‹‹‹ Vitr. 5.0.3 | Table of Contents | Vitr. 5.0.5 ›››
4A cube is a solid, with six equal square faces, which, however it falls, remains steady and immoveable till removed by force: such are the dice which are thrown on a table by gamesters. From this circumstance they seem to have adopted the cube, since like the cube, this number of verses makes a more lasting impression on the memory. The Greek comic poets have also divided the action of their stories, by the interposition of the chorus to ease the principal actors, so that a cubical proportion is observed.
4A cube is a body with sides all of equal breadth and their surfaces perfectly square. When thrown down, it stands firm and steady so long as it is untouched, no matter on which of its sides it has fallen, like the dice which players throw on the board. The Pythagoreans appear to have drawn their analogy from the cube, because the number of lines mentioned will be fixed firmly and steadily in the memory when they have once settled down, like a cube, upon a man’s understanding. The Greek comic poets, also, divided their plays into parts by introducing a choral song, and by this partition on the principle of the cubes, they relieve the actor’s speeches by such intermissions.