The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci  Complete
by Leonardo Da Vinci
  3 in our series by Leonardo Da Vinci 

Copyright laws are changing all over the world  Be sure to check the
copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing
this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook 

This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file   Please do not remove it   Do not change or edit the
header without written permission 

Please read the  legal small print   and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file   Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in
how the file may be used   You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg  and how to get involved 


  Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts  

  eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers  Since 1971  

     These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers      


Title  The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci  Complete

Author  Leonardo Da Vinci

Release Date  Jan  2004   EBook  5000 
 Yes  we are more than one year ahead of schedule 
 Most recently updated June 26  2002 

Edition  10

Language  English

Character set encoding  ASCII

    START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK  THE NOTEBOOKS OF LEONARDO DA
    VINCI  COMPLETE    




This eBook was produced by Charles Aldarondo and the Distributed
Proofreaders team 



The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci

Volume 1

Translated by Jean Paul Richter

1888






PREFACE 





A singular fatality has ruled the destiny of nearly all the most
famous of Leonardo da Vinci s works  Two of the three most important
were never completed  obstacles having arisen during his life time 
which obliged him to leave them unfinished  namely the Sforza
Monument and the Wall painting of the Battle of Anghiari  while the
third  the picture of the Last Supper at Milan  has suffered
irremediable injury from decay and the repeated restorations to
which it was recklessly subjected during the XVIIth and XVIIIth
centuries  Nevertheless  no other picture of the Renaissance has
become so wellknown and popular through copies of every description 

Vasari says  and rightly  in his Life of Leonardo   that he laboured
much more by his word than in fact or by deed   and the biographer
evidently had in his mind the numerous works in Manuscript which
have been preserved to this day  To us  now  it seems almost
inexplicable that these valuable and interesting original texts
should have remained so long unpublished  and indeed forgotten  It
is certain that during the XVIth and XVIIth centuries their
exceptional value was highly appreciated  This is proved not merely
by the prices which they commanded  but also by the exceptional
interest which has been attached to the change of ownership of
merely a few pages of Manuscript 

That  notwithstanding this eagerness to possess the Manuscripts 
their contents remained a mystery  can only be accounted for by the
many and great difficulties attending the task of deciphering them 
The handwriting is so peculiar that it requires considerable
practice to read even a few detached phrases  much more to solve
with any certainty the numerous difficulties of alternative
readings  and to master the sense as a connected whole  Vasari
observes with reference to Leonardos writing   he wrote backwards 
in rude characters  and with the left hand  so that any one who is
not practised in reading them  cannot understand them   The aid of a
mirror in reading reversed handwriting appears to me available only
for a first experimental reading  Speaking from my own experience 
the persistent use of it is too fatiguing and inconvenient to be
practically advisable  considering the enormous mass of Manuscripts
to be deciphered  And as  after all  Leonardo s handwriting runs
backwards just as all Oriental character runs backwards  that is
to say from right to left  the difficulty of reading direct from the
writing is not insuperable  This obvious peculiarity in the writing
is not  however  by any means the only obstacle in the way of
mastering the text  Leonardo made use of an orthography peculiar to
himself  he had a fashion of amalgamating several short words into
one long one  or  again  he would quite arbitrarily divide a long
word into two separate halves  added to this there is no punctuation
whatever to regulate the division and construction of the sentences 
nor are there any accents  and the reader may imagine that such
difficulties were almost sufficient to make the task seem a
desperate one to a beginner  It is therefore not surprising that the
good intentions of some of Leonardo s most reverent admirers should
have failed 

Leonardos literary labours in various departments both of Art and of
Science were those essentially of an enquirer  hence the analytical
method is that which he employs in arguing out his investigations
and dissertations  The vast structure of his scientific theories is
consequently built up of numerous separate researches  and it is
much to be lamented that he should never have collated and arranged
them  His love for detailed research  as it seems to me  was the
reason that in almost all the Manuscripts  the different paragraphs
appear to us to be in utter confusion  on one and the same page 
observations on the most dissimilar subjects follow each other
without any connection  A page  for instance  will begin with some
principles of astronomy  or the motion of the earth  then come the
laws of sound  and finally some precepts as to colour  Another page
will begin with his investigations on the structure of the
intestines  and end with philosophical remarks as to the relations
of poetry to painting  and so forth 

Leonardo himself lamented this confusion  and for that reason I do
not think that the publication of the texts in the order in which
they occur in the originals would at all fulfil his intentions  No
reader could find his way through such a labyrinth  Leonardo himself
could not have done it 

Added to this  more than half of the five thousand manuscript pages
which now remain to us  are written on loose leaves  and at present
arranged in a manner which has no justification beyond the fancy of
the collector who first brought them together to make volumes of
more or less extent  Nay  even in the volumes  the pages of which
were numbered by Leonardo himself  their order  so far as the
connection of the texts was concerned  was obviously a matter of
indifference to him  The only point he seems to have kept in view 
when first writing down his notes  was that each observation should
be complete to the end on the page on which it was begun  The
exceptions to this rule are extremely few  and it is certainly
noteworthy that we find in such cases  in bound volumes with his
numbered pages  the written observations   turn over    This is the
continuation of the previous page   and the like  Is not this
sufficient to prove that it was only in quite exceptional cases that
the writer intended the consecutive pages to remain connected  when
he should  at last  carry out the often planned arrangement of his
writings 

What this final arrangement was to be  Leonardo has in most cases
indicated with considerable completeness  In other cases this
authoritative clue is wanting  but the difficulties arising from
this are not insuperable  for  as the subject of the separate
paragraphs is always distinct and well defined in itself  it is
quite possible to construct a well planned whole  out of the
scattered materials of his scientific system  and I may venture to
state that I have devoted especial care and thought to the due
execution of this responsible task 

The beginning of Leonardo s literary labours dates from about his
thirty seventh year  and he seems to have carried them on without
any serious interruption till his death  Thus the Manuscripts that
remain represent a period of about thirty years  Within this space
of time his handwriting altered so little that it is impossible to
judge from it of the date of any particular text  The exact dates 
indeed  can only be assigned to certain note books in which the year
is incidentally indicated  and in which the order of the leaves has
not been altered since Leonardo used them  The assistance these
afford for a chronological arrangement of the Manuscripts is
generally self evident  By this clue I have assigned to the original
Manuscripts now scattered through England  Italy and France  the
order of their production  as in many matters of detail it is highly
important to be able to verify the time and place at which certain
observations were made and registered  For this purpose the
Bibliography of the Manuscripts given at the end of Vol  II  may be
regarded as an Index  not far short of complete  of all Leonardo s
literary works now extant  The consecutive numbers  from 1 to 1566 
at the head of each passage in this work  indicate their logical
sequence with reference to the subjects  while the letters and
figures to the left of each paragraph refer to the original
Manuscript and number of the page  on which that particular passage
is to be found  Thus the reader  by referring to the List of
Manuscripts at the beginning of Volume I  and to the Bibliography at
the end of Volume II  can  in every instance  easily ascertain  not
merely the period to which the passage belongs  but also exactly
where it stood in the original document  Thus  too  by following the
sequence of the numbers in the Bibliographical index  the reader may
reconstruct the original order of the Manuscripts and recompose the
various texts to be found on the original sheets  so much of it 
that is to say  as by its subject matter came within the scope of
this work  It may  however  be here observed that Leonardo s
Manuscripts contain  besides the passages here printed  a great
number of notes and dissertations on Mechanics  Physics  and some
other subjects  many of which could only be satisfactorily dealt
with by specialists  I have given as complete a review of these
writings as seemed necessary in the Bibliographical notes 

In 1651  Raphael Trichet Dufresne  of Paris  published a selection
from Leonardo s writings on painting  and this treatise became so
popular that it has since been reprinted about two and twenty times 
and in six different languages  But none of these editions were
derived from the original texts  which were supposed to have been
lost  but from early copies  in which Leonardo s text had been more
or less mutilated  and which were all fragmentary  The oldest and on
the whole the best copy of Leonardo s essays and precepts on
Painting is in the Vatican Library  this has been twice printed 
first by Manzi  in 1817  and secondly by Ludwig  in 1882  Still 
this ancient copy  and the published editions of it  contain much
for which it would be rash to hold Leonardo responsible  and some
portions  such as the very important rules for the proportions of
the human figure  are wholly wanting  on the other hand they contain
passages which  if they are genuine  cannot now be verified from any
original Manuscript extant  These copies  at any rate neither give
us the original order of the texts  as written by Leonardo  nor do
they afford any substitute  by connecting them on a rational scheme 
indeed  in their chaotic confusion they are anything rather than
satisfactory reading  The fault  no doubt  rests with the compiler
of the Vatican copy  which would seem to be the source whence all
the published and extensively known texts were derived  for  instead
of arranging the passages himself  he was satisfied with recording a
suggestion for a final arrangement of them into eight distinct
parts  without attempting to carry out his scheme  Under the
mistaken idea that this plan of distribution might be that  not of
the compiler  but of Leonardo himself  the various editors  down to
the present day  have very injudiciously continued to adopt this
order  or rather disorder 

I  like other enquirers  had given up the original Manuscript of the
Trattato della Pittura for lost  till  in the beginning of 1880  I
was enabled  by the liberality of Lord Ashburnham  to inspect his
Manuscripts  and was so happy as to discover among them the original
text of the best known portion of the Trattato in his magnificent
library at Ashburnham Place  Though this discovery was of a fragment
only  but a considerable fragment  inciting me to further search 
it gave the key to the mystery which had so long enveloped the first
origin of all the known copies of the Trattato  The extensive
researches I was subsequently enabled to prosecute  and the results
of which are combined in this work  were only rendered possible by
the unrestricted permission granted me to investigate all the
Manuscripts by Leonardo dispersed throughout Europe  and to
reproduce the highly important original sketches they contain  by
the process of  photogravure   Her Majesty the Queen graciously
accorded me special permission to copy for publication the
Manuscripts at the Royal Library at Windsor  The Commission Centrale
Administrative de l Institut de France  Paris  gave me  in the most
liberal manner  in answer to an application from Sir Frederic
Leighton  P  R  A   Corresponding member of the Institut  free
permission to work for several months in their private collection at
deciphering the Manuscripts preserved there  The same favour which
Lord Ashburnham had already granted me was extended to me by the
Earl of Leicester  the Marchese Trivulsi  and the Curators of the
Ambrosian Library at Milan  by the Conte Manzoni at Rome and by
other private owners of Manuscripts of Leonardo s  as also by the
Directors of the Louvre at Paris  the Accademia at Venice  the
Uffizi at Florence  the Royal Library at Turin  and the British
Museum  and the South Kensington Museum  I am also greatly indebted
to the Librarians of these various collections for much assistance
in my labours  and more particularly to Monsieur Louis Lalanne  of
the Institut de France  the Abbate Ceriani  of the Ambrosian
Library  Mr  Maude Thompson  Keeper of Manuscripts at the British
Museum  Mr  Holmes  the Queens Librarian at Windsor  the Revd Vere
Bayne  Librarian of Christ Church College at Oxford  and the Revd A 
Napier  Librarian to the Earl of Leicester at Holkham Hall 

In correcting the Italian text for the press  I have had the
advantage of valuable advice from the Commendatore Giov  Morelli 
Senatore del Regno  and from Signor Gustavo Frizzoni  of Milan  The
translation  under many difficulties  of the Italian text into
English  is mainly due to Mrs  R  C  Bell  while the rendering of
several of the most puzzling and important passages  particularly in
the second half of Vol  I  I owe to the indefatigable interest taken
in this work by Mr  E  J  Poynter R  A  Finally I must express my
thanks to Mr  Alfred Marks  of Long Ditton  who has most kindly
assisted me throughout in the revision of the proof sheets 

The notes and dissertations on the texts on Architecture in Vol  II
I owe to my friend Baron Henri de Geymuller  of Paris 

I may further mention with regard to the illustrations  that the
negatives for the production of the  photo gravures  by Monsieur
Dujardin of Paris were all taken direct from the originals 

It is scarcely necessary to add that most of the drawings here
reproduced in facsimile have never been published before  As I am
now  on the termination of a work of several years  duration  in a
position to review the general tenour of Leonardos writings  I may
perhaps be permitted to add a word as to my own estimate of the
value of their contents  I have already shown that it is due to
nothing but a fortuitous succession of unfortunate circumstances 
that we should not  long since  have known Leonardo  not merely as a
Painter  but as an Author  a Philosopher  and a Naturalist  There
can be no doubt that in more than one department his principles and
discoveries were infinitely more in accord with the teachings of
modern science  than with the views of his contemporaries  For this
reason his extraordinary gifts and merits are far more likely to be
appreciated in our own time than they could have been during the
preceding centuries  He has been unjustly accused of having
squandered his powers  by beginning a variety of studies and then 
having hardly begun  throwing them aside  The truth is that the
labours of three centuries have hardly sufficed for the elucidation
of some of the problems which occupied his mighty mind 

Alexander von Humboldt has borne witness that  he was the first to
start on the road towards the point where all the impressions of our
senses converge in the idea of the Unity of Nature  Nay  yet more
may be said  The very words which are inscribed on the monument of
Alexander von Humboldt himself  at Berlin  are perhaps the most
appropriate in which we can sum up our estimate of Leonardo s
genius 

 Majestati naturae par ingenium  

LONDON  April 1883 

F  P  R 







CONTENTS OF VOLUME I 





PROLEGOMENA AND GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK ON PAINTING

Clavis Sigillorum and Index of Manuscripts   The author s intention
to publish his MSS   1    The preparation of the MSS  for
publication  2    Admonition to readers  3    The disorder in the
MSS   4    Suggestions for the arrangement of MSS  treating of
particular subjects  5  8    General introductions to the book on
painting  9  13    The plan of the book on painting  14  17    The
use of the book on painting  18    Necessity of theoretical
knowledge  19  20    The function of the eye  21  23    Variability
of the eye  24    Focus of sight  25    Differences of perception by
one eye and by both eyes  26  29    The comparative size of the
image depends on the amount of light  30  39  

II 

LINEAR PERSPECTIVE

General remarks on perspective  40  41    The elements of
perspective   of the point  42  46    Of the line  47  48    The
nature of the outline  49    Definition of perspective  50    The
perception of the object depends on the direction of the eye
 51    Experimental proof of the existence of the pyramid of sight
 52  55    The relations of the distance point to the vanishing
point  55  56    How to measure the pyramid of vision  57    The
production of the pyramid of vision  58  64    Proof by experiment
 65  66    General conclusions  67    That the contrary is
impossible  68    A parallel case  69    The function of the eye  as
explained by the camera obscura  70  71    The practice of
perspective  72  73    Refraction of the rays falling upon the eye
 74  75    The inversion of the images  76    The intersection of
the rays  77  82    Demonstration of perspective by means of a
vertical glass plane  83  85    The angle of sight varies with the
distance  86  88    Opposite pyramids in juxtaposition  89    On
simple and complex perspective  90    The proper distance of objects
from the eye  91  92    The relative size of objects with regard to
their distance from the eye  93  98    The apparent size of objects
denned by calculation  99  106    On natural perspective  107  109  

III 

SIX BOOKS ON LIGHT AND SHADE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION   Prolegomena  110    Scheme of the books on
light and shade  111    Different principles and plans of treatment
 112  116    Different sorts of light  117  118    Definition of
the nature of shadows  119  122    Of the various kinds of shadows
 123  125    Of the various kinds of light  126  127    General
remarks  128  129    FIRST BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE   On the nature
of light  130  131    The difference between light and lustre
 132  135    The relations of luminous to illuminated bodies  136  
  Experiments on the relation of light and shadow within a room
 137  140    Light and shadow with regard to the position of the
eye  141  145    The law of the incidence of light
 146  147    SECOND BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE   Gradations of strength
in the shadows  148  149    On the intensity of shadows as dependent
on the distance from the light  150  152    On the proportion of
light and shadow  153  157    THIRD BOOK ON LIGHT AND
SHADE   Definition of derived shadow  158  159    Different sorts of
derived shadows  160  162    On the relation of derived and primary
shadow  163  165    On the shape of derived shadows  166  174    On
the relative intensity of derived shadows  175  179    Shadow as
produced by two lights of different size  180  181    The effect of
light at different distances  182    Further complications in the
derived shadows  183  187    FOURTH BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE   On the
shape of cast shadows  188  191    On the outlines of cast shadows
 192  195    On the relative size of cast shadows  196 
197    Effects on cast shadows by the tone of the back ground
 198    A disputed proposition  199    On the relative depth of
cast shadows  200  202    FIFTH BOOK ON LIGHT AND
SHADE   Principles of reflection  203  204    On reverberation
 205    Reflection on water  206  207    Experiments with the mirror
 208  210    Appendix   On shadows in movement  211  212    SIXTH
BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE   The effect of rays passing through holes
 213  214    On gradation of shadows  215  216    On relative
proportion of light and shadows  216  221  

IV 

PERSPECTIVE OF DISAPPEARANCE

Definition  222  223    An illustration by experiment  224    A
guiding rule  225     An experiment  226    On indistinctness at
short distances  227  231    On indistinctness at great distances
 232  234    The importance of light and shade in the Prospettiva
de  perdimenti  235  239    The effect of light or dark backgrounds
on the apparent size of objects  240  250    Propositions on
Prospettiva de  perdimenti from MS  C   250  262  

V 

THEORY OF COLOURS

The reciprocal effects of colours on objects placed opposite each
other  263  271    Combination of different colours in cast shadows
 272    The effect of colours in the camera obscura  273  274    On
the colours of derived shadows  275  276    On the nature of colours
 277  278    On gradations in the depth of colours  279  280    On
the reflection of colours  281  283    On the use of dark and light
colours in painting  284  286    On the colours of the rainbow
 287  288  

VI 

PERSPECTIVE OF COLOUR AND AERIAL PERSPECTIVE

General rules  289  291    An exceptional case  292    An experiment
 293    The practice of the Prospettiva de  colori  294    The rules
of aerial perspective  295  297    On the relative density of the
atmosphere  298  299    On the colour of the atmosphere  300  307  

VII 

ON THE PROPORTIONS AND ON THE MOVEMENTS OF THE HUMAN FIGURE

Preliminary observations  308  309    Proportions of the head and
face  310  318    Proportions of the head seen in front
 319  321    Proportions of the foot  322  323    Relative
proportions of the hand and foot  324    Relative proportions of
the foot and of the face  325  327    Proportions of the leg
 328  331    On the central point of the whole body  332    The
relative proportions of the torso and of the whole figure
 333    The relative proportions of the head and of the torso
 334    The relative proportions of the torso and of the leg  335 
336    The relative proportions of the torso and of the foot
 337    The proportions of the whole figure  338  341    The torso
from the front and back  342    Vitruvius  scheme of proportions
 343    The arm and head  344    Proportions of the arm
 345  349    The movement of the arm  350  354    The movement of
the torso  355  361    The proportions vary at different ages
 362  367    The movement of the human figure  368  375    Of
walking up and down  375  379    On the human body in action
 380  388    On hair falling down in curls  389    On draperies

 390  392  

VIII 

BOTANY FOR PAINTERS  AND ELEMENTS OF LANDSCAPE PAINTING

Classification of trees  393    The relative thickness of the
branches to the trunk  394  396    The law of proportion in the
growth of the branches  397  402    The direction of growth
 403  407    The forms of trees  408  411    The insertion of the
leaves  412  419    Light on branches and leaves  420  422    The
proportions of light and shade in a leaf  423  426    Of the
transparency of leaves  427  429    The gradations of shade and
colour in leaves  430  434    A classification of trees according to
their colours  435    The proportions of light and shade in trees
 436  440    The distribution of light and shade with reference to
the position of the spectator  441  443    The effects of morning
light  444  448    The effects of midday light  449    The
appearance of trees in the distance  450  451    The cast shadow of
trees  452  453    Light and shade on groups of trees
 454  457    On the treatment of light for landscapes
 458  464    On the treatment of light for views of towns
 465  469    The effect of wind on trees  470  473    Light and
shade on clouds  474  477    On images reflected in water  478    Of
rainbows and rain  479  480    Of flower seeds  481  

IX 

THE PRACTICE OF PAINTING

I  MORAL PRECEPTS FOR THE STUDENT OF PAINTING   How to ascertain the
dispositions for an artistic career  482    The course of
instruction for an artist  483  485    The study of the antique
 486  487    The necessity of anatomical knowledge  488  489    How
to acquire practice  490    Industry and thoroughness the first
conditions  491  493    The artist s private life and choice of
company  493  494    The distribution of time for studying  495  
497    On the productive power of minor artists  498  501    A
caution against one sided study  502    How to acquire universality
 503  506    Useful games and exercises  507  508    II  THE
ARTIST S STUDIO   INSTRUMENTS AND HELPS FOR THE APPLICATION OF
PERSPECTIVE   ON JUDGING OF A PICTURE   On the size of the studio
 509    On the construction of windows  510  512    On the best
light for painting  513  520    On various helps in preparing a
picture  521  530    On the management of works  531  532    On the
limitations of painting  533  535    On the choice of a position
 536  537    The apparent size of figures in a picture  538 
539    The right position of the artist  when painting and of the
spectator  540  547    III  THE PRACTICAL METHODS OF LIGHT AND SHADE
AND AERIAL PERSPECTIVE   Gradations of light and shade  548    On
the choice of light for a picture  549  554    The distribution of
light and shade  555  559    The juxtaposition of light and shade
 560  561    On the lighting of the background  562  565    On the
lighting of white objects  566    The methods of aerial perspective
 567  570    IV  OF PORTRAIT AND FIGURE PAINTING   Of sketching
figures and portraits  571  572    The position of the head
 573    Of the light on the face  574  576    General suggestions
for historical pictures  577  581    How to represent the
differences of age and sex  582  583    Of representing the emotions
 584    Of representing imaginary animals  585    The selection of
forms  586  591    How to pose figures  592    Of appropriate
gestures  593  600    V  SUGGESTIONS FOR COMPOSITIONS   Of painting
battle pieces  601  603    Of depicting night scenes  604    Of
depicting a tempest  605  606    Of representing the deluge
 607  609    Of depicting natural phenomena  610  611    VI  THE
ARTIST S MATERIALS   Of chalk and paper  612  617    On the
preparation and use of colours  618  627    Of preparing the panel
 628    The preparation of oils  629  634    On varnishes  635  
637    On chemical  materials  638  650    VII  PHILOSOPHY AND
HISTORY OF THE ART OF PAINTING   The relation of art and nature
 651  652    Painting is superior to poetry  653  654    Painting is
superior to sculpture  655  656    Aphorisms  657  659    On the
history of painting  660  661    The painter s scope  662  

X 

STUDIES AND SKETCHES FOR PICTURES AND DECORATIONS

On pictures of the Madonna  663    Bernardo di Bandino s portrait
 664    Notes on the Last Supper  665  668    On the battle of
Anghiari  669    Allegorical representations referring to the duke
of Milan  670  673    Allegorical representations
 674  678    Arrangement of a picture  679    List of drawings
 680    Mottoes and Emblems  681  702  






The author s intention to publish his MSS 

1 

How by a certain machine many may stay some time under water  And
how and wherefore I do not describe my method of remaining under
water and how long I can remain without eating  And I do not publish
nor divulge these  by reason of the evil nature of men  who would
use them for assassinations at the bottom of the sea by destroying
ships  and sinking them  together with the men in them  Nevertheless
I will impart others  which are not dangerous because the mouth of
the tube through which you breathe is above the water  supported on
air sacks or cork 

 Footnote  The leaf on which this passage is written  is headed with
the words  Casi  39  and most of these cases begin with the word
  Come    like the two here given  which are the 26th and 27th  7 
 Sughero   In the Codex Antlanticus 377a  1170a there is a sketch 
drawn with the pen  representing a man with a tube in his mouth  and
at the farther end of the tube a disk  By the tube the word
  Channa   is written  and by the disk the word   sughero    

The preparation of the MSS  for publication 

2 

When you put together the science of the motions of water  remember
to include under each proposition its application and use  in order
that this science may not be useless   

 Footnote  A comparatively small portion of Leonardo s notes on
water power was published at Bologna in 1828  under the title    Del
moto e misura dell Acqua  di L  da Vinci    

Admonition to readers 

3 

Let no man who is not a Mathematician read the elements of my work 

The disorder in the MSS 

4 

Begun at Florence  in the house of Piero di Braccio Martelli  on the
22nd day of March 1508  And this is to be a collection without
order  taken from many papers which I have copied here  hoping to
arrange them later each in its place  according to the subjects of
which they may treat  But I believe that before I am at the end of
this  task  I shall have to repeat the same things several times 
for which  O reader  do not blame me  for the subjects are many and
memory cannot retain them  all  and say   I will not write this
because I wrote it before   And if I wished to avoid falling into
this fault  it would be necessary in every case when I wanted to
copy  a passage  that  not to repeat myself  I should read over all
that had gone before  and all the more since the intervals are long
between one time of writing and the next 

 Footnote  1  In the history of Florence in the early part of the
XVIth century  Piero di Braccio Martelli  is frequently mentioned as
 Commissario della Signoria   He was famous for his learning and at
his death left four books on Mathematics ready for the press  comp 
LITTA   Famiglie celebri Italiane    Famiglia Martelli di
Firenze    In the Official Catalogue of MSS  in the Brit  Mus   New
Series Vol  I   where this passage is printed   Barto  has been
wrongly given for Braccio 

2   addi 22 di marzo 1508   The Christian era was computed in
Florence at that time from the Incarnation  Lady day  March 25th  
Hence this should be 1509 by our reckoning 

3   racolto tratto di molte carte le quali io ho qui copiate   We
must suppose that Leonardo means that he has copied out his own MSS 
and not those of others  The first thirteen leaves of the MS  in the
Brit  Mus  are a fair copy of some notes on physics  

Suggestions for the arrangement of MSS treating of particular
subjects  5 8  

5 

Of digging a canal  Put this in the Book of useful inventions and in
proving them bring forward the propositions already proved  And this
is the proper order  since if you wished to show the usefulness of
any plan you would be obliged again to devise new machines to prove
its utility and thus would confuse the order of the forty Books and
also the order of the diagrams  that is to say you would have to mix
up practice with theory  which would produce a confused and
incoherent work 

6 

I am not to blame for putting forward  in the course of my work on
science  any general rule derived from a previous conclusion 

