ls and from the port. And so, when the passages of the mine were
suddenly opened, the immense mass of water let in undermined the
supports, and all who were within were overpowered by the mass of water
and the caving in of the mine.

12. Again, when a rampart was being prepared against the wall in front
of them, and the place was heaped up with felled trees and works placed
there, by shooting at it with the ballistae red-hot iron bolts they set
the whole work on fire. And when a ram-tortoise had approached to batter
down the wall, they let down a noose, and when they had caught the ram
with it, winding it over a drum by turning a capstan, having raised the
head of the ram, they did not allow the wall to be touched, and finally
they destroyed the entire machine by glowing fire-darts and the blows of
ballistae. Thus by such victory, not by machines but in opposition to
the principle of machines, has the freedom of states been preserved by
the cunning of architects.

Such principles of machines as I could make clear, and as I thought most
serviceable for times of peace and of war, I have explained in this
book. In the nine earlier books I have dealt with single topics and
details, so that the entire work contains all the branches of
architecture, set forth in ten books.

FINIS

* * * * *

SCAMILLI IMPARES (BOOK III, ch. 4)

No passage in Vitruvius has given rise to so much discussion or
been the subject of such various interpretations as this phrase.
The most reasonable explanation of its meaning seems to be that of
Emile Burnouf, at one time Director of the French School at Athens,
published in the _Revue Generale del' Architecture_ for 1875, as a
note to a brief article of his on the explanation of the curves of
Greek Doric buildings. This explanation was accepted by Professor
Morgan, who called my attention to it in a note dated December 12,
1905. It has also quite recently been adopted by Professor Goodyear
in his interesting book on _Greek Refinements_.

Burnouf would translate it _nivelettes inegales_, "unequal
levellers." He states that in many parts of France in setting a
long course of cut stone the masons make use of a simple device
consisting of three pointed blocks of equal height used as
levellers, of which two are placed one at each extremity of the
course, while the t