Book III: Temples and the Order of Architecture Marcus Vitruvius Pollio de Architectura
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Chapter I
The Planning of Temples
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1. The design of Temples depends on symmetry, the rules of which Architects
should be most careful to observe. Symmetry arises from proportion, which the
Greeks call ajnalogiva. Proportion is a due adjustment of the size of the different
parts to each other and to the whole; on this proper adjustment symmetry
depends. Hence no building can be said to be well designed which wants
symmetry and proportion. In truth they are as necessary to the beauty of a
building as to that of a well formed human figure,
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2. Nature has so fashioned, that in the face, from the chin to the top of theforehead, or to the roots of the hair, is a tenth part of the height of the wholebody. From the chin to the crown of the head is an eighth part of the whole
height, and from the nape of the neck to the crown of the head the same. Fromthe upper part of the breast to the roots of the hair a sixth; to the crown of thehead a fourth. A third part of the height of the face is equal to that from the chinto under side of the nostrils, and thence to the middle of the eyebrows the same;from the last to the roots of the hair, where the forehead ends, the remainingthird part. The length of the foot is a sixth part of the height of the body. Thefore-arm a fourth part. The width of the breast a fourth part. Similarly have othermembers their due proportions, by attention to which the ancient Painters andSculptors obtained so much reputation.
3. Just so the parts of Temples should correspond with each other, and with thewhole. The navel is naturally placed in the centre of the human body, and, if in aman lying with his face upward, and his hands and feet extended, from his navelas the centre, a circle be described, it will touch his fingers and toes. It is notalone by a circle, that the human body is thus circumscribed, as maybe seen byplacing it within a square. For measuring from the feet to the crown of the head,and then across the arms fully extended, we find the latter measure equal to theformer; so that lines at right angles to each other, enclosing the figure, will form asquare.
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4. If Nature, therefore, has made the human body so that the different members of
it are measures of the whole, so the ancients have, with great propriety,
determined that in all perfect works, each part should be some aliquot part of the whole; and since they direct, that this be observed in all works, it must be
most strictly attended to in temples of the gods, wherein the faults as well as the
beauties remain to the end of time.
5. It is worthy of remark, that the measures necessarily used in all buildings and
other works, are derived from the members of the human body, as the digit, thepalm, the foot, the cubit, and that these form a perfect number, called by the
Greeks tevleioV. The ancients considered ten a perfect number, because the
fingers are ten in number, and the palm is derived from them, and from the palm
is derived the foot. Plato, therefore, called ten a perfect number, Nature having
formed the hands with ten fingers, and also because it is composed of units
called monavdeV in Greek, which also advancing beyond ten, as to eleven,
twelve, &c. cannot be perfect until another ten are included, units being the
parts whereof such numbers are composed.
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6. The mathematicians, on the other hand, contend for the perfection of the
number six, because, according to their reasoning, its divisors equal its number:
for a sixth part is one, a third two, a half three, two-thirds four, which they call
divmoiroV; the fifth in order, which they call pentavmoiro, five, and then the
perfect number six. When it advances beyond that, a sixth being added, which iscalled e[fektoV, we have the number seven. Eight are formed by adding a third,
called triens, and by the Greeks, ejpivtrito. Nine are formed by the addition of a
half, and thence called sesquilateral; by the Greeks hJmiovlio; if we add the two
aliquot parts of it, which form ten, it is called bes alterus, or in Greek
ejpidivmoiroV. The number eleven, being compounded of the original number,
and the fifth in order is called ejpipentavmoiroV . The number twelve, being thesum of the two simple numbers, is called diplasivwn.
7. Moreover, as the foot is the sixth part of a man’s height, they contend, that this
number, namely six, the number of feet in height, is perfect: the cubit, also, being
six palms, consequently consists of twenty-four digits. Hence the states of Greeceappear to have divided the drachma, like the cubit, that is into six parts, which
were small equal sized pieces of brass, similar to the asses, which they called
oboli; and, in imitation of the twenty-four digits, they divided the obolus into four
parts, which some call dichalca, others trichalca.
