De strategematibus

 in this book for both construction and use, proceeding in order, we have set it forth, having written it down systematically. And let no nitpicker of

 it is necessary first to go through and inspect the positions of the cities accurately, and having made the protection of one's own people unharmed ab

 from a weaving of freshly-cut willow rods or of tamarisk or linden, these also being pointed at the front up to the ridge at the top. And the so-calle

 to have in exchange. But if we wish to take the city by a theft in the night, with the citizens being ignorant of our arrival and unprepared, when win

 with slender and close-set posts, rather than thick and widely-spaced ones, with a plank placed above and below, so that the posts, giving way at the

 entering under and turning back upon the so-called socket-plate or a kind of headpiece, with a rule lying on the ground which brings 221 it forward an

 concerning their limbs and the suspensions belonging to the single timbers at intervals on both ram-bearing tortoises and towers and double ladders, a

 to be brought forward easily and constructed from small pieces of wood, and not one very large one, because it is made from large and hard-to-find tim

 the movement. If we wish to ascertain the thickness of the walls and to observe the actions of the enemy and to survey the host from behind, to see th

 Let them be 30 each and at the height of 20 let them receive the pin and 20 is two-thirds of 30. And let the parts coming down from the uprights be

 they made and on all they always set aside from the top the fifth part of the base. But Apollodorus, constructing the tower more impressively at its

 he made these uprights equal, so that their joints might not be near one another, but every joint alternate, being distant from the other, and it migh

 so that both the 60 cubits of the height and the 17 of the length of the base itself will have the same proportion to the feet, and likewise also the

 of a place, they batter the upper parts of the walls with rams for anything standing up and projecting is easily broken and easily demolished, as it

 projecting from the mouths to which it is necessary to be wound with the tensioner by means of shoulder or back sinews of all animals except pigs, pa

 let it admit the construction of the aforementioned ladders. And let the one that is about to be raised be decked with planks over its whole length, a

 from below, in front of the enemy they fall easily and are held fast from behind, but from above they are cut to a fine point, converging at the top a

 will be shown in the account for the two and a half cubits of the diameter measure the 15 six times, and the 10 four times, and the 30 twelve times,

 the ships, 270 the machine may be preserved upright and without falling, And against the winds it is necessary to have ready the prepared defenses aga

 places it against the other bank of the river, fitting it along its entire length, with the multitude gathered and ready for the battle line. And thos

Let them be 30 each; and at the height of 20 let them receive the pin; and 20 is two-thirds of 30. And let the parts coming down from the uprights be 45 each in length; and from the said pin to the first joint of the ladder let 30 be enclosed; and this is two-thirds of 45, as has been shown above. And let the ladder from this joint to its remaining height be another 30; and the sum of the three heights according to number makes 80; and this exceeds 60 by a third part; therefore 20 is a third of 60. Let there also be a covering at the highest part of the ladder made of thick 236 and strong hide bent round like a shield, or one having a sharp ridge down the middle and a sufficient slope to the sides, so that the scout may be protected from a bow or a sling. And thin, strong ropes will provide no small assistance, wrapped around the sides of the light upper ladder and stretched as far as the junction of the pins, lest the extension of the height or a blow from a stone-thrower should cause a break or a split in the timbers and make the scout fall. And four ropes tied to the ends of the uprights and 237 stretched out opposite one another contribute greatly to the upright and unswerving stance of the watch-tower, if they are fastened to iron or wooden stakes driven into the ground at a distance, so that the structure, being top-heavy because of its height, does not tilt over. And the diagrams are appended, both the one lying down and the one raised up. But a simpler base for the same watch-tower is made from only three timbers placed widthwise on the ground, two side-pieces set apart from one another, and another joined opposite them in the middle, so that they are shaped like a simple, unclosed Heta; and on top of the side-pieces the uprights stand in the middle by means of a tongue-and-groove joint; and from the ends, 4 braces go up against them. It is also made in another way: from three timbers, two lying on the ground, separated a little from one another so as to receive the uprights widthwise; and with these lying timbers being notched diagonally 238 from above, and another equal and similar and similarly notched from below being fitted onto them in position, between the two and on either side of the diagonal piece placed on top, the uprights are inserted widthwise; and from the ends of the lying timbers, two braces go up against the widths of the uprights and two from the diagonal piece against their thicknesses diagonally; but neither of these is as safe as the one mentioned before. But the artisan will determine the distance from one another of the side-pieces and the uprights that are put in place, having considered the construction and proportion in relation to the height; and likewise he will increase or decrease the sizes of the timbers of both the base and the height in their three dimensions according to proportion. Diades and Charias, then, the pupils of Polyidus the Thessalian, the engineers who campaigned with Alexander the Macedonian, were the first to invent borers and scaling ladders and the wooden towers carried on wheels; and they made the smaller of them 60 cubits in height, and squared the base, making each side of the length and width 17 cubits, making them with ten stories, and at the highest story constructing a square contraction in proportion to a fifth part of the so-called area of the base, that is, of the space 239 enclosed by the four sides, as will be shown next. And they made the larger ones, one and a half times the size of these, with fifteen stories, and a height of ˉ cubits; and further, the double-sized ones with twenty stories to a height of 120 cubits; and each side of the base of the double-sized ones again about 24 cubits. And they constructed both larger and smaller ones according to proportion, increasing or decreasing the timbers in their three dimensions, that is, in length, width, and thickness; and likewise they also divided the stories in proportion to the symmetry of the height. Them with six wheels, and sometimes with eight wheels because of the bulk of their size

