by Walther Rivius or Ryff
Principal among all well known and renowned Roman architects, artistic workers or builders: Marcus Vitruvius Pollio – Ten books of architecture and artistic construction.
A key and introduction to all mathematic and mechanical art, and of all astute attempts or speculations of artistic works. Diligently and properly written for the population, from such high understanding and correct ground, with a full and certain foundation of all laudable art. So that every avid student of art may thus be instructed in architecture and artistic construction, and may easily learn and grasp a correct understanding of the mathematics and mechanical arts involved in architecture. All this adorned and declared with beautiful artistic figures and antiquities and with special commentary for a better understanding.
For the first time translated and printed in German, for the advantageous benefit of all artistic handiwork, workmen, builders, vehicle and civil designers, well diggers, carpenters, painters, sculptures, goldsmiths, carpenters, and all those who use artistic titles and tools.
Through D. Gualtherium H. Rivium Medical & Mathematician
First to transfer this into the German language, as it is otherwise would not be understood with the other sources except through considerable effort.
Printed in Nürnberg: Johan Petreius, 1548
Printed in the same year and afterward with regal support of the king.
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Scholarly, foresighted, and wise gentlemen, mayors and counselors, the city of Nuremburg, my authoritative and favored gentlemen.
Scholarly, foresighted, and wise gentlemen, E.F.E.W., modest art and wisdom comes despite all dout. With such great diligence the ancients, our forefathers, founded and brought forth a high understanding of all art and meaningful inventions, which is to our temporal welfare and necessary for our physical preservation. And they took such care to freely and thoughtfully leave behind their helpful and useful inventions for us, their descendants.
These arts and various meaningful inventions remain as a leading testimony if considered in common and equally well, and they allow everyone some useful and advantageous opportunity for design. But we find that one art has a special purpose or higher goal than the others, giving it special consideration.
Quite a few helpful arts and meaningful inventions have risen to prominence, pleasing the eye and remaining until now in constant need. They have been very important in promoting friendlier, more pleasant, and greater social human interaction, or improving a city’s status and nature, and to get this with ease.
The greater portion is also honored and each are disassociated from that fruitful and useful half that they may daily bring, and then further and more considerably alone on account that they are quite fun and entertaining, deceptively charming and agreeable. And so we believe that each art is to be considered its own separate specialty.
Thus we pick for ourselves all art and meaningful inventions- not just what the ancients our forefathers would have goodwillingly shared, but also all that is modern and founded and produced day by day. With diligence we venture and attempt this discretionary partitioning or distinction, revivals, and requests. We find that there is no art that will bring to those who want or encounter it such great daily use and unbelievable advantage, such learning, practice, and need, as the excellent art of Architecture, which is justly seen as the most respectable, useful, crucial and most loved of all.
Yet this area is not commonly understood as having a need for architecture. According to the opinion and teaching of ancient and highly considered Vitruvian architecture, some work of stonemasons, bricklayers, etc. should be respectively considered as arts through architecture. Diligent and experienced architects use this work and help as a handy instrument or tool. If these other artistic creations, judiciaries, or benefits are equally precious and from good sturdy ground, a good understanding of the work, and through advanced beginnings, and if experienced through architecture, they may thereby reveal the fundamental issues of their own work. They may serve to complete all our temporal and physical endeavors, our important
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wants and needs, achieving them through an intelligent and good understanding of the ordering and building of the work.
There was also the thought and opinion held as true by ancient heathen philosophies regarding the diligent development of natural things, that human sexes began to live in dwellings and supposedly united and came together because of the most basic necessities of water or fire. We should be very careful that the art of architecture be the very first approach, beginning with this union of the first humans in a pleasant dwelling. Therefore we consider the needs and uses of the dwelling.
For whoever follows this admirable pursuit may not inadequately study any other art or clever invention. Even the first attempted and newly developed architecture gave us all kinds of results, not just screening and protecting us from foul weather, hail frost, wind, cold and rain, but also protecting us from various dangerous and malicious people, contrary and ferocious animals, and so forth. It gave protection, shelter, and shade from many dangers and calamities. It also preserved life and limb in various good times and men depended on it for help, because of their inherent stupidity, and the ancients used it to climb up and to better themselves.
Today we can still see that only these arts and various meaningful inventions are the most important and necessary means for receiving, establishing, and reaping in a peaceful, livable civilization of dwellings. We couldn’t use or even consider any other way because this art is inspired and given to us by the Lord God out of privileged approval, fatherly will and providence, to be useful to man as a shield and weapon.