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8. Our ancestors, however, were better pleased with the number ten, and hence
made the denarius to consist of ten brass asses, and the money to this day
retains the name of denarius. The sestertius, a fourth part of a denarius, was so
called, because composed of two asses, and half of another. Thus finding the
numbers six and ten perfect, they added them together, and formed sixteen, a
still more perfect number. The foot measure gave rise to this, for subtracting two
palms from the cubit, four remains, which is the length of a foot; and as each
palm contains four digits, the foot will consequently contain sixteen, so the
denarius was made to contain an equal number of asses.
9. If it therefore appear, that numbers had their origin from the human body, and
proportion is the result of a due adjustment of the different parts to each other,
and to the whole, they are especially to be commended, who, in designing
temples to the gods, so arrange the parts that the whole may harmonize in their
proportions and symmetry.
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• It is assumed that
proportions of the circle
and square reflect Golden
Division. Here we present
analysis that shows that
this assumption is
incorrect.
Fig. 1 Comparison of true Golden
Rectangle with Vitruvian Man
drawing
Fig. 2 Circle and square based on
Golden Section
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Fig. 3 The simplest way to describe
the geometrical construction of the Vitruvian
Man.
Fig. 4 Superimposed image of Fig.6 and
Leonardo's drawing.
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• The mathematicians argued that six(6) was the perfect number for that its divisors
equal its number.
– It is perfect because it can be divided by 1, 2, 3 and sum up to 6 again. In
Vitruvius’ words, a sixth is one; a third is two; a half is three. A rather simpleway of saying it is 1+2+3 = 6. They called such numbers “perfect”, because
they contain themselves.
• Thus finding the number 10 and 6 perfect, they added them together forming 16,
a still more perfect number. The foot measure gave rise to this, for subtracting twopalms from the cubit, four remains, which is the length of a foot; and as each palm
contains four digits, the foot will consequently contain sixteen.
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CHAPTER II
ON THE KINDS OF TEMPLES
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It has pilasters in front of the walls which enclose the cell, with columns in between the
pilasters, and crowned with a pediment built to symmetry to be set forth in this book.
SAMPLE PLAN OF
IN ANTIS TEMPLE
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It has columns instead of pilasters in front, which are placed opposite to the pilasters at
the angles, of the cell, and support the entablature.
SAMPLE PLAN OF
PROSTYLOS TEMPLE
TEMPLE OF AGUSTUS
PULA, CROATIA
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AMPHIPROSTYLOS
It is similar to the prostylos, only that the columns and pediment in the front are
repeated at the rear of the temple.
TEMPLE OF ATHENA NIKE
BY CALLICRATES 427 – 424 B.C.
ACROPOLIS, ATHENS
SAMPLE PLAN OFAMPHIPROSTYLOS TEMPLE
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It has six columns in the front and rear, and eleven on the left and right, counting in
the two columns at the angles. The columns are placed that their distance from the
wall is equal to an intercolumniation, and thus forming a walk around the cell of the
temple.
SAMPLE PLAN OF
PERIPTEROS TEMPLE
TEMPLE OF ATHENA, PAESTUM
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PSUEDODIPTEROS
It is constructed with eight columns in front and rear and with fifteen on the sides,
including those at the angles. The walls of the cell are opposite to the four in the
middle columns of the front and rear. Hence from the walls to the front of the lower
part of the columns, there will be an intercolumniation and the thickness of a column
all around.
TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS IN MAGNESIA (MINIATURE)
BY HERMOGENES OF ALABANDA
SAMPLE PLAN OF
PSUEDODIPTEROS TEMPLE
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DIPTEROS
It has eight columns in front and at the back, but has double rows of columns round
the sanctuary.
SAMPLE PLAN OF
DIPTEROS TEMPLE
TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS IN EPHESUS
BY HERMOGENES OF ALABANDA
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It has ten columns in front and at the back. For the rest it has everything like the
dipteral, except that in the interior it will have two stories of columns, at a distance
from the walls all round like a colonnade of a prostylos. The centre has no roof and is
open to the sky. There are folding doors in front and at the back.
SAMPLE PLAN OF
HYPAETHEROS TEMPLE
TEMPLE OF APOLLO IN DYDYMA
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1. There are five species of temples, whose names are, PYCNOSTYLOS, that is, thickset with columns: SYSTYLOS, in which the columns are not so close: DIASTYLOS,
where they are still wider apart: ARÆOSTYLOS , when placed more distant from
each other than in fact they ought to be: EUSTYLOS, when the intercolumniation,
or space between the columns, is of the best proportion.
