Vitruvius: the beginning of Sacred Geometry

“May the Architect be high-minded;
not arrogant, but faithful;
Just, and easy to deal with,
without avarice;
Not let his mind be occupied
in receiving gifts,
But let him preserve his good name
with dignity...”
― Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio(80 BCE – 15 CE) , commonly known as Vitruvius, was a Roman architect, engineer, and author during the 1st century BCE. His most significant work is the multi-volume treatise titled De architectura (On Architecture). Not much is known about Vitruvius, however.  Vitruvius served as an artilleryman in the Roman military, specializing in the construction of artillery war machines for sieges. He likely held a senior officer position, overseeing artillery experts and machine operators.

Vitruvius worked under Julius Caesar’s chief engineer, Lucius Cornelius Balbus, and may have collaborated with other prominent architects and engineers of his time.  He is famous  for discussing  and setting the standard of the perfect proportion in architecture and its relation to the human body, which, in turn,  inspired Leonardo da Vinci’s famous drawing of the Vitruvian Man.

Vitruvius’ only surviving work, De architectura, is a comprehensive treatise on architecture, engineering, and construction. It is the sole treatise on architecture from antiquity and has been influential since the Renaissance. The book emphasizes three essential attributes for buildings: firmitas (strength), utilitas (utility), and venustas (beauty). These attributes will most definitely resonate with Freemasons and Masonic references to the Pillars of Strength, Beauty and Wisdom.  

The Vitruvian Tradition, named after Vitruvius, is rooted in classical education and architectural philosophy which is in turn founded on the liberal arts as taught by fifth-century BCE Sophists to the upper classes and promoted by Roman luminaries like Cicero. This reference to the Liberal Arts will also resonate with Freemasons and students of the Craft. For Vitruvius, all fields of arts and humanities must be mastered before one can begin the study of Architecture, the supreme field of study. Moral philosophy had to complement natural philosophy too, according to his vision, implying the idea of Sacred Architecture. 

The Vitruvian tradition reached Europe in the sixth century through a group of Italian stonemasons living in Lombardy, near Lake Como (hence they are referred to as Comacine masons). These stonemasons possibly descended from the ancient College of Masons in Rome, which thrived during the Roman Empire. The Comacines fled Rome for Lombardy when it was sacked by barbarians and formed an important guild with links in most of Western  Europe. 

There is also some evidence suggesting that the Comacines influenced Anglo-Saxon architects in Britain and left their mark on architectural styles. Furthermore, the iconic image of Leonardo's Vitruvian man, embodies the humanist ideals of the Renaissance which is the historical period in which speculative Freemasonry developed. 

So, although Vitruvius and the so-called Vitruvian Tradition predates Freemasonry, both share a vision based on moral philosophical principles and craftmanship. Vitruvius and his ideas on Architecture as something more than just a mere construction technique are the link between the classical world and the Renaissance, and therefore with Freemasonry itself. Freemasonry is above all else, a child of the Renaissance and a grand child of the Enlightenment.