercise in the winter time. But our people apply the term “xysta” to uncovered walks, which the Greeks call παραδρομίδες. Again, πρόθυρα, means in Greek the entrance courts before the front doors; we, however, use the term “prothyra” in the sense of the Greek διάθυρα.

> Latin: 7.5. Inter duo autem peristylia et hospitalia itinera sunt, quae mesauloe dicuntur, quod inter duas aulas media sunt interposita; nostri autem eas andronas appellant. Sed hoc valde est mirandum, nec enim graece nec latine potest id convenire. Graeci enim ἀνδρῶνας appellant oecus, ubi convivia virilia solent esse, quod eo mulieres non accedunt. item aliae res sunt similes, uti xystus, prothyrum, telamones et nonnulla alia eius modi. ξυστός enim est graeca appellatione porticus ampla latitudine, in qua athletae per hiberna tempora exercentur; nostri autem hypaethrus ambulationes xysta appellant, quas Graeci παραδρομίδας dicunt. item πρόθυρα graece dicuntur, quae sunt ante ianuas vestibula, nos autem appellamus prothyra, quae graece dicuntur διάθυρα.

[¶20] 7.6. 6. Again, figures in the form of men supporting mutules or coronae, we term “telamones”—the reasons why or wherefore they are so called are not found in any story—but the Greeks name them ἄτλαντες. For Atlas is described in story as holding up the firmament because, through his vigorous intelligence and ingenuity, he was the first to cause men to be taught about the courses of the sun and moon, and the laws governing the revolutions of all the constellations. Consequently, in recognition of this benefaction, painters and sculptors represent him as holding up the firmament, and the Atlantides, his daughters, whom we call “Vergiliae” and the Greeks Πλειάδες, are consecrated in the firmament among the constellations.

> Latin: 7.6. Item si qua virili figura signa mutulos aut coronas sustinent, nostri telamones appellant, cuius rationes, quid ita aut quare dicantur, ex historiis non inveniuntur, Graeci vero eos ἄτλαντας vocitant. Atlas enim formatur historia sustinens mundum, ideo quod is primum cursum solis et lunae siderumque omnium versationum rationes vigore animi sollertiaque curavit hominibus tradenda, eaque re a pictoribus et statuariis deformatur pro eo beneficio sustinens mundum, filiaeque eius Atlantides, quas nos vergilias, Graeci autem Πλειάδας nominant, cum sideribus in mundo sunt dedicatae.

[¶21] 7.7. 7. All this, however, I have not set forth for the purpose of changing the usual terminology or language, but I have thought that it should be explained so that it may be known to scholars. I have now explained the usual ways of planning houses both in the Italian fashion and according to the practices of the Greeks, and have described, with regard to their symmetry, the proportions of the different classes. Having, therefore, already written of their beauty and propriety, I shall next explain, with reference to durability, how they may be built to last to a great age without defects.

> Latin: 7.7. Nec tamen ego, ut mutetur consuetudo nominationum aut sermonis, ideo haec proposui, sed uti non sint ignota philologis, exponenda iudicavi. Quibus consuetudinibus aedificia italico more et Graecorum institutis conformantur, exposui et de symmetriis singulorum generum proportiones perscripsi. ergo quoniam de venustate decoreque ante est conscriptum, nunc exponemus de firmitate, quemadmodum ea sine vitiis permanentia ad vetustatem conlocentur.

[¶22] 8.1. 1. HOUSES which are set level with the ground will no doubt last to a great age, if their foundations are laid in the manner which we have explained in the earlier books, with regard to city walls and theatres. But if underground rooms and vaults are intended, their foundations ought to be thicker than the walls which are to be constructed in the upper part of the house, and the walls, piers, and columns of the latter should be set perpendicularly over the middle of the foundation walls below, so that they may have solid bearing; for if the load of the walls or columns rests on the middle of spans, they can have no permanent durability.

> Latin: 8.1. Aedificia quae plano pede instituuntur, si fundamenta eorum facta fuerint ita, ut in prioribus libris de muro et theatris a nobis est expositum, ad vetustatem ea erunt sine dubitatione firma. sin autem hypogea concamarationesque instituentur, fundationes eorum fieri debent crassiores, quam quae in superioribus aedificiis structurae sunt futurae. eorumque parietes, pilae, columnae ad perpendiculum inferiorum medio conlocentur, uti solido respondeant; nam si in pendentibus onera fuerint parietum aut columnarum, non poterint habere perpetuam firmitatem.

