pr.1. 1. 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! For if it had been so, not merely the virtues and vices of the mind would be easily visible, but also its knowledge of branches of study, displayed to the contemplation of the eyes, would not need testing by untrustworthy powers of judgement, but a singular and lasting influence would thus be lent to the learned and wise. However, since they are not so constructed, but are as nature willed them to be, it is impossible for men, while natural abilities are concealed in the breast, to form a judgement on the quality of the knowledge of the arts which is thus deeply hidden. And if artists themselves testify to their own skill, they can never, unless they are wealthy or famous from the age of their studios, or unless they are also possessed of the public favour and of eloquence, have an influence commensurate with their devotion to their pursuits, so that people may believe them to have the knowledge which they profess to have.
pr.1. Delphicus Apollo Socratem omnium sapientissimum Pythiae responsis est professus. is autem memoratur prudenter doctissimeque dixisse, oportuisse hominum pectora fenestrata et aperta esse, uti non occultos haberent sensus sed patentes ad considerandum. utinam vero rerum natura sententiam eius secuta explicata et apparentia ea constituisset! si enim ita fuisset, non solum laudes aut vitia animorum ad manum aspicerentur, sed etiam disciplinarum scientiae sub oculorum consideratione subiectae non incertis iudiciis probarentur, sed et doctis et scientibus auctoritas egregia et stabilis adderetur ipsique artifices pellicerent sua prudentia, ⟨qui, etiam⟩si non pecunia sint copiosi seu vetustate officinarum habuerint notitiam aut etiam gratia forensi et eloquentia, cum fuerint parati, pro industria studiorum auctoritates possent habere, ut eis, quod profitentur scire, id crederetur. igitur quoniam haec non ita, sed uti natura rerum voluit, sunt constituta, non efficitur, ut possint homines obscuratis sub pectoribus ingeniis scientias artificiorum penitus latentes, quemadmodum sint, iudicare.
pr.2. 2. In particular we can learn this from the case of the sculptors and painters of antiquity. Those among them who were marked by high station or favourably recommended have come down to posterity with a name that will last forever; for instance, Myron, Polycletus, Phidias, Lysippus, and the others who have attained to fame by their art. For they acquired it by the execution of works for great states or for kings or for citizens of rank. But those who, being men of no less enthusiasm, natural ability, and dexterity than those famous artists, and who executed no less perfectly finished works for citizens of low station, are unremembered, not because they lacked diligence or dexterity in their art, but because fortune failed them: for instance, Teleas of Athens, Chion of Corinth, Myager the Phocaean, Pharax of Ephesus, Boedas of Byzantium, and many others. Then there were painters like Aristomenes of Thasos, Polycles and Andron of Ephesus, Theo of Magnesia, and others who were not deficient in diligence or enthusiasm for their art or in dexterity, but whose narrow means or ill-luck, or the higher position of their rivals in the struggle for honour, stood in the way of their attaining distinction.
pr.2. Maxime autem id animadvertere possumus ab antiquis statuariis et pictoribus, quod ex his, qui dignitatis notas et commendationis gratiam habuerunt, aeterna memoria ad posteritatem sunt permanentes, uti Myron, Polycletus, Phidias, Lysippus ceterique, qui nobilitatem ex arte sunt consecuti. namque ut civitatibus magnis aut regibus aut civibus nobilibus opera fecerunt, ita id sunt adepti. at qui non minore studio et ingenio sollertiaque fuerunt nobilibus et humili fortuna civibus non minus egregie perfecta fecerunt opera, nullam memoriam sunt adsecuti, quod hi non ab industria neque artis sollertia sed a felicitate fuerunt deserti, ut Hegias Atheniensis, Chion Corinthius, Myagrus Phocaeus, Pharax Ephesius, Boedas Byzantius etiamque alii plures. non minus item pictores, uti Aristomenes Thasius, Polycles et Androcydes ⟨Cyzice⟩ni, Theo Magnes ceterique, quos neque industria neque artis studium neque sollertia defecit, sed aut rei familiaris exiguitas aut inbecillitas fortunae seu in ambitione certationis contrariorum superatio obstitit eorum dignitati.
