"Perhaps, to the uninformed, it may appear unaccountable that a man should be able to retain in his memory such a variety of learning; but the close alliance with each other, of the different branches of science, will explain the difficulty"
About this Quote
Vitruvius is doing something sly: he’s defending the Renaissance-man ideal before the Renaissance even has a name. The line pretends to reassure “the uninformed” that it’s not mystical for one person to hold “a variety of learning” in his head. But the real move is social. By labeling skeptics uninformed, he draws a boundary between the casual observer and the legitimate practitioner, then calmly steps to the right side of it.
The justification he offers is elegant and strategic: knowledge sticks because it’s connected. “The close alliance…of the different branches of science” isn’t just an observation about memory; it’s a thesis about authority. If disciplines interlock, then the architect who understands geometry, materials, climate, acoustics, hydraulics, proportion, even medicine and law, isn’t dabbling. He’s uniquely qualified to coordinate a world that’s already woven together.
Context matters. Writing in the late Roman Republic/early Augustan period, Vitruvius is trying to elevate architecture from skilled labor to a learned art, worthy of patrons and emperors. His audience is the elite who commission buildings, and the subtext is a credential pitch: don’t dismiss the architect as a mere builder; he’s a synthesizer of systems.
It also reads like an early argument against siloed thinking. The “difficulty” isn’t remembering more facts; it’s accepting that competence can be interdisciplinary. Vitruvius offers a comforting explanation while quietly insisting on a higher standard: real mastery is relational, not encyclopedic.
The justification he offers is elegant and strategic: knowledge sticks because it’s connected. “The close alliance…of the different branches of science” isn’t just an observation about memory; it’s a thesis about authority. If disciplines interlock, then the architect who understands geometry, materials, climate, acoustics, hydraulics, proportion, even medicine and law, isn’t dabbling. He’s uniquely qualified to coordinate a world that’s already woven together.
Context matters. Writing in the late Roman Republic/early Augustan period, Vitruvius is trying to elevate architecture from skilled labor to a learned art, worthy of patrons and emperors. His audience is the elite who commission buildings, and the subtext is a credential pitch: don’t dismiss the architect as a mere builder; he’s a synthesizer of systems.
It also reads like an early argument against siloed thinking. The “difficulty” isn’t remembering more facts; it’s accepting that competence can be interdisciplinary. Vitruvius offers a comforting explanation while quietly insisting on a higher standard: real mastery is relational, not encyclopedic.
Quote Details
| Topic | Knowledge |
|---|
More Quotes by Marcus
Add to List
