‹‹‹ Vitr. 10.0.2 | Table of Contents | Vitr. 10.0.4 ›››
3Nor is this an evil which occurs in buildings alone, but also in the shows of gladiators in the Forum, and in the scenes of plays exhibited by the magistrates, in which neither delay nor hindrance is admitted, since there is a necessity for their being completed by a certain time. Thus the seats for viewing the shows, the machinery for drawing the Vela, and the contrivances for shifting the scenes, must all be prepared by a given day, that the people may not be disappointed. And in the preparation of all these much readiness and profound thought must be exercised, because they cannot be executed without machinery, and the application of varied and extensive studies.
3This fault appears not only in the matter of buildings, but also in the shows given by magistrates, whether of gladiators in the forum or of plays on the stage. Here neither delay nor postponement is permissible, but the necessities of the case require that everything should be ready at a fixed time,—the seats for the audience, the awning drawn over them, and whatever, in accordance with the customs of the stage, is provided by machinery to please the eye of the people. These matters require careful thought and planning by a well trained intellect; for none of them can be accomplished without machinery, and without hard study skilfully applied in various ways.