[¶23] 8.2. 2. It will also do no harm to insert posts between lintels and sills where there are piers or antae; for where the lintels and beams have received the load of the walls, they may sag in the middle, and gradually undermine and destroy the walls. But when there are posts set up underneath and wedged in there, they prevent the beams from settling and injuring such walls.

> Latin: 8.2. Praeterea inter lumina secundum pilas et antas postes si supponentur, erunt non vitiosae. limina enim et trabes structuris cum sint oneratae, medio spatio pandantes frangunt sub lysi structuras; cum autem subiecti fuerint et subcuneati postes, non patiuntur insidere trabes neque eas laedere.

[¶24] 8.3. 3. We must also manage to discharge the load of the walls by means of archings composed of voussoirs with joints radiating to the centre. For when arches with voussoirs are sprung from the ends of beams, or from the bearings of lintels, in the first place they will discharge the load and the wood will not sag; secondly, if in course of time the wood becomes at all defective, it can easily be replaced without the construction of shoring.

> Latin: 8.3. Item administrandum est, uti levent onus parietum fornicationes cuneorum divisionibus et ad centrum respondentes earum conclusurae. cum enim extra trabes aut liminum capita arcus cuneis erunt conclusae, primum non pandabit materies levata onere; deinde, si quod vetustate vitium ceperit, sine molitione fulturarum faciliter mutabitur.

[¶25] 8.4. 4. Likewise in houses where piers are used in the construction, when there are arches composed of voussoirs with joints radiating to the centre, the outermost piers at these points must be made broader than the others, so that they may have the strength to resist when the wedges, under the pressure of the load of the walls, begin to press along their joints towards the centre, and thus to thrust out the abutments. Hence, if the piers at the ends are of large dimensions, they will hold the voussoirs together, and make such works durable.

> Latin: 8.4. Itemque, quae pilatim aguntur aedificia et cuneorum divisionibus coagmentis ad centrum respondentibus fornices concluduntur, extremae pilae in his latiores spatio sunt faciundae, uti vires eae habentes resistere possint, cum cunei ab oneribus parietum pressi per coagmenta ad centrum se prementes extruderent incumbas. itaque si angulares pilae erunt spatiosis magnitudinibus, continendo cuneos firmitatem operibus praestabunt.

[¶26] 8.5. 5. Having taken heed in these matters to see that proper attention is paid to them, we must also be equally careful that all walls are perfectly vertical, and that they do not lean forward anywhere. Particular pains, too, must be taken with substructures, for here an endless amount of harm is usually done by the earth used as filling. This cannot always remain of the same weight that it usually has in summer, but in winter time it increases in weight and bulk by taking up a great deal of rain water, and then it bursts its enclosing walls and thrusts them out.

> Latin: 8.5. Cum in his rebus animadversum fuerit, uti ea diligentia in his adhibeatur, non minus etiam observandum est, uti omnes structurae perpendiculo respondeant neque habeant in ulla parte proclinationes. maxima autem esse debet cura substructionum, quod in his infinita vitia solet facere terrae congestio. ea enim non potest esse semper uno pondere, quo solet esse per aestatem, sed hibernis temporibus recipiendo ex imbribus aquae multitudinem crescens et pondere et amplitudine disrumpit et extrudit structurarum saeptiones.

[¶27] 8.6. 6. The following means must be taken to provide against such a defect. First, let the walls be given a thickness proportionate to the amount of filling; secondly, build counterforts or buttresses at the same time as the wall, on the outer side, at distances from each other equivalent to what is to be the height of the substructure and with the thickness of the substructure. At the bottom let them run out to a distance corresponding to the thickness that has been determined for the substructure, and then gradually diminish in extent so that at the surface their projection is equal to the thickness of the wall of the building.

> Latin: 8.6. Itaque, ut huic vitio medeatur, sic erit faciundum, ut primum pro amplitudine congestionis crassitudo structurae constituatur. deinde in frontibus anterides, sive erismae sunt, una struantur, eaeque inter se distent tanto spatio, quanta altitudo substructionis est futura, crassitudine eadem, qua substructio; procurrat autem ab imo, pro quam crassitudo constituta fuerit substructionis, deinde contrahatur gradatim, ita uti summam habeat prominentiam, quanta operis est crassitudo.