2. Nature has so fashioned, that in the face, from the chin to the top of the forehead,or to the roots of the hair, is a tenth part of the height of the whole body. From the
chin to the crown of the head is an eighth part of the whole height, and from the
nape of the neck to the crown of the head the same. From the upper part of the
breast to the roots of the hair a sixth; to the crown of the head a fourth. A third
part of the height of the face is equal to that from the chin to under side of the
nostrils, and thence to the middle of the eyebrows the same; from the last to theroots of the hair, where the forehead ends, the remaining third part. The length of
the foot is a sixth part of the height of the body. The fore-arm a fourth part. The
width of the breast a fourth part. Similarly have other members their due
proportions, by attention to which the ancient Painters and Sculptors obtained so
much reputation.
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4. DIASTYLOS has intercolumniations of three diameters, as in the temple of Apollo
and Diana. The inconvenience of this species is, that the epistylia or architraves
over the columns frequently fail, from their bearings being too long.
5. In the ARÆOSTYLOS the architraves are of wood, and not of stone or marble; the
different species of temples of this sort are clumsy, heavy roofed, low and wide,
and their pediments are usually ornamented with statues of clay or brass, gilt in
the Tuscan fashion. Of this species is the temple of Ceres, near the CircusMaximus, that of Hercules, erected by Pompey, and that of Jupiter Capitolinus.
6. We now proceed to the EUSTYLOS, which is preferable, as well in respect of
convenience, as of beauty and strength. Its intercolumniations are of two
diameters and a quarter. The center intercolumniation, in front and in the
posticum, is three diameters. It has not only a beautiful effect, but is convenient,
from the unobstructed passage it affords to the door of the temple, and the great
room allowed for walking round the cell.
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Chapter III
On the Elevation of Temples
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7. The rule for designing it is as follows. The extent of the front being given, it is, if
tetrastylos , to be divided into eleven parts and a half, not including the
projections of the base and plinth at each end: if hexastylos, into eighteen parts: if octastylos, into twenty-four parts and a half. One of either of these parts,
according to the case, whether tetrastylos , hexastylos, or octastylos, will be a
measure equal to the diameter of one of the columns. Each intercolumniation,
except the middle one, front and rear, will be equal to two of these measures and
one quarter, and the middle intercolumniation three. The heights of the columns
will be eight parts and a half. Thus the intercolumniations and the heights of thecolumns will have proper proportions.
8. There is no example of eustylos in Rome; but there is one at Teos in Asia, which is
octastylos, and dedicated to Bacchus. Its proportions were discovered by
Hermogenes, who was also the inventor of the octastylos or pseudodipteral
formation. It was he who first omitted the inner ranges of columns in the dipteros,
which, being in number thirty-eight, afforded the opportunity of avoiding
considerable expense. By it a great space was obtained for walking all round the
cell, and the effect of the temple was not injured because the omission of the
columns was not perceptible; neither was the grandeur of the work destroyed.
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9. The pteromata, or wings, and the disposition of columns about a temple, were
contrived for the purpose of increasing the effect, by the varied appearance of the
returning columns, as seen through the front intercolumniations, and also for
providing plenty of room for the numbers frequently detained by rain, so that theymight walk about, under shelter, round the cell. I have been thus particular on the
pseudodipteros, because it displays the skill and ingenuity with which Hermogenes
designed those his works; which cannot be but acknowledged as the sources
whence his successors have derived their best principles.
10. In aræostyle temples the diameter of the columns must be an eighth part of the
height. In diastylos, the height of the columns is to be divided into eight parts and
a half; one of which is to be taken for the diameter of the column. In systylos, let
the height be divided into nine parts and a half; one of those parts will be the
diameter of a column. In pycnostylos, one-tenth part of the height is the diameter
of the columns. In the eustylos, as well as in the diastylos, the height of thecolumns is divided into eight parts and a half; one of which is to be taken for the
thickness of the column. These, then, are the rules for the severaz
intercolumniations.
