The Four Books of Architecture

they ought to make a diligent account of all the expenses that may be incurred; and make provision for the money in time, and prepare the materials that seem necessary, so that while building, nothing is lacking that might hinder the completion of the work. For it will bring no small praise to the builder, and no mediocre utility to the entire structure, if it is finished with due speed, and if all the walls, being raised to an equal level, settle equally—whereby they do not develop those cracks usually seen in buildings finished at different times and brought to completion unevenly. Therefore, having chosen the most skilled craftsmen that can be found, so that the work may be excellently directed according to their advice, one shall provide timber, stones, sand, lime, and metals. Regarding these provisions, some warnings should be noted: for example, to make the timberworkThe structural framework of beams for the floors of the halls and rooms, enough beams should be provided so that when they are put into place, a space of one and a half times the thickness of a beam remains between one and another. Likewise, regarding stones, care should be taken that for the uprights of doors and windows, stones no thicker than the fifth part of the width of the lightThe "light" refers to the clear open space of the window or door are sought, nor less than the sixth. And if the building is to have ornaments of columns or pilasters, the bases, capitals, and architraves may be made of stone, and the other parts of terracottaoriginal: "pietra cotta", literally "cooked stone," referring to fired brick or clay. Regarding the walls, it should also be considered that they ought to diminish as they rise; these observations will help in making an accurate account and will reduce a large part of the expense. And because all these parts will be discussed in detail in their proper places, it will suffice for now to have given this universal knowledge, and to have made a sort of sketch of the entire building. But because, besides quantity, one must also consider the quality and goodness of the material to choose the best, the experience gained from buildings made by others will help us greatly; for being advised by those, we can easily determine what will be fit and expedient for our needs. And although Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, the Roman author of 'De Architectura'Vitruvius, Leon Battista Alberti, a seminal Renaissance architect and theoristLeon Battista Alberti, and other excellent writers have given those warnings that should be observed in choosing this material, I nonetheless, so that nothing in these books of mine appears to be missing, will mention some of them, restricting myself to the most necessary.

OF TIMBER. Chap. II.

Timber (as Vitruvius has in chapter ix. of the second book) should be cut in the Autumn and throughout the Winter; because then the trees recover from their roots that vigor and firmness which in the Spring and Summer was dispersed through the leaves and fruit. They shall be cut when the Moon is waning, because that humorIn Renaissance science, 'humor' refers to the internal fluids or sap of the plant which is most fit to rot wood is at that time consumed; thus they are not later attacked by moths or woodworms. They should be cut only to the middle of the piththe central core of the tree, and thus left until they dry; for by dripping, that humor which would be prone to putrefaction will come out. Once cut, they shall be stored in a place where they are not exposed to the hottest Suns, nor impetuous winds, nor rains. Those that grow naturally Possibly referring to wild-grown timber rather than cultivated timber should especially be kept under cover. And so that they do not split and may dry equally, they should be smeared with ox dung. They should not be dragged through the dew, but after midday; nor should they be worked while wet with dew or very dry, because the former easily rot, and the latter make for very ugly work. They will not be well-dried for use in floors, doors, and windows before three years. Masters who wish to build must inform themselves well from experts about the nature of timber, and which wood is good for what purpose, and which is not. Vitruvius, in the aforementioned place, gives good instruction on this, as do other learned men who have written copiously about it.

OF STONES. Chap. III.

Of stones, some we have from Nature, others are made by human industry. The natural ones are quarried from pits and are either for making lime or for making walls. Of those taken for making lime, more will be said below. Those from which walls are made are either marbles and hard stones, which are also called living stonesoriginal: "pietre vive", a term for durable, non-porous natural stone, or they are soft and tender stones. Marbles and living stones should be worked immediately after being quarried, because it will be easier to work them then than if they had been in the air for some time, since all stones become harder the longer they remain quarried, and they can be put into use immediately. But soft and tender stones—especially if their nature and sufficiency are unknown to us, as when they are quarried in a place where none had been quarried before—should be quarried in the Summer and kept in the open, nor should they be put into use before two years. They are quarried in Summer so that, not being accustomed to winds, rains, and ice, they may harden little by little and become fit to resist such injuries of the weather. And they are left for that amount of time so that, having selected those that have been damaged, they may be placed in the foundations, and the others that are not ruined, being approved, may be placed above ground in the buildings, for they will endure a long time. The stones made by men, commonly called bricksoriginal: "quadrelli", meaning square-ish bricks because of their shape, ought