1. Homines vetere more ut ferae in silvis et speluncis et nemoribus nascebantur ciboque agresti vescendo vitam exigebant. Interea quondam in loco ab tempestatibus et ventis densae crebritatibus arbores agitatae et inter se terentes ramos ignem excitaverunt, et eius flamma vehementi perterriti, qui circa eum locum fuerunt, sunt fugati. Postea re quieta proprius accedentes cum animadvetissent commoditatem esse magnam corporibus ad ignis teporem, ligna adicientes et id conservantes alios adducebant et nutu monstrantes ostendebant, quas haberent ex eo utilitates. In eo hominum congressu cum profundebantur vocabula, ut optigerant, constituerunt, deinde significando res saepius in usu ex eventu fari fortuito coeperunt et ita sermones inter se procreaverunt.

Translation

1. Men, in the old way, were born like animals in forests and caves and woods, and passed their life feeding on the food of the fields. Meanwhile, once upon a time, in a certain place, trees, thickly crowded, tossed by storms and winds and rubbing their branches together, kindled a fire. Terrified by the raging flame, those who were about that place were put to flight. Afterwards when the living was quieted down, approaching nearer they perceived that the advantage was great for their bodies from the heat of the fire. They added fuel, and thus keeping it up, they brought others; and pointing it out by signs they showed what advantages they had from it. In the concourse of mankind, when sounds were variously uttered by the breath, by daily custom they fixed words as they had chanced to come. Then, indicating things more frequently and by habit, they came by chance to speak according to the event, and so they generated conversation with one another.

2. Ergo cum propter ignis inventionem conventus initio apud homines et concilium et convictus esset natus, et in unum locum plures convenirent habentes ab natura praemium praeter reliqua animalia, ut non proni sed erecti ambularent mundique et astrorum magnificentiam aspicerent, item manibus et articulis quam vellent rem faciliter tractarent, coeperunt in eo coetu alii de fronde facere tectam alii speluncas fodere sub montibus, nonnulli hirundinum nidos et aedificationes earum imitantes de luto et virgulis facere loca quae subirent. Tunc observantes aliena tecta et adicientes suis cogitationibus res novas, efficiebant in dies meliora genera casarum.

Translation

2. Therefore, because of the discovery of the fire, there arose at the beginning, concourse among men, deliberation and a life in common. Many came together into one place, having from nature this boon beyond other animals, that they should walk, not with the head down, but upright, and should look upon the magnificence of the world and of the stars. They also easily handled with their hands and fingers whatever they wished. Hence after thus meeting together, they began, some to make shelters of leaves, some to dig caves under the hills, some to make of mud and wattles places for shelter, imitating the nests of swallows and their methods of building. Then observing the houses of others and adding to their ideas new things from day to day, they produced better kinds of huts.

3. Cum essent autem homines imitabili docilique natura, cotidie inventionibus gloriantes alios alii ostendebant aedificiorum effectus, et ita exercentes ingenia certationibus in dies melioribus iudiciis efficiebantur. Primumque furcis erectis et virgulis interpositis luto parietes texerunt. Alii luteas glaebas arefacientes struebant parietes, materia eos iugumentantes, vitandoque imbres et aestus tegebant harundinibus et fronde. Posteaquam per hibernas tempestates tecta non potuerunt imbres sustinere, fastigia facientes, luto inducto proclinatis tectis, stilicidia deducebant.

Translation

3. Since men were of an imitative and teachable nature, they boasted of their inventions as they daily showed their various achievement in building, and thus, exercising their talents in rivalry, were rendered of better judgment daily. And first, with upright forkes props and twigs put between, they wove their walls. Others made walls, drying moistened clods which they bound with wood, and covered with reeds and leafage, so as to escape the rain and heat. When in winter-time the roofs should not withstand the rains, they made ridges, and smearing clay down the sloping roofs, they drew off the rain-water.

4. Haec autem ex is, quae supra scipta sunt, originibus instituta esse possumus sic animadvertere, quod ad hunc diem nationibus exteris ex his rebus aedificia constituantur, uti in Gallia, Hispania, Lusitania, Aquitania scandalis robusteis aut stramentis. Apud nationem Colchorum in Ponte propter silvarum abundantiam arboribus perpetuis planis dextra ac sinistra, in terra positis, spatio inter eas relicto quanto arborum longitudines patiuntur, conlocantur in extremis partibus earum supra alterae transversae, quae circumcludunt medium spatium habitationis. Tum insuper alternis trabibus ex quattuor partibus angulos iugmentantes et ita parietes arboribus statuentes ad perpendiculum imarum educunt ad altitudinem turres, intervallaqua, quae reliquuntur propter crassitudinem materiae, schidiis et luto obstruunt. Item tecta, recidentes ad extremos transtra, traiciunt gradatim contrahentes, et ita ex quattuor partibus ad altitudinem educunt medio metas, quas fronde et luto tegentes efficiunt barbarico more testudinata turrium tecta.