pr.3. 3. 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 pretence. Now if, as Socrates wished, our feelings, opinions, and knowledge gained by study had been manifest and clear to see, popularity and adulation would have no influence, but men who had reached the height of knowledge by means of correct and definite courses of study, would be given commissions without any effort on their part. However, since such things are not plain and apparent to the view, as we think they should have been, and since I observe that the uneducated rather than the educated are in higher favour, thinking it beneath me to engage with the uneducated in the struggle for honour, I prefer to show the excellence of our department of knowledge by the publication of this treatise.
pr.3. Nec tamen est admirandum, si propter ignotitiam artis virtutes obscurantur, sed maxime indignandum, cum etiam saepe eblandiatur gratia conviviorum a veris iudiciis falsam probationem. ergo, uti Socrati placuit, si ita sensus et sententiae scientiaeque disciplinis auctae perspicuae et perlucidae fuissent, non gratia neque ambitio valeret, sed si qui veris certisque laboribus doctrinarum pervenissent ad scientiam summam, eis ultro opera traderentur. quoniam autem ea non sunt inlustria neque apparentia in aspectu, ut putamus oportuisse, et animadverto potius indoctos quam doctos gratia superare, non esse certandum iudicans cum indoctis ambitione, potius his praeceptis editis ostendam nostrae scientiae virtutem.
pr.4. 4. In my first book, Emperor, I described to you the art, with its points of excellence, the different kinds of training with which the architect ought to be equipped, adding the reasons why he ought to be skilful in them, and I divided up the subject of architecture as a whole among its departments, duly defining the limits of each. Next, as was preeminent and necessary, I explained on scientific principles the method of selecting healthy sites for fortified towns, pointed out by geometrical figures the different winds and the quarters from which they blow, and showed the proper way to lay out the lines of streets and rows of houses within the walls. Here I fixed the end of my first book. In the second, on building materials, I treated their various advantages in structures, and the natural properties of which they are composed. In this third book I shall speak of the temples of the immortal gods, describing and explaining them in the proper manner.
pr.4. Itaque, imperator, in primo volumine tibi de arte et quas habeat ea virtutes quibusque disciplinis oporteat esse auctum architectum, exposui et subieci causas, quid ita earum oporteat eum esse peritum, rationesque summae architecturae partitione distribui finitionibusque terminavi. deinde, quod erat primum et necessarium, de moenibus, quemadmodum eligantur loci salubres, ratiocinationibus explicui, ventique qui sint et e quibus ⟨regionibus⟩ singuli spirant, deformationibus grammicis ostendi, platearumque et vicorum uti emendate fiant distributiones in moenibus, docui et ita finitionem primo volumine constitui. item in secundo de materia, quas habeat in operibus utilitates et quibus virtutibus e natura rerum est comparata, peregi. nunc in tertio de deorum inmortalium aedibus sacris dicam et, uti oportet, perscriptas exponam.
1.1. 1. THE design of a temple depends on symmetry, the principles of which must be most carefully observed by the architect. They are due to proportion, in Greek ἀναλογία. Proportion is a correspondence among the measures of the members of an entire work, and of the whole to a certain part selected as standard. From this result the principles of symmetry. Without symmetry and proportion there can be no principles in the design of any temple; that is, if there is no precise relation between its members, as in the case of those of a well shaped man.
1.1. Aedium compositio constat ex symmetria, cuius rationem diligentissime architecti tenere debent. ea autem paritur a proportione, quae graece ἀναλογία dicitur. proportio est ratae partis membrorum in omni opere totiusque commodulatio, ex qua ratio efficitur symmetriarum. namque non potest aedis ulla sine symmetria atque proportione rationem habere compositionis, nisi uti hominis bene figurati membrorum habuerit exactam rationem.
1.2. 2. For the human body is so designed by nature that the face, from the chin to the top of the forehead and the lowest roots of the hair, is a tenth part of the whole height; the open hand from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger is just the same; the head from the chin to the crown is an eighth, and with the neck and shoulder from the top of the breast to the lowest roots of the hair is a sixth; from the middle of the breast to the summit of the crown is a fourth. If we take the height of the face itself, the distance from the bottom of the chin to the under side of the nostrils is one third of it; the nose from the under side of the nostrils to a line between the eyebrows is the same; from there to the lowest roots of the hair is also a third, comprising the forehead. The length of the foot is one sixth of the height of the body; of the forearm, one fourth; and the breadth of the breast is also one fourth. The other members, too, have their own symmetrical proportions, and it was by employing them that the famous painters and sculptors of antiquity attained to great and endless renown.