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11. For, as the distances between the columns increase, so must the shafts of thecolumns increase in thickness. If, for instance, in the aræostylos, they were a ninth
or a tenth part of the height, they would appear too delicate and slender; because
the air interposed between the columns destroys and apparently diminishes, their
thickness. On the other hand, if, in the pycnostylos, their thickness or diameter
were an eighth part of the height, the effect would be heavy and unpleasant, on
account of the frequent repetition of the columns, and the smallness of theintercolumniations. The arrangement is therefore indicated by the species
adopted. Columns at the angles, on account of the unobstructed play of air round
them, should be one-fiftieth part of a diameter thicker than the rest, that they may
have a more graceful effect. The deception which the eye undergoes should be
allowed for in execution.
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12. The diminution of columns taken at the hypotrachelium , is to be so ordered, that
for columns of fifteen feet and under, it should be one-sixth of the lower diameter.
From fifteen to twenty feet in height, the lower diameter is to be divided into six
parts and a half; and five parts and a half are to be assigned for the upper
thickness of the column. When columns are from twenty to thirty feet high, the
lower diameter of the shaft must be divided into seven parts, six of which are
given to the upper diameter. From thirty to forty feet high, the lower diameter is
divided into seven parts and a half, and six and a half given to the top. From forty
to fifty feet, the lower diameter of the shaft is to be divided into eight parts, seven
of which must be given to the thickness under the hypotrachelium . If the
proportion for greater heights be required, the thickness at top must be found
after the preceding method;
13. Always remembering, that as the upper parts of columns are more distant from
the eye, they deceive it when viewed from below, and that we must, therefore,
actually add what they apparently lose. The eye is constantly seeking after beauty;and if we do not endeavour to gratify it by proper proportions and an increase of
size, where necessary, and thus remedy the defect of vision, a work will always be
clumsy and disagreeable. Of the swelling which is made in the middle of columns,
which the Greeks call e[ntasiV, so that it may be pleasing and appropriate, I shall
speak at the end of the book.
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PYCNOSTYLOS
•is that arrangement wherein the columns areonly once and a half their thickness apart
•Temple of Julius
SYSTYLOS
•is the distribution of columns with anintercolumniation of two diameters: thedistance between their plinths is then equal totheir front faces
•Fortuna Equestris
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DIASTYLOS
•has intercolumniations of three diameters
•Temple of Apollo and Diana
ARÆOSTYLOS
•the architraves are of wood, and not of stone
or marble the different
•species of temples of this sort are clumsy,
heavy roofed, low and wide, and their
pediments are usually ornamented with
statues of clay or brass
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EUSTYLOS
•preferable, as well in respect of
convenience, as of beauty and
strength
•It has not only a beautiful effect,
but is convenient, from the
unobstructed passage it affords to
the door of the temple, and the
great room allowed for walking
round the cell.
•Temple of Bacchus
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Chapter 4
On the Foundation of Temples
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1. If solid ground can be come to, the foundations should go down to it and into it,according to the magnitude of the work, and the substruction should be built up
as solid as possible. Above the ground the wall should be one-half thicker than the
columns it is to receive, so that lower parts which carry the greatest weight, may
be stronger than the upper part, which is called the stereobata: nor must the
mouldings of the bases of the columns project beyond the solid. Thus, also, should
be regulated the thickness of all walls above ground. The intervals between the
foundations brought up under the columns, should be either rammed down hard,
or arched, so as to prevent the foundation piers from swerving.
2. If solid ground cannot be come to, and the ground be loose or marshy, the place
must be excavated, cleared, and either alder, olive, or oak piles, previouslycharred, must be driven with a machine, as close to each other as possible, and
the intervals, between the piles, filled with ashes. The heaviest foundations may
be laid on such a base.
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3. When they are brought up level, the stylobatæ (plinths) are placed thereon,
according to the arrangement used, and above described for the pycnostylos,
systylos, diastylos or eustylos , as the case may be. In the aræostylos it is only
necessary to preserve, in a peripteral building, twice the number of
intercolumniations on the flanks that there are in front, so that the length may be
twice the breadth. Those who use twice the number of columns for the length,
appear to err, because they thus make one intercolumniation more than should be
used.
4. The number of steps in front should always be odd, since, in that case, the right
foot, which begins the ascent, will be that which first alights on the landing of the
temple. The thickness of the steps should not, I think, be more than ten inches,
nor less than nine, which will give an easy ascent. The treads not less than onefoot and a half, nor more than two feet; and if the steps areto go all round the
temple, they are to be formed in the same manner.
