The Ten Books on Architecture
of middle pitch, like the notes in the middle of a musical scale; but,
as we proceed towards the north, the distances to the heaven become
greater, and so the nations there, whose vocal utterance is reduced by
the moisture to the "hypatès" and to "proslambanomenon," are naturally
obliged to speak in heavier tones. In the same way, as we proceed from
the middle point to the south, the voices of the nations there
correspond in extreme height of pitch and in shrillness to the
"paranetès" and "netès."
8. That it is a fact that things are made heavier from being in places
naturally moist, and higher pitched from places that are hot, may be
proved from the following experiment. Take two cups which have been
baked in the same oven for an equal time, which are of equal weight, and
which give the same note when struck. Dip one of them into water and,
after taking it out of water, strike them both. This done, there will be
a great difference in their notes, and the cups can no longer be equal
in weight. Thus it is with men: though born in the same general form and
under the same all-embracing heaven, yet in some of them, on account of
the heat in their country, the voice strikes the air on a high note,
while in others, on account of abundance of moisture, the quality of
tones produced is very heavy.
9. Further, it is owing to the rarity of the atmosphere that southern
nations, with their keen intelligence due to the heat, are very free and
swift in the devising of schemes, while northern nations, being
enveloped in a dense atmosphere, and chilled by moisture from the
obstructing air, have but a sluggish intelligence. That this is so, we
may see from the case of snakes. Their movements are most active in hot
weather, when they have got rid of the chill due to moisture, whereas at
the winter solstice, and in winter weather, they are chilled by the
change of temperature, and rendered torpid and motionless. It is
therefore no wonder that man's intelligence is made keener by warm air
and duller by cold.
10. But although southern nations have the keenest wits, and are
infinitely clever in forming schemes, yet the moment it comes to
displaying valour, they succumb because all manliness of spirit is
sucked out of them by the sun. On the other hand, men born in cold
countries are indeed readier to meet the shock of arms with great
courage and without timidity, but their wits are so slow that they will
rush to the charge inconsiderately and inexpertly, thus defeating their
own devices. Such being nature's arrangement of the universe, and all
these nations being allotted temperaments which are lacking in due
moderation, the truly perfect territory, situated under the middle of
the heaven, and having on each side the entire extent of the world and
its countries, is that which is occupied by the Roman people.
11. In fact, the races of Italy are the most perfectly constituted in
both respects--in bodily form and in mental activity to correspond to
their valour. Exactly as the planet Jupiter is itself temperate, its
course lying midway between Mars, which is very hot, and Saturn, which
is very cold, so Italy, lying between the north and the south, is a
combination of what is found on each side, and her preëminence is well
regulated and indisputable. And so by her wisdom she breaks the
courageous onsets of the barbarians, and by her strength of hand
thwarts the devices of the southerners. Hence, it was the divine
intelligence that set the city of the Roman people in a peerless and
temperate country, in order that it might acquire the right to command
the whole world.
12. Now if it is a fact that countries differ from one another, and are
of various classes according to climate, so that the very nations born
therein naturally differ in mental and physical conformation and
qualities, we cannot hesitate to make our houses suitable in plan to the
peculiarities of nations and races, since we have the expert guidance of
nature herself ready to our hand.
I have now set forth the peculiar characteristics of localities, so far
as I could note them, in the most summary way, and have stated how we
ought to make our houses conform to the physical qualities of nations,
with due regard to the course of the sun and to climate. Next I shall
treat the symmetrical proportions of the different styles of houses,
both as wholes and in their separate parts.
CHAPTER II
SYMMETRY, AND MODIFICATIONS IN IT TO SUIT THE SITE
1. There is nothing to which an architect should devote more thought
than to the exact proportions of his building with reference to a
certain part selected as the standard. After the standard of symmetry
has been determined, and the proportionate dimensions adjusted by
calculations, it is next the part of wisdom to consider the nature of
the site, or questions of use or beauty, and modify the plan by
diminutions or additions in such a manner that these diminutions or
additions in the symmetrical relations may be seen to be made on correct
principles, and without detracting at all from the effect.