7 

The Book of the science of Mechanics must precede the Book of useful
inventions   Have your books on anatomy bound   Footnote  4  The
numerous notes on anatomy written on loose leaves and now in the
Royal collection at Windsor can best be classified in four Books 
corresponding to the different character and size of the paper  When
Leonardo speaks of   li tua libri di notomia    he probably means
the MSS  which still exist  if this hypothesis is correct the
present condition of these leaves might seem to prove that he only
carried out his purpose with one of the Books on anatomy  A borrowed
book on Anatomy is mentioned in F O  

8 

The order of your book must proceed on this plan  first simple
beams  then  those  supported from below  then suspended in part 
then wholly  suspended   Then beams as supporting other weights
 Footnote  4  Leonardo s notes on Mechanics are extraordinarily
numerous  but  for the reasons assigned in my introduction  they
have not been included in the present work   

General introductions to the book on Painting  9 13  

9 

INTRODUCTION 

Seeing that I can find no subject specially useful or
pleasing  since the men who have come before me have taken for their
own every useful or necessary theme  I must do like one who  being
poor  comes last to the fair  and can find no other way of providing
himself than by taking all the things already seen by other buyers 
and not taken but refused by reason of their lesser value  I  then 
will load my humble pack with this despised and rejected
merchandise  the refuse of so many buyers  and will go about to
distribute it  not indeed in great cities  but in the poorer towns 
taking such a price as the wares I offer may be worth   Footnote  It
need hardly be pointed out that there is in this  Proemio  a covert
irony  In the second and third prefaces  Leonardo characterises his
rivals and opponents more closely  His protest is directed against
Neo latinism as professed by most of the humanists of his time  its
futility is now no longer questioned  

10 

INTRODUCTION 

I know that many will call this useless work  Footnote  3  questa
essere opera inutile  By opera we must here understand libro di
pittura and particularly the treatise on Perspective    and they
will be those of whom Demetrius  Footnote  4  Demetrio   With regard
to the passage attributed to Demetrius   Dr  H  MULLER STRUBING
writes   I know not what to make of it  It is certainly not
Demetrius Phalereus that is meant and it can hardly be Demetrius
Poliorcetes  Who then can it be  for the name is a very common one 
It may be a clerical error for Demades and the maxim is quite in the
spirit of his writings I have not however been able to find any
corresponding passage either in the  Fragments   C  MULLER   Orat 
Att    II  441  nor in the Supplements collected by DIETZ   Rhein 
Mus    vol  29  p  108   

The same passage occurs as a simple Memorandum in the MS  Tr  57 
apparently as a note for this   Proemio   thus affording some data
as to the time where these introductions were written   declared
that he took no more account of the wind that came out their mouth
in words  than of that they expelled from their lower parts  men who
desire nothing but material riches and are absolutely devoid of that
of wisdom  which is the food and the only true riches of the mind 
For so much more worthy as the soul is than the body  so much more
noble are the possessions of the soul than those of the body  And
often  when I see one of these men take this work in his hand  I
wonder that he does not put it to his nose  like a monkey  or ask me
if it is something good to eat 

 Footnote  In the original  the Proemio di prospettiva cioe
dell uffitio dell occhio  see No  21  stands between this and the
preceding one  No  9  

INTRODUCTION 

I am fully concious that  not being a literary man  certain
presumptuous persons will think that they may reasonably blame me 
alleging that I am not a man of letters  Foolish folks  do they not
know that I might retort as Marius did to the Roman Patricians
 Footnote 21   Come Mario disse ai patriti Romani    I am unable to
find the words here attributed by Leonardo to Marius  either in
Plutarch s Life of Marius or in the Apophthegmata   Moralia  
p 202   Nor do they occur in the writings of Valerius Maximus  who
frequently mentions Marius  nor in Velleius Paterculus  II  11 to
43   Dio Cassius  Aulus Gellius  or Macrobius  Professor E 
MENDELSON of Dorpat  the editor of Herodian  assures me that no such
passage is the found in that author   communication from Dr  MULLER
STRUBING   Leonardo evidently meant to allude to some well known
incident in Roman history and the mention of Marius is the result
probably of some confusion  We may perhaps read  for Marius 
Menenius Agrippa  though in that case it is true we must alter
Patriti to Plebei  The change is a serious one  but it would render
the passage perfectly clear   by saying  That they  who deck
themselves out in the labours of others will not allow me my own 
They will say that I  having no literary skill  cannot properly
express that which I desire to treat of  Footnote 26   le mie cose
     che d altra parola   This can hardly be reconciled with Mons 
RAVAISSON S estimate of L  da Vinci s learning    Leonard de Vinci
etait un admirateur et un disciple des anciens  aussi bien dans
l art que dans la science et il tenait a passer pour tel meme aux
yeux de la posterite     Gaz  des Beaux arts  Oct  1877    but they
do not know that my subjects are to be dealt with by experience
rather than by words  Footnote 28  See Footnote 26   and
 experience  has been the mistress of those who wrote well  And so 
as mistress  I will cite her in all cases 

11 

Though I may not  like them  be able to quote other authors  I shall
rely on that which is much greater and more worthy   on experience 
the mistress of their Masters  They go about puffed up and pompous 
dressed and decorated with  the fruits   not of their own labours 
but of those of others  And they will not allow me my own  They will
scorn me as an inventor  but how much more might they  who are not
inventors but vaunters and declaimers of the works of others  be
blamed 

INTRODUCTION 

And those men who are inventors and interpreters between Nature and
Man  as compared with boasters and declaimers of the works of
others  must be regarded and not otherwise esteemed than as the
object in front of a mirror  when compared with its image seen in
the mirror  For the first is something in itself  and the other
nothingness   Folks little indebted to Nature  since it is only by
chance that they wear the human form and without it I might class
them with the herds of beasts 

12 

Many will think they may reasonably blame me by alleging that my
proofs are opposed to the authority of certain men held in the
highest reverence by their inexperienced judgments  not considering
that my works are the issue of pure and simple experience  who is
the one true mistress  These rules are sufficient to enable you to
know the true from the false  and this aids men to look only for
things that are possible and with due moderation  and not to wrap
yourself in ignorance  a thing which can have no good result  so
that in despair you would give yourself up to melancholy 

13 

Among all the studies of natural causes and reasons Light chiefly
delights the beholder  and among the great features of Mathematics
the certainty of its demonstrations is what preeminently  tends to 
elevate the mind of the investigator  Perspective  therefore  must
be preferred to all the discourses and systems of human learning  In
this branch  of science  the beam of light is explained on those
methods of demonstration which form the glory not so much of
Mathematics as of Physics and are graced with the flowers of both
 Footnote  5  Such of Leonardo s notes on Optics or on Perspective
as bear exclusively on Mathematics or Physics could not be included
in the arrangement of the  libro di pittura  which is here presented
to the reader  They are however but few    But its axioms being laid
down at great length  I shall abridge them to a conclusive brevity 
arranging them on the method both of their natural order and of
mathematical demonstration  sometimes by deduction of the effects
from the causes  and sometimes arguing the causes from the effects 
adding also to my own conclusions some which  though not included in
them  may nevertheless be inferred from them  Thus  if the Lord  who
is the light of all things  vouchsafe to enlighten me  I will treat
of Light  wherefore I will divide the present work into 3 Parts
 Footnote  10  In the middle ages  for instance  by ROGER BACON  by
VITELLONE  with whose works Leonardo was certainly familiar  and by
all the writers of the Renaissance Perspective and Optics were not
regarded as distinct sciences  Perspective  indeed  is in its widest
application the science of seeing  Although to Leonardo the two
sciences were clearly separate  it is not so as to their names  thus
we find axioms in Optics under the heading Perspective  According to
this arrangement of the materials for the theoretical portion of the
 libro di pittura  propositions in Perspective and in Optics stand
side by side or occur alternately  Although this particular chapter
deals only with Optics  it is not improbable that the words  partiro
la presente opera in 3 parti  may refer to the same division into
three sections which is spoken of in chapters 14 to 17   

The plan of the book on Painting  14  17  

14 

ON THE THREE BRANCHES OF PERSPECTIVE 

There are three branches of perspective  the first deals with the
reasons of the  apparent  diminution of objects as they recede from
the eye  and is known as Diminishing Perspective   The second
contains the way in which colours vary as they recede from the eye 
The third and last is concerned with the explanation of how the
objects  in a picture  ought to be less finished in proportion as
they are remote  and the names are as follows  

Linear Perspective  The Perspective of Colour  The Perspective of
Disappearance 

 Footnote  13  From the character of the handwriting I infer that
this passage was written before the year 1490   

15 

ON PAINTING AND PERSPECTIVE 

The divisions of Perspective are 3  as used in drawing  of these 
the first includes the diminution in size of opaque objects  the
second treats of the diminution and loss of outline in such opaque
objects  the third  of the diminution and loss of colour at long
distances 

 Footnote  The division is here the same as in the previous chapter
No  14  and this is worthy of note when we connect it with the fact
that a space of about 20 years must have intervened between the
writing of the two passages  

16 

THE DISCOURSE ON PAINTING 

Perspective  as bearing on drawing  is divided into three principal
sections  of which the first treats of the diminution in the size of
bodies at different distances  The second part is that which treats
of the diminution in colour in these objects  The third  deals with 
the diminished distinctness of the forms and outlines displayed by
the objects at various distances 

17 

ON THE SECTIONS OF  THE BOOK ON  PAINTING 

The first thing in painting is that the objects it represents should
appear in relief  and that the grounds surrounding them at different
distances shall appear within the vertical plane of the foreground
of the picture by means of the 3 branches of Perspective  which are 
the diminution in the distinctness of the forms of the objects  the
diminution in their magnitude  and the diminution in their colour 
And of these 3 classes of Perspective the first results from  the
structure of  the eye  while the other two are caused by the
atmosphere which intervenes between the eye and the objects seen by
it  The second essential in painting is appropriate action and a due
variety in the figures  so that the men may not all look like
brothers   c 

 Footnote  This and the two foregoing chapters must have been
written in 1513 to 1516  They undoubtedly indicate the scheme which
Leonardo wished to carry out in arranging his researches on
Perspective as applied to Painting  This is important because it is
an evidence against the supposition of H  LUDWIG and others  that
Leonardo had collected his principles of Perspective in one book so
early as before 1500  a Book which  according to the hypothesis 
must have been lost at a very early period  or destroyed possibly 
by the French     in 1500  see H  LUDWIG  L  da Vinci   Das Buch van
der Malerei   Vienna 1882 III  7 and 8   

The use of the book on Painting 

18 

These rules are of use only in correcting the figures  since every
man makes some mistakes in his first compositions and he who knows
them not  cannot amend them  But you  knowing your errors  will
correct your works and where you find mistakes amend them  and
remember never to fall into them again  But if you try to apply
these rules in composition you will never make an end  and will
produce confusion in your works 

These rules will enable you to have a free and sound judgment  since
good judgment is born of clear understanding  and a clear
understanding comes of reasons derived from sound rules  and sound
rules are the issue of sound experience  the common mother of all
the sciences and arts  Hence  bearing in mind the precepts of my
rules  you will be able  merely by your amended judgment  to
criticise and recognise every thing that is out of proportion in a
work  whether in the perspective or in the figures or any thing
else 

Necessity of theoretical knowledge  19  20  

19 

OF THE MISTAKES MADE BY THOSE WHO PRACTISE WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE 

Those who are in love with practice without knowledge are like the
sailor who gets into a ship without rudder or compass and who never
can be certain whether he is going  Practice must always be founded
on sound theory  and to this Perspective is the guide and the
gateway  and without this nothing can be done well in the matter of
drawing 

20 

The painter who draws merely by practice and by eye  without any
reason  is like a mirror which copies every thing placed in front of
it without being conscious of their existence 

The function of the eye  21 23  

21 

INTRODUCTION TO PERSPECTIVE   THAT IS OF THE FUNCTION OF THE EYE 

Behold here O reader  a thing concerning which we cannot trust our
forefathers  the ancients  who tried to define what the Soul and
Life are  which are beyond proof  whereas those things  which can at
any time be clearly known and proved by experience  remained for
many ages unknown or falsely understood  The eye  whose function we
so certainly know by experience  has  down to my own time  been
defined by an infinite number of authors as one thing  but I find 
by experience  that it is quite another   Footnote 13  Compare the
note to No  70  

 Footnote  In section 13 we already find it indicated that the study
of Perspective and of Optics is to be based on that of the functions
of the eye  Leonardo also refers to the science of the eye  in his
astronomical researches  for instance in MS  F 25b   Ordine del
provare la terra essere una stella  Imprima difinisce l occhio   
 c  Compare also MS  E 15b and F 60b  The principles of astronomical
perspective  

22 

Here  in the eye  forms  here colours  here the character of every
part of the universe are concentrated to a point  and that point is
so marvellous a thing     Oh  marvellous  O stupendous Necessity  by
thy laws thou dost compel every effect to be the direct result of
its cause  by the shortest path  These  indeed  are miracles    

In so small a space it can be reproduced and rearranged in its whole
expanse  Describe in your anatomy what proportion there is between
the diameters of all the images in the eye and the distance from
them of the crystalline lens 

23 

OF THE 10 ATTRIBUTES OF THE EYE  ALL CONCERNED IN PAINTING 

Painting is concerned with all the 10 attributes of sight  which
are   Darkness  Light  Solidity and Colour  Form and Position 
Distance and Propinquity  Motion and Rest  This little work of mine
will be a tissue  of the studies  of these attributes  reminding the
painter of the rules and methods by which he should use his art to
imitate all the works of Nature which adorn the world 

24 

ON PAINTING 

Variability of the eye 

1st  The pupil of the eye contracts  in proportion to the increase
of light which is reflected in it  2nd  The pupil of the eye expands
in proportion to the diminution in the day light  or any other
light  that is reflected in it  3rd   Footnote  8  The subject of
this third proposition we find fully discussed in MS  G  44a    The
eye perceives and recognises the objects of its vision with greater
intensity in proportion as the pupil is more widely dilated  and
this can be proved by the case of nocturnal animals  such as cats 
and certain birds  as the owl and others  in which the pupil varies
in a high degree from large to small   c   when in the dark or in
the light  4th  The eye  out of doors  in an illuminated atmosphere
sees darkness behind the windows of houses which  nevertheless  are
light  5th  All colours when placed in the shade appear of an equal
degree of darkness  among themselves  6th  But all colours when
placed in a full light  never vary from their true and essential
hue 

25 

OF THE EYE 

Focus of sight 

If the eye is required to look at an object placed too near to it 
it cannot judge of it well  as happens to a man who tries to see the
tip of his nose  Hence  as a general rule  Nature teaches us that an
object can never be seen perfectly unless the space between it and
the eye is equal  at least  to the length of the face 

Differences of perception by one eye and by both eyes  26 29  

26 

OF THE EYE 

When both eyes direct the pyramid of sight to an object  that object
becomes clearly seen and comprehended by the eyes 

27 

Objects seen by one and the same eye appear sometimes large  and
sometimes small 

28 

The motion of a spectator who sees an object at rest often makes it
seem as though the object at rest had acquired the motion of the
moving body  while the moving person appears to be at rest 

ON PAINTING 

Objects in relief  when seen from a short distance with one eye 
look like a perfect picture  If you look with the eye  a    b  at
the spot  c   this point  c  will appear to be at  d    f   and if
you look at it with the eye  g    h  will appear to be at  m   A
picture can never contain in itself both aspects 

29 

Let the object in relief  t  be seen by both eyes  if you will look
at the object with the right eye  m   keeping the left eye  n  shut 
the object will appear  or fill up the space  at  a   and if you
shut the right eye and open the left  the object  will occupy the 
space  b   and if you open both eyes  the object will no longer
appear at  a  or  b   but at  e    r    f   Why will not a picture
seen by both eyes produce the effect of relief  as  real  relief
does when seen by both eyes  and why should a picture seen with one
eye give the same effect of relief as real relief would under the
same conditions of light and shade 

 Footnote  In the sketch   m  is the left eye and  n  the right 
while the text reverses this lettering  We must therefore suppose
that the face in which the eyes  m  and  n  are placed is opposite
to the spectator  

30 

The comparative size of the image depends on the amount of light
 30 39  

The eye will hold and retain in itself the image of a luminous body
better than that of a shaded object  The reason is that the eye is
in itself perfectly dark and since two things that are alike cannot
be distinguished  therefore the night  and other dark objects cannot
be seen or recognised by the eye  Light is totally contrary and
gives more distinctness  and counteracts and differs from the usual
darkness of the eye  hence it leaves the impression of its image 

31 

Every object we see will appear larger at midnight than at midday 
and larger in the morning than at midday 

This happens because the pupil of the eye is much smaller at midday
than at any other time 

32 

The pupil which is largest will see objects the largest  This is
evident when we look at luminous bodies  and particularly at those
in the sky  When the eye comes out of darkness and suddenly looks up
at these bodies  they at first appear larger and then diminish  and
if you were to look at those bodies through a small opening  you
would see them smaller still  because a smaller part of the pupil
would exercise its function 

 Footnote  9   buso  in the Lomb  dialect is the same as  buco   

33 

When the eye  coming out of darkness suddenly sees a luminous body 
it will appear much larger at first sight than after long looking at
it  The illuminated object will look larger and more brilliant  when
seen with two eyes than with only one  A luminous object will appear
smaller in size  when the eye sees it through a smaller opening  A
luminous body of an oval form will appear rounder in proportion as
it is farther from the eye 

34 

Why when the eye has just seen the light  does the half light look
dark to it  and in the same way if it turns from the darkness the
half light look very bright 

35 

ON PAINTING 

If the eye  when  out of doors  in the luminous atmosphere  sees a
place in shadow  this will look very much darker than it really is 
This happens only because the eye when out in the air contracts the
pupil in proportion as the atmosphere reflected in it is more
luminous  And the more the pupil contracts  the less luminous do the
objects appear that it sees  But as soon as the eye enters into a
shady place the darkness of the shadow suddenly seems to diminish 
This occurs because the greater the darkness into which the pupil
goes the more its size increases  and this increase makes the
darkness seem less 

 Footnote 14   La luce entrera    Luce  occurs here in the sense of
pupil of the eye as in no 51  C  A  84b  245a  I  5  and in many
other places  

36 

ON PERSPECTIVE 

The eye which turns from a white object in the light of the sun and
goes into a less fully lighted place will see everything as dark 
And this happens either because the pupils of the eyes which have
rested on this brilliantly lighted white object have contracted so
much that  given at first a certain extent of surface  they will
have lost more than 3 4 of their size  and  lacking in size  they
are also deficient in  seeing  power  Though you might say to me  A
little bird  then  coming down would see comparatively little  and
from the smallness of his pupils the white might seem black  To this
I should reply that here we must have regard to the proportion of
the mass of that portion of the brain which is given up to the sense
of sight and to nothing else  Or  to return  this pupil in Man
dilates and contracts according to the brightness or darkness of
 surrounding  objects  and since it takes some time to dilate and
contract  it cannot see immediately on going out of the light and
into the shade  nor  in the same way  out of the shade into the
light  and this very thing has already deceived me in painting an
eye  and from that I learnt it 

37 

Experiment  showing  the dilatation and contraction of the pupil 
from the motion of the sun and other luminaries  In proportion as
the sky is darker the stars appear of larger size  and if you were
to light up the medium these stars would look smaller  and this
difference arises solely from the pupil which dilates and contracts
with the amount of light in the medium which is interposed between
the eye and the luminous body  Let the experiment be made  by
placing a candle above your head at the same time that you look at a
star  then gradually lower the candle till it is on a level with the
ray that comes from the star to the eye  and then you will see the
star diminish so much that you will almost lose sight of it 

 Footnote  No reference is made in the text to the letters on the
accompanying diagram  

38 

The pupil of the eye  in the open air  changes in size with every
degree of motion from the sun  and at every degree of its changes
one and the same object seen by it will appear of a different size 
although most frequently the relative scale of surrounding objects
does not allow us to detect these variations in any single object we
may look at 

39 

The eye  which sees all objects reversed  retains the images for
some time  This conclusion is proved by the results  because  the
eye having gazed at light retains some impression of it  After
looking  at it  there remain in the eye images of intense
brightness  that make any less brilliant spot seem dark until the
eye has lost the last trace of the impression of the stronger light 

 II 

Linear Perspective 

We see clearly from the concluding sentence of section 49  where the
author directly addresses the painter  that he must certainly have
intended to include the elements of mathematics in his Book on the
art of Painting  They are therefore here placed at the beginning  In
section 50 the theory of the  Pyramid of Sight  is distinctly and
expressly put forward as the fundamental principle of linear
perspective  and sections 52 to 57 treat of it fully  This theory of
sight can scarcely be traced to any author of antiquity  Such
passages as occur in Euclid for instance  may  it is true  have
proved suggestive to the painters of the Renaissance  but it would
be rash to say any thing decisive on this point 

Leon Battista Alberti treats of the  Pyramid of Sight  at some
length in his first Book of Painting  but his explanation differs
widely from Leonardo s in the details  Leonardo  like Alberti  may
have borrowed the broad lines of his theory from some views commonly
accepted among painters at the time  but he certainly worked out its
application in a perfectly original manner 

The axioms as to the perception of the pyramid of rays are followed
by explanations of its origin  and proofs of its universal
application  58  69   The author recurs to the subject with endless
variations  it is evidently of fundamental importance in his
artistic theory and practice  It is unnecessary to discuss how far
this theory has any scientific value at the present day  so much as
this  at any rate  seems certain  that from the artist s point of
view it may still claim to be of immense practical utility 

According to Leonardo  on one hand  the laws of perspective are an
inalienable condition of the existence of objects in space  on the
other hand  by a natural law  the eye  whatever it sees and wherever
it turns  is subjected to the perception of the pyramid of rays in
the form of a minute target  Thus it sees objects in perspective
independently of the will of the spectator  since the eye receives
the images by means of the pyramid of rays  just as a magnet
attracts iron  

In connection with this we have the function of the eye explained by
the Camera obscura  and this is all the more interesting and
important because no writer previous to Leonardo had treated of this
subject   70  73    Subsequent passages  of no less special interest 
betray his knowledge of refraction and of the inversion of the image
in the camera and in the eye   74  82  

 From the principle of the transmission of the image to the eye and
to the camera obscura he deduces the means of producing an
artificial construction of the pyramid of rays or  which is the same
thing  of the image  The fundamental axioms as to the angle of sight
and the vanishing point are thus presented in a manner which is as
complete as it is simple and intelligible   86  89  

 Leonardo distinguishes between simple and complex perspective   90 
91    The last sections treat of the apparent size of objects at
various distances and of the way to estimate it   92  109  

General remarks on perspective  40 41  

40 

ON PAINTING 

Perspective is the best guide to the art of Painting 

 Footnote  40  Compare 53  2  

41 

The art of perspective is of such a nature as to make what is flat
appear in relief and what is in relief flat 

The elements of perspective  Of the Point  42 46  

42 

All the problems of perspective are made clear by the five terms of
mathematicians  which are   the point  the line  the angle  the
superficies and the solid  The point is unique of its kind  And the
point has neither height  breadth  length  nor depth  whence it is
to be regarded as indivisible and as having no dimensions in space 
The line is of three kinds  straight  curved and sinuous and it has
neither breadth  height  nor depth  Hence it is indivisible 
excepting in its length  and its ends are two points  The angle is
the junction of two lines in a point 

43 

A point is not part of a line 

44 

OF THE NATURAL POINT 

The smallest natural point is larger than all mathematical points 
and this is proved because the natural point has continuity  and any
thing that is continuous is infinitely divisible  but the
mathematical point is indivisible because it has no size 

 Footnote  This definition was inserted by Leonardo on a MS  copy on
parchment of the well known   Trattato d Architettura civile e
militare    c  by FRANCESCO DI GIORGIO  opposite a passage where the
author says    In prima he da sapere che punto e quella parie della
quale he nulla  Linia he luncheza senza apieza   c  

45 

1  The superficies is a limitation of the body  2  and the
limitation of a body is no part of that body  4  and the limitation
of one body is that which begins another  3  that which is not part
of any body is nothing  Nothing is that which fills no space 

If one single point placed in a circle may be the starting point of
an infinite number of lines  and the termination of an infinite
number of lines  there must be an infinite number of points
separable from this point  and these when reunited become one again 
whence it follows that the part may be equal to the whole 

46 

The point  being indivisible  occupies no space  That which occupies
no space is nothing  The limiting surface of one thing is the
beginning of another  2  That which is no part of any body is called
nothing  1  That which has no limitations  has no form  The
limitations of two conterminous bodies are interchangeably the
surface of each  All the surfaces of a body are not parts of that
body 

Of the line  47 48  

47 

DEFINITION OF THE NATURE OF THE LINE 

The line has in itself neither matter nor substance and may rather
be called an imaginary idea than a real object  and this being its
nature it occupies no space  Therefore an infinite number of lines
may be conceived of as intersecting each other at a point  which has
no dimensions and is only of the thickness  if thickness it may be
called  of one single line 

HOW WE MAY CONCLUDE THAT A SUPERFICIES TERMINATES IN A POINT 

An angular surface is reduced to a point where it terminates in an
angle  Or  if the sides of that angle are produced in a straight
line  then  beyond that angle  another surface is generated 
smaller  or equal to  or larger than the first 

48 

OF DRAWING OUTLINE 

Consider with the greatest care the form of the outlines of every
object  and the character of their undulations  And these
undulations must be separately studied  as to whether the curves are
composed of arched convexities or angular concavities 

49 

The nature of the outline 

The boundaries of bodies are the least of all things  The
proposition is proved to be true  because the boundary of a thing is
a surface  which is not part of the body contained within that
surface  nor is it part of the air surrounding that body  but is the
medium interposted between the air and the body  as is proved in its
place  But the lateral boundaries of these bodies is the line
forming the boundary of the surface  which line is of invisible
thickness  Wherefore O painter  do not surround your bodies with
lines  and above all when representing objects smaller than nature 
for not only will their external outlines become indistinct  but
their parts will be invisible from distance 

50 

Definition of Perspective 

 Drawing is based upon perspective  which is nothing else than a
thorough knowledge of the function of the eye  And this function
simply consists in receiving in a pyramid the forms and colours of
all the objects placed before it  I say in a pyramid  because there
is no object so small that it will not be larger than the spot where
these pyramids are received into the eye  Therefore  if you extend
the lines from the edges of each body as they converge you will
bring them to a single point  and necessarily the said lines must
form a pyramid  

 Perspective is nothing more than a rational demonstration applied
to the consideration of how objects in front of the eye transmit
their image to it  by means of a pyramid of lines  The  Pyramid  is
the name I apply to the lines which  starting from the surface and
edges of each object  converge from a distance and meet in a single
point  

