ENGINEER. — The term is commonly derived from the word *ingenium* (in its late meaning of "machine," especially a military one), through the medieval form *enceignerius*, meaning a builder of machines.
In antiquity, the role of the architect is scarcely distinguishable from that of the engineer. Moreover, the simplicity of the machines then in use, their limited application, and their undeveloped diversity—while not detracting from the ingenuity of their constructors—offered them relatively restricted and traditional means. It is therefore not surprising that, even amid grand and colossal constructions, the figure of the builder remained almost that of a master mason or master carpenter up until the Renaissance. Such a figure relied on centuries of continually refined experience or on secrets jealously guarded within craft guilds. The engineer acquired a position of primary importance and a wholly distinct and specialized role especially toward the end of the 18th century. Thus arose the specializations of civil, industrial, railway, naval, aeronautical, mechanical, electrical, agricultural engineering, and so on, and the profession of the engineer grew in importance daily in proportion to the multiplication of scientific discoveries and technical applications.
The profession of engineer as it exists today demands solid preparation, and, given the rapid pace of scientific progress, continuous updating—an indispensable requirement for personal advancement, particularly in light of the significant social implications of the engineer’s work and the numerous and complex human problems—moral, economic, financial, commercial, and so on—that are intimately tied to the exercise of the profession itself.
For the engineer, too, professional correctness entails strict honesty and integrity in business dealings, charity toward one’s neighbor, and avoiding the absorption in the pursuit of profit that might compromise one’s moral rectitude.
The engineer is often a scientist in his own right, having concentrated his research in a highly specialized field of applied science; but above all, he is a technician who executes such applications, refining them as much as possible and integrating his work between capital and labor.
To the former, he offers the possibility of greater profit; to the latter, the prospect of less fatigue, faster execution, and fewer workers. Technical refinement therefore has an enormous impact on social life, and the engineer, as its immediate agent, has a role that must be reconciled amid the harsh realities arising from production and exchange.
As a leader of men—even when not a company director (v.)—the engineer, by the very nature of his profession, engages with a highly diverse human world that he cannot and must not neglect. Sometimes these relationships involve direct supervision; at other times, contact occurs through intermediaries such as foremen, lead workers, and so on. In any case, it is important that his technical and moral formation be such as to command spontaneous respect and inspire esteem, trust, and affection in those under his direction.
His technical preparation must enable him to give clear, precise, and well-considered work orders, avoiding the imposition of futile labor that would significantly compromise his prestige. But it is not enough for the engineer to be an expert in machines; he must above all be an expert in people, so as to be able to match individual abilities and character to the demands of each task and treatment.
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