1.2. Corpus enim hominis ita natura composuit, uti os capitis a mento ad frontem summam et radices imas capilli esset decimae partis, item manus pansa ab articulo ad extremum medium digitum tantundem, caput a mento ad summum verticem octavae, cum cervicibus imis ab summo pectore ad imas radices capillorum sextae, ⟨a medio pectore⟩ ad summum verticem quartae. ipsius autem oris altitudinis tertia est pars ab imo mento ad imas nares, nasum ab imis naribus ad finem mediûm superciliorum tantundem, ab ea fine ad imas radices capilli frons efficitur item tertiae partis. pes vero altitudinis corporis sextae, cubitum quartae, pectus item quartae. reliqua quoque membra suas habent commensus proportiones, quibus etiam antiqui pictores et statuarii nobiles usi magnas et infinitas laudes sunt adsecuti.
1.3. 3. Similarly, in the members of a temple there ought to be the greatest harmony in the symmetrical relations of the different parts to the general magnitude of the whole. Then again, in the human body the central point is naturally the navel. For if a man be placed flat on his back, with his hands and feet extended,, and a pair of compasses centred at his navel, the fingers and toes of his two hands and feet will touch the circumference of a circle described therefrom. And just as the human body yields a circular outline, so too a square figure may be found from it. For if we measure the distance from the soles of the feet to the top of the head, and then apply that measure to the outstretched arms, the breadth will be found to be the same as the height, as in the case of plane surfaces which are perfectly square.
1.3. Similiter vero sacrarum aedium membra ad universam totius magnitudinis summam ex partibus singulis convenientissimum debent habere commensus responsum. item corporis centrum medium naturaliter est umbilicus. namque si homo conlocatus fuerit supinus manibus et pedibus pansis circinique conlocatum centrum in umbilico eius, circumagendo rotundationem utrarumque manuum et pedum digiti linea tangentur. non minus quemadmodum schema rotundationis in corpore efficitur, item quadrata designatio in eo invenietur. nam si a pedibus imis ad summum caput mensum erit eaque mensura relata fuerit ad manus pansas, invenietur eadem latitudo uti altitudo, quemadmodum areae, quae ad normam sunt quadratae.
1.4. 4. Therefore, since nature has designed the human body so that its members are duly proportioned to the frame as a whole, it appears that the ancients had good reason for their rule, that in perfect buildings the different members must be in exact symmetrical relations to the whole general scheme. Hence, while transmitting to us the proper arrangements for buildings of all kinds, they were particularly careful to do so in the case of temples of the gods, buildings in which merits and faults usually last forever.
1.4. Ergo si ita natura composuit corpus hominis, uti proportionibus membra ad summam figurationem eius respondeant, cum causa constituisse videntur antiqui, ut etiam in operum perfectionibus singulorum membrorum ad universam figurae speciem habeant commensus exactionem. igitur cum in omnibus operibus ordines traderent, maxime in aedibus deorum, ⟨quod eorum⟩ operum et laudes et culpae aeternae solent permanere.
1.5. 5. Further, it was from the members of the body that they derived the fundamental ideas of the measures which are obviously necessary in all works, as the finger, palm, foot, and cubit. These they apportioned so as to form the “perfect number,” called in Greek τέλειον, and as the perfect number the ancients fixed upon ten. For it is from the number of the fingers of the hand that the palm is found, and the foot from the palm. Again, while ten is naturally perfect, as being made up by the fingers of the two palms, Plato also held that this number was perfect because ten is composed of the individual units, called by the Greeks But as soon as eleven or twelve is reached, the numbers, being excessive, cannot be perfect until they come to ten for the second time; for the component parts of that number are the individual units.
1.5. Nec minus mensurarum rationes, quae in omnibus operibus videntur necessariae esse, ex corporis membris collegerunt, uti digitum, palmum, pedem, cubitum, et eas distribuerunt in perfectum numerum, quem Graeci τέλειον dicunt. perfectum autem antiqui instituerunt numerum qui decem dicitur; namque ex manibus digitorum numero [ab palmo pes] est inventus. si autem in utrisque palmis ex articulis ab natura decem sunt perfecti, etiam Platoni placuit esse eum numerum ea re perfectum, quod ex ⟨X⟩ singularibus rebus, quae μονάδες apud Graecos dicuntur, perficitur decusis. simul autem undecim aut duodecim sunt facti, quod superaverint, non possunt esse perfecti, donec ad alterum decusis perveniant; singulares enim res particulae sunt eius numeri.
