<s id="A18-1.26.01">[26] Let therefore an evenly thick and evenly dense load, <ab>, rest on pillars.</s>
<s id="A18-1.26.02">Let it rest on two pillars, namely <ag> and <bd>; then each of the two pillars <ag>, <bd>, is affected by half the load <ab>.</s>
<s id="A18-1.26.03">Let now third pillar <ez> be present and let it divide the distance <ab> arbitrarily; then we want to learn about each of the pillars <ag>, <ez>, <bd>, how much of the load comes to it.</s>
<s id="A18-1.26.04">Let us now imagine the load <ab> to be divided at point <e> following a perpendicular to the pillar, then we see that part <ae> affects each of the two pillars <ag>, <ez> with half its weight and part <eb> each of the two pillars <eb>, <bd> with half its weight, because there is no difference, as far as the pillars are concerned, whether the object put on them is joined or broken; for may it be joined or broken, it rests entirely on the pillar.</s>
<s id="A18-1.26.05">Thus to pillar <ez> comes half of the weight of <eb> and half of the weight of <ae>, i.e. half of the entire weight of <ab>; and to pillar <ag> comes half of the weight of <ae>, to <bd> half of <eb>.</s>
<s id="A18-1.26.06">If we now divide half of <ab> in the ratio of the space <ae> to space <eb>, then the weight of the part proportional to <ae> falls to <ag> and the weight corresponding to the distance <eb> to <bd>.</s>
<s id="A18-1.26.07">If we now erect another pillar, <hq>, then the result is that half of <ae> falls to <ag>, half of <hb> to<bd>, half of <ah> to<ez> and half of <eb> to<hq>.</s>
<s id="A18-1.26.08">Half of <ae> plus half of <hb> plus half of <ah> plus half of <eb> is however all of <ab> and that is what rests on all the pillars together.</s>
<s id="A18-1.26.09">If there are even more pillars, then we learn through the same procedure, how much weight comes to each of them.</s>