ἀνὰ ˉλ ἔστωσαν· πρὸς δὲ τὸ ὕψος τῶν ˉκ τὴν περόνην δεχέσθωσαν· δίμοιρον δὲ τὰ ˉκ τῶν ˉλ. Καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν ὀρθῶν κατερχόμενα ἀνὰ ˉμˉε κατὰ μῆκος γινέσθωσαν· ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ῥηθείσης περόνης ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς κλίμακος πρώτῃ συμβολῇ ἐναπολαμβανέσθωσαν ˉλ· δίμοιρον δὲ ταῦτα τῶν ˉμˉε, ὡς ἀνωτέρω προδέδεικται. Ἔστω δὲ καὶ ἡ κλῖμαξ ἀπ' αὐτῆς συμβολῆς ἐπὶ τὸ λοιπὸν αὐτῆς ὕψος ἑτέρων ˉλ· τὸ δὲ ἐκ τῶν τριῶν ὑψῶν κατ' ἀριθμὸν συναγόμενον ποιεῖ ˉπ· ταῦτα δὲ τῶν ˉξ τρίτῳ μέρει ὑπερέχουσι· τρίτον ἄρα τὰ ˉκ τῶν ˉξ. Γινέσθω δὲ καὶ προστέγασμα ἐπὶ τὸ ἀνώτατον μέρος τῆς κλίμακος ἐκ βύρσης 236 παχείας τε καὶ εὐτόνου ὡς ἀσπίδος περικαμφθείσης, ἢ ῥάχιν ὀξεῖαν κατὰ μέσον δεχόμενον καὶ κλίσιν ἐξαρκοῦσαν ἐπὶ τὰ πλάγια, πρὸς τὸ ἀπὸ τόξου ἢ σφενδόνης φυλάττεσθαι τὸν κατάσκοπον. Οὐ μικρὰν δὲ βοήθειαν παρέξουσι καὶ σχοινία λεπτὰ εὔτονα, ἐπὶ τοὺς μηροὺς τῆς ἄνωθεν ἐλαφρᾶς κλίμακος περιειλημένα, καὶ τετανυσμένα ἄχρι τῆς τῶν περονῶν συμβολῆς, μήπως ἡ τοῦ ὕψους παράτασις ἢ λιθοβόλου τυχοῦσα πληγὴ ῥῆξιν ἢ σπάσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς ξύλοις ποιήσηται καὶ πτωματίσῃ τὸν κατάσκοπον. Εἰς δὲ τὴν τοῦ σκοποῦ ὀρθίαν καὶ ἀπαρέγκλιτον στάσιν μέγιστον συμβάλλονται καὶ σχοινία τέσσαρα ἐπὶ τὰ ἄκρα τῶν ὀρθοστατῶν προσδεδεμένα καὶ 237 ἀπεκτεταμένα ἀπ' ἐναντίας ἀλλήλων, εἰ ἐνδεθήσεται σιδηροῖς ἢ ξυλίνοις πασσάλοις μακρόθεν τῇ γῇ ἐμπησσομένοις, ἵνα μὴ διὰ τὸ ὕψος ἀκροβαρῆσαν περινεύσῃ τὸ ἔργον. Καὶ τὰ σχήματα ὑπόκειται, τό τε κείμενον καὶ τὸ ὠρθωμένον. Γίνεται δὲ ἁπλουστέρα ἡ τοῦ αὐτοῦ σκοποῦ βάσις ἐκ τριῶν μόνων ξύλων κατὰ πλάτος πρὸς τῇ γῇ τιθεμένων, δύο μὲν πλαγίων ἀπ' ἀλλήλων διεστώτων, καὶ ἑτέρου κατὰ μέσον ἀπεναντίον συμβεβλημένου, ὡς ἦτα λυτὸν ἁπλόγραμμον ἐσχηματισμένων· ἐπάνω δὲ τῶν πλαγίων ὑπὸ γλωσσίδος κατὰ μέσον τὰ ὀρθὰ ἐφίστανται· ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἄκρων τὰ πρὸς αὐτὰ ἀντιβαίνοντα ˉδ. Γίνεται δὲ καὶ ἄλλως· ἐκ τριῶν ξύλων δύο μὲν πρὸς τῇ γῇ κειμένων, ἀπ' ἀλλήλων δὲ μικρὸν ἀποκεχωρισμένων ὅσον κατὰ πλάτος εἰσδέξασθαι τὰ ὀρθά· τούτων