 Perspective is a rational demonstration  by which we may
practically and clearly understand how objects transmit their own
image  by lines forming a Pyramid  centred  in the eye  

Perspective is a rational demonstration by which experience confirms
that every object sends its image to the eye by a pyramid of lines 
and bodies of equal size will result in a pyramid of larger or
smaller size  according to the difference in their distance  one
from the other  By a pyramid of lines I mean those which start from
the surface and edges of bodies  and  converging from a distance
meet in a single point  A point is said to be that which  having no
dimensions  cannot be divided  and this point placed in the eye
receives all the points of the cone 

 Footnote  50  1 5  Compare with this the Proem  No  21  The
paragraphs placed in brackets  lines 1 9  10 14  and 17  20  are
evidently mere sketches and  as such  were cancelled by the writer 
but they serve as a commentary on the final paragraph  lines 22 29  

51 

IN WHAT WAY THE EYE SEES OBJECTS PLACED IN FRONT OF IT 

The perception of the object depends on the direction of the eye 

Supposing that the ball figured above is the ball of the eye and let
the small portion of the ball which is cut off by the line  s t  be
the pupil and all the objects mirrored on the centre of the face of
the eye  by means of the pupil  pass on at once and enter the pupil 
passing through the crystalline humour  which does not interfere in
the pupil with the things seen by means of the light  And the pupil
having received the objects  by means of the light  immediately
refers them and transmits them to the intellect by the line  a b  
And you must know that the pupil transmits nothing perfectly to the
intellect or common sense excepting when the objects presented to it
by means of light  reach it by the line  a b   as  for instance  by
the line  b c   For although the lines  m n  and  f g  may be seen
by the pupil they are not perfectly taken in  because they do not
coincide with the line  a b   And the proof is this  If the eye 
shown above  wants to count the letters placed in front  the eye
will be obliged to turn from letter to letter  because it cannot
discern them unless they lie in the line  a b   as  for instance  in
the line  a c   All visible objects reach the eye by the lines of a
pyramid  and the point of the pyramid is the apex and centre of it 
in the centre of the pupil  as figured above 

 Footnote  51  In this problem the eye is conceived of as fixed and
immovable  this is plain from line 11  

Experimental proof of the existence of the pyramid of sight  52 55  

52 

Perspective is a rational demonstration  confirmed by experience 
that all objects transmit their image to the eye by a pyramid of
lines 

By a pyramid of lines I understand those lines which start from the
edges of the surface of bodies  and converging from a distance  meet
in a single point  and this point  in the present instance  I will
show to be situated in the eye which is the universal judge of all
objects  By a point I mean that which cannot be divided into parts 
therefore this point  which is situated in the eye  being
indivisible  no body is seen by the eye  that is not larger than
this point  This being the case it is inevitable that the lines
which come from the object to the point must form a pyramid  And if
any man seeks to prove that the sense of sight does not reside in
this point  but rather in the black spot which is visible in the
middle of the pupil  I might reply to him that a small object could
never diminish at any distance  as it might be a grain of millet or
of oats or of some similar thing  and that object  if it were larger
than the said  black  spot would never be seen as a whole  as may be
seen in the diagram below  Let  a   be the seat of sight   b e  the
lines which reach the eye  Let  e d  be the grains of millet within
these lines  You plainly see that these will never diminish by
distance  and that the body  m n  could not be entirely covered by
it  Therefore you must confess that the eye contains within itself
one single indivisible point  a   to which all the points converge
of the pyramid of lines starting from an object  as is shown below 
Let  a    b   be the eye  in the centre of it is the point above
mentioned  If the line  e f  is to enter as an image into so small
an opening in the eye  you must confess that the smaller object
cannot enter into what is smaller than itself unless it is
diminished  and by diminishing it must take the form of a pyramid 

53 

PERSPECTIVE 

Perspective comes in where judgment fails  as to the distance  in
objects which diminish  The eye can never be a true judge for
determining with exactitude how near one object is to another which
is equal to it  in size   if the top of that other is on the level
of the eye which sees them on that side  excepting by means of the
vertical plane which is the standard and guide of perspective  Let
 n  be the eye   e f  the vertical plane above mentioned  Let  a b c
d  be the three divisions  one below the other  if the lines  a n 
and  c n  are of a given length and the eye  n  is in the centre 
then  a b  will look as large as  b c  c d  is lower and farther off
from  n   therefore it will look smaller  And the same effect will
appear in the three divisions of a face when the eye of the painter
who is drawing it is on a level with the eye of the person he is
painting 

54 

TO PROVE HOW OBJECTS REACH THE EYE 

If you look at the sun or some other luminous body and then shut
your eyes you will see it again inside your eye for a long time 
This is evidence that images enter into the eye 

The relations of the distance points to the vanishing point  55 56  

55 

ELEMENTS OF PERSPECTIVE 

All objects transmit their image to the eye in pyramids  and the
nearer to the eye these pyramids are intersected the smaller will
the image appear of the objects which cause them  Therefore  you may
intersect the pyramid with a vertical plane  Footnote 4   Pariete  
Compare the definitions in 85  2 5  6 27  These lines refer
exclusively to the third diagram  For the better understanding of
this it should be observed that  c s  must be regarded as
representing the section or profile of a square plane  placed
horizontally  comp  lines 11  14  17  for which the word  pianura 
is subsequently employed  20  22   Lines 6 13 contain certain
preliminary observations to guide the reader in understanding the
diagram  the last three seem to have been added as a supplement 
Leonardo s mistake in writing  t denota   line 6  for  f denota  has
been rectified   which reaches the base of the pyramid as is shown
in the plane  a n  

The eye  f  and the eye  t  are one and the same thing  but the eye
 f  marks the distance  that is to say how far you are standing from
the object  and the eye  t  shows you the direction of it  that is
whether you are opposite  or on one side  or at an angle to the
object you are looking at  And remember that the eye  f  and the eye
 t  must always be kept on the same level  For example if you raise
or lower the eye from the distance point  f  you must do the same
with the direction point  t   And if the point  f  shows how far the
eye is distant from the square plane but does not show on which side
it is placed  and  if in the same way  the point  t  show  s  the
direction and not the distance  in order to ascertain both you must
use both points and they will be one and the same thing  If the eye
 f  could see a perfect square of which all the sides were equal to
the distance between  s  and  c   and if at the nearest end of the
side towards the eye a pole were placed  or some other straight
object  set up by a perpendicular line as shown at  r s   then  I
say  that if you were to look at the side of the square that is
nearest to you it will appear at the bottom of the vertical plane  r
s   and then look at the farther side and it would appear to you at
the height of the point  n  on the vertical plane  Thus  by this
example  you can understand that if the eye is above a number of
objects all placed on the same level  one beyond another  the more
remote they are the higher they will seem  up to the level of the
eye  but no higher  because objects placed upon the level on which
your feet stand  so long as it is flat  even if it be extended into
infinity  would never be seen above the eye  since the eye has in
itself the point towards which all the cones tend and converge which
convey the images of the objects to the eye  And this point always
coincides with the point of diminution which is the extreme of all
we can see  And from the base line of the first pyramid as far as
the diminishing point

 Footnote  The two diagrams above the chapter are explained by the
first five lines  They have  however  more letters than are referred
to in the text  a circumstance we frequently find occasion to
remark  

56 

there are only bases without pyramids which constantly diminish up
to this point  And from the first base where the vertical plane is
placed towards the point in the eye there will be only pyramids
without bases  as shown in the example given above  Now  let  a b 
be the said vertical plane and  r  the point of the pyramid
terminating in the eye  and  n  the point of diminution which is
always in a straight line opposite the eye and always moves as the
eye moves  just as when a rod is moved its shadow moves  and moves
with it  precisely as the shadow moves with a body  And each point
is the apex of a pyramid  all having a common base with the
intervening vertical plane  But although their bases are equal their
angles are not equal  because the diminishing point is the
termination of a smaller angle than that of the eye  If you ask me 
 By what practical experience can you show me these points   I
reply  so far as concerns the diminishing point which moves with you
  when you walk by a ploughed field look at the straight furrows
which come down with their ends to the path where you are walking 
and you will see that each pair of furrows will look as though they
tried to get nearer and meet at the  farther  end 

 Footnote  For the easier understanding of the diagram and of its
connection with the preceding I may here remark that the square
plane shown above in profile by the line  c s  is here indicated by
 e d o p   According to lines 1  3  a b  must be imagined as a plane
of glass placed perpendicularly at  o p   

57 

How to measure the pyramid of vision 

As regards the point in the eye  it is made more intelligible by
this  If you look into the eye of another person you will see your
own image  Now imagine 2 lines starting from your ears and going to
the ears of that image which you see in the other man s eye  you
will understand that these lines converge in such a way that they
would meet in a point a little way beyond your own image mirrored in
the eye  And if you want to measure the diminution of the pyramid in
the air which occupies the space between the object seen and the
eye  you must do it according to the diagram figured below  Let  m
n  be a tower  and  e f  a  rod  which you must move backwards and
forwards till its ends correspond with those of the tower  Footnote
9   I sua stremi    della storre   its ends     of the tower  this
is the case at  e f     then bring it nearer to the eye  at  c d 
and you will see that the image of the tower seems smaller  as at  r
o   Then  again  bring it closer to the eye and you will see the rod
project far beyond the image of the tower from  a  to  b  and from
 t  to  b   and so you will discern that  a little farther within 
the lines must converge in a point 

The Production of pyramid of Vision  58 60  

58 

PERSPECTIVE 

The instant the atmosphere is illuminated it will be filled with an
infinite number of images which are produced by the various bodies
and colours assembled in it  And the eye is the target  a loadstone 
of these images 

59 

The whole surface of opaque bodies displays its whole image in all
the illuminated atmosphere which surrounds them on all sides 

60 

That the atmosphere attracts to itself  like a loadstone  all the
images of the objects that exist in it  and not their forms merely
but their nature may be clearly seen by the sun  which is a hot and
luminous body  All the atmosphere  which is the all pervading
matter  absorbs light and heat  and reflects in itself the image of
the source of that heat and splendour and  in each minutest portion 
does the same  The Northpole does the same as the loadstone shows 
and the moon and the other planets  without suffering any
diminution  do the same  Among terrestrial things musk does the same
and other perfumes 

61 

All bodies together  and each by itself  give off to the surrounding
air an infinite number of images which are all pervading and each
complete  each conveying the nature  colour and form of the body
which produces it 

It can clearly be shown that all bodies are  by their images 
all pervading in the surrounding atmosphere  and each complete in
itself as to substance form and colour  this is seen by the images
of the various bodies which are reproduced in one single perforation
through which they transmit the objects by lines which intersect and
cause reversed pyramids  from the objects  so that they are upside
down on the dark plane where they are first reflected  The reason of
this is  

 Footnote  The diagram intended to illustrate the statement  Pl  II
No  i  occurs in the original between lines 3 and 4  The three
circles must be understood to represent three luminous bodies which
transmit their images through perforations in a wall into a dark
chamber  according to a law which is more fully explained in 75 81 
So far as concerns the present passage the diagram is only intended
to explain that the images of the three bodies may be made to
coalesce at any given spot  In the circles are written 
giallo  yellow  biacho  white  rosso  red 

The text breaks off at line 8  The paragraph No 40 follows here in
the original MS  

62 

Every point is the termination of an infinite number of lines  which
diverge to form a base  and immediately  from the base the same
lines converge to a pyramid  imaging  both the colour and form  No
sooner is a form created or compounded than suddenly infinite lines
and angles are produced from it  and these lines  distributing
themselves and intersecting each other in the air  give rise to an
infinite number of angles opposite to each other  Given a base  each
opposite angle  will form a triangle having a form and proportion
equal to the larger angle  and if the base goes twice into each of
the 2 lines of the pyramid the smaller triangle will do the same 

63 

Every body in light and shade fills the surrounding air with
infinite images of itself  and these  by infinite pyramids diffused
in the air  represent this body throughout space and on every side 
Each pyramid that is composed of a long assemblage of rays includes
within itself an infinite number of pyramids and each has the same
power as all  and all as each  A circle of equidistant pyramids of
vision will give to their object angles of equal size  and an eye at
each point will see the object of the same size  The body of the
atmosphere is full of infinite pyramids composed of radiating
straight lines  which are produced from the surface of the bodies in
light and shade  existing in the air  and the farther they are from
the object which produces them the more acute they become and
although in their distribution they intersect and cross they never
mingle together  but pass through all the surrounding air 
independently converging  spreading  and diffused  And they are all
of equal power  and value   all equal to each  and each equal to
all  By these the images of objects are transmitted through all
space and in every direction  and each pyramid  in itself  includes 
in each minutest part  the whole form of the body causing it 

64 

The body of the atmosphere is full of infinite radiating pyramids
produced by the objects existing in it  These intersect and cross
each other with independent convergence without interfering with
each other and pass through all the surrounding atmosphere  and are
of equal force and value  all being equal to each  each to all  And
by means of these  images of the body are transmitted everywhere and
on all sides  and each receives in itself every minutest portion of
the object that produces it 

Proof by experiment  65 66  

65 

PERSPECTIVE 

The air is filled with endless images of the objects distributed in
it  and all are represented in all  and all in one  and all in each 
whence it happens that if two mirrors are placed in such a manner as
to face each other exactly  the first will be reflected in the
second and the second in the first  The first being reflected in the
second takes to it the image of itself with all the images
represented in it  among which is the image of the second mirror 
and so  image within image  they go on to infinity in such a manner
as that each mirror has within it a mirror  each smaller than the
last and one inside the other  Thus  by this example  it is clearly
proved that every object sends its image to every spot whence the
object itself can be seen  and the converse  That the same object
may receive in itself all the images of the objects that are in
front of it  Hence the eye transmits through the atmosphere its own
image to all the objects that are in front of it and receives them
into itself  that is to say on its surface  whence they are taken in
by the common sense  which considers them and if they are pleasing
commits them to the memory  Whence I am of opinion  That the
invisible images in the eyes are produced towards the object  as the
image of the object to the eye  That the images of the objects must
be disseminated through the air  An instance may be seen in several
mirrors placed in a circle  which will reflect each other endlessly 
When one has reached the other it is returned to the object that
produced it  and thence  being diminished  it is returned again to
the object and then comes back once more  and this happens
endlessly  If you put a light between two flat mirrors with a
distance of 1 braccio between them you will see in each of them an
infinite number of lights  one smaller than another  to the last  If
at night you put a light between the walls of a room  all the parts
of that wall will be tinted with the image of that light  And they
will receive the light and the light will fall on them  mutually 
that is to say  when there is no obstacle to interrupt the
transmission of the images  This same example is seen in a greater
degree in the distribution of the solar rays which all together  and
each by itself  convey to the object the image of the body which
causes it  That each body by itself alone fills with its images the
atmosphere around it  and that the same air is able  at the same
time  to receive the images of the endless other objects which are
in it  this is clearly proved by these examples  And every object is
everywhere visible in the whole of the atmosphere  and the whole in
every smallest part of it  and all the objects in the whole  and all
in each smallest part  each in all and all in every part 

66 

The images of objects are all diffused through the atmosphere which
receives them  and all on every side in it  To prove this  let  a c
e  be objects of which the images are admitted to a dark chamber by
the small holes  n p  and thrown upon the plane  f i  opposite to
these holes  As many images will be produced in the chamber on the
plane as the number of the said holes 

67 

General conclusions 

All objects project their whole image and likeness  diffused and
mingled in the whole of the atmosphere  opposite to themselves  The
image of every point of the bodily surface  exists in every part of
the atmosphere  All the images of the objects are in every part of
the atmosphere  The whole  and each part of the image of the
atmosphere is  reflected  in each point of the surface of the bodies
presented to it  Therefore both the part and the whole of the images
of the objects exist  both in the whole and in the parts of the
surface of these visible bodies  Whence we may evidently say that
the image of each object exists  as a whole and in every part  in
each part and in the whole interchangeably in every existing body 
As is seen in two mirrors placed opposite to each other 

68 

That the contrary is impossible 

It is impossible that the eye should project from itself  by visual
rays  the visual virtue  since  as soon as it opens  that front
portion  of the eye  which would give rise to this emanation would
have to go forth to the object and this it could not do without
time  And this being so  it could not travel so high as the sun in a
month s time when the eye wanted to see it  And if it could reach
the sun it would necessarily follow that it should perpetually
remain in a continuous line from the eye to the sun and should
always diverge in such a way as to form between the sun and the eye
the base and the apex of a pyramid  This being the case  if the eye
consisted of a million worlds  it would not prevent its being
consumed in the projection of its virtue  and if this virtue would
have to travel through the air as perfumes do  the winds would bent
it and carry it into another place  But we do  in fact  see the mass
of the sun with the same rapidity as  an object  at the distance of
a braccio  and the power of sight is not disturbed by the blowing of
the winds nor by any other accident 

 Footnote  The view here refuted by Leonardo was maintained among
others by Bramantino  Leonardo s Milanese contemporary  LOMAZZO
writes as follows in his Trattato dell  Arte della pittura  c 
 Milano 1584  Libr  V cp  XXI   Sovviemmi di aver gia letto in certi
scritti alcune cose di Bramantino milanese  celebratissimo pittore 
attenente alla prospettiva  le quali ho voluto riferire  e quasi
intessere in questo luogo  affinche sappiamo qual fosse l opinione
di cosi chiaro e famoso pittore intorno alla prospettiva     Scrive
Bramantino che la prospettiva e una cosa che contrafa il naturale  e
che cio si fa in tre modi

Circa il primo modo che si fa con ragione  per essere la cosa in
poche parole conclusa da Bramantino in maniera che giudico non
potersi dir meglio  contenendovi si tutta Parte del principio al
fine  io riferiro per appunto le proprie parole sue  cp  XXII  Prima
prospettiva di Bramantino   La prima prospettiva fa le cose di
punto  e l altra non mai  e la terza piu appresso  Adunque la prima
si dimanda prospettiva  cioe ragione  la quale fa l effetto dell 
occhio  facendo crescere e calare secondo gli effetti degli occhi 
Questo crescere e calare non procede della cosa propria  che in se
per esser lontana  ovvero vicina  per quello effetto non puo
crescere e sminuire  ma procede dagli effetti degli occhi  i quali
sono piccioli  e percio volendo vedere tanto gran cosa   bisogna che
mandino fuora la virtu visiva   la quale si dilata in tanta
larghezza  che piglia tutto quello che vuoi vedere  ed  arrivando a
quella cosa la vede dove e   e da lei agli occhi per quello circuito
fino all  occhio  e tutto quello termine e pieno di quella cosa  

It is worthy of note that Leonardo had made his memorandum refuting
this view  at Milan in 1492 

69 

A parallel case 

Just as a stone flung into the water becomes the centre and cause of
many circles  and as sound diffuses itself in circles in the air  so
any object  placed in the luminous atmosphere  diffuses itself in
circles  and fills the surrounding air with infinite images of
itself  And is repeated  the whole every where  and the whole in
every smallest part  This can be proved by experiment  since if you
shut a window that faces west and make a hole  Footnote  6  Here the
text breaks off      

 Footnote  Compare LIBRI   Histoire des sciences mathematiques en
Italie   Tome III  p  43  

The function of the eye as explained by the camera obscura  70  71  

70 

If the object in front of the eye sends its image to the eye  the
eye  on the other hand  sends its image to the object  and no
portion whatever of the object is lost in the images it throws off 
for any reason either in the eye or the object  Therefore we may
rather believe it to be the nature and potency of our luminous
atmosphere which absorbs the images of the objects existing in it 
than the nature of the objects  to send their images through the
air  If the object opposite to the eye were to send its image to the
eye  the eye would have to do the same to the object  whence it
might seem that these images were an emanation  But  if so  it would
be necessary  to admit  that every object became rapidly smaller 
because each object appears by its images in the surrounding
atmosphere  That is  the whole object in the whole atmosphere  and
in each part  and all the objects in the whole atmosphere and all of
them in each part  speaking of that atmosphere which is able to
contain in itself the straight and radiating lines of the images
projected by the objects  From this it seems necessary to admit that
it is in the nature of the atmosphere  which subsists between the
objects  and which attracts the images of things to itself like a
loadstone  being placed between them 

PROVE HOW ALL OBJECTS  PLACED IN ONE POSITION  ARE ALL EVERYWHERE
AND ALL IN EACH PART 

I say that if the front of a building  or any open piazza or
field  which is illuminated by the sun has a dwelling opposite to
it  and if  in the front which does not face the sun  you make a
small round hole  all the illuminated objects will project their
images through that hole and be visible inside the dwelling on the
opposite wall which may be made white  and there  in fact  they will
be upside down  and if you make similar openings in several places
in the same wall you will have the same result from each  Hence the
images of the illuminated objects are all everywhere on this wall
and all in each minutest part of it  The reason  as we clearly know 
is that this hole must admit some light to the said dwelling  and
the light admitted by it is derived from one or many luminous
bodies  If these bodies are of various colours and shapes the rays
forming the images are of various colours and shapes  and so will
the representations be on the wall 

 Footnote  70  15  23  This section has already been published in the
  Saggio delle Opere di Leonardo da Vinci   Milan 1872  pp  13  14 
G  Govi observes upon it  that Leonardo is not to be regarded as the
inventor of the Camera obscura  but that he was the first to explain
by it the structure of the eye  An account of the Camera obscura
first occurs in CESARE CESARINI s Italian version of Vitruvius  pub 
1523  four years after Leonardo s death  Cesarini expressly names
Benedettino Don Papnutio as the inventor of the Camera obscura  In
his explanation of the function of the eye by a comparison with the
Camera obscura Leonardo was the precursor of G  CARDANO  Professor
of Medicine at Bologna  died 1576  and it appears highly probable
that this is  in fact  the very discovery which Leonardo ascribes to
himself in section 21 without giving any further details  

71 

HOW THE IMAGES OF OBJECTS RECEIVED BY THE EYE INTERSECT WITHIN THE
CRYSTALLINE HUMOUR OF THE EYE 

An experiment  showing how objects transmit their images or
pictures  intersecting within the eye in the crystalline humour  is
seen when by some small round hole penetrate the images of
illuminated objects into a very dark chamber  Then  receive these
images on a white paper placed within this dark room and rather near
to the hole and you will see all the objects on the paper in their
proper forms and colours  but much smaller  and they will be upside
down by reason of that very intersection  These images being
transmitted from a place illuminated by the sun will seem actually
painted on this paper which must be extremely thin and looked at
from behind  And let the little perforation be made in a very thin
plate of iron  Let  a b e d e  be the object illuminated by the sun
and  o r  the front of the dark chamber in which is the said hole at
 n m   Let  s t  be the sheet of paper intercepting the rays of the
images of these objects upside down  because the rays being
straight   a  on the right hand becomes  k  on the left  and  e  on
the left becomes  f  on the right  and the same takes place inside
the pupil 

 Footnote  This chapter is already known through a translation into
French by VENTURI  Compare his   Essai sur les ouvrages
physico mathematiques de L  da Vinci avec des fragments tires de ses
Manuscrits  apportes de l Italie  Lu a la premiere classe de
l Institut national des Sciences et Arts   Paris  An V   1797   

The practice of perspective  72  73  

72 

In the practice of perspective the same rules apply to light and to
the eye 

73 

The object which is opposite to the pupil of the eye is seen by that
pupil and that which is opposite to the eye is seen by the pupil 

Refraction of the rays falling upon the eye  74  75 

74 

The lines sent forth by the image of an object to the eye do not
reach the point within the eye in straight lines 

75 

If the judgment of the eye is situated within it  the straight lines
of the images are refracted on its surface because they pass through
the rarer to the denser medium  If  when you are under water  you
look at objects in the air you will see them out of their true
place  and the same with objects under water seen from the air 

The intersection of the rays  76 82  

76 

The inversion of the images 

All the images of objects which pass through a window  glass pane 
from the free outer air to the air confined within walls  are seen
on the opposite side  and an object which moves in the outer air
from east to west will seem in its shadow  on the wall which is
lighted by this confined air  to have an opposite motion 

77 

THE PRINCIPLE ON WHICH THE IMAGES OF BODIES PASS IN BETWEEN THE
MARGINS OF THE OPENINGS BY WHICH THEY ENTER 

What difference is there in the way in which images pass through
narrow openings and through large openings  or in those which pass
by the sides of shaded bodies  By moving the edges of the opening
through which the images are admitted  the images of immovable
objects are made to move  And this happens  as is shown in the 9th
which demonstrates   Footnote 11   per la 9a che dicie   When
Leonardo refers thus to a number it serves to indicate marginal
diagrams  this can in some instances be distinctly proved  The ninth
sketch on the page W  L  145 b corresponds to the middle sketch of
the three reproduced   the images of any object are all everywhere 
and all in each part of the surrounding air  It follows that if one
of the edges of the hole by which the images are admitted to a dark
chamber is moved it cuts off those rays of the image that were in
contact with it and gets nearer to other rays which previously were
remote from it  c 

OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE EDGE AT THE RIGHT OR LEFT  OR THE UPPER  OR
LOWER EDGE 

If you move the right side of the opening the image on the left will
move  being that  of the object which entered on the right side of
the opening  and the same result will happen with all the other
sides of the opening  This can be proved by the 2nd of this which
shows  all the rays which convey the images of objects through the
air are straight lines  Hence  if the images of very large bodies
have to pass through very small holes  and beyond these holes
recover their large size  the lines must necessarily intersect 

 Footnote  77  2  In the first of the three diagrams Leonardo had
drawn only one of the two margins  et  m   

78 

Necessity has provided that all the images of objects in front of
the eye shall intersect in two places  One of these intersections is
in the pupil  the other in the crystalline lens  and if this were
not the case the eye could not see so great a number of objects as
it does  This can be proved  since all the lines which intersect do
so in a point  Because nothing is seen of objects excepting their
surface  and their edges are lines  in contradistinction to the
definition of a surface  And each minute part of a line is equal to
a point  for  smallest  is said of that than which nothing can be
smaller  and this definition is equivalent to the definition of the
point  Hence it is possible for the whole circumference of a circle
to transmit its image to the point of intersection  as is shown in
the 4th of this which shows  all the smallest parts of the images
cross each other without interfering with each other  These
demonstrations are to illustrate the eye  No image  even of the
smallest object  enters the eye without being turned upside down 
but as it penetrates into the crystalline lens it is once more
reversed and thus the image is restored to the same position within
the eye as that of the object outside the eye 

79 

OF THE CENTRAL LINE OF THE EYE 

Only one line of the image  of all those that reach the visual
virtue  has no intersection  and this has no sensible dimensions
because it is a mathematical line which originates from a
mathematical point  which has no dimensions 