[¶28] 8.7. 7. Furthermore, inside, to meet the mass of earth, there should be saw-shaped constructions attached to the wall, the single teeth extending from the wall for a distance equivalent to what is to be the height of the substructure, and the teeth being constructed with the same thickness as the wall. Then at the outermost angles take a distance inwards, from the inside of the angle, equal to the height of the substructure, and mark it off on each side; from these marks build up a diagonal structure and from the middle of it a second, joined on to the angle of the wall. With this arrangement, the teeth and diagonal structures will not allow the filling to thrust with all its force against the wall, but will check and distribute the pressure.

> Latin: 8.7. Praeterea introrsus contra terrenum coniuncta muro serratim struantur, uti singuli dentes ab muro tantum distent, quanta altitudo futura erit substructionis; crassitudines autem habeant dentium structurae uti muri. item in extremis angulis cum recessum fuerit ab interiore angulo spatio altitudinis substructionis, in utramque partem signetur, et ab his signis diagonios structura conlocetur, et ab ea media altera coniuncta cum angulo muri. ita dentes et diagonioe structurae non patientur tota vi premere murum, sed dissipabunt retinendo impetum congestionis.

[¶29] 8.8. 8. I have now shown how buildings can be constructed without defects, and the way to take precautions against the occurrence of them. As for replacing tiles, roof timbers, and rafters, we need not be so particular about them as about the parts just mentioned, because they can easily be replaced, however defective they may become. Hence, I have shown by what methods the parts which are not considered solid can be rendered durable, and how they are constructed.

> Latin: 8.8. Quemadmodum sine vitiis opera constitui oporteat et uti caveatur incipientibus, exposui. namque de tegulis aut tignis aut asseribus mutandis non est eadem cura quemadmodum de his, quod ea, quamvis sunt vitiosa, faciliter mutantur. itaque nec, solida quia non putantur esse, quibus rationibus haec poterint esse firma et quemadmodum instituantur, exposui.

[¶30] 8.9. 9. As for the kind of material to be used, this does not depend upon the architect, for the reason that all kinds of materials are not found in all places alike, as has been shown in the first book. Besides, it depends on the owner whether he desires to build in brick, or rubble work, or dimension stone. Consequently the question of approving any work may be considered under three heads: that is, delicacy of workmanship, sumptuousness, and design. When it appears that a work has been carried out sumptuously, the owner will be the person to be praised for the great outlay which he has authorized; when delicately, the master workman will be approved for his execution; but when proportions and symmetry lend it an imposing effect, then the glory of it will belong to the architect.

> Latin: 8.9. Quibus autem copiarum generibus oporteat uti, non est architecti potestas, ideo quod non in omnibus locis omnia genera copiarum nascuntur, ut in primo volumine est expositum; praeterea in domini est potestate, utrum latericio an caementicio an saxo quadrato velit aedificare. itaque omnium operum probationes tripertito considerantur, id est fabrili subtilitate et magnificentia et dispositione. cum magnificenter opus perfectum aspicietur, a domini potestate inpensae laudabuntur; cum subtiliter, officinatoris probabitur exactio; cum vero venuste proportionibus et symmetriis habuerit auctoritatem, tunc fuerit gloria architecti.

[¶31] 8.10. 10. Such results, however, may very well be brought about when he allows himself to take the advice both of workmen and of laymen. In fact, all kinds of men, and not merely architects, can recognize a good piece of work, but between laymen and the latter there is this difference, that the layman cannot tell what it is to be like without seeing it finished, whereas the architect, as soon as he has formed the conception, and before he begins the work, has a definite idea of the beauty, the convenience, and the propriety that will distinguish it. I have now described as clearly as I could what I thought necessary for private houses, and how to build them. In the following book I shall treat of the kinds of polished finish employed to make them elegant, and durable without defects to a great age.

> Latin: 8.10. Haec autem recte constituuntur, cum is et a fabris et ab idiotis patiatur accipere se consilia. namque omnes homines, non solum architecti, quod est bonum, possunt probare, sed inter idiotas et eos hoc est discrimen, quod idiota, nisi factum viderit, non potest scire, quid sit futurum, architectus autem, simul animo constituerit, antequam inceperit, et venustate et usu et decore quale sit futurum, habet definitum. Quas res privatis aedificiis utiles putavi et quemadmodum sint faciundae, quam apertissime potui, perscripsi; de expolitionibus autem eorum, uti sint elegantes et sine vitiis ad vetustatem, insequenti volumine exponam.