Translation

4. That these things were so practised from the beginnings above described we can observe, seeing that to this day buildings are constructed for foreign nations of these materials, as in Gaul, Spain, Portugal, Aquitaine, with oak shingles or thatch. In Pontus among the nation of the Colchi, because of their rich forests, two whole trees are laid flat, right and left, on the ground, a space being left between them as wide as the lengths of the trees allow. On the furthest parts of them, two others are placed transversely, and these four trees enclose in the middle the space for the dwelling. Then laying upon them alternate beams from the four sides, they join up the angles. And so constructing the walls with trees, they raise up towers rising perpendicular from the lowest parts. The gaps which are left by the thickness of the timber they block up with splinters and clay. Further they raise the roofs by cutting off the cross-beams at the end and gradually narrowing them. And so, from the four sides they raise over the middle a pyramid on high. This they cover with leafage and clay, and, barbarian fashion, construct the coved roofs of their towers.

5. Phryges vero, qui campestribus locis sunt habitantes, propter inopiam silvarum egentes materiae eligunt tumulos naturales eosque medios fossura detinentes et itinera perfodientes dilatant spatia, quantum natura loci patitur. lnsuper autem stipitis inter se religantes metas efficiunt, quas harundinibus et sarmentis tegentes exaggerabant supra habitationis e terra maximos grumos. Ita hiemes calidissimas, aestatis frigidissimas efficiunt tectorum rationes. Nonnulli ex ulva palustri componunt tiguria tecta. Apud ceteras quoque gentes et nonnulla loca pari simulique ratione casarum perficiuntur constitutiones. Non minus etiam Massiliae animadvertere possumus sine tegulis subacta cum paleis terra tecta. Athenis Areopagi antiquitatis exemplar ad hoc tempus luto tectim. Item in Capitolio commonefacere potest et significare mores vetustatis Romuli casa et in arce sacrorum stramentis tecta.

Translation

5. But the Phrygians, who are dwellers in the plains, owing to the absence of forests, lack timber. Hence they choose natural mounds, and dividing them in the middle by a trench and digging tracks through, open out spaces as far as the nature of the place allows. They fasten logs together at the upper end, and so make pyramids. These they cover with reeds and brushwood and pile up very large hillocks from the ground above their dwellings. This arrangement of their dwellings makes the winter quite warm, and the summer cool. Some construct covered huts from the sedge of the marshes. Among other nations, also, in many places, the erection of huts is carried out in a parallel and similar manner. Not less also at Marseilles we can observe roofs without tiles, made of earth and kneaded with straw. At Athens there is an ancient type of building, on the Areopagus, to this day covered with mud. Also in the Capitolium the Hut of Romulus, and in the Citadel, shrines covered with straw, can remind us, and signify the customs and the antiquities of Rome.

6. Ita his signis de antiquis inventionibus aedificiorum, sic ea fuisse ratiocinantes, possumus iudicare.
Cum autem cotidie faciendo tritiores manus ad aedificandum perfecissent et sollertia ingenia exercendo per consuetudinem ad artes pervenissent, tum etiam industria in animis eorum adiecta perfecit, ut, qui fuerunt in his studiosiores, fabros esse se profiterentur. Cum ergo haec ita fuerint primo constituta et natura non solum sensibus ornavisset gentes quemadmodum reliquia animalia, sed etiam cogitationibus et consiliis armavisset mentes et subiecisset cetera animalia sub potestate, tunc vero et fabricationibus aedificiorum gradatim progressi ad ceteras artes et disciplinas, e fera agrestique vita ad mansuetam perduxerunt humanitatem.

Translation

6.Thus by these examples we can infer concerning the ancient invention of buildings, reasoning that they were similar.
When, however, by daily work men had rendered their hands more hardened for building, and by practising their clever talents they had by habit acquired craftmanship, then also the industry, which rooted itself in their minds, caused those who were more eager herein to profess themselves craftsmen. When, therefore, these matters were so first ordained and Nature had not only equipped the human races with perceptions like other animals, but also had armed their minds with ideas and purposes, and had put the other animals under their power, then from the construction of buildings they progressed by degrees to other crafts and disciplines, and they led the way from a savage and rustic life to a peaceful civilisation.

7. Tum autem instruentes animo se eprospicientes maioribus cogitationibus ex varietate artium natis, non casas sed etiam domos fundatas et latericiis parietibus aut e lapide structas materiaque et tegula tecta perficere coeperunt, deinde observationibus studiorum e vagantibus iudiciis et incertiis ad certas symmetriarum perduxerunt rationes. Posteaquam animadverterunt profusos esse partus ab natura et materiam abundantem copiarum ad aedificationes ab ea comparatam, tractando nutrierunt et auctam per artes ornaverunt voluptatibus elegantiam vitae. Igitur de his rebus, quae sunt in aedificiis ad usum idoneae, quibusque sunt qualitatibus et quas habeant virtutes, ut potuero, dicam.