According to my adversary  necessity requires that the central line
of every image that enters by small and narrow openings into a dark
chamber shall be turned upside down  together with the images of the
bodies that surround it 

80 

AS TO WHETHER THE CENTRAL LINE OF THE IMAGE CAN BE INTERSECTED  OR
NOT  WITHIN THE OPENING 

It is impossible that the line should intersect itself  that is 
that its right should cross over to its left side  and so  its left
side become its right side  Because such an intersection demands two
lines  one from each side  for there can be no motion from right to
left or from left to right in itself without such extension and
thickness as admit of such motion  And if there is extension it is
no longer a line but a surface  and we are investigating the
properties of a line  and not of a surface  And as the line  having
no centre of thickness cannot be divided  we must conclude that the
line can have no sides to intersect each other  This is proved by
the movement of the line  a f  to  a b  and of the line  e b  to  e
f   which are the sides of the surface  a f e b   But if you move
the line  a b  and the line  e f   with the frontends  a e   to the
spot  c   you will have moved the opposite ends  f b  towards each
other at the point  d   And from the two lines you will have drawn
the straight line  c d  which cuts the middle of the intersection of
these two lines at the point  n  without any intersection  For  you
imagine these two lines as having breadth  it is evident that by
this motion the first will entirely cover the other  being equal
with it  without any intersection  in the position  c d   And this
is sufficient to prove our proposition 

81 

HOW THE INNUMERABLE RAYS FROM INNUMERABLE IMAGES CAN CONVERGE TO A
POINT 

Just as all lines can meet at a point without interfering with each
other  being without breadth or thickness  in the same way all the
images of surfaces can meet there  and as each given point faces the
object opposite to it and each object faces an opposite point  the
converging rays of the image can pass through the point and diverge
again beyond it to reproduce and re magnify the real size of that
image  But their impressions will appear reversed  as is shown in
the first  above  where it is said that every image intersects as it
enters the narrow openings made in a very thin substance 

Read the marginal text on the other side 

In proportion as the opening is smaller than the shaded body  so
much less will the images transmitted through this opening intersect
each other  The sides of images which pass through openings into a
dark room intersect at a point which is nearer to the opening in
proportion as the opening is narrower  To prove this let  a b  be an
object in light and shade which sends not its shadow but the image
of its darkened form through the opening  d e  which is as wide as
this shaded body  and its sides  a b   being straight lines  as has
been proved  must intersect between the shaded object and the
opening  but nearer to the opening in proportion as it is smaller
than the object in shade  As is shown  on your right hand and your
left hand  in the two diagrams  a   b   c   n   m   o  where  the
right opening  d   e   being equal in width to the shaded object  a 
 b   the intersection of the sides of the said shaded object occurs
half way between the opening and the shaded object at the point  c  
But this cannot happen in the left hand figure  the opening  o 
being much smaller than the shaded object  n   m  

It is impossible that the images of objects should be seen between
the objects and the openings through which the images of these
bodies are admitted  and this is plain  because where the atmosphere
is illuminated these images are not formed visibly 

When the images are made double by mutually crossing each other they
are invariably doubly as dark in tone  To prove this let  d   e   h 
be such a doubling which although it is only seen within the space
between the bodies in  b  and  i  this will not hinder its being
seen from  f   g  or from  f   m   being composed of the images  a 
 b   i   k  which run together in  d   e   h  

 Footnote  81  On the original diagram at the beginning of this
chapter Leonardo has written   azurro    blue  where in the
facsimile I have marked  A   and   giallo    yellow  where  B 
stands  

 Footnote  15  23  These lines stand between the diagrams I and III  

 Footnote  24  53  These lines stand between the diagrams I and II  

 Footnote  54  97 are written along the left side of diagram I  

82 

An experiment showing that though the pupil may not be moved from
its position the objects seen by it may appear to move from their
places 

If you look at an object at some distance from you and which is
below the eye  and fix both your eyes upon it and with one hand
firmly hold the upper lid open while with the other you push up the
under lid  still keeping your eyes fixed on the object gazed at  you
will see that object double  one  image  remaining steady  and the
other moving in a contrary direction to the pressure of your finger
on the lower eyelid  How false the opinion is of those who say that
this happens because the pupil of the eye is displaced from its
position 

How the above mentioned facts prove that the pupil acts upside down
in seeing 

 Footnote  82  14  17  The subject indicated by these two headings is
fully discussed in the two chapters that follow them in the
original  but it did not seem to me appropriate to include them
here  

Demostration of perspective by means of a vertical glass plane
 83 85  

83 

OF THE PLANE OF GLASS 

Perspective is nothing else than seeing place  or objects  behind a
plane of glass  quite transparent  on the surface of which the
objects behind that glass are to be drawn  These can be traced in
pyramids to the point in the eye  and these pyramids are intersected
on the glass plane 

84 

Pictorial perspective can never make an object at the same distance 
look of the same size as it appears to the eye  You see that the
apex of the pyramid  f c d  is as far from the object  c   d  as the
same point  f  is from the object  a   b   and yet  c   d   which is
the base made by the painter s point  is smaller than  a   b  which
is the base of the lines from the objects converging in the eye and
refracted at  s   t   the surface of the eye  This may be proved by
experiment  by the lines of vision and then by the lines of the
painter s plumbline by cutting the real lines of vision on one and
the same plane and measuring on it one and the same object 

85 

PERSPECTIVE 

The vertical plane is a perpendicular line  imagined as in front of
the central point where the apex of the pyramids converge  And this
plane bears the same relation to this point as a plane of glass
would  through which you might see the various objects and draw them
on it  And the objects thus drawn would be smaller than the
originals  in proportion as the distance between the glass and the
eye was smaller than that between the glass and the objects 

PERSPECTIVE 

The different converging pyramids produced by the objects  will
show  on the plane  the various sizes and remoteness of the objects
causing them 

PERSPECTIVE 

All those horizontal planes of which the extremes are met by
perpendicular lines forming right angles  if they are of equal width
the more they rise to the level of eye the less this is seen  and
the more the eye is above them the more will their real width be
seen 

PERSPECTIVE 

The farther a spherical body is from the eye the more you will see
of it 

The angle of sight varies with the distance  86 88 

86 

A simple and natural method  showing how objects appear to the eye
without any other medium 

The object that is nearest to the eye always seems larger than
another of the same size at greater distance  The eye  m   seeing
the spaces  o v x   hardly detects the difference between them  and
the  reason of this is that it is close to them  Footnote 6  It is
quite inconceivable to me why M  RAVAISSON  in a note to his French
translation of this simple passage should have remarked   Il est
clair que c est par erreur que Leonard a ecrit  per esser visino  au
lieu de  per non esser visino   See his printed ed  of MS  A  p 
38     but if these spaces are marked on the vertical plane  n o 
the space  o v  will be seen at  o r   and in the same way the space
 v x  will appear at  r q   And if you carry this out in any place
where you can walk round  it will look out of proportion by reason
of the great difference in the spaces  o r  and  r q   And this
proceeds from the eye being so much below  near  the plane that the
plane is foreshortened  Hence  if you wanted to carry it out  you
would have  to arrange  to see the perspective through a single hole
which must be at the point  m   or else you must go to a distance of
at least 3 times the height of the object you see  The plane  o p 
being always equally remote from the eye will reproduce the objects
in a satisfactory way  so that they may be seen from place to place 

87 

How every large mass sends forth its images  which may diminish
through infinity 

The images of any large mass being infinitely divisible may be
infinitely diminished 

88 

Objects of equal size  situated in various places  will be seen by
different pyramids which will each be smaller in proportion as the
object is farther off 

89 

Perspective  in dealing with distances  makes use of two opposite
pyramids  one of which has its apex in the eye and the base as
distant as the horizon  The other has the base towards the eye and
the apex on the horizon  Now  the first includes the  visible 
universe  embracing all the mass of the objects that lie in front of
the eye  as it might be a vast landscape seen through a very small
opening  for the more remote the objects are from the eye  the
greater number can be seen through the opening  and thus the pyramid
is constructed with the base on the horizon and the apex in the eye 
as has been said  The second pyramid is extended to a spot which is
smaller in proportion as it is farther from the eye  and this second
perspective    pyramid  results from the first 

90 

SIMPLE PERSPECTIVE 

Simple perspective is that which is constructed by art on a vertical
plane which is equally distant from the eye in every part  Complex
perspective is that which is constructed on a ground plan in which
none of the parts are equally distant from the eye 

91 

PERSPECTIVE 

No surface can be seen exactly as it is  if the eye that sees it is
not equally remote from all its edges 

92 

WHY WHEN AN OBJECT IS PLACED CLOSE TO THE EYE ITS EDGES ARE
INDISTINCT 

When an object opposite the eye is brought too close to it  its
edges must become too confused to be distinguished  as it happens
with objects close to a light  which cast a large and indistinct
shadow  so is it with an eye which estimates objects opposite to it 
in all cases of linear perspective  the eye acts in the same way as
the light  And the reason is that the eye has one leading line  of
vision  which dilates with distance and embraces with true
discernment large objects at a distance as well as small ones that
are close  But since the eye sends out a multitude of lines which
surround this chief central one and since these which are farthest
from the centre in this cone of lines are less able to discern with
accuracy  it follows that an object brought close to the eye is not
at a due distance  but is too near for the central line to be able
to discern the outlines of the object  So the edges fall within the
lines of weaker discerning power  and these are to the function of
the eye like dogs in the chase which can put up the game but cannot
take it  Thus these cannot take in the objects  but induce the
central line of sight to turn upon them  when they have put them up 
Hence the objects which are seen with these lines of sight have
confused outlines 

The relative size of objects with regard to their distance from the
eye  93 98  

93 

PERSPECTIVE 

Small objects close at hand and large ones at a distance  being seen
within equal angles  will appear of the same size 

94 

PERSPECTIVE 

There is no object so large but that at a great distance from the
eye it does not appear smaller than a smaller object near 

95 

Among objects of equal size that which is most remote from the eye
will look the smallest   Footnote  This axiom  sufficiently clear in
itself  is in the original illustrated by a very large diagram 
constructed like that here reproduced under No  108 

The same idea is repeated in C  A  I a  I a  stated as follows 
 Infra le cose d equal grandeza quella si dimostra di minor figura
che sara piu distante dall  ochio     

96 

Why an object is less distinct when brought near to the eye  and why
with spectacles  or without the naked eye sees badly either close or
far off  as the case may be  

97 

PERSPECTIVE 

Among objects of equal size  that which is most remote from the eye
will look the smallest 

98 

PERSPECTIVE 

No second object can be so much lower than the first as that the eye
will not see it higher than the first  if the eye is above the
second 

PERSPECTIVE 

And this second object will never be so much higher than the first
as that the eye  being below them  will not see the second as lower
than the first 

PERSPECTIVE 

If the eye sees a second square through the centre of a smaller one 
that is nearer  the second  larger square will appear to be
surrounded by the smaller one 

PERSPECTIVE  PROPOSITION 

Objects that are farther off can never be so large but that those in
front  though smaller  will conceal or surround them 

DEFINITION 

This proposition can be proved by experiment  For if you look
through a small hole there is nothing so large that it cannot be
seen through it and the object so seen appears surrounded and
enclosed by the outline of the sides of the hole  And if you stop it
up  this small stopping will conceal the view of the largest object 

The apparent size of objects defined by calculation  99 105 

99 

OF LINEAR PERSPECTIVE 

Linear Perspective deals with the action of the lines of sight  in
proving by measurement how much smaller is a second object than the
first  and how much the third is smaller than the second  and so on
by degrees to the end of things visible  I find by experience that
if a second object is as far beyond the first as the first is from
the eye  although they are of the same size  the second will seem
half the size of the first and if the third object is of the same
size as the 2nd  and the 3rd is as far beyond the second as the 2nd
from the first  it will appear of half the size of the second  and
so on by degrees  at equal distances  the next farthest will be half
the size of the former object  So long as the space does not exceed
the length of 20 braccia  But  beyond 20 braccia figures of equal
size will lose 2 4 and at 40 braccia they will lose 9 10  and 19 20
at 60 braccia  and so on diminishing by degrees  This is if the
picture plane is distant from you twice your own height  If it is
only as far off as your own height  there will be a great difference
between the first braccia and the second 

 Footnote  This chapter is included in DUFRESNE S and MANZI S
editions of the Treatise on Painting  H  LUDWIG  in his commentary 
calls this chapter   eines der wichtigsten im ganzen Tractat    but
at the same time he asserts that its substance has been so
completely disfigured in the best MS  copies that we ought not to
regard Leonardo as responsible for it  However  in the case of this
chapter  the old MS  copies agree with the original as it is
reproduced above  From the chapters given later in this edition 
which were written at a subsequent date  it would appear that
Leonardo corrected himself on these points  

100 

OF THE DIMINUTION OF OBJECTS AT VARIOUS DISTANCES 

A second object as far distant from the first as the first is from
the eye will appear half the size of the first  though they be of
the same size really 

OF THE DEGREES OF DIMINUTION 

If you place the vertical plane at one braccio from the eye  the
first object  being at a distance of 4 braccia from your eye will
diminish to 3 4 of its height at that plane  and if it is 8 braccia
from the eye  to 7 8  and if it is 16 braccia off  it will diminish
to 15 16 of its height and so on by degrees  as the space doubles
the diminution will double 

101 

Begin from the line  m f  with the eye below  then go up and do the
same with the line  n f   then with the eye above and close to the 2
gauges on the ground look at  m n   then as  c m  is to  m n  so
will  n m  be to  n s  

If  a n  goes 3 times into  f b  m p  will do the same into  p g  
Then go backwards so far as that  c d  goes twice into  a n  and  p
g  will be equal to  g h   And  m p  will go into  h p  as often as
 d c  into  o p  

 Footnote  The first three lines are unfortunately very obscure  

102 

I GIVE THE DEGREES OF THE OBJECTS SEEN BY THE EYE AS THE MUSICIAN
DOES THE NOTES HEARD BY THE EAR 

Although the objects seen by the eye do  in fact  touch each other
as they recede  I will nevertheless found my rule on spaces of 20
braccia each  as a musician does with notes  which  though they can
be carried on one into the next  he divides into degrees from note
to note calling them 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  and has affixed a name
to each degree in raising or lowering the voice 

103 

PERSPECTIVE 

Let  f  be the level and distance of the eye  and  a  the vertical
plane  as high as a man  let  e  be a man  then I say that on the
plane this will be the distance from the plane to the 2nd man 

104 

The differences in the diminution of objects of equal size in
consequence of their various remoteness from the eye will bear among
themselves the same proportions as those of the spaces between the
eye and the different objects 

Find out how much a man diminishes at a certain distance and what
its length is  and then at twice that distance and at 3 times  and
so make your general rule 

105 

The eye cannot judge where an object high up ought to descend 

106 

PERSPECTIVE 

If two similar and equal objects are placed one beyond the other at
a given distance the difference in their size will appear greater in
proportion as they are nearer to the eye that sees them  And
conversely there will seem to be less difference in their size in
proportion as they are remote from the eve 

This is proved by the proportions of their distances among
themselves  for  if the first of these two objects were as far from
the eye  as the 2nd from the first this would be called the second
proportion  since  if the first is at 1 braccia from the eye and the
2nd at two braccia  two being twice as much as one  the first object
will look twice as large as the second  But if you place the first
at a hundred braccia from you and the second at a hundred and one 
you will find that the first is only so much larger than the second
as 100 is less than 101  and the converse is equally true  And
again  the same thing is proved by the 4th of this book which shows
that among objects that are equal  there is the same proportion in
the diminution of the size as in the increase in the distance from
the eye of the spectator 

On natural perspective  107  109  

107 

OF EQUAL OBJECTS THE MOST REMOTE LOOK THE SMALLEST 

The practice of perspective may be divided into     parts  Footnote
4   in       parte   The space for the number is left blank in the
original    of which the first treats of objects seen by the eye at
any distance  and it shows all these objects just as the eye sees
them diminished  without obliging a man to stand in one place rather
than another so long as the plane does not produce a second
foreshortening 

But the second practice is a combination of perspective derived
partly from art and partly from nature and the work done by its
rules is in every portion of it  influenced by natural perspective
and artificial perspective  By natural perspective I mean that the
plane on which this perspective is represented is a flat surface 
and this plane  although it is parallel both in length and height 
is forced to diminish in its remoter parts more than in its nearer
ones  And this is proved by the first of what has been said above 
and its diminution is natural  But artificial perspective  that is
that which is devised by art  does the contrary  for objects equal
in size increase on the plane where it is foreshortened in
proportion as the eye is more natural and nearer to the plane  and
as the part of the plane on which it is figured is farther from the
eye 

And let this plane be  d e  on which are seen 3 equal circles which
are beyond this plane  d e   that is the circles  a b c   Now you
see that the eye  h  sees on the vertical plane the sections of the
images  largest of those that are farthest and smallest of the
nearest 

108 

Here follows what is wanting in the margin at the foot on the other
side of this page 

Natural perspective acts in a contrary way  for  at greater
distances the object seen appears smaller  and at a smaller distance
the object appears larger  But this said invention requires the
spectator to stand with his eye at a small hole and then  at that
small hole  it will be very plain  But since many  men s  eyes
endeavour at the same time to see one and the same picture produced
by this artifice only one can see clearly the effect of this
perspective and all the others will see confusion  It is well
therefore to avoid such complex perspective and hold to simple
perspective which does not regard planes as foreshortened  but as
much as possible in their proper form  This simple perspective  in
which the plane intersects the pyramids by which the images are
conveyed to the eye at an equal distance from the eye is our
constant experience  from the curved form of the pupil of the eye on
which the pyramids are intersected at an equal distance from the
visual virtue 

 Footnote 24   la prima di sopra  i  e  the first of the three
diagrams which  in the original MS   are placed in the margin at the
beginning of this chapter  

109 

OF A MIXTURE OF NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL PERSPECTIVE 

This diagram distinguishes natural from artificial perspective  But
before proceeding any farther I will define what is natural and what
is artificial perspective  Natural perspective says that the more
remote of a series of objects of equal size will look the smaller 
and conversely  the nearer will look the larger and the apparent
size will diminish in proportion to the distance  But in artificial
perspective when objects of unequal size are placed at various
distances  the smallest is nearer to the eye than the largest and
the greatest distance looks as though it were the least of all  and
the cause of this is the plane on which the objects are represented 
and which is at unequal distances from the eye throughout its
length  And this diminution of the plane is natural  but the
perspective shown upon it is artificial since it nowhere agrees with
the true diminution of the said plane  Whence it follows  that when
the eye is somewhat removed from the  station point of the 
perspective that it has been gazing at  all the objects represented
look monstrous  and this does not occur in natural perspective 
which has been defined above  Let us say then  that the square  a b
c d  figured above is foreshortened being seen by the eye situated
in the centre of the side which is in front  But a mixture of
artificial and natural perspective will be seen in this tetragon
called  el main   Footnote 20   el main  is quite legibly written in
the original  the meaning and derivation of the word are equally
doubtful    that is to say  e f g h  which must appear to the eye of
the spectator to be equal to  a b c d  so long as the eye remains in
its first position between  c  and  d   And this will be seen to
have a good effect  because the natural perspective of the plane
will conceal the defects which would  otherwise  seem monstrous 

 III  

 Six books on Light and Shade  

 Linear Perspective cannot be immediately followed by either the 
 prospettiva de  perdimenti   or the   prospettiva de  colori   or
the aerial perspective  since these branches of the subject
presuppose a knowledge of the principles of Light and Shade  No
apology  therefore  is here needed for placing these immediately
after Linear Perspective  

 We have various plans suggested by Leonardo for the arrangement of
the mass of materials treating of this subject  Among these I have
given the preference to a scheme propounded in No   III   because 
in all probability  we have here a final and definite purpose
expressed  Several authors have expressed it as their opinion that
the Paris Manuscript  C  is a complete and finished treatise on
Light and Shade  Certainly  the Principles of Light and Shade form
by far the larger portion of this MS  which consists of two separate
parts  still  the materials are far from being finally arranged  It
is also evident that he here investigates the subject from the point
of view of the Physicist rather than from that of the Painter  

 The plan of a scheme of arrangement suggested in No   III  and
adopted by me has been strictly adhered to for the first four Books 
For the three last  however  few materials have come down to us  and
it must be admitted that these three Books would find a far more
appropriate place in a work on Physics than in a treatise on
Painting  For this reason I have collected in Book V all the
chapters on Reflections  and in Book VI I have put together and
arranged all the sections of MS   C  that belong to the book on
Painting  so far as they relate to Light and Shade  while the
sections of the same MS  which treat of the   Prospettiva de 
perdimenti   have  of course  been excluded from the series on Light
and Shade  

 Footnote III  This text has already been published with some slight
variations in Dozio s pamphlet  Degli scritti e disegni di Leonardo
da Vinci   Milan 1871  pp  30  31  Dozio did not transcribe it from
the original MS  which seems to have remained unknown to him  but
from an old copy  MS  H  227 in the Ambrosian Library   

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 

Prolegomena 

110 

You must first explain the theory and then the practice  First you
must describe the shadows and lights on opaque objects  and then on
transparent bodies 

Scheme of the books on Light and shade 

111 

INTRODUCTION 

 Having already treated of the nature of shadows and the way in
which they are cast  Footnote 2   Avendo io tractato    We may
suppose that he here refers to some particular MS   possibly Paris
C    I will now consider the places on which they fall  and their
curvature  obliquity  flatness or  in short  any character I may be
able to detect in them  

Shadow is the obstruction of light  Shadows appear to me to be of
supreme importance in perspective  because  without them opaque and
solid bodies will be ill defined  that which is contained within
their outlines and their boundaries themselves will be
ill understood unless they are shown against a background of a
different tone from themselves  And therefore in my first
proposition concerning shadow I state that every opaque body is
surrounded and its whole surface enveloped in shadow and light  And
on this proposition I build up the first Book  Besides this  shadows
have in themselves various degrees of darkness  because they are
caused by the absence of a variable amount of the luminous rays  and
these I call Primary shadows because they are the first  and
inseparable from the object to which they belong  And on this I will
found my second Book  From these primary shadows there result
certain shaded rays which are diffused through the atmosphere and
these vary in character according to that of the primary shadows
whence they are derived  I shall therefore call these shadows
Derived shadows because they are produced by other shadows  and the
third Book will treat of these  Again these derived shadows  where
they are intercepted by various objects  produce effects as various
as the places where they are cast and of this I will treat in the
fourth Book  And since all round the derived shadows  where the
derived shadows are intercepted  there is always a space where the
light falls and by reflected dispersion is thrown back towards its
cause  it meets the original shadow and mingles with it and modifies
it somewhat in its nature  and on this I will compose my fifth Book 
Besides this  in the sixth Book I will investigate the many and
various diversities of reflections resulting from these rays which
will modify the original  shadow  by  imparting  some of the various
colours from the different objects whence these reflected rays are
derived  Again  the seventh Book will treat of the various distances
that may exist between the spot where the reflected rays fall and
that where they originate  and the various shades of colour which
they will acquire in falling on opaque bodies 

Different principles and plans of treatment  112  116  

112 

First I will treat of light falling through windows which I will
call Restricted  Light  and then I will treat of light in the open
country  to which I will give the name of diffused Light  Then I
will treat of the light of luminous bodies 

113 

OF PAINTING 

The conditions of shadow and light  as seen  by the eye are 3  Of
these the first is when the eye and the light are on the same side
of the object seen  the 2nd is when the eye is in front of the
object and the light is behind it  The 3rd is when the eye is in
front of the object and the light is on one side  in such a way as
that a line drawn from the object to the eye and one from the object
to the light should form a right angle where they meet 

114 

OF PAINTING 

This is another section  that is  of the nature of a reflection
 from  an object placed between the eye and the light under various
aspects 

115 

OF PAINTING 

As regards all visible objects 3 things must be considered  These
are the position of the eye which sees  that of the object seen
 with regard  to the light  and the position of the light which
illuminates the object   b  is the eye   a  the object seen   c  the
light   a  is the eye   b  the illuminating body   c  is the
illuminated object 

116 

Let  a  be the light   b  the eye   c  the object seen by the eye
and in the light  These show  first  the eye between the light and
the body  the 2nd  the light between the eye and the body  the 3rd
the body between the eye and the light   a  is the eye   b  the
illuminated object   c  the light 

117 

OF PAINTING 

OF THE THREE KINDS OF LIGHT THAT ILLUMINATE OPAQUE BODIES 

The first kind of Light which may illuminate opaque bodies is called
Direct light  as that of the sun or any other light from a window or
flame  The second is Diffused  universal  light  such as we see in
cloudy weather or in mist and the like  The 3rd is Subdued light 
that is when the sun is entirely below the horizon  either in the
evening or morning 

118 

OF LIGHT 

The lights which may illuminate opaque bodies are of 4 kinds  These
are  diffused light as that of the atmosphere  within our horizon 
And Direct  as that of the sun  or of a window or door or other
opening  The third is Reflected light  and there is a 4th which is
that which passes through  semi  transparent bodies  as linen or
paper or the like  but not transparent like glass  or crystal  or
other diaphanous bodies  which produce the same effect as though
nothing intervened between the shaded object and the light that
falls upon it  and this we will discuss fully in our discourse 

Definition of the nature of shadows  119  122  

119 

WHAT LIGHT AND SHADOW ARE 

Shadow is the absence of light  merely the obstruction of the
luminous rays by an opaque body  Shadow is of the nature of
darkness  Light  on an object  is of the nature of a luminous body 
one conceals and the other reveals  They are always associated and
inseparable from all objects  But shadow is a more powerful agent
than light  for it can impede and entirely deprive bodies of their
light  while light can never entirely expel shadow from a body  that
is from an opaque body 

120 

Shadow is the diminution of light by the intervention of an opaque
body  Shadow is the counterpart of the luminous rays which are cut
off by an opaque body 

This is proved because the shadow cast is the same in shape and size
as the luminous rays were which are transformed into a shadow 

121 

Shadow is the diminution alike of light and of darkness  and stands
between darkness and light 

A shadow may be infinitely dark  and also of infinite degrees of
absence of darkness 

The beginnings and ends of shadow lie between the light and darkness
and may be infinitely diminished and infinitely increased  Shadow is
the means by which bodies display their form 

