230 A R T I 'Ll 
tremely twifted; by this menns they kept the arm quite 
firm, and cauled it to prefs backwards with force againft 
the face of the parafta, where a femicircular cavity was 
*-nf purpofely to receive it; the fame manoeuvre was re¬ 
peated exactly at the other extremity of the capitule with 
the epizyges; and the two arms, being thus retained by 
the affemblages of twilled cords, acquired a great degree 
*)f elaltic force, and produced exaftly the fame effeft as 
the bow of the feorpion before def'cribed. The cord was 
paiTed through the extremities of the arms, and fixed; it 
was of fuch a length as to retain the arms at a fmall dif- 
tance from the paraftae, fo that in the difcharge they fhouid 
rot ftrike nor endanger them : the arms were called brachiae, 
andlikewifeancones; the alfemblage of twiftedcords, which 
retained the arms, was called tonus; and the frame about 
it was called hemitonus, and fometimes unitonus: the in¬ 
terval which' was between the two hemitones was left for 
the fyrinx and the dioftra, the end of the fyrinx being 
firongly fixed upon the upper furface of the fcutula, or 
lower peritreta. The capitule, thus finilhed, is fhewn at 
AMM, fig. 2, affixed upon the end B, of the fyrinx ; with 
the diollra CH, the chira and fchafieria D, and cataclida 
O; the fame in all refpefts as thole already defcribed in 
the feorpion; but here was no catagogis ; infiead of which 
it had a fucula or axis EE, placed at the other end of the 
fyrinx, its fides FF, projecting purpofely to receive it. In 
the middle of this fucula, or axis, between the two (ides of 
the fyrinx, was fixed a cord CG, which extended from 
thence to the end C of the dioftra, where it was faftened 
to a hook. When the machine was prepared, the dioftra 
was puflied forwards until the chira reached the firing of 
the bow IK I, and was hooked to it, the dioftra being drawn 
backward by means of the fucula, which was turned by 
two men, with the abidance of the levers LL, which pafs- 
sd through its two extremities; by this means the arms 
11 , were drawn and bent, and, when they were bent fuffi- 
eiently, the arrow KH, was placed in the epitoxis, and 
difeharged in the fame manner as in the feorpion, but with 
the mod furprifing velocity. 
As this engine was too large to be managed by hand, it 
was l'upported by the pillar N, or columella, (as Vitruvius 
calls it,) in height two feet and a quarter, fixed upon a 
foot with three branches PQR, and fuftained by the props 
SSS. On the top of the pillar was a cylindric tenon TT, 
upon which the chalchefium UV, turned, which was thus 
made: Upon a horizontal and rectangular plane UV, two 
perpendicular and rectangular fides, Ua and V b, were fix¬ 
ed on the right and left, and between thefe was fixed ano¬ 
ther fimilar horizontal plane, b, c, d, a little above the firfl. 
In the middle of thefe planes were holes capable of re¬ 
ceiving the tenon TT, of the pillar ; the two perpendicu¬ 
lar fides were at fuch a diflance one from the other, that 
they could receive between them the breadth of the fy¬ 
rinx, which being placed there, an iron axis E, was palled 
horizontally acrois the two fides of the chalchefium and 
of the fyrinx, binding them together, and permitting the 
fyrinx to revolve vertically about that axis, in fuch a man¬ 
ner that the whole catapulta could be inclined in all. pofft- 
ble directions, and by means of the chalchefium, which 
turned upon the tenon of the pillar, it might be moved 
horizontally on all fides, and in this manner it might be 
pointed towards any objeft whatfoever. To keep it fixed 
and immoveable in the direction defired, it was thus ma¬ 
naged : one end f,. of a piece of wood fg, was joined to 
the top of the columella, or pillar, by a hinge which per¬ 
mitted it to turn vertically, fo that the other end which 
yelled on the ground might be placed in different fituations; 
this piece was called anteridium; near its upper extremi¬ 
ty, the anapaufteria hi, was-fixed to it by a joint, which 
permitted it to turn vertically. When the fyrinx was pla¬ 
ced in the propofed direction, the lower end g of the an¬ 
teridium, was moved, fo that the anapaufteria reded per ¬ 
pendicularly under the fyrinx ; the end i, of the anapauf¬ 
teria was then railed and fixed under the fyrinx in the holes 
purpofely made; by this means the fyrinx was rendered 
L E R Y. 
immoveable in its pofition, and then the engineer difehar¬ 
ged the arrow- precifely in the fame manner as from the 
feorpion. Catapultas were made of different lizes, but 
there w'ere only two generally in ufe: the fmallelt was 
called trifipilhamal, becaufe it threw arrows of three fpans 
long; the Jargeft was called tricubital , becaufe it Ihot ar¬ 
rows of three cubits long. 
