Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Quote by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

“Philosophy treats of physics where a more careful knowledge is required because the problems which come under this head are numerous... So the reader of Ctesibius or Archimedes and the other writers of treatises of the same class will not be able to appreciate them unless he has been trained in these subjects by the philosophers.”

Quote by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Create image

Author

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, a renowned Roman architect, engineer, and writer, lived from 81 BC to 15 AD. He is considered one of the founders of Roman architecture and is best known for his work 'De Architectura', which has had a profound impact on the development of architecture throughout history. more

You May Also Like

“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.”

GivingMayMeanMadeAbleLeftTheoryKeysOughtEarsNotesBarsHolesMathematicalTunesStringsArchitectTwistedBeamWorkmen
Author:Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Create image

“Economy denotes the the proper management of materials and of site, as well as a thrifty balancing of cost and common sense in the construction of works. ...the architect does not demand things which cannot be found or made ready without great expense. For example: it is not everywhere that there is plenty of pitsand, rubble, fir, clear fir, and marble... Where there is no pitsand, we must use the kinds washed up by rivers or by the sea... and other problems we must solve in similar ways.”

WayWellsKindDoeMadeUseProblemFoundCommonEconomyClearSeaExampleReadyMaterialsCostDemandRiversManagementSolveCommon SensePlentyExpensesConstructionArchitectSiteMarbleRubbleThrifty
Author:Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Create image

“Marshes that are stagnant and have no outlets either by rivers or ditches, like the Pomptine marshes, merely putrefy as they stand, emitting heavy, unhealthy vapors. A case of a town built in such a spot was Old Salpia in Apulia ... Year after year there was sickness, until finally the suffering inhabitants came with a public petition to Marcus Hostilius and got him to agree to seek and find them a proper place to which to remove their city.”

YearsSufferingCitiesCasesBuiltRiversTownsAgreeHeavySpotsSicknessRemoveOutletsUnhealthyStagnantPetitionsVaporMarshes
Author:Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Create image

“The Phrygians select a natural hillock, run a trench through the middle of it, dig passages, and extend the interior space as widely as the site admits. Over it they build a pyramidal roof of logs fastened together, and this they cover with reeds and brushwood, heaping up very high mounds of earth above their dwellings. Thus their fashion in houses makes their winters very warm and their summers very cool.”

RunningEarthTogetherHouseNaturalSpaceMiddleFashionSummerWinterWarmOver ItPassagesRoofSiteInteriorsSelectDwellingReedsTrenchesVery CoolInterior Space
Author:Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Create image

“Fresh pitsand, however, in spite of all its excellence in concrete structures, is not equally useful in stucco, the richness of which, when the lime and straw are mixed with such sand, will cause it to crack as it dries on account of the great strength of the mixture. But river sand, though useless in "signinum" on account of its thinness, becomes perfectly solid in stucco when thoroughly worked by means of polishing instruments.”

MeanCausesRiversAccountsInstrumentsStructureExcellenceUselessSpiteSandCracksConcreteMixturesRichnessStrawsLimesThinness
Author:Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Create image