The forms of bodies could not be understood in detail but for
shadow 

122 

OF THE NATURE OF SHADOW 

Shadow partakes of the nature of universal matter  All such matters
are more powerful in their beginning and grow weaker towards the
end  I say at the beginning  whatever their form or condition may be
and whether visible or invisible  And it is not from small
beginnings that they grow to a great size in time  as it might be a
great oak which has a feeble beginning from a small acorn  Yet I may
say that the oak is most powerful at its beginning  that is where it
springs from the earth  which is where it is largest  To return  
Darkness  then  is the strongest degree of shadow and light is its
least  Therefore  O Painter  make your shadow darkest close to the
object that casts it  and make the end of it fading into light 
seeming to have no end 

Of the various kinds of shadows   123 125  

123 

Darkness is absence of light  Shadow is diminution of light 
Primitive shadow is that which is inseparable from a body not in the
light  Derived shadow is that which is disengaged from a body in
shadow and pervades the air  A cast transparent shadow is that which
is surrounded by an illuminated surface  A simple shadow is one
which receives no light from the luminous body which causes it  A
simple shadow begins within the line which starts from the edge of
the luminous body  a b  

124 

A simple shadow is one where no light at all interferes with it 

A compound shadow is one which is somewhat illuminated by one or
more lights 

125 

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SHADOW THAT IS INSEPARABLE FROM A
BODY AND A CAST SHADOW 

An inseparable shadow is that which is never absent from the
illuminated body  As  for instance a ball  which so long as it is in
the light always has one side in shadow which never leaves it for
any movement or change of position in the ball  A separate shadow
may be and may not be produced by the body itself  Suppose the ball
to be one braccia distant from a wall with a light on the opposite
side of it  this light will throw upon the wall exactly as broad a
shadow as is to be seen on the side of the ball that is turned
towards the wall  That portion of the cast shadow will not be
visible when the light is below the ball and the shadow is thrown up
towards the sky and finding no obstruction on its way is lost 

126 

HOW THERE ARE 2 KINDS OF LIGHT  ONE SEPARABLE FROM  AND THE OTHER
INSEPARABLE FROM BODIES 

Of the various kinds of light  126  127  

Separate light is that which falls upon the body  Inseparable light
is the side of the body that is illuminated by that light  One is
called primary  the other derived  And  in the same way there are
two kinds of shadow   One primary and the other derived  The primary
is that which is inseparable from the body  the derived is that
which proceeds from the body conveying to the surface of the wall
the form of the body causing it 

127 

How there are 2 different kinds of light  one being called diffused 
the other restricted  The diffused is that which freely illuminates
objects  The restricted is that which being admitted through an
opening or window illuminates them on that side only 

 Footnote  At the spot marked  A  in the first diagram Leonardo
wrote  lume costretto   restricted light   At the spot  B  on the
second diagram he wrote  lume libero   diffused light   

General remarks  128  129  

128 

Light is the chaser away of darkness  Shade is the obstruction of
light  Primary light is that which falls on objects and causes light
and shade  And derived lights are those portions of a body which are
illuminated by the primary light  A primary shadow is that side of a
body on which the light cannot fall 

The general distribution of shadow and light is that sum total of
the rays thrown off by a shaded or illuminated body passing through
the air without any interference and the spot which intercepts and
cuts off the distribution of the dark and light rays 

And the eye can best distinguish the forms of objects when it is
placed between the shaded and the illuminated parts 

129 

MEMORANDUM OF THINGS I REQUIRE TO HAVE GRANTED  AS AXIOMS  IN MY
EXPLANATION OF PERSPECTIVE 

I ask to have this much granted me  to assert that every ray
passing through air of equal density throughout  travels in a
straight line from its cause to the object or place it falls upon 

FIRST BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE 

On the nature of light  130  131  

130 

The reason by which we know that a light radiates from a single
centre is this  We plainly see that a large light is often much
broader than some small object which nevertheless  and although the
rays  of the large light  are much more than twice the extent  of
the small body   always has its shadow cast on the nearest surface
very visibly  Let  c f  be a broad light and  n  be the object in
front of it  casting a shadow on the plane  and let  a b  be the
plane  It is clear that it is not the broad light that will cast the
shadow  n  on the plane  but that the light has within it a centre
is shown by this experiment  The shadow falls on the plane as is
shown at  m o t r  

 Footnote 13  In the original MS  no explanatory text is placed
after this title line  but a space is left for it and the text
beginning at line 15 comes next   Why  to two  eyes  or in front of
two eyes do 3 objects appear as two 

Why  when you estimate the direction of an object with two sights
the nearer appears confused  I say that the eye projects an infinite
number of lines which mingle or join those reaching it which come to
it from the object looked at  And it is only the central and
sensible line that can discern and discriminate colours and objects 
all the others are false and illusory  And if you place 2 objects at
half an arm s length apart if the nearer of the two is close to the
eye its form will remain far more confused than that of the second 
the reason is that the first is overcome by a greater number of
false lines than the second and so is rendered vague 

Light acts in the same manner  for in the effects of its lines
  rays   and particularly in perspective  it much resembles the eye 
and its central rays are what cast the true shadow  When the object
in front of it is too quickly overcome with dim rays it will cast a
broad and disproportionate shadow  ill defined  but when the object
which is to cast the shadow and cuts off the rays near to the place
where the shadow falls  then the shadow is distinct  and the more so
in proportion as the light is far off  because at a long distance
the central ray is less overcome by false rays  because the lines
from the eye and the solar and other luminous rays passing through
the atmosphere are obliged to travel in straight lines  Unless they
are deflected by a denser or rarer air  when they will be bent at
some point  but so long as the air is free from grossness or
moisture they will preserve their direct course  always carrying the
image of the object that intercepts them back to their point of
origin  And if this is the eye  the intercepting object will be seen
by its colour  as well as by form and size  But if the intercepting
plane has in it some small perforation opening into a darker
chamber  not darker in colour  but by absence of light  you will see
the rays enter through this hole and transmitting to the plane
beyond all the details of the object they proceed from both as to
colour and form  only every thing will be upside down  But the size
 of the image  where the lines are reconstructed will be in
proportion to the relative distance of the aperture from the plane
on which the lines fall  on one hand  and from their origin  on the
other   There they intersect and form 2 pyramids with their point
meeting  a common apex  and their bases opposite  Let  a b  be the
point of origin of the lines   d e  the first plane  and  c  the
aperture with the intersection of the lines   f g  is the inner
plane  You will find that  a  falls upon the inner plane below at
 g   and  b  which is below will go up to the spot  f   it will be
quite evident to experimenters that every luminous body has in
itself a core or centre  from which and to which all the lines
radiate which are sent forth by the surface of the luminous body and
reflected back to it  or which  having been thrown out and not
intercepted  are dispersed in the air 

131 

THE RAYS WHETHER SHADED OR LUMINOUS HAVE GREATER STRENGTH AND EFFECT
AT THEIR POINTS THAN AT THEIR SIDES 

Although the points of luminous pyramids may extend into shaded
places and those of pyramids of shadow into illuminated places  and
though among the luminous pyramids one may start from a broader base
than another  nevertheless  if by reason of their various length
these luminous pyramids acquire angles of equal size their light
will be equal  and the case will be the same with the pyramids of
shadow  as may be seen in the intersected pyramids  a b c  and  d e
f   which though their bases differ in size are equal as to breadth
and light 

 Footnote  51  55  This supplementary paragraph is indicated as being
a continuation of line 45  by two small crosses  

The difference between light and lustre  132  135  

132 

Of the difference between light and lustre  and that lustre is not
included among colours  but is saturation of whiteness  and derived
from the surface of wet bodies  light partakes of the colour of the
object which reflects it  to the eye  as gold or silver or the like 

133 

OF THE HIGHEST LIGHTS WHICH TURN AND MOVE AS THE EYE MOVES WHICH
SEES THE OBJECT 

Suppose the body to be the round object figured here and let the
light be at the point  a   and let the illuminated side of the
object be  b c  and the eye at the point  d   I say that  as lustre
is every where and complete in each part  if you stand at the point
 d  the lustre will appear at  c   and in proportion as the eye
moves from  d  to  a   the lustre will move from  c  to  n  

134 

OF PAINTING 

Heigh light or lustre on any object is not situated  necessarily  in
the middle of an illuminated object  but moves as and where the eye
moves in looking at it 

135 

OF LIGHT AND LUSTRE 

What is the difference between light and the lustre which is seen on
the polished surface of opaque bodies 

The lights which are produced from the polished surface of opaque
bodies will be stationary on stationary objects even if the eye on
which they strike moves  But reflected lights will  on those same
objects  appear in as many different places on the surface as
different positions are taken by the eye 

WHAT BODIES HAVE LIGHT UPON THEM WITHOUT LUSTRE 

Opaque bodies which have a hard and rough surface never display any
lustre in any portion of the side on which the light falls 

WHAT BODIES WILL DISPLAY LUSTRE BUT NOT LOOK ILLUMINATED 

Those bodies which are opaque and hard with a hard surface reflect
light  lustre  from every spot on the illuminated side which is in a
position to receive light at the same angle of incidence as they
occupy with regard to the eye  but  as the surface mirrors all the
surrounding objects  the illuminated  body  is not recognisable in
these portions of the illuminated body 

136 

The relations of luminous to illuminated bodies 

The middle of the light and shade on an object in light and shade is
opposite to the middle of the primary light  All light and shadow
expresses itself in pyramidal lines  The middle of the shadow on any
object must necessarily be opposite the middle of its light  with a
direct line passing through the centre of the body  The middle of
the light will be at  a   that of the shadow at  b    Again  in
bodies shown in light and shade the middle of each must coincide
with the centre of the body  and a straight line will pass through
both and through that centre  

 Footnote  In the original MS   at the spot marked  a  of the first
diagram Leonardo wrote  primitiuo   and at the spot marked
 c    primitiva   primary   at the spot marked  b  he wrote
 dirivatiuo  and at  d deriuatiua   derived   

Experiments on the relation of light and shadow within a room
 137  140  

137 

SHOWS HOW LIGHT FROM ANY SIDE CONVERGES TO ONE POINT 

Although the balls  a b c  are lighted from one window 
nevertheless  if you follow the lines of their shadows you will see
they intersect at a point forming the angle  n  

 Footnote  The diagram belonging to this passage is slightly
sketched on Pl  XXXII  a square with three balls below it  The first
three lines of the text belonging to it are written above the sketch
and the six others below it  

138 

Every shadow cast by a body has a central line directed to a single
point produced by the intersection of luminous lines in the middle
of the opening and thickness of the window  The proposition stated
above  is plainly seen by experiment  Thus if you draw a place with
a window looking northwards  and let this be  s f   you will see a
line starting from the horizon to the east  which  touching the 2
angles of the window  o f   reaches  d   and from the horizon on the
west another line  touching the other 2 angles  r s   and ending at
 c   and their intersection falls exactly in the middle of the
opening and thickness of the window  Again  you can still better
confirm this proof by placing two sticks  as shown at  g h   and you
will see the line drawn from the centre of the shadow directed to
the centre  m  and prolonged to the horizon  n f  

 Footnote   B  here stands for  cerchio del  orizonte tramontano  on
the original diagram  the circle of the horizon towards the North  
 A  for  levante   East  and  C  for  ponete   West   

139 

Every shadow with all its variations  which becomes larger as its
distance from the object is greater  has its external lines
intersecting in the middle  between the light and the object  This
proposition is very evident and is confirmed by experience  For  if
 a b  is a window without any object interposed  the luminous
atmosphere to the right hand at  a  is seen to the left at  d   And
the atmosphere at the left illuminates on the right at  c   and the
lines intersect at the point  m  

 Footnote   A  here stands for  levante   East    B  for  ponente 
 West   

140 

Every body in light and shade is situated between 2 pyramids one
dark and the other luminous  one is visible the other is not  But
this only happens when the light enters by a window  Supposing  a b 
to be the window and  r  the body in light and shade  the light to
the right hand  z  will pass the object to the left and go on to
 p   the light to the left at  k  will pass to the right of the
object at  i  and go on to  m  and the two lines will intersect at
 c  and form a pyramid  Then again  a   b  falls on the shaded body
at  i   g  and forms a pyramid  f   i   g    f  will be dark because
the light  a   b  can never fall there   i   g   c  will be
illuminated because the light falls upon it 

Light and shadow with regard to the position of the eye  141  145  

141 

Every shaded body that is larger than the pupil and that interposes
between the luminous body and the eye will be seen dark 

When the eye is placed between the luminous body and the objects
illuminated by it  these objects will be seen without any shadow 

 Footnote  The diagram which in the original stands above line 1 is
given on Plate II  No 2  Then  after a blank space of about eight
lines  the diagram Plate II No 3 is placed in the original  There is
no explanation of it beyond the one line written under it  

142 

Why the 2 lights one on each side of a body having two pyramidal
sides of an obtuse apex leave it devoid of shadow 

 Footnote  The sketch illustrating this is on Plate XLI No 1  

143 

A body in shadow situated between the light and the eye can never
display its illuminated portion unless the eye can see the whole of
the primary light 

 Footnote   A  stands for  corpo   body    B  for  lume   light   

144 

The eye which looks  at a spot  half way between the shadow and the
light which surrounds the body in shadow will see that the deepest
shadows on that body will meet the eye at equal angles  that is at
the same angle as that of sight 

 Footnote  In both these diagrams  A  stands for  lume   light   B 
for  ombra   shadow   

145 

OF THE DIFFERENT LIGHT AND SHADE IN VARIOUS ASPECTS AND OF OBJECTS
PLACED IN THEM 

If the sun is in the East and you look towards the West you will see
every thing in full light and totally without shadow because you see
them from the same side as the sun  and if you look towards the
South or North you will see all objects in light and shade  because
you see both the side towards the sun and the side away from it  and
if you look towards the coming of the sun all objects will show you
their shaded side  because on that side the sun cannot fall upon
them 

The law of the incidence of light 

146 

The edges of a window which are illuminated by 2 lights of equal
degrees of brightness will not reflect light of equal brightness
into the chamber within 

If  b  is a candle and  a c  our hemisphere both will illuminate the
edges of the window  m   n   but light  b  will only illuminate  f
g  and the hemisphere  a  will light all of  d e  

147 

OF PAINTING 

That part of a body which receives the luminous rays at equal angles
will be in a higher light than any other part of it 

And the part which the luminous rays strike between less equal
angles will be less strongly illuminated 

SECOND BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE 

Gradations of strength in the shadows  148  149  

148 

THAT PORTION OF A BODY IN LIGHT AND SHADE WILL BE LEAST LUMINOUS
WHICH IS SEEN UNDER THE LEAST AMOUNT OF LIGHT 

That part of the object which is marked  m  is in the highest light
because it faces the window  a d  by the line  a f    n  is in the
second grade because the light  b d  strikes it by the line  b e  
 o  is in the third grade  as the light falls on it from  c d  by
the line  c h    p  is the lowest light but one as  c d  falls on it
by the line  d v    q  is the deepest shadow for no light falls on
it from any part of the window 

In proportion as  c d  goes into  a d  so will  n r s  be darker
than  m   and all the rest is space without shadow 

 Footnote  The diagram belonging to this chapter is No  1 on Plate
III  The letters  a b e d  and  r  are not reproduced in facsimile
of the original  but have been replaced by ordinary type in the
margin  5 12  The original text of these lines is reproduced within
the diagram   Compare No 275  

149 

The light which falls on a shaded body at the acutest angle receives
the highest light  and the darkest portion is that which receives it
at an obtuse angle and both the light and the shadow form pyramids 
The angle  c  receives the highest grade of light because it is
directly in front of the window  a b  and the whole horizon of the
sky  m x   The angle  a  differs but little from  c  because the
angles which divide it are not so unequal as those below  and only
that portion of the horizon is intercepted which lies between  y 
and  x   Although it gains as much on the other side its line is
nevertheless not very strong because one angle is smaller than its
fellow  The angles  e i  will have less light because they do not
see much of the light  m s  and the light  v x  and their angles are
very unequal  Yhe angle  k  and the angle  f  are each placed
between very unequal angles and therefore have but little light 
because at  k  it has only the light  p t   and at  f  only  t q  
 o g  is the lowest grade of light because this part has no light at
all from the sky  and thence come the lines which will reconstruct a
pyramid that is the counterpart of the pyramid  c   and this pyramid
 l  is in the first grade of shadow  for this too is placed between
equal angles directly opposite to each other on either side of a
straight line which passes through the centre of the body and goes
to the centre of the light  The several luminous images cast within
the frame of the window at the points  a  and  b  make a light which
surrounds the derived shadow cast by the solid body at the points 4
and 6  The shaded images increase from  o g  and end at 7 and 8 

 Footnote  The diagram belonging to this chapter is No  2 on Plate
III  In the original it is placed between lines 3 and 4  and in the
reproduction these are shown in part  The semi circle above is
marked  orizonte   horizon   The number 6 at the left hand side 
outside the facsimile  is in the place of a figure which has become
indistinct in the original  

On the intensity of shadows as dependent on the distance from the
light  150 152  

150 

The smaller the light that falls upon an object the more shadow it
will display  And the light will illuminate a smaller portion of the
object in proportion as it is nearer to it  and conversely  a larger
extent of it in proportion as it is farther off 

A light which is smaller than the object on which it falls will
light up a smaller extent of it in proportion as it is nearer to it 
and the converse  as it is farther from it  But when the light is
larger than the object illuminated it will light a larger extent of
the object in proportion as it is nearer and the converse when they
are farther apart 

151 

That portion of an illuminated object which is nearest to the source
of light will be the most strongly illuminated 

152 

That portion of the primary shadow will be least dark which is
farthest from the edges 

The derived shadow will be darker than the primary shadow where it
is contiguous with it 

On the proportion of light and shade  153 157  

153 

That portion of an opaque body will be more in shade or more in
light  which is nearer to the dark body  by which it is shaded  or
to the light that illuminates it 

Objects seen in light and shade show in greater relief than those
which are wholly in light or in shadow 

154 

OF PERSPECTIVE 

The shaded and illuminated sides of opaque objects will display the
same proportion of light and darkness as their objects  Footnote 6 
The meaning of  obbietti   objects  is explained in no 153  lines
1 4   Between the title line and the next there is  in the
original  a small diagram representing a circle described round a
square   

155 

OF PAINTING 

The outlines and form of any part of a body in light and shade are
indistinct in the shadows and in the high lights  but in the
portions between the light and the shadows they are highly
conspicuous 

156 

OF PAINTING 

Among objects in various degrees of shade  when the light proceeds
from a single source  there will be the same proportion in their
shadows as in the natural diminution of the light and the same must
be understood of the degrees of light 

157 

A single and distinct luminous body causes stronger relief in the
object than a diffused light  as may be seen by comparing one side
of a landscape illuminated by the sun  and one overshadowed by
clouds  and so illuminated only by the diffused light of the
atmosphere 

THIRD BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE 

Definition of derived shadow  158  159  

158 

Derived shadow cannot exist without primary shadow  This is proved
by the first of this which says  Darkness is the total absence of
light  and shadow is an alleviation of darkness and of light  and it
is more or less dark or light in proportion as the darkness is
modified by the light 

159 

Shadow is diminution of light 

Darkness is absence of light 

Shadow is divided into two kinds  of which the first is called
primary shadow  the second is derived shadow  The primary shadow is
always the basis of the derived shadow 

The edges of the derived shadow are straight lines 

 Footnote  The theory of the  ombra  dirivativa   a technical
expression for which there is no precise English equivalent is
elaborately treated by Leonardo  But both text and diagrams  as Pl 
IV  1 3 and Pl  V  must at once convince the student that the
distinction he makes between  ombra primitiva  and  ombra
dirivativa  is not merely justifiable but scientific   Ombra
dirivativa  is by no means a mere abstract idea  This is easily
proved by repeating the experiment made by Leonardo  and by filling
with smoke the room in which the existence of the  ombra dirivativa 
is investigated  when the shadow becomes visible  Nor is it
difficult to perceive how much of Leonardo s teaching depended on
this theory  The recognised  but extremely complicated science of
cast shadows   percussione dell  ombre dirivative  as Leonardo
calls them  is thus rendered more intelligible if not actually
simpler  and we must assume this theory as our chief guide through
the investigations which follow  

The darkness of the derived shadow diminishes in proportion as it is
remote from the primary shadow 

Different sorts of derived shadows  160 162  

160 

SHADOW AND LIGHT 

The forms of shadows are three  inasmuch as if the solid body which
casts the shadow is equal  in size  to the light  the shadow
resembles a column without any termination  in length   If the body
is larger than the light the shadow resembles a truncated and
inverted pyramid  and its length has also no defined termination 
But if the body is smaller than the light  the shadow will resemble
a pyramid and come to an end  as is seen in eclipses of the moon 

161 

OF SIMPLE DERIVED SHADOWS 

The simple derived shadow is of two kinds  one kind which has its
length defined  and two kinds which are undefined  and the defined
shadow is pyramidal  Of the two undefined  one is a column and the
other spreads out  and all three have rectilinear outlines  But the
converging  that is the pyramidal  shadow proceeds from a body that
is smaller than the light  and the columnar from a body equal in
size to the light  and the spreading shadow from a body larger than
the light   c 

OF COMPOUND DERIVED SHADOWS 

Compound derived shadows are of two kinds  that is columnar and
spreading 

162 

OF SHADOW 

Derived shadows are of three kinds of which one is spreading  the
second columnar  the third converging to the point where the two
sides meet and intersect  and beyond this intersection the sides are
infinitely prolonged or straight lines  And if you say  this shadow
must terminate at the angle where the sides meet and extend no
farther  I deny this  because above in the first on shadow I have
proved  that a thing is completely terminated when no portion of it
goes beyond its terminating lines  Now here  in this shadow  we see
the converse of this  in as much as where this derived shadow
originates we obviously have the figures of two pyramids of shadow
which meet at their angles  Hence  if  as  my  opponent says  the
first pyramid of shadow terminates the derivative shadow at the
angle whence it starts  then the second pyramid of shadow  so says
the adversary  must be caused by the angle and not from the body in
shadow  and this is disproved with the help of the 2nd of this which
says  Shadow is a condition produced by a body casting a shadow  and
interposed between this shadow and the luminous body  By this it is
made clear that the shadow is not produced by the angle of the
derived shadow but only by the body casting the shadow   c  If a
spherical solid body is illuminated by a light of elongated form the
shadow produced by the longest portion of this light will have less
defined outlines than that which is produced by the breadth of the
same light  And this is proved by what was said before  which is 
That a shadow will have less defined outlines in proportion as the
light which causes it is larger  and conversely  the outlines are
clearer in proportion as it is smaller 

 Footnote  The two diagrams to this chapter are on Plate IV  No  1  

On the relation of derived and primary shadow  163 165  

163 

The derived shadow can never resemble the body from which it
proceeds unless the light is of the same form and size as the body
causing the shadow 

The derived shadow cannot be of the same form as the primary shadow
unless it is intercepted by a plane parallel to it 

164 

HOW A CAST SHADOW CAN NEVER BE OF THE SAME SIZE AS THE BODY THAT
CASTS IT 

If the rays of light proceed  as experience shows  from a single
point and are diffused in a sphere round this point  radiating and
dispersed through the air  the farther they spread the wider they
must spread  and an object placed between the light and a wall is
always imaged larger in its shadow  because the rays that strike it
 Footnote  7  The following lines are wanting to complete the
logical connection   would  by the time they have reached the wall 
have become larger 

165 

Any shadow cast by a body in light and shade is of the same nature
and character as that which is inseparable from the body  The centre
of the length of a shadow always corresponds to that of the luminous
body  Footnote 6  This second statement of the same idea as in the
former sentence  but in different words  does not  in the original 
come next to the foregoing  sections 172 and 127 are placed between
them    It is inevitable that every shadow must have its centre in a
line with the centre of the light 

On the shape of derived shadows  166 174  

166 

OF THE PYRAMIDAL SHADOW 

The pyramidal shadow produced by a columnar body will be narrower
than the body itself in proportion as the simple derived shadow is
intersected farther from the body which casts it 

 Footnote 166  Compare the first diagram to No  161  If we here
conceive of the outlines of the pyramid of shadow on the ground as
prolonged beyond its apex this gives rise to a second pyramid  this
is what is spoken of at the beginning of No  166  

167 

The cast shadow will be longest when the light is lowest 

The cast shadow will be shortest when the light is highest 

168 

Both the primary and derived shadow will be larger when caused by
the light of a candle than by diffused light  The difference between
the larger and smaller shadows will be in inverse proportion to the
larger and smaller lights causing them 

 Footnote  In the diagrams  A  stands for  celo   sky    B  for
 cadela   candle   

169 

ALL BODIES  IN PROPORTION AS THEY ARE NEARER TO  OR FARTHER FROM THE
SOURCE OF LIGHT  WILL PRODUCE LONGER OR SHORTER DERIVED SHADOWS 

Among bodies of equal size  that one which is illuminated by the
largest light will have the shortest shadow  Experiment confirms
this proposition  Thus the body  m   n  is surrounded by a larger
amount of light than the body  p q   as is shown above  Let us say
that  v c a b d x  is the sky  the source of light  and that  s t 
is a window by which the luminous rays enter  and so  m n  and  p q 
are bodies in light and shade as exposed to this light   m n  will
have a small derived shadow  because its original shadow will be
small  and the derivative light will be large  again  because the
original light  c d  will be large and  p q  will have more derived
shadow because its original shadow will be larger  and its derived
light will be smaller than that of the body  m n  because that
portion of the hemisphere  a b  which illuminates it is smaller than
the hemisphere  c d  which illuminates the body  m n  

 Footnote  The diagram  given on Pl  IV  No  2  stands in the
original between lines 2 and 7  while the text of lines 3 to 6 is
written on its left side  In the reproduction of this diagram the
letter  v  at the outer right hand end has been omitted  

170 

The shadow  m  bears the same proportion to the shadow  n  as the
line  b c  to the line  f c  

171 

OF PAINTING 

Of different shadows of equal strength that which is nearest the eye
will seem the least strong 

Why is the shadow  e a b  in the first grade of strength   b c  in
the second   c d  in the third  The reason is that as from  e a b 
the sky is nowhere visible  it gets no light whatever from the sky 
and so has no direct  primary  light   b c  faces the portion of the
sky  f g  and is illuminated by it   c d  faces the sky at  h k    c
d   being exposed to a larger extent of sky than  b c   it is
reasonable that it should be more lighted  And thus  up to a certain
distance  the wall  a d  will grow lighter for the reasons here
given  until the darkness of the room overpowers the light from the
window 

172 

When the light of the atmosphere is restricted  by an opening  and
illuminates bodies which cast shadows  these bodies being equally
distant from the centre of the window  that which is most obliquely
placed will cast the largest shadow beyond it 