1.6. 6. The mathematicians, however, maintaining a different view, have said that the perfect number is six, because this number is composed of integral parts which are suited numerically to their method of reckoning: thus, one is one sixth; two is one third; three is one half; four is two thirds, or δίμοιρος as they call it; five is five sixths, called πεντάμοιρος; and six is the perfect number. As the number goes on growing larger, the addition of a unit above six is the ἔφεκτος; eight, formed by the addition of a third part of six, is the integer and a third, called ἐπίτριτος; the addition of one half makes nine, the integer and a half, termed the addition of two thirds, making the number ten, is the integer and two thirds, which they call ἐπιδίμοιρος; in the number eleven, where five are added, we have the five sixths, called ἐπίπεμπτος; finally, twelve, being composed of the two simple integers, is called διπλάσιος.
1.6. Mathematici vero contra disputantes ea re perfectum dixerunt esse numerum qui sex dicitur, quod is numerus habet partitiones eorum rationibus sex numero convenientes sic: sextantem unum, trientes duo, semissem tria, besem quem δίμοιρον dicunt quattuor, quintarium quem πεντάμοιρον dicunt quinque, perfectum sex. cum ad duplicationem crescat, supra sex adiecto asse ἔφεκτον; cum facta sunt octo, quod est tertia adiecta, tertiarium alterum, qui ἐπίτριτος dicitur; dimidia adiecta cum facta sunt novem, sesquialterum, qui ἡμιόλιος appellatur; duabus partibus additis et decusis facto bes alterum, quem ἐπιδίμοιρον vocitant; in undecim numero quod adiecti sunt quinque, quintarium, quem ἐπίπεμπτον dicunt; duodecim autem, quod ex duobus numeris simplicibus est effectus, διπλάσιονα.
1.7. 7. And further, as the foot is one sixth of a man's height, the height of the body as expressed in number of feet being limited to six, they held that this was the perfect number, and observed that the cubit consisted of six palms or of twenty-four fingers. This principle seems to have been followed by the states of Greece. As the cubit consisted of six palms, they made the drachma, which they used as their unit, consist in the same way of six bronze coins, like our which they call obols; and, to correspond to the fingers, divided the drachma into twenty-four quarter-obols, which some call dichalca others trichalca.
1.7. Non minus etiam, quod pes hominis altitudinis sextam habet partem, (ita etiam, ex eo quod perficitur pedum numero corporis ⟨altitudo, veteribus columnis basis scapi elata⟩ sexies altitudines terminavit) eum perfectum constituerunt, cubitumque animadverterunt ex sex palmis constare digitisque XXIIII. ex eo etiam videntur civitates Graecorum fecisse, quemadmodum cubitus est sex palmorum, in drachma, qua nummo uterentur, aereos signatos uti asses ex aequo sex, quos obolos appellant, quadrantesque obolorum, quae alii dichalca, nonnulli trichalca dicunt, pro digitis viginti quattuor in drachma constituisse.
1.8. 8. But our countrymen at first fixed upon the ancient number and made ten bronze pieces go to the denarius, and this is the origin of the name which is applied to the denarius to this day. And the fourth part of it, consisting of two asses and half of a third, they called “sesterce.” But later, observing that six and ten were both of them perfect numbers, they combined the two, and thus made the most perfect number, sixteen. They found their authority for this in the foot. For if we take two palms from the cubit, there remains the foot of four palms; but the palm contains four fingers. Hence the foot contains sixteen fingers, and asses.
1.8. Nostri autem primo fecerunt ⟨perfectum⟩ antiquum numerum et in denario denos aeris constituerunt, et ea re compositio nominis ad hodiernum diem denarium retinet. etiamque quarta pars quod efficiebatur ex duobus assibus et tertio semisse, sestertium vocitaverunt. postea autem quam animadverterunt utrosque numeros esse perfectos, et sex et decem, utrosque in unum coiecerunt et fecerunt perfectissimum decusis sexis. huius autem rei auctorem invenerunt pedem. e cubito enim cum dempti sunt palmi duo, relinquitur pes quattuor palmorum, palmus autem habet quattuor digitos. ita efficitur, ut habeat pes sedecim digitos et totidem asses aeracius denarius.
