‹‹‹ Vitr. 2.9.11 | Table of Contents | Vitr. 2.9.13 ›››
12The maple tree, which contains but little fire and earth, and a considerable portion of air and water, is not easily broken, and is, moreover, easily wrought. The Greeks, therefore, who made yokes for oxen (called by them ζυγὰ) of this timber, call the tree ζυγεία. The cypress and pine are also singular in their nature; for though they contain equal portions of the other elements, yet, from their large proportion of water, they are apt to bend in use; they last, however, a long time, free from decay; the reason whereof is, that they contain a bitter juice, whose acrid properties prevent the rot, and are not less efficacious in destroying the worm. Buildings, in which these sorts of timber are used, last an amazing number of years.
12The hornbeam, which has a very small amount of fire and of the earthy in its composition, but a very great proportion of air and moisture, is not a wood that breaks easily, and is very convenient to handle. Hence, the Greeks call it “zygia,” because they make of it yokes for their draught-animals, and their word for yoke is ξυγἁ. Cypress and pine are also just as admirable; for although they contain an abundance of moisture mixed with an equivalent composed of all the other elements, and so are apt to warp when used in buildings on account of this superfluity of moisture, yet they can be kept to a great age without rotting, because the liquid contained within their substances has a bitter taste which by its pungency prevents the entrance of decay or of those little creatures which are destructive. Hence, buildings made of these kinds of wood last for an unending period of time.