All machinery is derived from nature, and is founded on the teaching and instruction of the revolution of the firmament. - Vitruvius

If then, at this great distance, our human vision can discern that sight, why, pray, are we to think that the divine splendor of the stars can be cast into darkness?

Pozzolana.—There is... a kind of powder which from natural causes produces astonishing results. It is found in the neighborhood of Baiae and in the country belonging to the towns round about Mt. Vesuvius. This substance when mixed with lime and rubble not only lends strength to buildings of other kinds, but even when piers of it are constructed in the sea, they set hard under water.

If our designs for private houses are to be correct, we must at the outset take note of the countries and climates in which they are built.