1.9. 9. Therefore, if it is agreed that number was found out from the human fingers, and that there is a symmetrical correspondence between the members separately and the entire form of the body, in accordance with a certain part selected as standard, we can have nothing but respect for those who, in constructing temples of the immortal gods, have so arranged the members of the works that both the separate parts and the whole design may harmonize in their proportions and symmetry.
1.9. Ergo si convenit ex articulis hominis numerum inventum esse et ex membris separatis ad universam corporis speciem ratae partis commensus fieri responsum, relinquitur, ut suspiciamus eos, qui etiam aedes deorum inmortalium constituentes ita membra operum ordinaverunt, ut proportionibus et symmetriis separatae atque universae convenientes efficerentur eorum distributiones.
2.1. 1. THERE are certain elementary forms on which the general aspect of a temple depends. First there is the temple in antis, ναὸςἐνπαραστάσιν as it is called in Greek; then the prostyle, amphiprostyle, peripteral, pseudodipteral, dipteral, and hypaethral. These different forms may be described as follows.
2.1. Aedium autem principia sunt, e quibus constat figurarum aspectus, ea: primum in antis, quod graece ναὸς ἐν παραστάσιν dicitur, deinde prostylos, amphiprostylos, peripteros, pseudodipteros, ⟨dipteros⟩, hypaethros. horum exprimuntur formationes his rationibus.
2.2. 2. It will be a temple in antis when it has antae carried out in front of the walls which enclose the cella, and in the middle, between the antae, two columns, and over them the pediment constructed in the symmetrical proportions to be described later in this work. An example will be found at the Three Fortunes, in that one of the three which is nearest the Colline gate.
2.2. In antis erit aedes, cum habebit in fronte antas parietum, qui cellam circumcludunt, et inter antas in medio columnas duas supraque fastigium symmetria ea conlocatum, quae in hoc libro fuerit perscripta. huius autem exemplar erit ad Tres Fortunas extribus quod est proxime portam Collinam.
2.3. 3. The prostyle is in all respects like the temple in antis, except that at the corners, opposite the antae, it has two columns, and that it has architraves not only in front, as in the case of the temple in antis, but also one to the right and one to the left in the wings. An example of this is the temple of Jove and Faunus in the Island of the Tiber.
2.3. Prostylos omnia habet quemadmodum in antis, columnas autem contra antas angulares duas supraque epistylia, quemadmodum et in antis, et dextra ac sinistra in versuris singula. huius exemplar est in insula Tiberina in aede Iovis et Fauni.
2.4. 4. The amphiprostyle is in all other respects like the prostyle, but has besides, in the rear, the same arrangement of columns and pediment.
2.4. amphiprostylos omnia habet ea, quae prostylos, praetereaque habet in postico ad eundem modum columnas et fastigium.
2.5. 5. A temple will be peripteral that has six columns in front and six in the rear, with eleven on each side including the corner columns. Let the columns be so placed as to leave a space, the width of an intercolumniation, all round between the walls and the rows of columns on the outside, thus forming a walk round the cella of the temple, as in the cases of the temple of Jupiter Stator by Hermodorus in the Portico of Metellus, and the Marian temple of Honour and Valour constructed by Mucius, which has no portico in the rear.
2.5. Peripteros autem erit, quae habebit in fronte et postico senas columnas, in lateribus cum angularibus undenas. ita autem sint hae columnae conlocatae, ut intercolumnii latitudinis intervallum sit a parietibus circum ad extremos ordines columnarum, habeatque ambulationem circa cellam aedis, quemadmodum est sine postico in porticu Metelli Iovis Statoris Hermodori et Mariana Honoris et Virtutis a Mucio facta.
2.6. 6. The pseudodipteral is so constructed that in front and in the rear there are in each case eight columns, with fifteen on each side, including the corner columns. The walls of the cella in front and in the rear should be directly over against the four middle columns. Thus there will be a space, the width of two intercolumniations plus the thickness of the lower diameter of a column, all round between the walls and the rows of columns on the outside. There is no example of this in Rome, but at Magnesia there is the temple of Diana by Hermogenes, and that of Apollo at Alabanda by Mnesthes.
