Ten Books on Architecture (De Architectura)

deeds, and their growth, he borrowed almost everything from what Lucretius expressed eloquently in his fifth book. It is therefore not obscure that he was an Epicurean, at least in those things which pertain to the nature of things and the constitution of principles. But indeed, that he was of an upright character, and, for a pagan, sufficiently pious, and not a destroyer of the divine from the heavens along with Epicurus and Lucretius, is sufficiently clear from the things he inserted into his writings regarding temples, the Gods, and the honor owed to them. Furthermore, that he served in the military and was in the camps of Julius Caesar, we know from the fact that in Book VIII, Chapter 4, while discussing the properties of certain springs, he affirms that C. Julius Masinissa, the son of Masinissa, who served with Caesar, had used the hospitality of Vitruvius himself. From this it is easy to argue that our architect was not obscure in the army, since he had as a companion a distinguished man, namely the son of Masinissa. He himself testifies in the preface of the first book, writing to Augustus, that he was known to Caesar for his skill in the art of building. When this Caesar was removed from the scene, and Augustus had obtained the supreme power of the state, he was recommended to him by his sister Octavia. But since Augustus had two sisters of the same name, the elder the daughter of Ancharia, and the younger the daughter of Attia, it could rightly be doubted which of them bestowed the benefit of the recommendation upon him. Aeneas Vicus of Parma teaches that it was the elder in his book Augustae, where he speaks of her, writing thus: original: "Quin etiam inter Augusti familiares peritissimum illum architectum Vitruvium collocavit, qui prius fuerat in castris Caesaris, quod ex commendatitiis eius literis effectum est." Translation: "Moreover, she placed among the friends of Augustus that most skilled architect Vitruvius, who had previously been in the camps of Caesar, which was effected by means of her letters of recommendation." This from Aeneas. Furthermore, Augustus not only took him into his patronage and assigned him a stipend as long as he lived, but also placed him in charge of war machines, which he himself left attested in these words: original: "Itaque cum M. Aurelio, & Pub. Minidio, & Cn. Cornelio ad apparationem ballistarum, & scorpionum, reliquorumque tormentorum refectionem sui praesto, & cum eis commoda accepi, quae cum primo mihi tribuisti, recognitionem per sororis commendationem servasti &c." Translation: "And so, along with M. Aurelius, Publius Minidius, and Cn. Cornelius, I was at hand for the preparation of ballistae, scorpions, and the repair of other artillery, and I received the benefits with them which you granted to me at first, and you maintained the acknowledgement through the recommendation of your sister, etc."