Vitruvius Quotes

A collection of quotes by Vitruvius.

Vitruvius was a Roman architect and engineer who lived during the 1st century BC. He is best known for his work "De architectura," a comprehensive treatise on architecture, engineering, and urban planning. Vitruvius served as a military engineer under Julius Caesar and later worked for Emperor Augustus. His writings greatly influenced Renaissance architects, as he emphasized the importance of proportion, functionality, and the integration of art and science in architecture. Vitruvius' work remains a significant source of knowledge on ancient Roman construction techniques and architectural principles.

For the eye is always in search of beauty, and if we do not

For the eye is always in search of beauty, and if we do not gratify its desire for pleasure by a proportionate enlargement in these measures, and thus make compensation for ocular deception, a clumsy and awkward appearance will be presented to the beholder.

Beauty Appearance Compensation

If nature has composed the human body so that in its proport

If nature has composed the human body so that in its proportions the seperate individual elements answer to the total form, then the Ancients seem to have had reason to decide that bringing their creations to full completion likewise required a correspondence bewteen the measure of individual elements and the appearance of the work as a whole.

Inspirational Philosophical

But basilicas of the greatest dignity and beauty may also be

But basilicas of the greatest dignity and beauty may also be constructed in the style of that one which I erected, and the building of which I superintended at Fano.