2.6. Pseudodipteros autem sic conlocatur, ut in fronte et postico sint columnae octonae, in lateribus cum angularibus quinae denae. sint autem parietes cellae contra quaternas columnas medianas in fronte et postico. ita duorum intercolumniorum et imae crassitudinis columnae spatium erit ab parietibus circa ad extremos ordines columnarum. huius exemplar Romae non est, sed Magnesiae Dianae Hermogenis Alabandei et Apollinis a Menesthe facta.
2.7. 7. The dipteral also is octastyle in both front and rear porticoes, but it has two rows of columns all round the temple, like the temple of Quirinus, which is Doric, and the temple of Diana at Ephesus, planned by Chersiphron, which is Ionic.
2.7. Dipteros autem octastylos et pronao et postico, sed circa aedem duplices habet ordines columnarum, uti est aedis Quirini dorica et Ephesi Dianae ionica a Chersiphrone constituta.
2.8. 8. The hypaethral is decastyle in both front and rear porticoes. In everything else it is the same as the dipteral, but inside it has two tiers of columns set out from the wall all round, like the colonnade of a peristyle. The central part is open to the sky, without a roof. Folding doors lead to it at each end, in the porticoes in front and in the rear. There is no example of this sort in Rome, but in Athens there is the octastyle in the precinct of the Olympian.
2.8. Hypaethros vero decastylos est in pronao et postico. reliqua omnia eadem habet quae dipteros, sed interiore parte columnas in altitudine duplices, remotas a parietibus ad circumitionem ut porticus peristyliorum. medium autem sub divo est sine tecto. aditus valvarum ex utraque parte in pronao et postico. huius item exemplar Romae non est, sed Athenis octastylos ex templo Olympio.
3.1. 1. THERE are five classes of temples, designated as follows: pycnostyle, with the columns close together; systyle, with the intercolumniations a little wider; diastyle, more open still; araeostyle, farther apart than they ought to be; eustyle, with the intervals apportioned just right.
3.1. Species autem aedium sunt quinque, quarum ea sunt vocabula: pycnostylos, id est crebris columnis, systylos paulo remissioribus, diastylos amplius quam oportet inter se diductis, araeostylos spatiis intercolumniorum patentibus rare, eustylos intervallorum iusta distributione.
3.2. 2. The pycnostyle is a temple in an intercolumniation of which the thickness of a column and a half can be inserted: for example, the temple of the Divine Caesar, that of Venus in Caesar's forum, and others constructed like them. The systyle is a temple in which the thickness of two columns can be placed in an intercolumniation, and in which the plinths of the bases are equivalent to the distance between two plinths: for example, the temple of Equestrian Fortune near the stone theatre, and the others which are constructed on the same principles.
3.2. Ergo pycnostylos est, cuius intercolumnio unius et dimidiatae columnae crassitudo interponi potest, quemadmodum est divi Iulii et in Caesaris foro Veneris et si quae aliae sic sunt compositae. item systylos est, in qua duarum columnarum crassitudo in intercolumnio poterit conlocari, et spirarum plinthides aeque magnae sint ei spatio, quod fuerit inter duas plinthides, quemadmodum est Fortunae Equestris ad theatrum lapideum reliquaeque, quae eisdem rationibus sunt compositae.
3.3. 3. These two kinds have practical disadvantages. When the matrons mount the steps for public prayer or thanksgiving, they cannot pass through the intercolumniations with their arms about one another, but must form single file; then again, the effect of the folding doors is thrust out of sight by the crowding of the columns, and likewise the statues are thrown into shadow; the narrow space interferes also with walks round the temple.
3.3. Haec utraque genera vitiosum habent usum. matres enim familiarum cum ad supplicationem gradibus ascendunt, non possunt per intercolumnia amplexae adire, nisi ordines fecerint; item valvarum aspectus abstruditur columnarum crebritate ipsaque signa obscurantur; item circa aedem propter angustias inpediuntur ambulationes.
3.4. 4. The construction will be diastyle when we can insert the thickness of three columns in an intercolumniation, as in the case of the temple of Apollo and Diana. This arrangement involves the danger that the architraves may break on account of the great width of the intervals.
3.4. Diastyli autem haec erit compositio, cum trium columnarum crassitudinem intercolumnio interponere possumus, tamquam est Apollinis et Dianae aedis. haec dispositio hanc habet difficultatem, quod epistylia propter intervallorum magnitudinem franguntur.
