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'As twentieth century translator of Vitruvius' treatise Ingrid D. Rowland has done a tremendous service to all those interested in classical architecture.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review
'This book makes the Renaissance enthusiasm for Vitruvius understandable again, and it is an indispensable starting point for future work on him.' Preservation
'Rowland and Howe have reconstructed Vitruvius's conception of architecture as a liberal art and an essential component of any civilized society, and made it accessible to us.' Archis
'I would recommend anyone interested in ancient architecture to buy a copy of this volume for the commentary alone.' Ian Campbell, Burlington Magazine
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However, the translators appear to have taken a few liberties with the text. First, since Vitruvius is a historical work as well as a canon of Classicism, an honest modern-day translation must relate not only to its period, but also to subsequent periods in order to be understood in terms of the nearer to present and Vitruvius' own time. The translators' choice of ridding the text of the translation "the Orders" for Vitruvius' original choice of "genus" is bad enough, but when you observe that this translation has been rendered as "type" instead, it has the potential of blending in with unintended references in the text to type as well as being confused with common modern/Modernist discursions into what type is. The translators should have indicated their theories about what they thought would be a correct interpretation of the Roman word "genus" at the beginning of their notes, not by making a deliberate decision to diverge from the customary content of the text.
Second, this translation appears to fail to take into account some aspects of military culture which have influenced the text. Vitruvius was a military man and although he adopted the linguistic style of Cicero in some respects (who has been accused of using two words in the place of one or even none), sometimes a distinction he makes, albeit slight, is worth noting, especially in the context of his role in the Roman military and in the context of subtle gradations of meaning being just as notable as subtle gradations in style and form.
Third, and most telling, the translators and editors have missed an opportunity to note something very useful in Vitruvius, and that is that although he understood the what of the Orders, he may not have understood the why of the Orders. In some cases, he goes to great lengths to wave hands over certain aspects of the Orders, even devolving into a Ciceronian overuse of words and dense prose, in order to pull a Wizard of Oz-like "pay no attention to the unknowns behind this concept". The translators note the fuzziness, but they don't begin to question the nature of it and as a result, they may inadvertently paint Vitruvius in a little bit better light than he may actually deserve.
Otherwise, it is a well-rendered translation, although for serious readers and researchers it should be balanced with at least one other translation, such as Morgan's translation.
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