We consider the means through which our human body prolongs its health and gains human strength to be the first and most important and highest expertise of our time. It becomes clear that the same greater portion began with this art. For still to be seen today are mighty and glorious constructs of antiquity, built with some bodily power and remarkable, unbelievable expense. For visual examples there are crumbling bath houses, gymnasiums, observatories, and theaters. The great aqueducts, or culverts, in particular stand as testimony to how various arts and forms can be wonderfully finalized and conquered through this art, and not only for bodily preservation and enhancement but also for thousands of other uses.
Today we have museums, recognizing that nothing on earth has flowered that was not from this art, including the human body, advancement, trade, like fruitful branches and twigs springing out of a cut root. This art has brought us important tools for basic work, such as agricultural equipment through which we harvest everything, along with all other instruments and vehicles of labor. They dig wells for sources of water, not only for one place but to be sent to other places through the depths of the earth to flow through the high mountain, digging through hard veins of stone, evening out the height and flatness and leading through great lengths and in great heights. They contain and dam up rivers, ponds, and seas. They drain marshes and intentionally divert strong current of water to lead into cities as they please, employing various methods. Ships are built as all the oceans can be traversed using ships, and the shores must therefore be provided with ports and shipyards. Bridges must be built over large and small rivers along with royal mills and various buildings having to do with water.
Whatever the purpose of the useful and noteworthy artistic work, each will be brought to completion with a fundamental and correct understanding of the art
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of architecture.
Part of the reason we establish holy buildings and great construction is for the preservation of the Christian religion, including churches, temples, holy houses, and whatever the local city policy and regiment concerns, holy palaces of judgment and city halls, armories, treasuries, hospitals, royal and kingly courts, and common and exclusive city dwellings. They are constructed with such great magnificence and glory, all founded by well ordered policies.
The most important construction, namely the city’s fortifications, castles, and keep, were also founded through this art, as well as city walls, city ports, gates, graveyards, fortresses, bastions, garrisons, posts, etc. all with their advantageous defenses. They were built with power and considerable effort for a freer and more secure city life, for business and trade, and for the needs of all man-made machinery. Their nature is unrivaled because of the artistic inventions of architecture, along with artillery hoists, vehicles, and many thousand, countless similar mechanical instruments, all of which have their origins in architecture. They would not remain if robbed of their universal as well as their individual foundation.
In order to humbly convince with true arguments and solid logic that this art of architecture together with all its parts is the most useful, necessary, and therefore the most beloved and enjoyable of all artistic and meaningful inventions, the principle through which every well ordered policy and city regiment at any point in time of peace or war may be noted as having affluence and virtue, as staying firm and full of security, calm, frugality, and having the highest expertise of common needs- that you may become even more modestly convinced with all the vast histories and particularly from the excellent examples from Archimedes and through other famous artistic architects-
To bring this to a fair conclusion, that this excellent art of architecture, and all that has been invented, brought forth, and developed, not only out of a high understanding, various experiences, meaningful attempts, and some practice, but also reinforced with writing, from that which they shared to us their descendants despite all doubt, which has been to such significant good and high merit for our common use, and is worthy of much praise and approval-
And that you may especially understand in this regard and give proper holy credit to all those who have been involved in the writings of architecture and passed on and shared their understandings, who have written about the oldest, highest esteemed, and most famous architect Vitruvius, and to pass on this same book which describes architecture with the utmost diligence and in a reasonable and handy order, that the entire art with all its parts may be laid out in a short summary, immaculately like looking at a mirror, with all arts and not as a costly and precious treasure, but as a correct, dependable foundation and all-encompassing groundwork for all the arts that go with architecture, to be highly received-
And as this issue was until now understood by many excellent, educated, and well known people of certain nations, so this book of Vitruvius is shared in the native, foreign and alien language, for their particular advantage and to direct their work and meaningful inventions, as well as their wisdom and scientific methods, though we speak German-
Therefore, these days this glorious artistic book of Vitruvius has been transferred to other foreign nations into various language, chiefly into Italian and then into Spanish and then the French language.
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But until now, like I said, save only for the foreign-speaking German readers who appreciated art, we have remained unacquainted, ignorant, or hidden from the greater portion because of a lack of translation or distribution of these glorious books, this precious treasure.
However today all art and meaningful inventions will be brought higher day by bay from this blessed, excellent, indebted German nation. And not only will all other nations consult us, but we may far outdo them with high reason and common and useful practice in all necessary labor and effort.
