THE WORKS OF HERON AND CTESIBIUS

original: HERONIS CTESIBII

English Translation from Greek	English Translation from Latin
...[one strikes] the limbs original: kōla of the cords, so that they may be well-braced against one another. Then, creating further layers original: domoi until they have used up the entire spool of cord, they would tuck the final end under all the main cords Sēmones: the primary vertical strands of the sinew-spring. Upon the cross-beams Diapegmata: the horizontal braces of the catapult frame marked alpha, beta, gamma, and delta, they placed small iron axles. By turning these with force, they would tighten the sinews. The arm original: ankōn was then held fast by the force of the sinews once the twisting was complete. Let the aforementioned arm be E-Z, the sinew H, and the axles K, L, M, and N. The other rectangular frame original: plinthion is constructed in the same manner.	...this was enough, and binding them together, they would tighten the first layer with the greatest force, and then the next in sequence, striking the limbs original: cola—that is, the members—of the ropes with a small wedge so that they would fit closely together. Then they would arrange the remaining layers until they had consumed the entire bundle of cords. They placed the end of this bundle beneath the remaining threads. They also placed iron axles original: Axonia upon the cross-beams original: Diapegmatibus A-B and C-D. By violently twisting these, they forced the sinews tight; thus, once the twisting of the sinews was performed, the arm original: brachium itself was held by great force. Let the arm under discussion be E-F, the sinews G-H, and the axles K-L and M-N.

English Translation from Greek

English Translation from Latin

...[one strikes] the limbs original: kōla of the cords, so that they may be well-braced against one another. Then, creating further layers original: domoi until they have used up the entire spool of cord, they would tuck the final end under all the main cords Sēmones: the primary vertical strands of the sinew-spring. Upon the cross-beams Diapegmata: the horizontal braces of the catapult frame marked alpha, beta, gamma, and delta, they placed small iron axles. By turning these with force, they would tighten the sinews. The arm original: ankōn was then held fast by the force of the sinews once the twisting was complete. Let the aforementioned arm be E-Z, the sinew H, and the axles K, L, M, and N. The other rectangular frame original: plinthion is constructed in the same manner.

...this was enough, and binding them together, they would tighten the first layer with the greatest force, and then the next in sequence, striking the limbs original: cola—that is, the members—of the ropes with a small wedge so that they would fit closely together. Then they would arrange the remaining layers until they had consumed the entire bundle of cords. They placed the end of this bundle beneath the remaining threads. They also placed iron axles original: Axonia upon the cross-beams original: Diapegmatibus A-B and C-D. By violently twisting these, they forced the sinews tight; thus, once the twisting of the sinews was performed, the arm original: brachium itself was held by great force. Let the arm under discussion be E-F, the sinews G-H, and the axles K-L and M-N.

[Diagram of a catapult's torsion frame (plinthion) showing the vertical sinew bundle (H/G), the horizontal arm (E-F/E-Z), and the tensioning axles (K, L, M, N) at the top and bottom.]