THE FIRST BOOK.

...ecialized design. Those who relied on practice alone were unable to provide a reason for the forms they adopted; they seem to have chased a shadow, not the reality. But those who have mastered both, like men fully armed, have more quickly and with authority attained their goal.

For in all matters, but especially in architecture, these two things are present: that which is signified original: "significatur." This refers to the actual building or the subject at hand. and that which signifies original: "significat." This refers to the theoretical explanation or the drawings that represent the work.. The thing signified is the subject being discussed. That which signifies is the demonstration explained by scientific principles. Therefore, it appears that anyone professing to be an architect ought to be practiced in both areas. Consequently, he must be both naturally gifted and teachable through instruction. For neither talent without instruction, nor instruction without talent, can produce a perfect craftsman.

He should be literate, skilled in drawing graphidos: the art of drafting, sketching, or technical illustration, learned in geometry, and not ignorant of optics; he should be instructed in arithmetic, know many histories, have listened diligently to the philosophers, understand music, not be ignorant of medicine, know the opinions of legal experts, and have knowledge of astrology and the laws of the heavens.

The reasons why this should be so are as follows: An architect must know letters so that he can make his memory more reliable through written notes commentariis: journals or notebooks used for recording professional observations. Next, he must have knowledge of drawing, so that he can more easily delineate deformare: in this context, to sketch out or give form to a concept the appearance of the work he intends through painted illustrations.

Geometry, moreover, provides many aids to architecture; first, it teaches the use of the straightedge and compasses, from which the layouts of buildings on their sites are most easily managed, along with the alignment of squares, levels, and straight lines. Likewise, through optics opticen: the science of light and vision, light from the heavens is correctly directed into buildings from specific quarters. Through arithmetic, the costs of buildings are calculated, and the principles of measurements...