173 

These bodies standing apart in a room lighted by a single window
will have derivative shadows more or less short according as they
are more or less opposite to the window  Among the shadows cast by
bodies of equal mass but at unequal distances from the opening by
which they are illuminated  that shadow will be the longest of the
body which is least in the light  And in proportion as one body is
better illuminated than another its shadow will be shorter than
another  The proportion  n m  and  e v k  bear to  r t  and  v x 
corresponds with that of the shadow  x  to 4 and  y  

The reason why those bodies which are placed most in front of the
middle of the window throw shorter shadows than those obliquely
situated is   That the window appears in its proper form and to the
obliquely placed ones it appears foreshortened  to those in the
middle  the window shows its full size  to the oblique ones it
appears smaller  the one in the middle faces the whole hemisphere
that is  e f  and those on the side have only a strip  that is  q r 
faces  a b   and  m n  faces  c d   the body in the middle having a
larger quantity of light than those at the sides is lighted from a
point much below its centre  and thus the shadow is shorter  And the
pyramid  g  4 goes into  l y  exactly as often as  a b  goes into  e
f   The axis of every derivative shadow passes through 6 1 2
 Footnote 31   passa per  6 1 2  passes through 6 1 2   The meaning
of these words is probably this  Each of the three axes of the
derived shadow intersects the centre   mezzo   of the primary shadow
  ombra originale   and  by prolongation upwards crosses six lines 

This is self evident only in the middle diagram  but it is equally
true of the side figures if we conceive of the lines 4  f    x n v
m    y l k v   and 4  e   as prolonged beyond the semicircle of the
horizon   and is in a straight line with the centre of the primary
shadow  with the centre of the body casting it and of the derivative
light and with the centre of the window and  finally  with the
centre of that portion of the source of light which is the celestial
hemisphere   y h  is the centre of the derived shade   l h  of the
primary shadow   l  of the body throwing it   l k  of the derived
light   v  is the centre of the window   e  is the final centre of
the original light afforded by that portion of the hemisphere of the
sky which illuminates the solid body 

 Footnote  Compare the diagram on Pl  IV  No  3  In the original
this drawing is placed between lines 3 and 22  the rest  from line 4
to line 21  is written on the left hand margin  

174 

THE FARTHER THE DERIVED SHADOW IS PROLONGED THE LIGHTER IT BECOMES 

You will find that the proportion of the diameter of the derived
shadow to that of the primary shadow will be the same as that
between the darkness of the primary shadow and that of the derived
shadow 

 Footnote 6  Compare No  177   Let  a b  be the diameter of the
primary shadow and  c d  that of the derived shadow  I say that  a
b  going  as you see  three times into  d c   the shadow  d c  will
be three times as light as the shadow  a b    Footnote 8  Compare
No  177  

If the size of the illuminating body is larger than that of the
illuminated body an intersection of shadow will occur  beyond which
the shadows will run off in two opposite directions as if they were
caused by two separate lights 

On the relative intensity of derived shadows  175 179  

175 

ON PAINTING 

The derived shadow is stronger in proportion as it is nearer to its
place of origin 

176 

HOW SHADOWS FADE AWAY AT LONG DISTANCES 

Shadows fade and are lost at long distances because the larger
quantity of illuminated air which lies between the eye and the
object seen tints the shadow with its own colour 

177 

 a b  will be darker than  c d  in proportion as  c d  is broader
than  a b  

 Footnote  In the original MS  the word  lume   light  is written at
the apex of the pyramid  

178 

It can be proved why the shadow  o p c h  is darker in proportion as
it is nearer to the line  p h  and is lighter in proportion as it is
nearer to the line  o c   Let the light  a b   be a window  and let
the dark wall in which this window is  be  b s   that is  one of the
sides of the wall 

Then we may say that the line  p h  is darker than any other part of
the space  o p c h   because this line faces the whole surface in
shadow of  Footnote  In the original the diagram is placed between
lines 27 and 28   the wall  b s   The line  o c  is lighter than the
other part of this space  o p c h   because this line faces the
luminous space  a b  

Where the shadow is larger  or smaller  or equal the body which
casts it 

 First of the character of divided lights   Footnote 14   lumi
divisi   The text here breaks off abruptly  

OF THE COMPOUND SHADOW  F  R  C  H  CAUSED BY A SINGLE LIGHT 

The shadow  f r c h  is under such conditions as that where it is
farthest from its inner side it loses depth in proportion  To prove
this 

Let  d a   be the light and  f n  the solid body  and let  a e  be
one of the side walls of the window that is  d a   Then I
say  according to the 2nd  proposition   that the surface of any
body is affected by the tone of the objects surrounding it   that
the side  r c   which faces the dark wall  a e  must participate of
its darkness and  in the same way that the outer surface which faces
the light  d a  participates of the light  thus we get the outlines
of the extremes on each side of the centre included between them  

This is divided into four parts  The first the extremes  which
include the compound shadow  secondly the compound shadow between
these extremes 

179 

THE ACTION OF THE LIGHT AS FROM ITS CENTRE 

If it were the whole of the light that caused the shadows beyond the
bodies placed in front of it  it would follow that any body much
smaller than the light would cast a pyramidal shadow  but experience
not showing this  it must be the centre of the light that produces
this effect 

 Footnote  The diagram belonging to this passage is between lines 4
and 5 in the original  Comp  the reproduction Pl  IV  No  4  The
text and drawing of this chapter have already been published with
tolerable accuracy  See M  JORDAN    Das Malerbuch des Leonardo da
Vinci    Leipzig 1873  P  90  

PROOF 

Let  a b  be the width of the light from a window  which falls on a
stick set up at one foot from  a c   Footnote 6   bastone   stick  
The diagram has a sphere in place of a stick    And let  a d  be the
space where all the light from the window is visible  At  c e  that
part of the window which is between  l b  cannot be seen  In the
same way  a m  cannot be seen from  d f  and therefore in these two
portions the light begins to fail 

Shadow as produced by two lights of different size  180  181  

180 

A body in light and shade placed between two equal lights side by
side will cast shadows in proportion to the  amount of  light  And
the shadows will be one darker than the other in proportion as one
light is nearer to the said body than the other on the opposite
side 

A body placed at an equal distance between two lights will cast two
shadows  one deeper than the other in proportion  as the light which
causes it is brighter than the other 

 Footnote  In the MS  the larger diagram is placed above the first
line  the smaller one between l  4   5  

181 

A light which is smaller than the body it illuminates produces
shadows of which the outlines end within  the surface of  the body 
and not much compound shadow  and falls on less than half of it  A
light which is larger than the body it illuminates  falls on more
than half of it  and produces much compound shadow 

The effect of light at different distances 

182 

OF THE SHADOW CAST BY A BODY PLACED BETWEEN 2 EQUAL LIGHTS 

A body placed between 2 equal lights will cast 2 shadows of itself
in the direction of the lines of the 2 lights  and if you move this
body placing it nearer to one of the lights the shadow cast towards
the nearer light will be less deep than that which falls towards the
more distant one 

Further complications in the derived shadows  183 187  

183 

The greatest depth of shadow is in the simple derived shadow because
it is not lighted by either of the two lights  a b  c d  

The next less deep shadow is the derived shadow  e f n   and in this
the shadow is less by half  because it is illuminated by a single
light  that is  c d  

This is uniform in natural tone because it is lighted throughout by
one only of the two luminous bodies  10   But it varies with the
conditions of shadow  inasmuch as the farther it is away from the
light the less it is illuminated by it  13  

The third degree of depth is the middle shadow  Footnote 15  We
gather from what follows that  q g r  here means  ombra media   the
middle shadow     But this is not uniform in natural tone  because
the nearer it gets to the simple derived shadow the deeper it is
 Footnote 18  Compare lines 10 13   and it is the uniformly gradual
diminution by increase of distance which is what modifies it
 Footnote 20  See Footnote 18   that is to say the depth of a shadow
increases in proportion to the distance from the two lights 

The fourth is the shadow  k r s  and this is all the darker in
natural tone in proportion as it is nearer to  k s   because it gets
less of the light  a o   but by the accident  of distance  it is
rendered less deep  because it is nearer to the light  c d   and
thus is always exposed to both lights 

The fifth is less deep in shadow than either of the others because
it is always entirely exposed to one of the lights and to the whole
or part of the other  and it is less deep in proportion as it is
nearer to the two lights  and in proportion as it is turned towards
the outer side  x t   because it is more exposed to the second light
 a b  

 Footnote  The diagram to this section is given on Pl  V  To the
left is the facsimile of the beginning of the text belonging to it  

184 

OF SIMPLE SHADOWS 

Why  at the intersections  a    b  of the two compound shadows  e f 
and  m e   is a simple shadow pfoduced as at  e h  and  m g   while
no such simple shadow is produced at the other two intersections  c
d  made by the very same compound shadows 

ANSWER 

Compound shadow are a mixture of light and shade and simple shadows
are simply darkness  Hence  of the two lights  n  and  o   one falls
on the compound shadow from one side  and the other on the compound
shadow from the other side  but where they intersect no light falls 
as at  a b   therefore it is a simple shadow  Where there is a
compound shadow one light or the other falls  and here a difficulty
arises for my adversary since he says that  where the compound
shadows intersect  both the lights which produce the shadows must of
necessity fall and therefore these shadows ought to be neutralised 
inasmuch as the two lights do not fall there  we say that the shadow
is a simple one and where only one of the two lights falls  we say
the shadow is compound  and where both the lights fall the shadow is
neutralised  for where both lights fall  no shadow of any kind is
produced  but only a light background limiting the shadow  Here I
shall say that what my adversary said was true  but he only mentions
such truths as are in his favour  and if we go on to the rest he
must conclude that my proposition is true  And that is  That if both
lights fell on the point of intersection  the shadows would be
neutralised  This I confess to be true if  neither of  the two
shadows fell in the same spot  because  where a shadow and a light
fall  a compound shadow is produced  and wherever two shadows or two
equal lights fall  the shadow cannot vary in any part of it  the
shadows and the lights both being equal  And this is proved in the
eighth  proposition  on proportion where it is said that if a given
quantity has a single unit of force and resistance  a double
quantity will have double force and double resistance 

DEFINITION 

The intersection  n  is produced by the shadows caused by the light
 b   because this light  b  produces the shadow  x b   and the
shadow  s b   but the intersection  m  is produced by the light  a 
which causes the shadow  s a   and the shadow  x a  

But if you uncover both the lights  a b   then you get the two
shadows  n m  both at once  and besides these  two other  simple
shadows are produced at  r o  where neither of the two lights falls
at all  The grades of depth in compound shadows are fewer in
proportion as the lights falling on  and crossing them are less
numerous 

186 

Why the intersections at  n  being composed of two compound derived
shadows  forms a compound shadow and not a simple one  as happens
with other intersections of compound shadows  This occurs  according
to the 2nd  diagram  of this  prop   which says   The intersection
of derived shadows when produced by the intersection of columnar
shadows caused by a single light does not produce a simple shadow 
And this is the corollary of the 1st  prop   which says   The
intersection of simple derived shadows never results in a deeper
shadow  because the deepest shadows all added together cannot be
darker than one by itself  Since  if many deepest shadows increased
in depth by their duplication  they could not be called the
 deepest  shadows  but only part shadows  But if such intersections
are illuminated by a second light placed between the eye and the
intersecting bodies  then those shadows would become compound
shadows and be uniformly dark just as much at the intersection as
throughout the rest  In the 1st and 2nd above  the intersections  i
k  will not be doubled in depth as it is doubled in quantity  But in
this 3rd  at the intersections  g n  they will be double in depth
and in quantity 

187 

HOW AND WHEN THE SURROUNDINGS IN SHADOW MINGLE THEIR DERIVED SHADOW
WITH THE LIGHT DERIVED FROM THE LUMINOUS BODY 

The derived shadow of the dark walls on each side of the bright
light of the window are what mingle their various degrees of shade
with the light derived from the window  and these various depths of
shade modify every portion of the light  except where it is
strongest  at  c   To prove this let  d a  be the primary shadow
which is turned towards the point  e   and darkens it by its derived
shadow  as may be seen by the triangle  a e d   in which the
angle  e  faces the darkened base  d a e   the point  v  faces the
dark shadow  a s  which is part of  a d   and as the whole is
greater than a part   e  which faces the whole base  of the
triangle   will be in deeper shadow than  v  which only faces part
of it  In consequence of the conclusion  shown  in the above
diagram   t  will be less darkened than  v   because the base of the
 t  is part of the base of the  v   and in the same way it follows
that  p  is less in shadow than  t   because the base of the  p  is
part of the base of the  t   And  c  is the terminal point of the
derived shadow and the chief beginning of the highest light 

 Footnote  The diagram on Pl  IV  No  5 belongs to this passage  but
it must be noted that the text explains only the figure on the
right hand side  

FOURTH BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE 

On the shape of the cast shadows  188 191  

188 

The form of the shadow cast by any body of uniform density can never
be the same as that of the body producing it   Footnote  Comp  the
drawing on PI  XXVIII  No  5  

189 

No cast shadow can produce the true image of the body which casts it
on a vertical plane unless the centre of the light is equally
distant from all the edges of that body 

190 

If a window  a b  admits the sunlight into a room  the sunlight will
magnify the size of the window and diminish the shadow of a man in
such a way as that when the man makes that dim shadow of himself 
approach to that which defines the real size of the window  he will
see the shadows where they come into contact  dim and confused from
the strength of the light  shutting off and not allowing the solar
rays to pass  the effect of the shadow of the man cast by this
contact will be exactly that figured above 

 Footnote  It is scarcely possible to render the meaning of this
sentence with strict accuracy  mainly because the grammatical
construction is defective in the most important part  line 4  In the
very slight original sketch the shadow touches the upper arch of the
window and the correction  here given is perhaps not justified  

191 

A shadow is never seen as of uniform depth on the surface which
intercepts it unless every portion of that surface is equidistant
from the luminous body  This is proved by the 7th which says   The
shadow will appear lighter or stronger as it is surrounded by a
darker or a lighter background  And by the 8th of this   The
background will be in parts darker or lighter  in proportion as it
is farther from or nearer to the luminous body  And   Of various
spots equally distant from the luminous body those will always be in
the highest light on which the rays fall at the smallest angles  The
outline of the shadow as it falls on inequalities in the surface
will be seen with all the contours similar to those of the body that
casts it  if the eye is placed just where the centre of the light
was 

The shadow will look darkest where it is farthest from the body that
casts it  The shadow  c d   cast by the body in shadow  a b  which
is equally distant in all parts  is not of equal depth because it is
seen on a back ground of varying brightness   Footnote  Compare the
three diagrams on Pl  VI  no 1 which  in the original accompany this
section  

On the outlines of cast shadows  192 195  

192 

The edges of a derived shadow will be most distinct where it is cast
nearest to the primary shadow 

193 

As the derived shadow gets more distant from the primary shadow  the
more the cast shadow differs from the primary shadow 

194 

OF SHADOWS WHICH NEVER COME TO AN END 

The greater the difference between a light and the body lighted by
it  the light being the larger  the more vague will be the outlines
of the shadow of that object 

The derived shadow will be most confused towards the edges of its
interception by a plane  where it is remotest from the body casting
it 

195 

What is the cause which makes the outlines of the shadow vague and
confused 

Whether it is possible to give clear and definite outlines to the
edges of shadows 

On the relative size of shadows  196  197  

196 

THE BODY WHICH IS NEAREST TO THE LIGHT CASTS THE LARGEST SHADOW  AND
WHY 

If an object placed in front of a single light is very close to it
you will see that it casts a very large shadow on the opposite wall 
and the farther you remove the object from the light the smaller
will the image of the shadow become 

WHY A SHADOW LARGER THAN THE BODY THAT PRODUCES IT BECOMES OUT OF
PROPORTION 

The disproportion of a shadow which is larger than the body
producing it  results from the light being smaller than the body  so
that it cannot be at an equal distance from the edges of the body
 Footnote 11  H  LUDWIG in his edition of the old copies  in the
Vatican library  in which this chapter is included under Nos  612 
613 and 614 alters this passage as follows   quella parte ch e piu
propinqua piu cresce che le distanti   although the Vatican copy
agrees with the original MS  in having  distante  in the former and
 propinque  in the latter place  This supposed amendment seems to me
to invert the facts  Supposing for instance  that on Pl  XXXI No  3 
 f  is the spot where the light is that illuminates the figure there
represented  and that the line behind the figure represents a wall
on which the shadow of the figure is thrown  It is evident  that in
that case the nearest portion  in this case the under part of the
thigh  is very little magnified in the shadow  and the remoter
parts  for instance the head  are more magnified    and the portions
which are most remote are made larger than the nearer portions for
this reason  Footnote 12  See Footnote 11  

WHY A SHADOW WHICH IS LARGER THAN THE BODY CAUSING IT HAS
ILL DEFINED OUTLINES 

The atmosphere which surrounds a light is almost like light itself
for brightness and colour  but the farther off it is the more it
loses this resemblance  An object which casts a large shadow and is
near to the light  is illuminated both by that light by the luminous
atmosphere  hence this diffused light gives the shadow ill defined
edges 

197 

A luminous body which is long and narrow in shape gives more
confused outlines to the derived shadow than a spherical light  and
this contradicts the proposition next following  A shadow will have
its outlines more clearly defined in proportion as it is nearer to
the primary shadow or  I should say  the body casting the shadow 
 Footnote 14  The lettering refers to the lower diagram  Pl  XLI 
No  5   the cause of this is the elongated form of the luminous body
 a c    c   Footnote 16  See Footnote 14  

Effects on cast shadows by the tone of the back ground 

198 

OF MODIFIED SHADOWS 

Modified shadows are those which are cast on light walls or other
illuminated objects 

A shadow looks darkest against a light background  The outlines of a
derived shadow will be clearer as they are nearer to the primary
shadow  A derived shadow will be most defined in shape where it is
intercepted  where the plane intercepts it at the most equal angle 

Those parts of a shadow will appear darkest which have darker
objects opposite to them  And they will appear less dark when they
face lighter objects  And the larger the light object opposite  the
more the shadow will be lightened 

And the larger the surface of the dark object the more it will
darken the derived shadow where it is intercepted 

A disputed proposition 

199 

OF THE OPINION OF SOME THAT A TRIANGLE CASTS NO SHADOW ON A PLANE
SURFACE 

Certain mathematicians have maintained that a triangle  of which the
base is turned to the light  casts no shadow on a plane  and this
they prove by saying  5  that no spherical body smaller than the
light can reach the middle with the shadow  The lines of radiant
light are straight lines  6   therefore  suppose the light to be  g
h  and the triangle  l m n   and let the plane be  i k   they say
the light  g  falls on the side of the triangle  l n   and the
portion of the plane  i q   Thus again  h  like  g  falls on the
side  l m   and then on  m n  and the plane  p k   and if the whole
plane thus faces the lights  g h   it is evident that the triangle
has no shadow  and that which has no shadow can cast none  This  in
this case appears credible  But if the triangle  n p g  were not
illuminated by the two lights  g  and  h   but by  i p  and  g  and
 k  neither side is lighted by more than one single light  that is
 i p  is invisible to  h g  and  k  will never be lighted by  g  
hence  p q  will be twice as light as the two visible portions that
are in shadow 

 Footnote  5  6  This passage is so obscure that it would be rash to
offer an explanation  Several words seem to have been omitted  

On the relative depth of cast shadows  200 202  

200 

A spot is most in the shade when a large number of darkened rays
fall upon it  The spot which receives the rays at the widest angle
and by darkened rays will be most in the dark  a will be twice as
dark as b  because it originates from twice as large a base at an
equal distance  A spot is most illuminated when a large number of
luminous rays fall upon it  d is the beginning of the shadow  d f  
and tinges  c  but  a  little   d e  is half of the shadow  d f  and
gives a deeper tone where it is cast at  b  than at  f   And the
whole shaded space  e  gives its tone to the spot  a    Footnote 
The diagram here referred to is on Pl  XLI  No  2  

201 

 A n  will be darker than  c r  in proportion to the number of times
that  a b  goes into  c d  

202 

The shadow cast by an object on a plane will be smaller in
proportion as that object is lighted by feebler rays  Let  d e  be
the object and  d c  the plane surface  the number of times that  d
e  will go into  f g  gives the proportion of light at  f h  to  d
c   The ray of light will be weaker in proportion to its distance
from the hole through which it falls 

FIFTH BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE 

Principles of reflection  203  204  

203 

OF THE WAY IN WHICH THE SHADOWS CAST BY OBJECTS OUGHT TO BE DEFINED 

If the object is the mountain here figured  and the light is at the
point  a   I say that from  b d  and also from  c f  there will be
no light but from reflected rays  And this results from the fact
that rays of light can only act in straight lines  and the same is
the case with the secondary or reflected rays 

204 

The edges of the derived shadow are defined by the hues of the
illuminated objects surrounding the luminous body which produces the
shadow 

On reverberation 

205 

OF REVERBERATION 

Reverberation is caused by bodies of a bright nature with a flat and
semi opaque surface which  when the light strikes upon them  throw
it back again  like the rebound of a ball  to the former object 

WHERE THERE CAN BE NO REFLECTED LIGHTS 

All dense bodies have their surfaces occupied by various degrees of
light and shade  The lights are of two kinds  one called original 
the other borrowed  Original light is that which is inherent in the
flame of fire or the light of the sun or of the atmosphere  Borrowed
light will be reflected light  but to return to the promised
definition  I say that this luminous reverberation is not produced
by those portions of a body which are turned towards darkened
objects  such as shaded spots  fields with grass of various height 
woods whether green or bare  in which  though that side of each
branch which is turned towards the original light has a share of
that light  nevertheless the shadows cast by each branch separately
are so numerous  as well as those cast by one branch on the others 
that finally so much shadow is the result that the light counts for
nothing  Hence objects of this kind cannot throw any reflected light
on opposite objects 

Reflection on water  206  207  

206 

PERSPECTIVE 

The shadow or object mirrored in water in motion  that is to say in
small wavelets  will always be larger than the external object
producing it 

207 

It is impossible that an object mirrored on water should correspond
in form to the object mirrored  since the centre of the eye is above
the surface of the water 

This is made plain in the figure here given  which demonstrates that
the eye sees the surface  a b   and cannot see it at  l f   and at
 r t   it sees the surface of the image at  r t   and does not see
it in the real object  c d   Hence it is impossible to see it  as
has been said above unless the eye itself is situated on the surface
of the water as is shown below  13  

 Footnote   A  stands for  ochio   eye    B  for  aria   air    C 
for  acqua   water    D  for  cateto   cathetus    In the original
MS  the second diagram is placed below line 13  

Experiments with the mirror  208 210  

208 

THE MIRROR 

If the illuminated object is of the same size as the luminous body
and as that in which the light is reflected  the amount of the
reflected light will bear the same proportion to the intermediate
light as this second light will bear to the first  if both bodies
are smooth and white 

209 

Describe how it is that no object has its limitation in the mirror
but in the eye which sees it in the mirror  For if you look at your
face in the mirror  the part resembles the whole in as much as the
part is everywhere in the mirror  and the whole is in every part of
the same mirror  and the same is true of the whole image of any
object placed opposite to this mirror   c 

210 

No man can see the image of another man in a mirror in its proper
place with regard to the objects  because every object falls on  the
surface of  the mirror at equal angles  And if the one man  who sees
the other in the mirror  is not in a direct line with the image he
will not see it in the place where it really falls  and if he gets
into the line  he covers the other man and puts himself in the place
occupied by his image  Let  n o  be the mirror   b  the eye of your
friend and  d  your own eye  Your friend s eye will appear to you at
 a   and to him it will seem that yours is at  c   and the
intersection of the visual rays will occur at  m   so that either of
you touching  m  will touch the eye of the other man which shall be
open  And if you touch the eye of the other man in the mirror it
will seem to him that you are touching your own 

Appendix   On shadows in movement  211  212  

211 

OF THE SHADOW AND ITS MOTION 

When two bodies casting shadows  and one in front of the other  are
between a window and the wall with some space between them  the
shadow of the body which is nearest to the plane of the wall will
move if the body nearest to the window is put in transverse motion
across the window  To prove this let  a  and  b  be two bodies
placed between the window  n m  and the plane surface  o p  with
sufficient space between them as shown by the space  a b   I say
that if the body  a  is moved towards  s  the shadow of the body  b 
which is at  c  will move towards  d  

212 

OF THE MOTION OF SHADOWS 

The motion of a shadow is always more rapid than that of the body
which produces it if the light is stationary  To prove this let  a 
be the luminous body  and  b  the body casting the shadow  and  d 
the shadow  Then I say that in the time while the solid body moves
from  b  to  c   the shadow  d  will move to  e   and this
proportion in the rapidity of the movements made in the same space
of time  is equal to that in the length of the space moved over 
Thus  given the proportion of the space moved over by the body  b 
to  c   to that moved over by the shadow  d  to  e   the proportion
in the rapidity of their movements will be the same 

But if the luminous body is also in movement with a velocity equal
to that of the solid body  then the shadow and the body that casts
it will move with equal speed  And if the luminous body moves more
rapidly than the solid body  the motion of the shadow will be slower
than that of the body casting it 

But if the luminous body moves more slowly than the solid body  then
the shadow will move more rapidly than that body 

SIXTH BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE 

The effect of rays passing through holes  213  214  

213 

PERSPECTIVE 

If you transmit the rays of the sun through a hole in the shape of a
star you will see a beautiful effect of perspective in the spot
where the sun s rays fall 

 Footnote  In this and the following chapters of MS  C the order of
the original paging has been adhered to  and is shown in
parenthesis  Leonardo himself has but rarely worked out the subject
of these propositions  The space left for the purpose has
occasionally been made use of for quite different matter  Even the
numerous diagrams  most of them very delicately sketched  lettered
and numbered  which occur on these pages  are hardly ever explained 
with the exception of those few which are here given  

214 

No small hole can so modify the convergence of rays of light as to
prevent  at a long distance  the transmission of the true form of
the luminous body causing them  It is impossible that rays of light
passing through a parallel  slit   should not display the form of
the body causing them  since all the effects produced by a luminous
body are  in fact  the reflection of that body  The moon  shaped
like a boat  if transmitted through a hole is figured in the surface
 it falls on  as a boatshaped object   Footnote 8  In the MS  a
blank space is left after this question   Why the eye sees bodies at
a distance  larger than they measure on the vertical plane  

 Footnote  This chapter  taken from another MS  may  as an
exception  be placed here  as it refers to the same subject as the
preceding section  

On gradation of shadows  215  216  

215 

Although the breadth and length of lights and shadow will be
narrower and shorter in foreshortening  the quality and quantity of
the light and shade is not increased nor diminished 