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5. But if there is to be a podium on three sides of the temple, the plinths, bases of
the columns, columns, coronæ, and cymatium, may accord with the stylobata ,
under the bases of the columns. The stylobata should be so adjusted, that, by
means of small steps or stools, it may be highest in the middle. For if it be set out
level, it will have the appearance of having sunk in the centre. The mode of
adjusting the steps (scamilli impares), in a proper manner, will be shown at theend of the book.
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CHAPTER 5
ON THE IONIC ORDER
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1. After preparing the foundation, the bases of the columns may be laid, theirheight being equal to half the radius of the column including the plinth, and
their projection, which the Greeks call elkfora, one half the raidus of the column.
Thus the height and breadth added together, will amount to one diameter and a
half.
2. If the attic base be used, must be one-third the thickness of a column, and thatthe remainder left for the height of the plinth. Taking the plinth away, the
remainder is to be divided into four parts, and the upper torus is to be one-
fourth: the remaining three-fourths are to be equally divided so that one is the
lower torus and the other the scotia (which the Greeks call trochilus) with
its fillets.
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3. But if the bases are to be Ionic, they are to be set out that the breath of the base
each way is one and three-eigths of the thickness of a column. The height is to be
like the Attic base; so also its plinth. The remainder beside the plinth, which will
be the third part of the column's diameter, is to be divided into seven parts: of
these the torus at the top is to be three parts; the remaining four are to be
equally divided; one half to the upper hollow with its astragals and top moulding,
the other half is to be left to the lower trochilus; but the lower will seem greater
because it will have a projection to the edge of the plinth. The astragals are to be
one-eighth part of the scotia. The projections of the base will be three-sixteenths
of the thickness of the column.
4. When the bases are complete and in position, the middle columns in front and at
the back are to be set up to a perpendicular, but the corner columns and those
which are in line with them on the flanks of the temple right and left are to be set
up so that the inside parts which look to the sanctuary, have their faces
perpendicular, but the outside parts so as to declare their diminution. In this way
the intention of the design of the temple will be completed by such contraction.
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5. When the shafts of the columns are fixed, the proportions of the Ionic capitals
are to be conformed to this symmetries: namely, that in adding the eighteenth
part of the thickest part of the shaft, the abacus my find its length and breadth;
the height of the capital with the volutes, half of that. There must be a set-back
from the edge of the abacus inwards on the front of the volutes of aneighteenth part and a half. Then the height of the capital is to be divided into
nine and a half parts, and lines (which are called cathetoe) are to be let fall
down the abacus, at the four corners of the volutes, following a perpendicular
from the edge of the abacus. Then of nine parts and a half, one part and a half
are to be left as the thickness of the abacus, and the remaining eight parts are
to be allotted to the volutes.
6. Then within a vertical line which is let fall at the extreme corner of the abacus,
let fall another line at a distance of one part and a half. Next let these lines be
so divided that four parts and a half are left under the abacus. Then that point
which divides the four and a half and the three and a half is the centre of theeye of the volute: and let there be drawn from that centre a complete circle
with a diameter of one part out of the eight parts. That will be the magnitude
of the eye. Through the centre let there be drawn a vertical diameter. Then
beginning from the top under the abacus, let the radius be successively
diminished by half the diameter of the eye in describing the quadrants, until it
comes into the quadrant which is under the abacus.
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7. Now the height of the capital is to be so arranged that of the nine and a half
parts, three parts are below the astragal at the top of the shaft. The remaining
part is for the cymatium , when the abacus and channel are taken away. The
projection of the cymatium beyond the abacus is to be the size of the eye. Let
the bands of the pillow have the following projection: one point of the
compasses is placed in the centre of the eye, and the other point is taken to the
top of the cymatium; The circle thus described will mark the furthest part of the
pillow band. The axes of the volutes should not be further apart than the
diameter of the eye, and the volutes themselves are to be channelled to the
twelfth part of their height. These will be the proportions of capitals when thecolumns shall be up to twenty-five feet. Those which are more will have their
other proportions after the same fashion. The length and breadth of the abacus
will be the thickness of the column at its base with the addition of one-ninth:
inasmuch as its diminution is less as the heigtht is greater, the capital must not
have less addition in projection and height.
