A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

VITRUVIUS. VITRUVIUS. 1277
there are several passages in his prefaces, which canic nature of which he takes pains to prove, one
show that he neither inherited great wealth, nor of his arguments being a tradition that there had
succeeded in acquiring it. The patronage of the been eruptions of the mountain in ancient times
emperor, to whom his work is dedicated, had early (ii. 6). We think it unnecessary to pursue the
placed him beyond the reach of want for the re- discussion through all its details. The judgment
mainder of his life (Lib. i. Praef.), and he was of scholars is now quite decided in favour of conable to loo'k with contentment, though not without sidering Augustus to be the emperor to whom the
indignation, upon the greater success of his rivals treatise of Vitruvius is dedicated; and abundant
in obtaining the substantial rewards of their pro- confirmatory evidence of that position has been
fession. His allusions to this subject are couched derived from other passages of the'work. The
in that tone of semi-querulous contentment and other opinion, that that emperor was Titus, is elahalf dissatisfied moderation, which judges of human borately maintained by Newton, in the Observacharacter will interpret according to the bias of tions on the Life of Vitruvius prefixed to his
their own dispositions. He had no great advan- translation of the work. Some of Newton's argutages of person, being of low stature, and, at the ments are ingenious, but unsound; many are weak,
time when he wrote his work, suffering from old and even puerile; some are at direct variance
age and bad health. with the evidence, and some inconsistent with one
He appears to have begun his course in public another; and the best of them, which are intended
life as a military engineer. He tells us that he to prove that Vitruvius wrote after the time of
served in Africa; and it is important to quote his Augustus, only prove, allowing them their utmost
own words, as introducing the question of the time force, that he wrote somewhat late in that eamat which he lived: " C. Julius, Masitlthae (or peror's reign, a fact which he himself states in the
llrasinissae) filius, cujus erant totius oppidi agrorum Dedication, where he says that he formed the
possessiones, cum patre Caesare 2nilitavit. Is hos- design of his work at the beginning of the new
pitio meo est usus; ita quotidiano convictu, &c. &c." reign, but that he feared to incur the emperor's
(viii. 4. s. 3. ~ 25, ed. Schneider). Again, in the displeasure by intruding upon him when he was
dedication of his work to the reigning emperor, he fully occupied with public affairs; but that, when
uses this language: -" Ideo quod primun paerenti he saw the care which his patron bestowed upon
touo [de eo] tfierat notus, et ejus virtutis studiosus; buildings, both public and private, and that he
quu6m autem concilium coelestium in sedibus itrmor- both had erected and was erecting many edifices,
talium eumo dedicavisset, et imperiumz parezntis in he hastened to execute his design, and to present
tuam potestatemn transtulisset, idem stzdiunz mneum the emperor with a set treatise, explaining the
in ejus memzoria permanenzs in te contulit fiwvorenm." exact rules and limits of the art, as a standard by
(The last words, by the way, are no bad specimen which to test the merits of the buildings he had
of the obscurity of his style.) He then goes on already erected, or was intending to erect. (Co(nto say that he was appointed, with M. Aurelius scripsi praescriptiones terminatas, ut eas attendens
and P. Numisius and Cn. Cornelius, to the office of et antefacta et futura qualia sint opera per te, nota
superintending and improving the military engines posses halere.) Before noticing the further light
(ad appaeationem balistarum et scoTpionum reliquo- which this somewhat remarkable language throws
rumnque tormentorum perfectionemnfui praesto), with on the design of the treatise, it is necessary to
a pecuniary provision (commoda); and that the observe the more exact limits within which the
emperor, through his sister's recommendation, con- time of the author may now, with great prohatinued his patronage to Vitruvius, after he had bility, be defined. We may assume him to be a
conferred upon him these favours. This emperor, young man when he served under Julius Caesar,
we further learn from the dedication, was one who in the African war, B. C. 46, and he was old, nay
" had obtained possession of the empire of the world, broken down with age (see above) when he comand by his unconquered valour had overthrown all posed his work, at a period considerably subsehis enemies, while the citizens gloried in his tri- quent to the complete settlement of the empire
umph, and all the nations subdued under him under Augustus, and after the erection of several
waited on his nod, and the Roman people and of that emperor's public buildings. Moreover, that
senate, delivered from fear, were govierned by his his book was written some time after the name of
deliberations and counsels; and who, so soon as Augustus had been conferred upon the emperor
he had brought into a settled state those things (B. c. 27) is evident from the passage (v. 1) in
which related to the public welfare and social life. which he speaks of the basilica at Fanum, of which
devoted especial attention to public buildings. with li he himself was the architect, as erected subsewhich he adorned the empire, w/lich/ lie htd aug- quently to the temple of Augustus at that place.
mented by new provinces." We have set forth this Again, from the way in which he mentions the
passage at length, that the reader may judge for emperor's sister in his dedication, it appears prohimself whether the emperor thus addressed canl bable, though, it must be confessed, not certain,
be any other than Augustus, when it is remembered that she was still alive. Now Octavia, the favourthat, by the confession of all scholars, the time at ite sister of Augustus, died in B.C. 1I. Hence
which Vitruvius wrote is confined between the the date of the composition of the work lies pro.
limits of the reigns of Augustus on the one hand, bably between B. c. 20 and B. C. 11. At the
and of Titus on the other. Of course no proof is former date, Vitruvius would be about 56, if we
needed thathe wrote after the death of Julius Caesar, assume him to have been about thirty when he
whom he also expressly mentions as dead (divi was in Africa with Caesar. This date is conJulii, iii. 2); and that he did not live after Titus is firmed by the way in which he speaks of Lucreproved, apart from the mention of him by Pliny tius, Cicero, and Varro, as quite recent authors.
already referred to, by his silence respecting the The object of his work appears to have had
Coliseum, and most irrefragably by his allusion to reference to himself, as well as to his subject. We
Vesuvius and the surrounding country, the vol- have seen that he professes his intention to furnish