 3 The function of shade and light when diminished by
foreshortening  will be to give shadow and to illuminate an object
opposite  according to the quality and quantity in which they fall
on the body 

 5 In proportion as a derived shadow is nearer to its penultimate
extremities the deeper it will appear   g z  beyond the intersection
faces only the part of the shadow  marked   y z   this by
intersection takes the shadow from  m n  but by direct line it takes
the shadow  a m  hence it is twice as deep as  g z    Y x   by
intersection takes the shadow  n o   but by direct line the shadow
 n m a   therefore  x y  is three times as dark as  z g    x f   by
intersection faces  o b  and by direct line  o n m a   therefore we
must say that the shadow between  f x  will be four times as dark as
the shadow  z g   because it faces four times as much shadow 

Let  a b  be the side where the primary shadow is  and  b c  the
primary light   d  will be the spot where it is intercepted  f g 
the derived shadow and  f e  the derived light 

And this must be at the beginning of the explanation 

 Footnote  In the original MS  the text of No  252 precedes the one
given here  In the text of No  215 there is a blank space of about
four lines between the lines 2 and 3  The diagram given on Pl  VI 
No  2 is placed between lines 4 and 5  Between lines 5 and 6 there
is another space of about three lines and one line left blank
between lines 8 and 9  The reader will find the meaning of the whole
passage much clearer if he first reads the final lines 11  13 
Compare also line 4 of No  270  

On relative proportion of light and shadows  216  221  

216 

That part of the surface of a body on which the images  reflection 
from other bodies placed opposite fall at the largest angle will
assume their hue most strongly  In the diagram below  8 is a larger
angle than 4  since its base  a n  is larger than  e n  the base of
4  This diagram below should end at  a n  4 8   4 That portion of
the illuminated surface on which a shadow is cast will be brightest
which lies contiguous to the cast shadow  Just as an object which is
lighted up by a greater quantity of luminous rays becomes brighter 
so one on which a greater quantity of shadow falls  will be darker 

Let 4 be the side of an illuminated surface 4 8  surrounding the
cast shadow  g e  4  And this spot 4 will be lighter than 8  because
less shadow falls on it than on 8  Since 4 faces only the shadow  i
n   and 8 faces and receives the shadow  a e  as well as  i n  which
makes it twice as dark  And the same thing happens when you put the
atmosphere and the sun in the place of shade and light 

 12  The distribution of shadow  originating in  and limited by 
plane surfaces placed near to each other  equal in tone and directly
opposite  will be darker at the ends than at the beginning  which
will be determined by the incidence of the luminous rays  You will
find the same proportion in the depth of the derived shadows  a n 
as in the nearness of the luminous bodies  m b   which cause them 
and if the luminous bodies were of equal size you would still
farther find the same proportion in the light cast by the luminous
circles and their shadows as in the distance of the said luminous
bodies 

 Footnote  The diagram originally placed between lines 3 and 4 is on
Pl  VI  No  3  In the diagram given above line 14 of the original 
and here printed in the text  the words  corpo luminoso   luminous
body  are written in the circle  m    luminoso  in the circle  b 
and  ombroso   body in shadow  in the circle  o   

217 

THAT PART OF THE REFLECTION WILL BE BRIGHTEST WHERE THE REFLECTED
RAYS ARE SHORTEST 

 2  The darkness occasioned by the casting of combined shadows will
be in conformity with its cause  which will originate and terminate
between two plane surfaces near together  alike in tone and directly
opposite each other 

 4  In proportion as the source of light is larger  the luminous and
shadow rays will be more mixed together  This result is produced
because wherever there is a larger quantity of luminous rays  there
is most light  but where there are fewer there is least light 
consequently the shadow rays come in and mingle with them 

 Footnote  Diagrams are inserted before lines 2 and 4  

218 

In all the proportions I lay down it must be understood that the
medium between the bodies is always the same   2  The smaller the
luminous body the more distinct will the transmission of the shadows
be 

 3  When of two opposite shadows  produced by the same body  one is
twice as dark as the other though similar in form  one of the two
lights causing them must have twice the diameter that the other has
and be at twice the distance from the opaque body  If the object is
lowly moved across the luminous body  and the shadow is intercepted
at some distance from the object  there will be the same relative
proportion between the motion of the derived shadow and the motion
of the primary shadow  as between the distance from the object to
the light  and that from the object to the spot where the shadow is
intercepted  so that though the object is moved slowly the shadow
moves fast 

 Footnote  There are diagrams inserted before lines 2 and 3 but they
are not reproduced here  The diagram above line 6 is written upon as
follows  at  A lume   light   at  B obbietto   body   at  C ombra
d obbietto   shadow of the object   

219 

A luminous body will appear less brilliant when surrounded by a
bright background 

 2  I have found that the stars which are nearest to the horizon
look larger than the others because light falls upon them from a
larger proportion of the solar body than when they are above us  and
having more light from the sun they give more light  and the bodies
which are most luminous appear the largest  As may be seen by the
sun through a mist  and overhead  it appears larger where there is
no mist and diminished through mist  No portion of the luminous body
is ever visible from any spot within the pyramid of pure derived
shadow 

 Footnote  Between lines 1 and 2 there is in the original a large
diagram which does not refer to this text   

220 

A body on which the solar rays fall between the thin branches of
trees far apart will cast but a single shadow 

 2  If an opaque body and a luminous one are  both  spherical the
base of the pyramid of rays will bear the same proportion to the
luminous body as the base of the pyramid of shade to the opaque
body 

 4  When the transmitted shadow is intercepted by a plane surface
placed opposite to it and farther away from the luminous body than
from the object  which casts it  it will appear proportionately
darker and the edges more distinct 

 Footnote  The diagram which  in the original  is placed above line
2  is similar to the one  here given on page 73  section 120    The
diagram here given in the margin stands  in the original  between
lines 3 and 4  

221 

A body illuminated by the solar rays passing between the thick
branches of trees will produce as many shadows as there are branches
between the sun and itself 

Where the shadow rays from an opaque pyramidal body are intercepted
they will cast a shadow of bifurcate outline and various depth at
the points  A light which is broader than the apex but narrower than
the base of an opaque pyramidal body placed in front of it  will
cause that pyramid to cast a shadow of bifurcate form and various
degrees of depth 

If an opaque body  smaller than the light  casts two shadows and if
it is the same size or larger  casts but one  it follows that a
pyramidal body  of which part is smaller  part equal to  and part
larger than  the luminous body  will cast a bifurcate shadow 

 Footnote  Between lines 2 and 3 there are in the original two large
diagrams  

 IV  

 Perspective of Disappearance  

 The theory of the   Prospettiva de  perdimenti   would  in many
important details  be quite unintelligible if it had not been led up
by the principles of light and shade on which it is based  The word 
 Prospettiva   in the language of the time included the principles
of optics  what Leonardo understood by   Perdimenti   will be
clearly seen in the early chapters  Nos   222  224   It is in the
very nature of the case that the farther explanations given in the
subsequent chapters must be limited to general rules  The sections
given as  227  231   On indistinctness at short distances  have  it
is true  only an indirect bearing on the subject  but on the other
hand  the following chapters   232  234    On indistinctness at
great distances   go fully into the matter  and in chapters 
235  239   which treat  Of the importance of light and shade in the
Perspective of Disappearance   the practical issues are distinctly
insisted on in their relation to the theory  This is naturally
followed by the statements as to  the effect of light or dark
backgrounds on the apparent size of bodies     Nos   240  250    At
the end I have placed  in the order of the original  those sections
from the MS   C  which treat of the  Perspective of Disappearance 
and serve to some extent to complete the treatment of the subject 
 251  262  

Definition  222  223  

222 

OF THE DIMINISHED DISTINCTNESS OF THE OUTLINES OF OPAQUE BODIES 

If the real outlines of opaque bodies are indistinguishable at even
a very short distance  they will be more so at long distances  and 
since it is by its outlines that we are able to know the real form
of any opaque body  when by its remoteness we fail to discern it as
a whole  much more must we fail to discern its parts and outlines 

223 

OF THE DIMINUTION IN PERSPECTIVE OF OPAQUE OBJECTS 

Among opaque objects of equal size the apparent diminution of size
will be in proportion to their distance from the eye of the
spectator  but it is an inverse proportion  since  where the
distance is greater  the opaque body will appear smaller  and the
less the distance the larger will the object appear  And this is the
fundamental principle of linear perspective and it
follows    11 every object as it becomes more remote loses first
those parts which are smallest  Thus of a horse  we should lose the
legs before the head  because the legs are thinner than the head 
and the neck before the body for the same reason  Hence it follows
that the last part of the horse which would be discernible by the
eye would be the mass of the body in an oval form  or rather in a
cylindrical form and this would lose its apparent thickness before
its length  according to the 2nd rule given above   c   Footnote 23 
Compare line 11   

If the eye remains stationary the perspective terminates in the
distance in a point  But if the eye moves in a straight  horizontal 
line the perspective terminates in a line and the reason is that
this line is generated by the motion of the point and our sight 
therefore it follows that as we move our sight  eye   the point
moves  and as we move the point  the line is generated   c 

An illustration by experiment 

224 

Every visible body  in so far as it affects the eye  includes three
attributes  that is to say  mass  form and colour  and the mass is
recognisable at a greater distance from the place of its actual
existence than either colour or form  Again  colour is discernible
at a greater distance than form  but this law does not apply to
luminous bodies 

The above proposition is plainly shown and proved by experiment 
because  if you see a man close to you  you discern the exact
appearance of the mass and of the form and also of the colouring  if
he goes to some distance you will not recognise who he is  because
the character of the details will disappear  if he goes still
farther you will not be able to distinguish his colouring  but he
will appear as a dark object  and still farther he will appear as a
very small dark rounded object  It appears rounded because distance
so greatly diminishes the various details that nothing remains
visible but the larger mass  And the reason is this  We know very
well that all the images of objects reach the senses by a small
aperture in the eye  hence  if the whole horizon  a d  is admitted
through such an aperture  the object  b c  being but a very small
fraction of this horizon what space can it fill in that minute image
of so vast a hemisphere  And because luminous bodies have more power
in darkness than any others  it is evident that  as the chamber of
the eye is very dark  as is the nature of all colored cavities  the
images of distant objects are confused and lost in the great light
of the sky  and if they are visible at all  appear dark and black 
as every small body must when seen in the diffused light of the
atmosphere 

 Footnote  The diagram belonging to this passage is placed between
lines 5 and 6  it is No  4 on Pl  VI   

A guiding rule 

225 

OF THE ATMOSPHERE THAT INTERPOSES BETWEEN THE EYE AND VISIBLE
OBJECTS 

An object will appear more or less distinct at the same distance  in
proportion as the atmosphere existing between the eye and that
object is more or less clear  Hence  as I know that the greater or
less quantity of the air that lies between the eye and the object
makes the outlines of that object more or less indistinct  you must
diminish the definiteness of outline of those objects in proportion
to their increasing distance from the eye of the spectator 

An experiment 

226 

When I was once in a place on the sea  at an equal distance from the
shore and the mountains  the distance from the shore looked much
greater than that from the mountains 

On indistinctness at short distances  227 231  

227 

If you place an opaque object in front of your eye at a distance of
four fingers  breadth  if it is smaller than the space between the
two eyes it will not interfere with your seeing any thing that may
be beyond it  No object situated beyond another object seen by the
eye can be concealed by this  nearer  object if it is smaller than
the space from eye to eye 

228 

The eye cannot take in a luminous angle which is too close to it 

229 

That part of a surface will be better lighted on which the light
falls at the greater angle  And that part  on which the shadow falls
at the greatest angle  will receive from those rays least of the
benefit of the light 

230 

OF THE EYE 

The edges of an object placed in front of the pupil of the eye will
be less distinct in proportion as they are closer to the eye  This
is shown by the edge of the object  n  placed in front of the pupil
 d   in looking at this edge the pupil also sees all the space  a c 
which is beyond the edge  and the images the eye receives from that
space are mingled with the images of the edge  so that one image
confuses the other  and this confusion hinders the pupil from
distinguishing the edge 

231 

The outlines of objects will be least clear when they are nearest to
the eye  and therefore remoter outlines will be clearer  Among
objects which are smaller than the pupil of the eye those will be
less distinct which are nearer to the eye 

On indistinctness at great distances  232 234  

232 

Objects near to the eye will appear larger than those at a distance 

Objects seen with two eyes will appear rounder than if they are seen
with only one 

Objects seen between light and shadow will show the most relief 

233 

OF PAINTING 

Our true perception of an object diminishes in proportion as its
size is diminished by distance 

234 

PERSPECTIVE 

Why objects seen at a distance appear large to the eye and in the
image on the vertical plane they appear small 

PERSPECTIVE 

I ask how far away the eye can discern a non luminous body  as  for
instance  a mountain  It will be very plainly visible if the sun is
behind it  and could be seen at a greater or less distance according
to the sun s place in the sky 

 Footnote  The clue to the solution of this problem  lines 1 3  is
given in lines 4 6  No  232  Objects seen with both eyes appear
solid since they are seen from two distinct points of sight
separated by the distance between the eyes  but this solidity cannot
be represented in a flat drawing  Compare No  535  

The importance of light and shade in the perspective of
disappearance  235 239  

235 

An opaque body seen in a line in which the light falls will reveal
no prominences to the eye  For instance  let  a  be the solid body
and  c  the light   c m  and  c n  will be the lines of incidence of
the light  that is to say the lines which transmit the light to the
object  a   The eye being at the point  b   I say that since the
light  c  falls on the whole part  m n  the portions in relief on
that side will all be illuminated  Hence the eye placed at  c 
cannot see any light and shade and  not seeing it  every portion
will appear of the same tone  therefore the relief in the prominent
or rounded parts will not be visible 

236 

OF PAINTING 

When you represent in your work shadows which you can only discern
with difficulty  and of which you cannot distinguish the edges so
that you apprehend them confusedly  you must not make them sharp or
definite lest your work should have a wooden effect 

237 

OF PAINTING 

You will observe in drawing that among the shadows some are of
undistinguishable gradation and form  as is shown in the 3rd
 proposition  which says  Rounded surfaces display as many degrees
of light and shade as there are varieties of brightness and darkness
reflected from the surrounding objects 

238 

OF LIGHT AND SHADE 

You who draw from nature  look  carefully  at the extent  the
degree  and the form of the lights and shadows on each muscle  and
in their position lengthwise observe towards which muscle the axis
of the central line is directed 

239 

An object which is  so brilliantly illuminated as to be  almost as
bright as light will be visible at a greater distance  and of larger
apparent size than is natural to objects so remote 

The effect of light or dark backgrounds on the apparent size of
objects  240 250  

240 

A shadow will appear dark in proportion to the brilliancy of the
light surrounding it and conversely it will be less conspicuous
where it is seen against a darker background 

241 

OF ORDINARY PERSPECTIVE 

An object of equal breadth and colour throughout  seen against a
background of various colours will appear unequal in breadth 

And if an object of equal breadth throughout  but of various
colours  is seen against a background of uniform colour  that object
will appear of various breadth  And the more the colours of the
background or of the object seen against the ground vary  the
greater will the apparent variations in the breadth be though the
objects seen against the ground be of equal breadth  throughout  

242 

A dark object seen against a bright background will appear smaller
than it is 

A light object will look larger when it is seen against a background
darker than itself 

243 

OF LIGHT 

A luminous body when obscured by a dense atmosphere will appear
smaller  as may be seen by the moon or sun veiled by mists 

OF LIGHT 

Of several luminous bodies of equal size and brilliancy and at an
equal distance  that will look the largest which is surrounded by
the darkest background 

OF LIGHT 

I find that any luminous body when seen through a dense and thick
mist diminishes in proportion to its distance from the eye  Thus it
is with the sun by day  as well as the moon and the other eternal
lights by night  And when the air is clear  these luminaries appear
larger in proportion as they are farther from the eye 

244 

That portion of a body of uniform breadth which is against a lighter
background will look narrower  than the rest  

 4   e  is a given object  itself dark and of uniform breadth   a b 
and  c d  are two backgrounds one darker than the other   b c  is a
bright background  as it might be a spot lighted by the sun through
an aperture in a dark room  Then I say that the object  e g  will
appear larger at  e f  than at  g h   because  e f  has a darker
background than  g h   and again at  f g  it will look narrower from
being seen by the eye  o   on the light background  b c    Footnote
12  The diagram to which the text  lines 1 11  refers  is placed in
the original between lines 3 and 4  and is given on Pl  XLI  No  3 
Lines 12 to 14 are explained by the lower of the two diagrams on Pl 
XLI  No  4  In the original these are placed after line 14   That
part of a luminous body  of equal breadth and brilliancy throughout 
will look largest which is seen against the darkest background  and
the luminous body will seem on fire 

245 

WHY BODIES IN LIGHT AND SHADE HAVE THEIR OUTLINES ALTERED BY THE
COLOUR AND BRIGHTNESS OF THE OBJECTS SERVING AS A BACKGROUND TO
THEM 

If you look at a body of which the illuminated portion lies and ends
against a dark background  that part of the light which will look
brightest will be that which lies against the dark  background  at
 d   But if this brighter part lies against a light background  the
edge of the object  which is itself light  will be less distinct
than before  and the highest light will appear to be between the
limit of the background  m f  and the shadow  The same thing is seen
with regard to the dark  side   inasmuch as that edge of the shaded
portion of the object which lies against a light background  as at
 l   it looks much darker than the rest  But if this shadow lies
against a dark background  the edge of the shaded part will appear
lighter than before  and the deepest shade will appear between the
edge and the light at the point  o  

 Footnote  In the original diagram  o  is inside the shaded surface
at the level of  d   

246 

An opaque body will appear smaller when it is surrounded by a highly
luminous background  and a light body will appear larger when it is
seen against a darker background  This may be seen in the height of
buildings at night  when lightning flashes behind them  it suddenly
seems  when it lightens  as though the height of the building were
diminished  For the same reason such buildings look larger in a
mist  or by night than when the atmosphere is clear and light 

247 

ON LIGHT BETWEEN SHADOWS

When you are drawing any object  remember  in comparing the grades
of light in the illuminated portions  that the eye is often deceived
by seeing things lighter than they are  And the reason lies in our
comparing those parts with the contiguous parts  Since if two
 separate  parts are in different grades of light and if the less
bright is conterminous with a dark portion and the brighter is
conterminous with a light background  as the sky or something
equally bright    then that which is less light  or I should say
less radiant  will look the brighter and the brighter will seem the
darker 

248 

Of objects equally dark in themselves and situated at a considerable
and equal distance  that will look the darkest which is farthest
above the earth 

249 

TO PROVE HOW IT IS THAT LUMINOUS BODIES APPEAR LARGER  AT A
DISTANCE  THAN THEY ARE 

If you place two lighted candles side by side half a braccio apart 
and go from them to a distance 200 braccia you will see that by the
increased size of each they will appear as a single luminous body
with the light of the two flames  one braccio wide 

TO PROVE HOW YOU MAY SEE THE REAL SIZE OF LUMINOUS BODIES 

If you wish to see the real size of these luminous bodies  take a
very thin board and make in it a hole no bigger than the tag of a
lace and place it as close to your eye as possible  so that when you
look through this hole  at the said light  you can see a large space
of air round it  Then by rapidly moving this board backwards and
forwards before your eye you will see the light increase  and
diminish  

Propositions on perspective of disappearance from MS  C   250 262  

250 

Of several bodies of equal size and equally distant from the eye 
those will look the smallest which are against the lightest
background 

Every visible object must be surrounded by light and shade  A
perfectly spherical body surrounded by light and shade will appear
to have one side larger than the other in proportion as one is more
highly lighted than the other 

251 

PERSPECTIVE 

No visible object can be well understood and comprehended by the
human eye excepting from the difference of the background against
which the edges of the object terminate and by which they are
bounded  and no object will appear  to stand out  separate from that
background so far as the outlines of its borders are concerned  The
moon  though it is at a great distance from the sun  when  in an
eclipse  it comes between our eyes and the sun  appears to the eyes
of men to be close to the sun and affixed to it  because the sun is
then the background to the moon 

252 

A luminous body will appear more brilliant in proportion as it is
surrounded by deeper shadow   Footnote  The diagram which  in the
original  is placed after this text  has no connection with it  

253 

The straight edges of a body will appear broken when they are
conterminous with a dark space streaked with rays of light 
 Footnote  Here again the diagrams in the original have no
connection with the text  

254 

Of several bodies  all equally large and equally distant  that which
is most brightly illuminated will appear to the eye nearest and
largest   Footnote  Here again the diagrams in the original have no
connection with the text  

255 

If several luminous bodies are seen from a great distance although
they are really separate they will appear united as one body 

256 

If several objects in shadow  standing very close together  are seen
against a bright background they will appear separated by wide
intervals 

257 

Of several bodies of equal size and tone  that which is farthest
will appear the lightest and smallest 

258 

Of several objects equal in size  brightness of background and
length that which has the flattest surface will look the largest  A
bar of iron equally thick throughout and of which half is red hot 
affords an example  for the red hot part looks thicker than the
rest 

259 

Of several bodies of equal size and length  and alike in form and in
depth of shade  that will appear smallest which is surrounded by the
most luminous background 

260 

DIFFERENT PORTIONS OF A WALL SURFACE WILL BE DARKER OR BRIGHTER IN
PROPORTION AS THE LIGHT OR SHADOW FALLS ON THEM AT A LARGER ANGLE 

The foregoing proposition can be clearly proved in this way  Let us
say that  m q  is the luminous body  then  f g  will be the opaque
body  and let  a e  be the above mentioned plane on which the said
angles fall  showing  plainly  the nature and character of their
bases  Then   a  will be more luminous than  b   the base of the
angle  a  is larger than that of  b  and it therefore makes a
greater angle which will be  a m q   and the pyramid  b p m  will be
narrower and  m o c  will be still finer  and so on by degrees  in
proportion as they are nearer to  e   the pyramids will become
narrower and darker  That portion of the wall will be the darkest
where the breadth of the pyramid of shadow is greater than the
breadth of the pyramid of light 

At the point  a  the pyramid of light is equal in strength to the
pyramid of shadow  because the base  f g  is equal to the base  r
f   At the point  d  the pyramid of light is narrower than the
pyramid of shadow by so much as the base  s f  is less than the base
 f g  

Divide the foregoing proposition into two diagrams  one with the
pyramids of light and shadow  the other with the pyramids of light
 only  

261 

Among shadows of equal depth those which are nearest to the eye will
look least deep 

262 

The more brilliant the light given by a luminous body  the deeper
will the shadows be cast by the objects it illuminates 

 V  

 Theory of colours  

 Leonardo s theory of colours is even more intimately connected with
his principles of light and shade than his Perspective of
Disappearance and is in fact merely an appendix or supplement to
those principles  as we gather from the titles to sections  264 
267   and  276   while others again    Nos   281  282   are headed 
Prospettiva 

 A very few of these chapters are to be found in the oldest copies
and editions of the Treatise on Painting  and although the material
they afford is but meager and the connection between them but
slight  we must still attribute to them a special theoretical value
as well as practical utility  all the more so because our knowledge
of the theory and use of colours at the time of the Renaissance is
still extremely limited  

The reciprocal effects of colours on objects placed opposite each
other  263 272  

263 

OF PAINTING 

The hue of an illuminated object is affected by that of the luminous
body 

264 

OF SHADOW 

The surface of any opaque body is affected by the colour of
surrounding objects 

265 

A shadow is always affected by the colour of the surface on which it
is cast 

266 

An image produced in a mirror is affected by the colour of the
mirror 

267 

OF LIGHT AND SHADE 

Every portion of the surface of a body is varied  in hue  by the
 reflected  colour of the object that may be opposite to it 

EXAMPLE 

If you place a spherical body between various objects that is to say
with  direct  sunlight on one side of it  and on the other a wall
illuminated by the sun  which wall may be green or of any other
colour  while the surface on which it is placed may be red  and the
two lateral sides are in shadow  you will see that the natural
colour of that body will assume something of the hue reflected from
those objects  The strongest will be  given by  the luminous body 
the second by the illuminated wall  the third by the shadows  There
will still be a portion which will take a tint from the colour of
the edges 

268 

The surface of every opaque body is affected by the colour of the
objects surrounding it  But this effect will be strong or weak in
proportion as those objects are more or less remote and more or less
strongly  coloured  

269 

OF PAINTING 

The surface of every opaque body assumes the hues reflected from
surrounding objects 

The surface of an opaque body assumes the hues of surrounding
objects more strongly in proportion as the rays that form the images
of those objects strike the surface at more equal angles 

And the surface of an opaque body assumes a stronger hue from the
surrounding objects in proportion as that surface is whiter and the
colour of the object brighter or more highly illuminated 

270 

OF THE RAYS WHICH CONVEY THROUGH THE AIR THE IMAGES OF OBJECTS 

All the minutest parts of the image intersect each other without
interfering with each other  To prove this let  r  be one of the
sides of the hole  opposite to which let  s  be the eye which sees
the lower end  o  of the line  n o   The other extremity cannot
transmit its image to the eye  s  as it has to strike the end  r 
and it is the same with regard to  m  at the middle of the line  The
case is the same with the upper extremity  n  and the eye  u   And
if the end  n  is red the eye  u  on that side of the holes will not
see the green colour of  o   but only the red of  n  according to
the 7th of this where it is said  Every form projects images from
itself by the shortest line  which necessarily is a straight line 
 c 

 Footnote  13  This probably refers to the diagram given under No 
66  

271 

OF PAINTING 

The surface of a body assumes in some degree the hue of those around
it  The colours of illuminated objects are reflected from the
surfaces of one to the other in various spots  according to the
various positions of those objects  Let  o  be a blue object in full
light  facing all by itself the space  b c  on the white sphere  a b
e d e f   and it will give it a blue tinge   m  is a yellow body
reflected onto the space  a b  at the same time as  o  the blue
body  and they give it a green colour  by the 2nd  proposition  of
this which shows that blue and yellow make a beautiful green  c  
And the rest will be set forth in the Book on Painting  In that Book
it will be shown  that  by transmitting the images of objects and
the colours of bodies illuminated by sunlight through a small round
perforation and into a dark chamber onto a plane surface  which
itself is quite white   c 

But every thing will be upside down 

Combination of different colours in cast shadows 

272 

That which casts the shadow does not face it  because the shadows
are produced by the light which causes and surrounds the shadows 
The shadow caused by the light  e   which is yellow  has a blue
tinge  because the shadow of the body  a  is cast upon the pavement
at  b   where the blue light falls  and the shadow produced by the
light  d   which is blue  will be yellow at  c   because the yellow
light falls there and the surrounding background to these shadows  b
c  will  besides its natural colour  assume a hue compounded of
yellow and blue  because it is lighted by the yellow light and by
the blue light both at once 

