An ornate rectangular woodcut headpiece. In the center is an oval medallion containing a profile portrait. On either side are various allegorical figures and putti small, winged infant boys common in Renaissance and Baroque art, representing cherubs or spirits of inspiration engaged in activities related to architecture, geometry, and engineering. They are shown using compasses, examining architectural plans, and working near classical ruins and globes.

TO THE KING.

SIRE,

This is the second time that the Architecture of Vitruvius Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, a Roman architect of the 1st century BCE whose ten-volume work became the foundational "bible" of Western classical architecture has the honor of being dedicated to the greatest Prince on Earth. Its illustrious Author once presented it to the Emperor Augustus, and it was then found in such a state of elevation that it seemed it could no longer aspire to anything comparable. Its Interpreter A term for the translator or commentator, in this case, Claude Perrault offers it today to Your Majesty, and does not doubt that the glory which this beautiful Science receives on this day equals that with which it was once overwhelmed, and that the greatness of Your Majesty compensates for