2. The look of a building when seen close at hand is one thing, on a
height it is another, not the same in an enclosed place, still
different in the open, and in all these cases it takes much judgment to
decide what is to be done. The fact is that the eye does not always give
a true impression, but very often leads the mind to form a false
judgment. In painted scenery, for example, columns may appear to jut
out, mutules to project, and statues to be standing in the foreground,
although the picture is of course perfectly flat. Similarly with ships,
the oars when under the water are straight, though to the eye they
appear to be broken. To the point where they touch the surface of the
sea they look straight, as indeed they are, but when dipped under the
water they emit from their bodies undulating images which come swimming
up through the naturally transparent medium to the surface of the water,
and, being there thrown into commotion, make the oars look broken.
3. Now whether this appearance is due to the impact of the images, or to
the effusion of the rays from the eye, as the physicists hold, in either
case it is obvious that the vision may lead us to false impressions.
4. Since, therefore, the reality may have a false appearance, and since
things are sometimes represented by the eyes as other than they are, I
think it certain that diminutions or additions should be made to suit
the nature or needs of the site, but in such fashion that the buildings
lose nothing thereby. These results, however, are also attainable by
flashes of genius, and not only by mere science.
5. Hence, the first thing to settle is the standard of symmetry, from
which we need not hesitate to vary. Then, lay out the ground lines of
the length and breadth of the work proposed, and when once we have
determined its size, let the construction follow this with due regard to
beauty of proportion, so that the beholder may feel no doubt of the
eurythmy of its effect. I must now tell how this may be brought about,
and first I will speak of the proper construction of a cavaedium.
CHAPTER III
PROPORTIONS OF THE PRINCIPAL ROOMS
1. There are five different styles of cavaedium, termed according to
their construction as follows: Tuscan, Corinthian, tetrastyle,
displuviate, and testudinate.
In the Tuscan, the girders that cross the breadth of the atrium have
crossbeams on them, and valleys sloping in and running from the angles
of the walls to the angles formed by the beams, and the rainwater falls
down along the rafters to the roof-opening (compluvium) in the middle.
In the Corinthian, the girders and roof-opening are constructed on these
same principles, but the girders run in from the side walls, and are
supported all round on columns.
In the tetrastyle, the girders are supported at the angles by columns,
an arrangement which relieves and strengthens the girders; for thus they
have themselves no great span to support, and they are not loaded down
by the crossbeams.
2. In the displuviate, there are beams which slope outwards, supporting
the roof and throwing the rainwater off. This style is suitable chiefly
in winter residences, for its roof-opening, being high up, is not an
obstruction to the light of the dining rooms. It is, however, very
troublesome to keep in repair, because the pipes, which are intended to
hold the water that comes dripping down the walls all round, cannot take
it quickly enough as it runs down from the channels, but get too full
and run over, thus spoiling the woodwork and the walls of houses of this
style.
The testudinate is employed where the span is not great, and where large
rooms are provided in upper stories.
3. In width and length, atriums are designed according to three classes.
The first is laid out by dividing the length into five parts and giving
three parts to the width; the second, by dividing it into three parts
and assigning two parts to the width; the third, by using the width to
describe a square figure with equal sides, drawing a diagonal line in
this square, and giving the atrium the length of this diagonal line.
4. Their height up to the girders should be one fourth less than their
width, the rest being the proportion assigned to the ceiling and the
roof above the girders.
The alae, to the right and left, should have a width equal to one third
of the length of the atrium, when that is from thirty to forty feet
long. From forty to fifty feet, divide the length by three and one
half, and give the alae the result. When it is from fifty to sixty feet
in length, devote one fourth of the length to the alae. From sixty to
eighty feet, divide the length by four and one half and let the result
be the width of the alae. From eighty feet to one hundred feet, the
length divided into five parts will produce the right width for the
alae. Their lintel beams should be placed high enough to make the height
of the alae equal to their width.
5. The tablinum should be given two thirds of the width of the atrium
when the latter is twenty feet wide. If it is from thirty to forty feet,
let half the width of the atrium be devoted to the tablinum. When it is
from forty to sixty feet, divide the width into five parts and let two
of these be set apart for the tablinum. In the case of smaller atriums,
the symmetrical proportions cannot be the same as in larger. For if, in
the case of the smaller, we employ the proportion that belong to the
larger, both tablina and alae must be unserviceable, while if, in the
case of the larger, we employ the proportions of the smaller, the rooms
mentioned will be huge monstrosities. Hence, I have thought it best to
describe exactly their respective proportionate sizes, with a view both
to convenience and to beauty.
6. The height of the tablinum at the lintel should be one eighth more
than its width. Its ceiling should exceed this height by one third of
the width. The fauces in the case of smaller atriums should be two