Quotes from Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

The thickness of the walls should be sufficient for two armed men to pass each other with ease.

For siege works against bold and venturesome men should be constructed on one plan, on another against cautious men, and on still another against the cowardly.

Basilicas should be constructed on a site adjoining the forum and in the warmest possible quarter, so that in winter business men may gather in them without being troubled by the weather.

The architect must not only understand drawing, but music.

All machinery is derived from nature, and is founded on the teaching and instruction of the revolution of the firmament.

In the midst of all this great variety of subjects, an individual cannot attain to perfection in each, because it is scarcely in his power to take in and comprehend the general theories of them.

Architecture is a science arising out of many other sciences, and adorned with much and varied learning; by the help of which a judgment is formed of those works which are the result of other arts.

There are also half bricks. As the bricks are always laid so as to break joints, this lends strength and a not unattractive appearance to both sides of such walls.

When the juices of trees have no means of escape, they clot and rot in them, making the trees hollow and good for nothing.

An architect ought to be an educated man so as to leave a more lasting remembrance in his treatises.

Consistency is found in that work whose whole and detail are suitable to the occasion. It arises from circumstance, custom, and nature.

In fact, all kinds of men, and not merely architects, can recognize a good piece of work.

Propriety is that perfection of style which comes when a work is authoritatively constructed on approved principles. It arises from prescription, from usage, or from nature.

There are also kinds of water that cause death, as they run through harmful juices in the soil and become poisonous.

If our designs for private houses are to be correct, we must at the outset take note of the countries and climates in which they are built.

A harmonious design requires that nothing be added or taken away.

The design of a temple depends on symmetry, the principles of which must be most carefully observed by the architect.

May the Architect be high-minded; not arrogant, but faithful; Just, and easy to deal with, without avarice; Not let his mind be occupied in receiving gifts, But let him preserve his good name with dignity...