δὲ τῶν κειμένων διαλόξως 238 ἄνωθεν ἀνακεχαραγμένων, καὶ ἑτέρου ἴσου τε καὶ ὁμοίου καὶ ὁμοίως κάτωθεν ἀνακεχαραγμένου ἐπ' αὐτῶν κατὰ τὴν θέσιν ἐφαρμοζομένου, μεταξὺ τῶν δύο καὶ ἐφ' ἑκάτερα τοῦ ἐπιτεθέντος λοξοῦ τὰ ὀρθὰ κατὰ πλάτος ἐμβάλλονται· ἀπ' ἄκρων δὲ τῶν κειμένων ἀντιβαίνοντα δύο ἐπὶ τὰ πλάτη τῶν ὀρθῶν καὶ δύο ἀπὸ τοῦ λοξοῦ ἐπὶ τὰ πάχη διαλόξως· ἀλλ' οὐδετέρα τούτων ἐστὶν ἀσφαλεστάτη ὡς ἡ προειρημένη. Τὴν δὲ ἀπ' ἀλλήλων διάστασιν τῶν τιθεμένων πλαγίων καὶ τῶν ὀρθῶν ὁ τεχνίτης διορίσει, πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ὕψους σκοπήσας σύνθεσίν τε καὶ συμμετρίαν· ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὰ μεγέθη τῶν ξύλων τῆς τε βάσεως καὶ τοῦ ὕψους ἐπὶ τὰς τρεῖς διαστάσεις κατὰ ἀναλογίαν ἐπαυξήσει τε καὶ μειώσει. ∆ιάδης μὲν οὖν καὶ Χαρίας οἱ Πολυείδου τοῦ Θετταλοῦ μαθηταί, οἱ συστρατευθέντες Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τῷ Μακεδόνι μηχανικοί, πρῶτοι τά τε τρύπανα καὶ τὰς διαβάθρας καὶ τοὺς φερομένους διὰ τροχῶν ξυλίνους πύργους ἐξεῦρον· καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐλάσσονας αὐτῶν πηχῶν πρὸς ὕψος ἐποίουν ˉξ, τὴν δὲ βάσιν ἐτετραγώνιζον, ἑκάστην πλευρὰν τοῦ τε μήκους καὶ πλάτους ἀνὰ πηχῶν τιθέντες ˉιˉζ, δεκαστέγους αὐτοὺς ποιοῦντες, ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ ἀνωτάτω στέγῃ συναγωγὴν ἰσοτετράγωνον ἀπολαμβάνοντες, κατ' ἀναλογίαν τοῦ τῆς βάσεως πέμπτου μέρους τοῦ λεγομένου ἐμβαδοῦ, ἤτοι τοῦ 239 ὑπὸ τῶν τεσσάρων πλευρῶν περιοριζομένου χωρίου, ὡς ἐφεξῆς δηλωθήσεται. Τοὺς δὲ μείζονας καὶ ἡμιολίους τούτων πεντεκαιδεκαστέγους ἐποίουν, ὕψος δὲ πηχῶν ˉ· καὶ ἔτι τοὺς διπλασίους εἰκοσαστέγους πρὸς ὕψος πηχῶν ˉρˉκ· ἑκάστην δὲ πάλιν πλευρὰν τῆς τῶν διπλασίων βάσεως ἀνὰ πηχῶν ˉκˉδ ἔγγιστα. Καὶ μείζονάς τε καὶ ἐλάσσονας κατ' ἀναλογίαν κατεσκεύαζον, ἐπὶ τὰς τρεῖς διαστάσεις τὰ ξύλα αὐξάνοντες ἢ μειοῦντες, τουτέστι κατά τε μῆκος πλάτος τε καὶ πάχος· ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὰς τῶν στεγῶν διαιρέσεις πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ὕψους κατεμέριζον συμμετρίαν. Ἑξατρόχους αὐτούς, ἐνίοτε δὲ καὶ ὀκτατρόχους πρὸς τὸ ἔξογκον τοῦ μεγέθους