Marcus Vitruvius Pollio Quotes

22 quotes in 410 categories

• There are also kinds of water that cause death, as they run through harmful juices in the soil and become poisonous.
• Beauty is produced by the pleasing appearance and good taste of the whole, and by the dimensions of all the parts being duly proportioned to…
• Wind is a floating wave of air, whose undulation continually varies.
• Consistency is found in that work whose whole and detail are suitable to the occasion. It arises from circumstance, custom, and nature.
• Architect's designs must refer to the unquestionable perfection of the body's symmetry and proportions. If a building is to create a sense of eurythmia, it…
• A harmonious design requires that nothing be added or taken away.
• Architects should be educated, skillful with the pencil, instructed in geometry, know much history, have followed the philosophers with attention, understand music, have some knowledge…
• Now architecture consists of order, which in Greek is called taxis ... Order is the balanced adjustment of the details of the work separately, and,…
• But I, Caesar, have not sought to amass wealth by the practice of my art, having been rather contented with a small fortune and reputation,…
• 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…
• Nothing requires the architect's care more than the due proportions of buildings.
• Commodity, firmness, delight...
• I am moreover inclined to be concise when I reflect on the constant occupation of the citizens in public and private affairs, so that in…
• In setting out the walls of a city the choice of a healthy situation is of the first importance: it should be on high ground,…
• I, therefore, O Caesar, do not publish this work, merely prefixing my name to a treatise which of right belongs to others, nor think of…
• Since, therefore, individuals as well as the public are so indebted to these writers for the benefits they enjoy, I think them not only entitled…
• 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…
• The [engineer] should be equipped with knowledge of many branches of study and varied kinds of learning, for it is by his judgement that all…
• The architect must not only understand drawing, but music.
• 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.

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