P R E F A C E.

...to attempt an assault upon his honor; the flanking lines of which, intersecting in the form of a net, can well explain it to you. It is here that the enormity of this crime is found to be extremely blameworthy: when chains are placed upon the feet of poor subjects, murdering their liberty by means of Citadels In the 17th century, citadels were often viewed with suspicion by the populace as they could be used by a ruler to suppress the city's own inhabitants as much as to defend against external enemies.. The question is much more difficult to resolve when one treats the matter of the materials for Fortifications; seeing as one does not find everywhere the stones from which the ramparts of the new city of Valletta, on the Island of Malta, were made—as described by Specklin Daniel Specklin (1536–1589) was an influential Alsatian architect and engineer whose "Architectura von der Festung" (German Fortification) was a standard text of the era. in his German Fortification. The nature of these stones is such that cannonballs sink into them without causing any damage to the rest The soft "globigerina" limestone of Malta is famous for its ability to absorb the kinetic energy of a cannonball rather than shattering like harder stone.. Thus, one could not practice elsewhere the invention used there—namely, that they removed the earth from around the Counterscarp the outer slope or wall of the ditch surrounding a fortification, and by this means uncovered the bedrock of the Island. For it is a particular thing with which nature has provided this Island: that when one digs two or three feet down, one finds living rock, which serves as a foundation for the earth.

To build with Marble or with stones would involve unbearable expense; and such fortifications, being damaged by Artillery, create a hail of stone shards and fill the ditches. Brick is good enough, but also involves great cost. Thus, one will find in the end that there is nothing more suitable, nor of lesser expense, than good, fatty earth, which also swallows up Cannonballs without any damage. Furthermore, it can always be repaired by night and reshaped as one wishes. The fables of the ancient Poets are not contrary to this opinion; in them we find that the Walls of Pergamum Often used synonymously with Troy in early modern literature. had been built by Apollo and Neptune—that is to say, they were made of such material that could endure the sun and the waters; for which purpose earth seems to be of lesser cost than stone.

But in great Cities, where one does not look so closely at saving money, one might well build a small wall to border the ditch from within and to secure the foundations of the ramparts. There are several sorts of fortifications, the forms of which will be determined according to circumstances. The first difference originates from the size or smallness of the place to be fortified. For it would be a truly ridiculous thing to want to fortify a peasant’s hut, which hardly encompasses the space of a bed, by means of Bulwarks original: "Boulevards" — in 1645, this referred to massive defensive earthworks or bastions, not the wide streets we think of today..

But it is a very pitiable sight to see great cities surrounded by a simple rampart and ditch without any defense, and yet to hear them boast of being impregnable; where the inhabitants are so blind that they do not see, in the extremity of war, an inevitable massacre of an infinity of innocent people, and that the Pyramids of their towers will be scattered here and there upon the ground. One also sees them sometimes bring about their own ruin when they boast of having endured such and such a Siege, without considering that the ancients were not so cruel as to want to make the guilty die with the innocent, even in the event that they had victory in their hands. But the ignorant formerly thought only that one should be astonished by the thunder of the Cannon; and if, after having thundered a horrible storm of Cannon shots, the city did not wish to surrender, all was despaired of, and the besieged city was deemed impregnable. This was because they did not know the trade of winning places with advantage. But we shall show hereafter the manner of fortifying. Now, to resolve the question of which situation for Fortification is the best, we shall answer briefly that the best, and the rarest, is that in which a city is situated upon a plain that extends even into the high sea,