3.5. 5. In araeostyles we cannot employ stone or marble for the architraves, but must have a series of wooden beams laid upon the columns. And moreover, in appearance these temples are clumsy-roofed, low, broad, and their pediments are adorned in the Tuscan fashion with statues of terra-cotta or gilt bronze: for example, near the Circus Maximus, the temple of Ceres and Pompey's temple of Hercules; also the temple on the Capitol.
3.5. In araeostylis autem nec lapideis nec marmoreis epistyliis uti datur, sed inponendae de materia trabes perpetuae. et ipsarum aedium species sunt varicae, barycephalae, humiles, latae, ornanturque signis fictilibus aut aereis inauratis earum fastigia tuscanico more, uti est ad Circum Maximum Cereris et Herculis Pompeiani, item Capitolii.
3.6. 6. An account must now be given of the eustyle, which is the most approved class, and is arranged on principles developed with a view to convenience, beauty, and strength. The intervals should be made as wide as the thickness of two columns and a quarter, but the middle intercolumniations, one in front and the other in the rear, should be of the thickness of three columns. Thus built, the effect of the design will be beautiful, there will be no obstruction at the entrance, and the walk round the cella will be dignified.
3.6. Reddenda nunc est eustyli ratio, quae maxime probabilis et ad usum et ad speciem et ad firmitatem rationes habet explicatas. namque facienda sunt in intervallis spatia duarum columnarum et quartae partis columnae crassitudinis, mediumque intercolumnium unum, quod erit in fronte, alterum, quod in postico, trium columnarum crassitudine. sic enim habebit et figurationis aspectum venustum et aditus usum sine inpeditionibus et circa cellam ambulatio auctoritatem.
3.7. 7. The rule of this arrangement may be set forth as follows. If a tetrastyle is to be built, let the width of the front which shall have already been determined for the temple, be divided into eleven parts and a half, not including the substructures and the projections of the bases; if it is to be of six columns, into eighteen parts. If an octastyle is to be constructed, let the front be divided into twenty-four parts and a half. Then, whether the temple is to be tetrastyle, hexastyle, or octastyle, let one of these parts be taken, and it will be the module. The thickness of the columns will be equal to one module. Each of the intercolumniations, except those in the middle, will measure two modules and a quarter. The middle intercolumniations in front and in the rear will each measure three modules. The columns themselves will be nine modules and a half in height. As a result of this division, the intercolumniations and the heights of the columns will be in due proportion.
3.7. Huius autem rei ratio explicabitur sic. frons loci quae in aede constituta fuerit, si tetrastylos facienda fuerit, dividatur in partes XI S praeter crepidines et proiecturas spirarum; si sex erit columnarum, in partes XVIII; si octastylos constituetur, dividatur in XXIV et semissem. item ex his partibus sive tetrastyli sive hexastyli sive octastyli una pars sumatur, eaque erit modulus. cuius moduli unus erit crassitudinis columnarum. intercolumnia singula, praeter media, modulorum duorum et moduli quartae partis; mediana in fronte et postico singula ternûm modulorum. ipsarum columnarum altitudo modulorum VIIII et dimidiae moduli partis. ita ex ea divisione intercolumnia altitudinesque columnarum habebunt iustam rationem.
3.8. 8. We have no example of this in Rome, but at Teos in Asia Minor there is one which is hexastyle, dedicated to Father Bacchus. These rules for symmetry were established by Hermogenes, who was also the first to devise the principle of the pseudodipteral octastyle. He did so by dispensing with the inner rows of thirty-eight columns which belonged to the symmetry of the dipteral temple, and in this way he made a saving in expense and labour. He thus provided a much wider space for the walk round the cella between it and the columns, and without detracting at all from the general effect, or making one feel the loss of what had been really superfluous, he preserved the dignity of the whole work by his new treatment of it.
3.8. Huius exemplar Romae nullum habemus, sed in Asia Teo hexastylon Liberi Patris. Eas autem symmetrias constituit Hermogenes, qui etiam primus invenit octastylon pseudodipterive rationem. ex dipteri enim aedis symmetria distulit interiores ordines columnarum XXXIV eaque ratione sumptus operasque compendii fecit. is in medio ambulationi laxamentum egregie circa cellam fecit de aspectuque nihil inminuit, sed sine desiderio supervacuorum conservavit auctoritatem totius operis distributione.