On Architecture, completed by Vitruvius sometime before 27 BC and the only work of its kind to survive antiquity, serves not professionals but readers who want to understand architecture. Topics include town planning, building materials, temples, the architectural orders, houses, pavements, mosaics, water supply, measurements, and machines.
Vitruvius' classic work on architecture is the only book of its kind to survive antiquity. Vitruvius was himself an architect and engineer, but this is not a handbook for professionals; rather it serves readers who want to understand architecture. Book 1 discusses town planning and architecture in general; Book 2, building materials; 3 and 4, temples and the architectural orders; 5, other civic buildings; 6, houses; 7, pavements, mosaics, and wall decoration; 8, water supply; 9, measurements; 10, machines. In his preface Vitruvius takes note of the "eminent dignity" of the public buildings Augustus constructed, which express "the majesty of the empire."