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8. At the end of the book a diagram and formula will be furnished for the drawing
of the volutes so that they may be correctly turned by the compass. When the
capitals are completed they are to be set, not level through the range of
columns, but with a corresponding adjustment; so that the architraves in the
upper members may correspond to the addition in the stylobates. the
proportion of the architraves should be as follows: if the columns are from
twelve to fifteen feet, the height of the architrave should be half the thickness of
the column at the bottom; from fifteen to twenty feet let the height of the
column be divided into thirteen parts, and the height of the architrave be one
part; from twenty to twenty-five feet, let the height be divided into twelve parts
and a half, and let the architrave be one part of that in height; also from twenty-
five to thirty let it be divided into twelve parts, and let the height be made of
one part. Thus the height of the architraves are to be determined in accordance
with the height of the columns.
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9. For the higher the glance of the eye rises, it perces with the more difficulty the
denseness of the air; therefore it fails owing to the amount and power of the
height, and reports to the senses the assemblage of the uncertain quantity of
the modules. And so we must always add a supplement to the proportion in thecase of the symmetrical parts, so that works which are either in higher positions
or themselves more grandiose may have proportionate dimensions. The
breadth of the architrave at the bottom where it rests upon the capital should
equal the diameter of the top of the column under the capital: the top of the
architrave should be as wide as the lower diameter of the shaft.
10. The cymatium of the architrave should be made one-seventh of its height and
the projection of it the same. The remainder apart from the cymatium is to be
divided into twelve parts of which the lowest fascia is to have three; the
second, four; and the top, five. The frieze also above the architrave is to be a
fourth less than the architrave; but if figures are to be introduced, a fourth
higher, so that the carvings may be effective. The cymatium a seventh part of its
height; the projection of the cymatium as much as the thickness.
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11. Above the frieze the dentil is to be made as high as the middle fascia of the
architrave; its projection as much as its height. The interval, which in Greek is
called metope, is to be arranged so that the dentil is half as wide as it is high; The
hollow of the interval is two-thirds of the front of the dentil; the cymatium of
this, one-sixth its height. The cornice with its cymatium, but without the sima, isto be equal to the middle fascia of the architrave. The projection of the cornice
with the dentil is to be made equal to the height from the frieze to the top of the
cymatium of the cornice; and generally all projections have a more graceful
appearance when they are equal to the height of the feature.
12. The height of the tympanum which is in the pediment is to be such, that the
whole front of the cornice from the outside of the cymatia is to be measured into
nine parts; and of these one is to be set up in the middle for the summit of the
tympanum. The architraves and hypotrachelia of the columns are vertically under
it. The cornices above the tympana are to be made equal to those below,
omitting the simae. Above the cornices the simae, which the Greekscall epaietides, are to be made higher by one-height than the coronae. The
angle acroteria are to be as high as the middle of the tympanum; the middle ones
are to be one-eighth higher than those at the angles.
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13. All the features which are to be above the capitals of the columns, that is to say,
architraves, friezes, cornices, tympana, pediments, acroteria, are to be inclined
towards their front by a twelfth part of their height; because when we stand
against the fronts, if two lines are drawn from the eye, and one touches hte
lowest part of the work, and the other the highest, that which touches the
highest, will be the longer. Thus because the longer line of vision goes to the
upper part, it gives the appearance of leaning backwards. When however, as
written above, the line in inclined to the front, then the parts will seem vertical
and to measure.
14. The flutes of the columns are to be twenty four, hollowed out in such a way that
if a set square is placed into the hollow of a flute and moved round its ends, it
will touch the fillets on the right and left, and the point of the square will touch
the curve as it moves round. The width of the flutes is to be altered so as to suitthe addition produced by the swelling of the column.
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15. On the mouldings which are above the cornice on the sides of temples, lions'
heads are to be carved, and arranged firstly so as to be set over against the tops
of the several columns; the others at equal intervals so as to answer to the
middle of the roof tiling. But these which will be against the columns are to be
pierced for a gutter which takes the rainwater from the tiles. The intervening
heads are to be solid so that the water which falls over the tiles into the gutter,may not fall down through the intercolumniations upon the passers by. But those
which are against the columns are to seem to vomit and let fall streams of water
from their mouths.