less presumption; and at the same time let them be constantly on
their guard against the Barbarians outside. Even bloodshed is often
prevented by seasonable vigilance.'

5. FORMULA OF THE PALACE ARCHITECT.

[Sidenote: Cura Palatii.]

'Much do we delight in seeing the greatness of our Kingdom imaged
forth in the splendour of our palace.

'Thus do the ambassadors of foreign nations admire our power, for at
first sight one naturally believes that as is the house so is the
inhabitant.

'The Cyclopes invented the art of working in metal, which then passed
over from Sicily to Italy.

'Take then for this Indiction the care of our palace, thus receiving
the power of transmitting your fame to a remote posterity which shall
admire your workmanship. See that your new work harmonises well with
the old. Study Euclid--get his diagrams well into your mind; study
Archimedes and Metrobius.

'When we are thinking of rebuilding a city, or of founding a fort or a
general's quarters, we shall rely upon you to express our thoughts on
paper [in an architect's design]. The builder of walls, the carver of
marbles, the caster of brass, the vaulter of arches[472], the
plasterer, the worker in mosaic, all come to you for orders, and you
are expected to have a wise answer for each. But, then, if you direct
them rightly, while theirs is the work yours is all the glory.

[Footnote 472: 'Camerarum rotator.']

'Above all things, dispense honestly what we give you for the
workmen's wages; for the labourer who is at ease about his victuals
works all the better.

'As a mark of your high dignity you bear a golden wand, and amidst the
numerous throng of servants walk first before the royal footsteps
[i.e. last in the procession and immediately before the King], that
even by your nearness to our person it may be seen that you are the
man to whom we have entrusted the care of our palaces.'

6. FORMULA OF THE COUNT OF THE AQUEDUCTS.

[Sidenote: Comitiva Formarum Urbis.]

'Though all the buildings of Rome are wonderful, and one can scarce
for this reason say which are the chief among them, we think a
distinction may be drawn between those which are reared only for the
sake of ornament and those which also serve a useful purpose. Thus,
however often one sees the Forum of Trajan, it always seems a
wonder[473]. To stand on the lofty Capitol is to see all other works
of the human intellect surpassed. And yet neither of these great works
touche