Work record
The Ten Books on Architecture
VitruviusDe ArchitecturaThe Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius (c. 30–15 BC)The Ten Books on Architecture, known in Latin as De Architectura, is the only complete treatise on architecture to survive from classical antiquity.Also known as: De Architectura
c. 30-15 BC · Ancient · Essays · Latin
Abstract
Author. A veteran engineer of Caesar's campaigns addresses the new emperor with a complete manual of his craft.
Builder's mind. The designer must master drawing, geometry, history, philosophy, music, medicine, law and the stars, and every structure must be strong, useful and lovely.
Materials. Early humans copied swallows' nests and caves; the Romans perfected brick, lime, volcanic ash, stone and timber.
Temples. Column styles take their proportions from the figure of a man, who with arms and legs spread touches both circle and square.
Cities and machines. Later books treat theatres and their acoustics, baths, harbours, houses, plaster, water supply, sundials, the tale of Archimedes in the bath, cranes and catapults.
Reading. The sole surviving architectural handbook from antiquity, it shaped the Renaissance and still offers students a vivid tour of Roman engineering. Students can walk around their own town with the three qualities in mind, sketch the figure inscribed in circle and square, and trace the long line from Roman temples through Renaissance churches to the columns of courthouses, banks and capitols that still borrow his proportions today, often without their builders knowing his name or reading a single page of his treatise.
Key figures
- Vitruvius: A Roman architect and military engineer.
- Augustus: The Roman emperor to whom the work is addressed.
- Archimedes: The Greek mathematician whose discovery is retold.
- Morris Hicky Morgan: The Harvard scholar who translated the text.
Summary
The Ten Books on Architecture, known in Latin as De Architectura, is the only complete treatise on architecture to survive from classical antiquity. It was written by the Roman architect and engineer Vitruvius in the reign of Augustus, to whom it is dedicated, probably between about 30 and 15 BC. This text is the translation by Morris Hicky Morgan of Harvard University, completed after his death and published in 1914, with illustrations described in the text. Vitruvius begins with the education of the architect, who should know drawing, geometry, history, philosophy, music, medicine, law and astronomy, since he must judge the work of all the other arts. He sets out the basic principles of design, including order, arrangement, proportion, symmetry and propriety, and states that buildings must be made with durability, convenience and beauty. Book One also discusses the siting of cities, healthy locations, walls and the directions of the winds. Book Two tells how human beings first built shelters and describes building materials, such as bricks, lime, sand, the volcanic ash called pozzolana, stone and timber. Books Three and Four deal with temples and the classical orders, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian, relating their proportions to those of the human body, which with outstretched limbs fits within a circle and a square. Book Five covers public buildings such as forums, basilicas, theatres with their acoustics and harmonics, baths and harbours. Book Six treats private houses and their adaptation to climate, Book Seven floors, stucco and colours, and Book Eight water, how to find it, test it and carry it by aqueducts. Book Nine turns to astronomy and sundials and tells the famous story of Archimedes discovering, in his bath, how to test the purity of a gold crown. Book Ten describes machines, hoisting engines, water wheels, pumps, water organs and military engines such as catapults and siege machines. The book deeply influenced Renaissance architects.
Virtues in this work
Plot or Argument
- The architect
An architect needs broad learning and must aim at durability, convenience and beauty.
- Materials and origins
The first shelters and the properties of brick, lime, stone and timber.
- Temples and orders
Proportions of the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders and the human body.
- Public and private buildings
Theatres, baths, harbours, houses and decoration.
- Water, time and machines
Aqueducts, sundials, Archimedes, hoisting machines and siege engines.
Lessons
Firmness, commodity, delight
Vitruvius's triad of durability, convenience and beauty still guides architecture.
- What does each quality mean?
- Which matters most?
- Apply the triad to your school building.
The educated architect
He argues that an architect must know many fields.
- Why should an architect study music or medicine?
- Is broad learning still needed today?
- What would you add?
Proportion and the body
Vitruvius connects architectural proportion with human proportion.
- How does the human figure fit a circle and a square?
- Why did this idea inspire Leonardo?
- Where do you see proportion in buildings?
Context
Vitruvius wrote as Augustus rebuilt Rome after the civil wars, boasting that he found a city of brick and left it of marble; Greek learning shaped Roman architecture and engineering.
Composition
Written in Latin and dedicated to Augustus; Morgan's translation was completed by colleagues and published by Harvard University Press in 1914.
Reception
Rediscovered in the fifteenth century, it shaped Renaissance architecture, inspired Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, and remains a basic text of architectural history.
Comparisons
- Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects (Volume 1)
Renaissance writing on art shaped by Vitruvian ideals.
- Elements, Book I
The geometry on which Vitruvius's proportions depend.
Quotes
“The architect should be equipped with knowledge of many branches of study and varied kinds of learning”
“All these must be built with due reference to durability, convenience, and beauty.”
For Students
A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.
Reading Guide
Watch for
- The list of subjects an architect should know.
- The three qualities of good building.
- The account of the first human dwellings.
- The proportions of the human body in Book III.
- The story of Archimedes and the crown.
Key terms and names
- Classical orders
- The Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles of columns and their proportions.
- Pozzolana
- Volcanic ash that makes a strong, water-resistant Roman concrete.
- Symmetry
- For Vitruvius, harmonious proportion among the parts of a work.
- Aqueduct
- A channel or bridge built to carry water over long distances.
Seminar Questions
- Comprehension What three qualities must buildings have?
- Comprehension What does Book Two say about the first shelters?
- Comprehension What did Archimedes discover?
- Interpretation Why does Vitruvius relate buildings to the human body?
- Interpretation Why did Renaissance architects value this book?
- Big Question Should beauty matter as much as usefulness?
Faith Connections
- Luke 14:28 (Scripture)
Count the cost before building a tower.
- Matthew 7:24 (Scripture)
The wise man built his house upon the rock.
Logic and Rhetoric
Central argument: Good architecture unites durability, convenience and beauty, and requires an architect learned in both theory and practice.
Rhetorical device: exemplum. Stories like Archimedes and the crown illustrate scientific reasoning.
Debate: Resolved: that beauty is as essential to architecture as durability.
Memory Work
The architect should be equipped with knowledge of many branches of study and varied kinds of learning
Writing Prompts
Essay: How does Vitruvius combine practical engineering and theory?
Comparison with Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects (Volume 1): Compare Vitruvius's ideals with Vasari's account of Renaissance artists.
Creative Prompts
- Essay
Do modern buildings achieve durability, convenience and beauty?
- Adaptation
Design a building and justify each choice by Vitruvius's principles.
- Classroom
Draw the Vitruvian figure in a circle and square and test the proportions.
Further Reading
- Lives of the Artists, Giorgio Vasari
Verification notes
Full text from Project Gutenberg #20239 (Morris Hicky Morgan's translation, 1914); Gutenberg header and licence removed. Quotations checked as exact substrings of the stored text.
No verification flags recorded.