140
he who caréfully attends to these rules, to the nature of
the voice, and to the taste of the audience, will easily learn
the method of designing theâtres with the greatest per-
fection. Some one may perchance urge, that many
theatres are yearly built in Rome, without any regard
to these matters. But let him not be herein mistaken,
inasmuch as all public theatres which are constructed
of wood, have many floors, which are necessarily con-
ductors of sound. This circumstance may be illus¬
trated, by consideration of the practice of those that sing
to the harp, who when they wish to produce a loud ef-
fect, turn themselves to the doors of the scene, by the
aid of which their voice is thrown out. But when thea¬
tres are constructed of solid materials, that is of rubble,
squared stones or marble, which are not conductors of
sound, it is necessary to build them according to the
rules in question. If it be asked what theatre in Rome
çan be referred to as an example of their utility, we can¬
not produce one, but such may be seen in some of
the provinces of Italy, and many in the Grecian States.
We moreover know that L. Mummius on the destruction
of the theatre at Corinth, brought to Rome some of its
brazen vases, and dedicated them as spoils at the temple
of Luna. Many clever architects who have built theatres
in small cities, from the want of other, have made use of
earthen vessels, yielding the proper tones, and have
introduced them with considerable advantage.