The balijta, or machine for difeharging (tones, is (hewn 
at fig- 3- capitule was fimilar to that of the catapulta, 
except that the two hemitones were placed at a greater 
diflance one from the other, leaving a larger interval be¬ 
tween the two mefoltae, which in the balilta were called 
antiftte. As this machine was fometimes required to throw 
very large (tones, it was necelfary to have this large inter¬ 
val. There was alfo another difference, namely, that the 
fcutulae or peritretae, which in the catapulta extended in 
one piece over the two hemitones, were feparated in the 
balilta, and extended only over one hemitone. The lower 
peritretae were alfo feparated in the fame manner, fo that 
the two hemitones were not united by their peritretae, but 
by two other pieces of wood, one of which extended over 
the two upper peritretae, and the other under the two bot¬ 
tom peritrette, being fattened to the fame by tenons. The 
paraltae were made like thofe of the catapulta, but had 01a 
their back-part a curvelinear projection, oppofed to the 
circular cavity, in which was the arm, in order to (trength- 
en it. The antift.-e had alfo a curved projection called hy- 
popterna, on the fide next the arm, againft which the root 
of the arm, called pterna, relied. The grain of the wood 
in the paraltae and antiltae was perpendicular; they had 
both tenons placed at their upper and under extremities, 
which entered into the peritretae, and there joined them 
firongly ; and all the angles and joints of the capitule were 
ftrengthened witli plates of iron. The peritretae in this 
machine had the figure of a rhombe, in order to permit 
the arms to diverge lo much the more. The capitule of 
the balilta thus formed, was fixed upon the horizontal 
frame ot w’ood NABC, \nfig. 3. This frame was made 
up of divers pieces of wood DDD, placed at equal dif- 
tances crolfwife, the whole length of the capitule; they 
projected forwards, and were bound at their faliant extre¬ 
mity by a tranfverfe piece of wood AB; this frame was 
called rnenfa, the Greeks called it trapeza: over it was a 
covering of boards EE, called tabula, of which the upper 
furface was on a level with the bottoms of the lower pe- 
ritretse; on the tabula was placed the climax, or (as Vi¬ 
truvius calls it) the climaciclos, FGG, which was an ho¬ 
rizontal frame of wood refembling a ladder, from whence 
it derived its name, and was compofed of two long pieces 
GG and FF, joined together by many tranfverfe pieces 
HH, placed among themfelves at fuitable diftances. The 
climax anlwered to the fyrinx of the catapulta; it was 
placed on the tabula, fo that it projected from it on every 
fide ; upon two long parallel pieces were placed two others, 
called alae, II and KK, equal in breadth and length; be¬ 
tween the alae, and over the tranfverfe pieces HH, of the 
climax, was placed the dioftra LLL, which was of the 
fame length as the climax ; the climax was ftrongly fatt¬ 
ened to the menfa, and ftrengthened by the anterides or 
Hays MM, extending from the extremities of the alae to 
the upper peritretae. The chira, fchafteria, &c. OP, were 
fixed on the dioftra, in the fame manner as in the catapulta; 
but here the crooked extremity P, of the chira, was not 
fplit into a fork, but was made likeafinger, and was raifed 
high enough above the dioftra, that the cord of the bow 
when difengaged might feize the (tone Q^, towards the 
middle of its height, in order that it might aft upon it 
with more certainty and ftrength. With the fame inten¬ 
tion the arms RR, were difpofed in fuch'a manner that 
the cord of the bow, in going backwards, might be moved 
at that height above the dioftra; moreover, the cord c-f 
the bow SS, was made broad like a girdle, and not round 
as in the catapulta, and had a loop P, in the middle, which 
hooked upon the finger of the chira. 
Thefe machines were, made with very ftrong and hard 
woodj.. 