I have a great desire and good intention to be of common service, foremost for the meaningful art of math, as it relates to architecture, to serve as an occupation. I feel pleased to take upon myself this concentrated effort to share diverse architectural books of the highest quality to the best of my ability, and to transfer all artistic things into a common and plain German language using the press.
But whilst these books of Vitruvius describe and order with such great understanding and splendid prescience the right ability required for artistic and orderly construction, it also describes all other arts which may require mathematical art and mechanical inventions. It is a short summary, developed and composed for this purpose, that the diligent reader might explore the faithful instruction of these books.
These artistic things are somewhat hazy and difficult, not entirely understandable. This includes many things, but to give a particular example, the fortified construction and advanced machinery needed for weapons in Vitruvius’ time, as founded by the principle of architecture.
It includes many other things that have been made and developed as needed, which to the German reader are of utmost importance yet strange and unknown. They are barely touched upon in our German literature or pursued from a solid foundation. I am therefore at this time concerned about many professions related to mine, such as the distinguished art of medicine, that these professions look to certain practices and works from the superb examples of other excellent artists, including: Luca Pacioli, Caesaris Caesarini, Benadicti Iourj, Boni Mauri, Leonis Baptistae, Guilielmi Philandri, Sebastiano Serlio, Patri Nonij, Orontij Finei, Niccolo Tartaglia, and many others whose literature about architecture and closely related arts proved crucial in providing true precepts for my undertaking.
Their writings in foreign languages help lay out and declare these books of Vitruvius with special visual figures and with German commentary, and further involve related mathematical art and mechanical inventions and investigations, indeed all arts, so that those who understand and practice these arts might clearly and easily have the teachings and instruction of Vitruvius.
Those who need other useful and understandable instruction might achieve just what they need, as such short and varied arts shared and related to architecture may not have advanced. May all despite my weakness of person be spared work and pain through these efforts, and may I prove helpful and useful for common practices. And with the sharing of these ten books and with my diligent artistic expertise, I am furthermore moved and anxious that
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the Viruvian architecture and ordered figures and commentary or design in these ten books deal with the most useful and advantageous architecture, related mathematical art, meaningful mechanical inventions, and various useful practices. May these special books share the unpracticed and untaught reader the very best, clearest, and strongest foundation and introduction with these printed books of Vitruvius, and be shared with good will.
As the wise and versatile architect Vitruvius found it fit to give first attention in his esteemed books and writings to the almighty Caeser Julius, and then to Augustus, as an excellent and holy gift and to extend his gratitude, then so should all who have received so much dedicate under both these Roman Caesers’ holy names and hold up the book for publication with the praise they deserve. We should do this for those who transferred these holy books into some foreign languages and also documented and traded the arts related to architecture and so so still to this day.
We should further commend the opinions and high and great views of the mighty potentates with their applicable efforts and literary works, who have gracefully given aid for all diligent artistic expression to common use, as a strong protection and mighty shield. I do not hesitate to follow the auspicious examples of certain educated, sensible, visionary, and wise gentlemen, including E.F.E.W, who richly adorn and honor all famous and laudable arts with modest experience and with various holy gifts of God. They are the highest patrons, soft and fatherly possessors, providers, and protectors of all famous laudable arts, to translate and order commentary on Vitruvian architecture and give other important books that articulately deal with architecture related arts. Under the holy and well known name E.F.E.W. I have spread about and published for the many advantages and uses of all art enthusiasts.
For while E.F.E.W has a particularly friendly disposition and good intentions, he also strives to serve and stand for any common need and expertise of any client. E.F.E.W furthermore modestly displays an angelic, joyful and peaceful rule and gives rightly ordered Christian policies. And thus from all principles brings all artistic virtue, famous artistic and laudable things, to make any place a place of peace, and to make any and everyone of good report, so that there may be few injuries.
I don’t doubt that it will fall on me to utilize E.F.E.W.’s effort through my literary work. I truly hope that all art enthusiasts will find this work under E.F.E.W.’s high reputation and glorious name pleasing and agreeable. As a volunteer, I will likewise greatly expend and let up no diligence to this end, that these and similar endeavors may be advantageous and helpful to all art-enthusiasts and common use. I will by day bring my highest power to goodwillingly honor and please E.F.E.W.
E.F.E.W. honors to God’s holy name and the fatherland’s common use and glory, and that is why the almighty God of all authoritative understanding and wisdom mandates E.F.E.W His shield and protection, the rule, patronage, and intervention.
Date in Wüzburg: 16. Feb. 1548.
E.F.E.W
Patron
Gualtherus H. Riuius Medicus & Mathematicus & c.
© This translation coyprighted Benjamin Blankenbehler