Translation

7. Then, however, building up themselves in spirit, and looking out and forward with larger ideas born from the variety of their crafts, they began to build, not huts, but houses, on foundations, and with brick walls, or built of stone; and with roofs of wood and tiles. Then by the observations made in their studies they were led on from wandering and uncertain judgments to the assured method of symmetry. When they observed that Nature brought fort profusely, and provided materials abounding in usefulness for building, they handled them with fostering care, and equipped with delights the refinement of life, increased as it was by their several crafts. Therefore, concerning the things which are fit for use in buildings, of what qualities they are and what virtues they possess, I will speak as I am able.

8. Sed si qui de ordine huius libri disputare voluerit, quod putaverit eum primum institui oportuisse, ne putet me erravisse sic reddam rationem. cum corpus architecturae scriberem, primo volumine putavi quibus eruditionibus et disciplinis esset ornata exponere finireque terminationibus eius species et e quibus rebus esset nata dicere. itaque quid oporteat esse in architecto, ibi pronuntiavi. ergo in primo <dixi> de artis officio, in hoc de naturalibus materiae rebus quem habeant usum disputabo. namque hic liber non profitetur unde architectura nascatur, sed unde origines aedificiorum sint institutae et quibus rationibus enutritae et progressae sint gradatim ad hanc finitionem.

Translation

8. But if anyone raises objections about the arrangement of the whole work, because he thinks that this book should have come first, let him not think I have erred, if I believe in Reason. When I wrote this comprehensive treatise on architecture, I thought in the first book to set forth with what trainings and disciplines architecture was equipped, and to determine by definitions its species and to say from what things it sprang. And so I there pronounced what there ought to be in an architect. Therefore in the first book I discussed the office of the architect. In this book I will treat of the material things of nature, and what uses they have. For this book does not declare whence architecture arises, but whence the kinds of building have originated, and by what ways they have been fostered and, by degrees, advanced to their present finish.

9. Ergo ita suo ordine et loco huius erit voluminis constitutio.
Nunc revertar ad propositum et de copiis, quae aptae sunt aedificiorum perfectionibus, quemadmodum videantur esse ab natura rerum procreatae quibusque mixtionibus principiorum congressus temperentur, nec obscura sed perspicua legentibus sint, ratiocinabor. Namque nulla materiarum genera neque corpora neque res sine principiorum coetu nasci neque subici intellectui possunt, neque aliter natura rerum praeceptis physicorum veras patitur habere explicationes, nisi causae, quae insunt in his rebus quemadmodum et quid ita sint, subtilibus rationibus habeant demonstrationes.

Translation

9. So therefore the arrangement of this book is in its order and place.
Now I will return to my undertaking and will deal with the materials which are adapted to the execution of buildings; how they seem to be generated by Nature, and in what mixtures the assemblages of elements are blended. These, indeed, are not obscure but obvious to my readers. For no kinds of materials, nor bodies, nor things can arise or be subject to the intelligence without the coming together of elements, nor does Nature allow them to have true explanations in the precepts of physicists, unless the causes which are present in these things find proofs, how and why they are so, by accurate demonstrations.

COMMENT

This chapter starts with some remarks about the evolution of mankind. Living alone in the woods and being afraid of fire men gradually discovered that fire could give warmth and comfort. When they came together round the fire they first gradually developed language and in the second place, from the necessity to have shelter and gathering places, they discoverd architecture. So, in his opinion, architecture is part of human instinct. Competition is also part of human instinct. This competition combined with the gradually discovery of new forms and materials together with a sense of beauty is the motor of the evolution in architecture: men is always striving for embellishment of his environment. This opinion postulates the primacy of architecture over the other arts and sciences.
As an intellectual Vitruvius coroborates this thesis with examples from old traditions. As war engineer in the army of Julius Caesar he certainly must have seen the huts and houses in Gaul. Unfortunately he only describes the material of the roofs: oak shingles or straw. In other regions huts were made with locally available materials. But regardless of the material the striving for embellishment is a common idea in all architecture. Here he finds the origin of symmetry which he defined in I,2,4 as the appropriate harmony arising out of the details of the work itself; the correspondence of each given detail to the form of the design as a whole. So his idea of symmetry is a logical result of his evolutionary theory.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Les dix livres d'architecture de Vitruve, Corrigés et traduits en 1684 par C. Perrault, Paris, 1684.
Vitruvius, De Architectura libri X, ed. F. Granger, London, 1962.
P.Edelstein, L'idée de l'évolution dans l'oeuvre de Vitruve, Studi Classici 8, 1966, pp. 143-153
Ton Peters, Vitruvius, Handboek bouwkunde, Amsterdam, 1999.
H. Knell, Vitruvs Architekturtheorie, Versuch einer Interpretation, Darmstadt, 1985.

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