This study retraces the steps of the 17th century architect and engineer Salomon de Caus through his written and built works, in an attempt to understand the relationship between what he made and the model by which his world was comprehended. The central questions examined with regard to his works are: what correspondence do they reveal between language as a means of conveying knowledge, the world as the source of knowledge, and God the divine creator; and whether "meaning" resides within or without this relation. The interpretation of De Caus' works reveals an epistemological model of a world balancing on the threshold of the modern era of scientific discovery and technological progress. His texts and constructions appear as a means of conveying knowledge with the aim of making the Divine appear as mystery in the human world. De Caus is known to operate two principal layers of meaning in his works. One "mathematical" which addresses the intrinsic meaning of the order of the cosmos and the Divine; the other "narrative", "melodie" or "ornamental", addressing the mediation of situational meaning through matter. Human experience and action was a third factor in the process of mediation. Through the intense experience of the moment of performance, whether architectural, theatrical or musical, man could embody the immaterial knowledge of God. The human artefact was a "poetic instrument" guiding man through life. Today, when living in a world where the dominating paradigm reduces understanding to symbolic logic and God has long since been declared dead, De Caus' poetic model remains highly significant.

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A study of Salomon de Caus' manuscript commentary on the first book of Jean Martin's French translation of Vitruvius (c. 1622--1624) which takes the form of a dialogue between an Architect, an Engineer and a Mathematician. The removal of music and natural philosophy from the Vitruvion program of education; the need for the updating of Vitruvius' classical theory of founding cities and building their fortified walls; the emphasis on convenience in the planning of buildings and the separation of engineering and architecture within the Vitruvion corpus all point to a reduction in the role of architecture as cosmic analogy. A comparison with de Caus' treatises on perspective, mechanics, musical harmony, solar clocks and mensuration reveal that for de Caus, it is the engineer whose making can reconcile human and divine through a form of technical know-how that although it cannot be considered true knowledge, reveals the wonder of God to the senses.

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