Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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    <archimedes>
      <text>
        <body>
          <chap>
            <p type="main">
              <s>
                <pb xlink:href="003/01/019.jpg" pagenum="10"/>
              Country, ſo the Platform is a certain determi­
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              nate Part of the Region taken up by the
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              Building; and for this Reaſon, any Thing that
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              may annoy or be of Service to the Region,
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              may do the ſame to the Platform. </s>
              <s>But though
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              this be ſo, yet our Diſcuſſion and Conſiderati­
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              ons here will offer us ſome Precepts, which
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              ſeem particularly to regard the Platform only;
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              and ſome again which do not ſeem ſo proper­
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              ly to belong to the Seat as in a great Meaſure
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              to the Region; which are theſe. </s>
              <s>It is neceſ­
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              ſary to conſider what Work we are taking in
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              Hand, publick or private, ſacred or profane,
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              and ſo of the Reſt, which we ſhall treat of diſ­
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              tinctly in their proper Places. </s>
              <s>For one Situa­
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              tion and one Space is to be allotted to an Ex­
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              change, another to a Theatre, another to a
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                <emph type="italics"/>
              Palæſtra,
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              or Place of Exerciſe, and another to
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              a Temple; ſo that we muſt have regard to the
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              Quality and Uſe of every Edifice in the Deter­
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              mining of its Situation and Form. </s>
              <s>But to
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              proceed here only in a general Diſcuſſion of
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              theſe Things as we began, we ſhall touch on­
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              ly upon thoſe Points which we judge neceſ­
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              ſary: Firſt ſaying ſomething of Lines, which
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              may be of Service for underſtanding what fol­
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              lows. </s>
              <s>For being to treat of the Deſign of the
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              Platform, it will not be inconvenient to explain
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              thoſe Things firſt whereof that Deſign con­
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              ſiſts. </s>
              <s>Every Deſign therefore is compoſed of
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              Lines and Angles; the Lines are that extreme
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              Deſign which includes the whole Space of the
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              Platform. </s>
              <s>That Part of the Superficies of this
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              Deſign, which is contained between two Lines
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              touching at ſome certain Point, is called an
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              Angle. </s>
              <s>The Interſection therefore or croſſing
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              of two Lines over each other form four Angles.
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              </s>
              <s>If each of theſe Angles be equal to all and each
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              of the other three, they are called right Angles;
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              if they are leſs, they are called acute, and the
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              greater obtuſe. </s>
              <s>Of Lines too ſome are ſtrait
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              and others curve; of involved winding Lines
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              it is not neceſſary to ſpeak here. </s>
              <s>The ſtrait
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              Line is a Line drawn from one Point to an­
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              other, the ſhorteſt Way that poſſibly can be.
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              </s>
              <s>The curve Line is Part of a Circle; a Circle
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              is a Draught made from one of two Points,
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              and turned upon the ſame Superficies in ſuch a
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              Manner, that in its whole Circumference it is
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              never nearer nor farther from that immoveable
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              Point the Centre, than it was at the firſt Turn.
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              </s>
              <s>But to this it is neceſſary to add, that the curve
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              Line, which was ſaid to be Part of the Circle,
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              among us Architects, for its Similitude, is call­
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              ed an Arch. </s>
              <s>And the ſtrait Line, which is
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              drawn from the two extreme Points of the
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              curve Line, for the ſame Reaſon is called
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              a Chord. </s>
              <s>And that Line, which goes from
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              the middle Point of the Chord up to the
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              Arch, leaving equal Angles on each Side, is
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              called the
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Sagitta.
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              </s>
              <s> And that which is carried
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              from the fixed immoveable Point within the
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              Circle to the curve Line of the Circle, is call­
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              ed the
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Radius.
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              </s>
              <s> And that immoveable Point
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              in the Middle is called the Centre. </s>
              <s>And the
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              Line which paſſes through the Centre and
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              touches both Sides of the Circumference, is </s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>
                <arrow.to.target n="marg1"/>
                <lb/>
              called the Diameter. </s>
              <s>Arches too are different,
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              for ſome are entire, ſome are imperfect, and
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              ſome are compoſite. </s>
              <s>The entire is that which
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              is the full Half of a Circle, or that whoſe
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              Chord is the Diameter of the whole Circle.
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              </s>
              <s>The Imperfect is that whoſe Chord is leſs than
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              a Diameter, ſo that this imperfect Arch is Part
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              of a Semi-circle. </s>
              <s>The compoſite Arch is
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              formed of two imperfect Arches, and ſo the
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              joyning of thoſe two Arches, interſecting each
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              other, makes an Angle at Top, which never
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              happens either in the entire or imperfect Arch.
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              </s>
              <s>Theſe Things being premiſed, we proceed as
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              follows.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="margin">
              <s>
                <margin.target id="marg1"/>
              *</s>
            </p>
            <p type="head">
              <s>CHAP. VIII.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="head">
              <s>
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Of the Kinds of Platforms, their Forms and Figures, and which are the moſt
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              ſerviceable and laſting.
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              </s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>Of Platforms, ſome are angular and others
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              circular; of the angular, ſome conſiſt
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              all of right Lines, and ſome of right Lines
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              and curve mixed together. </s>
              <s>But I do not re­
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              member among the Buildings of the Ancients
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              to have met with any angular Deſign, com­
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              poſed of ſeveral curve Lines, without any Mix­
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              ture of ſtrait Lines at all: But in this we
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              ſhould have regard to thoſe Things, which be­
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              ing wanting in all Parts of the Structure, are
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              greatly blamed; and which, where they are,
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              make the Edifice handſome and convenient.
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              </s>
            </p>
          </chap>
        </body>
      </text>
    </archimedes>
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