Shadows of various colours  as affected by the lights falling on
them  That light which causes the shadow does not face it 

 Footnote  In the original diagram we find in the circle  e 
  giallo    yellow  and the cirle  d    azurro    blue  and also
under the circle of shadow to the left   giallo   is written and
under that to the right   azurro   

In the second diagram where four circles are placed in a row we find
written  beginning at the left hand    giallo    yellow     azurro  
 blue     verde    green     rosso    red   

The effect of colours in the camera obscura  273 274  

273 

The edges of a colour ed object  transmitted through a small hole
are more conspicuous than the central portions 

The edges of the images  of whatever colour  which are transmitted
through a small aperture into a dark chamber will always be stronger
than the middle portions 

274 

OF THE INTERSECTIONS OF THE IMAGES IN THE PUPIL OF THE EYE 

The intersections of the images as they enter the pupil do not
mingle in confusion in the space where that intersection unites
them  as is evident  since  if the rays of the sun pass through two
panes of glass in close contact  of which one is blue and the other
yellow  the rays  in penetrating them  do not become blue or yellow
but a beautiful green  And the same thing would happen in the eye 
if the images which were yellow or green should mingle where they
 meet and  intersect as they enter the pupil  As this does not
happen such a mingling does not exist 

OF THE NATURE OF THE RAYS COMPOSED OF THE IMAGES OF OBJECTS  AND OF
THEIR INTERSECTIONS 

The directness of the rays which transmit the forms and colours of
the bodies whence they proceed does not tinge the air nor can they
affect each other by contact where they intersect  They affect only
the spot where they vanish and cease to exist  because that spot
faces and is faced by the original source of these rays  and no
other object  which surrounds that original source can be seen by
the eye where these rays are cut off and destroyed  leaving there
the spoil they have conveyed to it  And this is proved by the 4th
 proposition   on the colour of bodies  which says  The surface of
every opaque body is affected by the colour of surrounding objects 
hence we may conclude that the spot which  by means of the rays
which convey the image  faces  and is faced by the cause of the
image  assumes the colour of that object 

On the colours of derived shadows  275  276  

275 

ANY SHADOW CAST BY AN OPAQUE BODY SMALLER THAN THE LIGHT CAUSING THE
SHADOW WILL THROW A DERIVED SHADOW WHICH IS TINGED BY THE COLOUR OF
THE LIGHT 

Let  n  be the source of the shadow  e f   it will assume its hue 
Let  o  be the source of  h e  which will in the same way be tinged
by its hue and so also the colour of  v h  will be affected by  p 
which causes it  and the shadow of the triangle  z k y  will be
affected by the colour of  q   because it is produced by it   7  In
proportion as  c d  goes into  a d   will  n r s  be darker than
 m   and the rest of the space will be shadowless  11    f g  is
the highest light  because here the whole light of the window  a d 
falls  and thus on the opaque body  m e  is in equally high light 
 z k y  is a triangle which includes the deepest shadow  because the
light  a d  cannot reach any part of it   x h  is the 2nd grade of
shadow  because it receives only 1 3 of the light from the window 
that is  c d   The third grade of shadow is  h e   where two thirds
of the light from the window is visible  The last grade of shadow is
 b d e f   because the highest grade of light from the window falls
at  f  

 Footnote  The diagram Pl  III  No  1 belongs to this chapter as
well as the text given in No  148  Lines 7 11  compare lines 8 12 of
No  148  which are written within the diagram  evidently apply to
both sections and have therefore been inserted in both  

276 

OF THE COLOURS OF SIMPLE DERIVED SHADOWS 

The colour of derived shadows is always affected by that of the body
towards which they are cast  To prove this  let an opaque body be
placed between the plane  s c t d  and the blue light  d e  and the
red light  a b   then I say that  d e   the blue light  will fall on
the whole surface  s c t d  excepting at  o p  which is covered by
the shadow of the body  q r   as is shown by the straight lines  d q
o e r p   And the same occurs with the light  a b  which falls on
the whole surface  s c t d  excepting at the spot obscured by the
shadow  q r   as is shown by the lines  d q o   and  e r p   Hence
we may conclude that the shadow  n m  is exposed to the blue light
 d e   but  as the red light  a b  cannot fall there   n m  will
appear as a blue shadow on a red background tinted with blue 
because on the surface  s c t d  both lights can fall  But in the
shadows only one single light falls  for this reason these shadows
are of medium depth  since  if no light whatever mingled with the
shadow  it would be of the first degree of darkness  c  But in the
shadow at  o p  the blue light does not fall  because the body  q r 
interposes and intercepts it there  Only the red light  a b  falls
there and tinges the shadow of a red hue and so a ruddy shadow
appears on the background of mingled red and blue 

The shadow of  q r  at  o p  is red  being caused by the blue light
 d e   and the shadow of  q r  at  o  p   is blue being caused by
the red light  a b   Hence we say that the blue light in this
instance causes a red derived shadow from the opaque body  q  r   
while the red light causes the same body to cast a blue derived
shadow  but the primary shadow  on the dark side of the body itself 
is not of either of those hues  but a mixture of red and blue 

The derived shadows will be equal in depth if they are produced by
lights of equal strength and at an equal distance  this is proved 
 Footnote 53  The text is unfinished in the original  

 Footnote  In the original diagram Leonardo has written within the
circle  q r corpo obroso   body in shadow   at the spot marked  A 
luminoso azzurro   blue luminous body   at  B  luminoso rosso   red
luminous body   At  E  we read  ombra azzurra   blue tinted shadow 
and at  D ombra rossa   red tinted shadow   

On the nature of colours  277  278  

277 

No white or black is transparent 

278 

OF PAINTING 

 Footnote 2  See Footnote 3  Since white is not a colour but the
neutral recipient of every colour  Footnote 3   il bianco non e
colore ma e inpotentia ricettiva d ogni colore   white is not a
colour  but the neutral recipient of every colour   LEON BATT 
ALBERTI   Della pittura   libro I  asserts on the contrary    Il
bianco e l nero non sono veri colori  ma sono alteratione delli
altri colori    ed  JANITSCHEK  p  67  Vienna 1877     when it is
seen in the open air and high up  all its shadows are bluish  and
this is caused  according to the 4th  prop    which says  the
surface of every opaque body assumes the hue of the surrounding
objects  Now this white  body  being deprived of the light of the
sun by the interposition of some body between the sun and itself 
all that portion of it which is exposed to the sun and atmosphere
assumes the colour of the sun and atmosphere  the side on which the
sun does not fall remains in shadow and assumes the hue of the
atmosphere  And if this white object did not reflect the green of
the fields all the way to the horizon nor get the brightness of the
horizon itself  it would certainly appear simply of the same hue as
the atmosphere 

On gradations in the depth of colours  279  280  

279 

Since black  when painted next to white  looks no blacker than when
next to black  and white when next to black looks no whiter than
white  as is seen by the images transmitted through a small hole or
by the edges of any opaque screen    

280 

OF COLOURS 

Of several colours  all equally white  that will look whitest which
is against the darkest background  And black will look intensest
against the whitest background 

And red will look most vivid against the yellowest background  and
the same is the case with all colours when surrounded by their
strongest contrasts 

On the reflection of colours  281 283  

281 

PERSPECTIVE 

Every object devoid of colour in itself is more or less tinged by
the colour  of the object  placed opposite  This may be seen by
experience  inasmuch as any object which mirrors another assumes the
colour of the object mirrored in it  And if the surface thus
partially coloured is white the portion which has a red reflection
will appear red  or any other colour  whether bright or dark 

PERSPECTIVE 

Every opaque and colourless body assumes the hue of the colour
reflected on it  as happens with a white wall 

282 

PERSPECTIVE 

That side of an object in light and shade which is towards the light
transmits the images of its details more distinctly and immediately
to the eye than the side which is in shadow 

PERSPECTIVE 

The solar rays reflected on a square mirror will be thrown back to
distant objects in a circular form 

PERSPECTIVE 

Any white and opaque surface will be partially coloured by
reflections from surrounding objects 

 Footnote 281  282  The title line of these chapters is in the
original simply   pro    which may be an abbreviation for either
 Propositione  or  Prospettiva   taking Prospettiva of course in its
widest sense  as we often find it used in Leonardo s writings  The
title   pro   has here been understood to mean  Prospettiva   in
accordance with the suggestion afforded by page 10b of this same
MS   where the first section is headed  Prospettiva  in full  see
No  94   while the four following sections are headed merely   pro  
 see No  85   

283 

WHAT PORTION OF A COLOURED SURFACE OUGHT IN REASON TO BE THE MOST
INTENSE 

If  a  is the light  and  b  illuminated by it in a direct line 
 c   on which the light cannot fall  is lighted only by reflection
from  b  which  let us say  is red  Hence the light reflected from
it  will be affected by the hue of the surface causing it and will
tinge the surface  c  with red  And if  c  is also red you will see
it much more intense than  b   and if it were yellow you would see
there a colour between yellow and red 

On the use of dark and light colours in painting  284  286  

284 

WHY BEAUTIFUL COLOURS MUST BE IN THE  HIGHEST  LIGHT 

Since we see that the quality of colour is known  only  by means of
light  it is to be supposed that where there is most light the true
character of a colour in light will be best seen  and where there is
most shadow the colour will be affected by the tone of that  Hence 
O Painter  remember to show the true quality of colours in bright
lights 

285 

An object represented in white and black will display stronger
relief than in any other way  hence I would remind you O Painter  to
dress your figures in the lightest colours you can  since  if you
put them in dark colours  they will be in too slight relief and
inconspicuous from a distance  And the reason is that the shadows of
all objects are dark  And if you make a dress dark there is little
variety in the lights and shadows  while in light colours there are
many grades 

286 

OF PAINTING 

Colours seen in shadow will display more or less of their natural
brilliancy in proportion as they are in fainter or deeper shadow 

But if these same colours are situated in a well lighted place  they
will appear brighter in proportion as the light is more brilliant 

THE ADVERSARY 

The variety of colours in shadow must be as great as that of the
colours in the objects in that shadow 

THE ANSWER 

Colours seen in shadow will display less variety in proportion as
the shadows in which they lie are deeper  And evidence of this is to
be had by looking from an open space into the doorways of dark and
shadowy churches  where the pictures which are painted in various
colours all look of uniform darkness 

Hence at a considerable distance all the shadows of different
colours will appear of the same darkness 

It is the light side of an object in light and shade which shows the
true colour 

On the colours of the rainbow  287  288  

287 

Treat of the rainbow in the last book on Painting  but first write
the book on colours produced by the mixture of other colours  so as
to be able to prove by those painters  colours how the colours of
the rainbow are produced 

288 

WHETHER THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW ARE PRODUCED BY THE SUN 

The colours of the rainbow are not produced by the sun  for they
occur in many ways without the sunshine  as may be seen by holding a
glass of water up to the eye  when  in the glass  where there are
those minute bubbles always seen in coarse glass  each bubble  even
though the sun does not fall on it  will produce on one side all the
colours of the rainbow  as you may see by placing the glass between
the day light and your eye in such a way as that it is close to the
eye  while on one side the glass admits the  diffused  light of the
atmosphere  and on the other side the shadow of the wall on one side
of the window  either left or right  it matters not which  Then  by
turning the glass round you will see these colours all round the
bubbles in the glass  c  And the rest shall be said in its place 

THAT THE EYE HAS NO PART IN PRODUCING THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW 

In the experiment just described  the eye would seem to have some
share in the colours of the rainbow  since these bubbles in the
glass do not display the colours except through the medium of the
eye  But  if you place the glass full of water on the window sill 
in such a position as that the outer side is exposed to the sun s
rays  you will see the same colours produced in the spot of light
thrown through the glass and upon the floor  in a dark place  below
the window  and as the eye is not here concerned in it  we may
evidently  and with certainty pronounce that the eye has no share in
producing them 

OF THE COLOURS IN THE FEATHERS OF CERTAIN BIRDS 

There are many birds in various regions of the world on whose
feathers we see the most splendid colours produced as they move  as
we see in our own country in the feathers of peacocks or on the
necks of ducks or pigeons   c 

Again  on the surface of antique glass found underground and on the
roots of turnips kept for some time at the bottom of wells or other
stagnant waters  we see  that each root displays colours similar to
those of the real rainbow  They may also be seen when oil has been
placed on the top of water and in the solar rays reflected from the
surface of a diamond or beryl  again  through the angular facet of a
beryl every dark object against a background of the atmosphere or
any thing else equally pale coloured is surrounded by these rainbow
colours between the atmosphere and the dark body  and in many other
circumstances which I will not mention  as these suffice for my
purpose 

 VI  

  Prospettiva de  colri   Perspective of Colour  

 and 

  Prospettiva aerea   Aerial Perspective   

 Leonardo distinctly separates these branches of his subject  as may
be seen in the beginning of No   295   Attempts have been made to
cast doubts on the results which Leonardo arrived at by experiment
on the perspective of colour  but not with justice  as may be seen
from the original text of section  294 

 The question as to the composition of the atmosphere  which is
inseparable from a discussion on Aerial Perspective  forms a
separate theory which is treated at considerable length  Indeed the
author enters into it so fully that we cannot escape the conviction
that he must have dwelt with particular pleasure on this part of his
subject  and that he attached great importance to giving it a
character of general applicability  

General rules  289  291  

289 

The variety of colour in objects cannot be discerned at a great
distance  excepting in those parts which are directly lighted up by
the solar rays 

290 

As to the colours of objects  at long distances no difference is
perceptible in the parts in shadow 

291 

OF THE VISIBILITY OF COLOURS 

Which colour strikes most  An object at a distance is most
conspicuous  when it is lightest  and the darkest is least visible 

An exceptional case 

292 

Of the edges  outlines  of shadows  Some have misty and ill defined
edges  others distinct ones 

No opaque body can be devoid of light and shade  except it is in a
mist  on ground covered with snow  or when snow is falling on the
open country which has no light on it and is surrounded with
darkness 

And this occurs  only  in spherical bodies  because in other bodies
which have limbs and parts  those sides of limbs which face each
other reflect on each other the accidental  hue and tone  of their
surface 

An experiment 

293 

ALL COLOURS ARE AT A DISTANCE UNDISTINGUISHABLE AND UNDISCERNIBLE 

All colours at a distance are undistinguishable in shadow  because
an object which is not in the highest light is incapable of
transmitting its image to the eye through an atmosphere more
luminous than itself  since the lesser brightness must be absorbed
by the greater  For instance  We  in a house  can see that all the
colours on the surface of the walls are clearly and instantly
visible when the windows of the house are open  but if we were to go
out of the house and look in at the windows from a little distance
to see the paintings on those walls  instead of the paintings we
should see an uniform deep and colourless shadow 

The practice of the prospettiva de colori 

294 

HOW A PAINTER SHOULD CARRY OUT THE PERSPECTIVE OF COLOUR IN
PRACTICE 

In order to put into practice this perspective of the variation and
loss or diminution of the essential character of colours  observe at
every hundred braccia some objects standing in the landscape  such
as trees  houses  men and particular places  Then in front of the
first tree have a very steady plate of glass and keep your eye very
steady  and then  on this plate of glass  draw a tree  tracing it
over the form of that tree  Then move it on one side so far as that
the real tree is close by the side of the tree you have drawn  then
colour your drawing in such a way as that in colour and form the two
may be alike  and that both  if you close one eye  seem to be
painted on the glass and at the same distance  Then  by the same
method  represent a second tree  and a third  with a distance of a
hundred braccia between each  And these will serve as a standard and
guide whenever you work on your own pictures  wherever they may
apply  and will enable you to give due distance in those works   14 
But I have found that as a rule the second is 4 5 of the first when
it is 20 braccia beyond it 

 Footnote  This chapter is one of those copied in the Manuscript of
the Vatican library Urbinas 1270  and the original text is rendered
here with no other alterations  but in the orthography  H  LUDWIG 
in his edition of this copy translates lines 14 and 15 thus    Ich
finde aber als Regel  dass der zweite um vier Funftel des ersten
abnimmt  wenn er namlich zwanzig Ellen vom ersten entfernt ist
       He adds in his commentary    Das Ende der Nummer ist wohl
jedenfalls verstummelt    However the translation given above shows
that it admits of a different rendering  

The rules of aerial perspective  295  297  

295 

OF AERIAL PERSPECTIVE 

There is another kind of perspective which I call Aerial
Perspective  because by the atmosphere we are able to distinguish
the variations in distance of different buildings  which appear
placed on a single line  as  for instance  when we see several
buildings beyond a wall  all of which  as they appear above the top
of the wall  look of the same size  while you wish to represent them
in a picture as more remote one than another and to give the effect
of a somewhat dense atmosphere  You know that in an atmosphere of
equal density the remotest objects seen through it  as mountains  in
consequence of the great quantity of atmosphere between your eye and
them  appear blue and almost of the same hue as the atmosphere
itself  Footnote 10   quado il sole e per leuante   when the sun is
in the East   Apparently the author refers here to morning light in
general  H  LUDWIG however translates this passage from the Vatican
copy   wenn namlich die Sonne  dahinter  im Osten steht     when the
sun is in the East  Footnote 11  See Footnote 10   Hence you must
make the nearest building above the wall of its real colour  but the
more distant ones make less defined and bluer  Those you wish should
look farthest away you must make proportionately bluer  thus  if one
is to be five times as distant  make it five times bluer  And by
this rule the buildings which above a  given  line appear of the
same size  will plainly be distinguished as to which are the more
remote and which larger than the others 

296 

The medium lying between the eye and the object seen  tinges that
object with its colour  as the blueness of the atmosphere makes the
distant mountains appear blue and red glass makes objects seen
beyond it  look red  The light shed round them by the stars is
obscured by the darkness of the night which lies between the eye and
the radiant light of the stars 

297 

Take care that the perspective of colour does not disagree with the
size of your objects  hat is to say  that the colours diminish from
their natural  vividness  in proportion as the objects at various
distances dimmish from their natural size 

On the relative density of the atmosphere  298  290  

298 

WHY THE ATMOSPHERE MUST BE REPRESENTED AS PALER TOWARDS THE LOWER
PORTION 

Because the atmosphere is dense near the earth  and the higher it is
the rarer it becomes  When the sun is in the East if you look
towards the West and a little way to the South and North  you will
see that this dense atmosphere receives more light from the sun than
the rarer  because the rays meet with greater resistance  And if the
sky  as you see it  ends on a low plain  that lowest portion of the
sky will be seen through a denser and whiter atmosphere  which will
weaken its true colour as seen through that medium  and there the
sky will look whiter than it is above you  where the line of sight
travels through a smaller space of air charged with heavy vapour 
And if you turn to the East  the atmosphere will appear darker as
you look lower down because the luminous rays pass less freely
through the lower atmosphere 

299 

OF THE MODE OF TREATING REMOTE OBJECTS IN PAINTING 

It is easy to perceive that the atmosphere which lies closest to the
level ground is denser than the rest  and that where it is higher
up  it is rarer and more transparent  The lower portions of large
and lofty objects which are at a distance are not much seen  because
you see them along a line which passes through a denser and thicker
section of the atmosphere  The summits of such heights are seen
along a line which  though it starts from your eye in a dense
atmosphere  still  as it ends at the top of those lofty objects 
ceases in a much rarer atmosphere than exists at their base  for
this reason the farther this line extends from your eye  from point
to point the atmosphere becomes more and more rare  Hence  O
Painter  when you represent mountains  see that from hill to hill
the bases are paler than the summits  and in proportion as they
recede beyond each other make the bases paler than the summits 
while  the higher they are the more you must show of their true form
and colour 

On the colour of the atmosphere  300 307  

300 

OF THE COLOUR OF THE ATMOSPHERE 

I say that the blueness we see in the atmosphere is not intrinsic
colour  but is caused by warm vapour evaporated in minute and
insensible atoms on which the solar rays fall  rendering them
luminous against the infinite darkness of the fiery sphere which
lies beyond and includes it  And this may be seen  as I saw it by
any one going up  Footnote 5  With regard to the place spoken of as
 M oboso   compare No  301 line 20  its identity will be discussed
under Leonardo s Topographical notes in Vol  II   Monboso  a peak of
the Alps which divide France from Italy  The base of this mountain
gives birth to the four rivers which flow in four different
directions through the whole of Europe  And no mountain has its base
at so great a height as this  which lifts itself almost above the
clouds  and snow seldom falls there  but only hail in the summer 
when the clouds are highest  And this hail lies  unmelted  there  so
that if it were not for the absorption of the rising and falling
clouds  which does not happen twice in an age  an enormous mass of
ice would be piled up there by the hail  and in the middle of July I
found it very considerable  There I saw above me the dark sky  and
the sun as it fell on the mountain was far brighter here than in the
plains below  because a smaller extent of atmosphere lay between the
summit of the mountain and the sun  Again as an illustration of the
colour of the atmosphere I will mention the smoke of old and dry
wood  which  as it comes out of a chimney  appears to turn very
blue  when seen between the eye and the dark distance  But as it
rises  and comes between the eye and the bright atmosphere  it at
once shows of an ashy grey colour  and this happens because it no
longer has darkness beyond it  but this bright and luminous space 
If the smoke is from young  green wood  it will not appear blue 
because  not being transparent and being full of superabundant
moisture  it has the effect of condensed clouds which take distinct
lights and shadows like a solid body  The same occurs with the
atmosphere  which  when overcharged with moisture appears white  and
the small amount of heated moisture makes it dark  of a dark blue
colour  and this will suffice us so far as concerns the colour of
the atmosphere  though it might be added that  if this transparent
blue were the natural colour of the atmosphere  it would follow that
wherever a larger mass air intervened between the eye and the
element of fire  the azure colour would be more intense  as we see
in blue glass and in sapphires  which are darker in proportion as
they are larger  But the atmosphere in such circumstances behaves in
an opposite manner  inasmuch as where a greater quantity of it lies
between the eye and the sphere of fire  it is seen much whiter  This
occurs towards the horizon  And the less the extent of atmosphere
between the eye and the sphere of fire  the deeper is the blue
colour  as may be seen even on low plains  Hence it follows  as I
say  that the atmosphere assumes this azure hue by reason of the
particles of moisture which catch the rays of the sun  Again  we may
note the difference in particles of dust  or particles of smoke  in
the sun beams admitted through holes into a dark chamber  when the
former will look ash grey and the thin smoke will appear of a most
beautiful blue  and it may be seen again in in the dark shadows of
distant mountains when the air between the eye and those shadows
will look very blue  though the brightest parts of those mountains
will not differ much from their true colour  But if any one wishes
for a final proof let him paint a board with various colours  among
them an intense black  and over all let him lay a very thin and
transparent  coating of  white  He will then see that this
transparent white will nowhere show a more beautiful blue than over
the black  but it must be very thin and finely ground 

 Footnote 7   reta  here has the sense of  malanno   

301 

Experience shows us that the air must have darkness beyond it and
yet it appears blue  If you produce a small quantity of smoke from
dry wood and the rays of the sun fall on this smoke  and if you then
place behind the smoke a piece of black velvet on which the sun does
not shine  you will see that all the smoke which is between the eye
and the black stuff will appear of a beautiful blue colour  And if
instead of the velvet you place a white cloth smoke  that is too
thick smoke  hinders  and too thin smoke does not produce  the
perfection of this blue colour  Hence a moderate amount of smoke
produces the finest blue  Water violently ejected in a fine spray
and in a dark chamber where the sun beams are admitted produces
these blue rays and the more vividly if it is distilled water  and
thin smoke looks blue  This I mention in order to show that the
blueness of the atmosphere is caused by the darkness beyond it  and
these instances are given for those who cannot confirm my experience
on Monboso 

302 

When the smoke from dry wood is seen between the eye of the
spectator and some dark space  or object   it will look blue  Thus
the sky looks blue by reason of the darkness beyond it  And if you
look towards the horizon of the sky  you will see the atmosphere is
not blue  and this is caused by its density  And thus at each
degree  as you raise your eyes above the horizon up to the sky over
your head  you will see the atmosphere look darker  blue  and this
is because a smaller density of air lies between your eye and the
 outer  darkness  And if you go to the top of a high mountain the
sky will look proportionately darker above you as the atmosphere
becomes rarer between you and the  outer  darkness  and this will be
more visible at each degree of increasing height till at last we
should find darkness 

That smoke will look bluest which rises from the driest wood and
which is nearest to the fire and is seen against the darkest
background  and with the sunlight upon it 

303 

A dark object will appear bluest in proportion as it has a greater
mass of luminous atmosphere between it and the eye  As may be seen
in the colour of the sky 

304 

The atmosphere is blue by reason of the darkness above it because
black and white make blue 

305 

In the morning the mist is denser above than below  because the sun
draws it upwards  hence tall buildings  even if the summit is at the
same distance as the base have the summit invisible  Therefore 
also  the sky looks darkest  in colour  overhead  and towards the
horizon it is not blue but rather between smoke and dust colour 

The atmosphere  when full of mist  is quite devoid of blueness  and
only appears of the colour of clouds  which shine white when the
weather is fine  And the more you turn to the west the darker it
will be  and the brighter as you look to the east  And the verdure
of the fields is bluish in a thin mist  but grows grey in a dense
one 

The buildings in the west will only show their illuminated side 
where the sun shines  and the mist hides the rest  When the sun
rises and chases away the haze  the hills on the side where it lifts
begin to grow clearer  and look blue  and seem to smoke with the
vanishing mists  and the buildings reveal their lights and shadows 
through the thinner vapour they show only their lights and through
the thicker air nothing at all  This is when the movement of the
mist makes it part horizontally  and then the edges of the mist will
be indistinct against the blue of the sky  and towards the earth it
will look almost like dust blown up  In proportion as the atmosphere
is dense the buildings of a city and the trees in a landscape will
look fewer  because only the tallest and largest will be seen 

Darkness affects every thing with its hue  and the more an object
differs from darkness  the more we see its real and natural colour 
The mountains will look few  because only those will be seen which
are farthest apart  since  at such a distance  the density increases
to such a degree that it causes a brightness by which the darkness
of the hills becomes divided and vanishes indeed towards the top 
There is less  mist  between lower and nearer hills and yet little
is to be distinguished  and least towards the bottom 

306 

The surface of an object partakes of the colour of the light which
illuminates it  and of the colour of the atmosphere which lies
between the eye and that object  that is of the colour of the
transparent medium lying between the object and the eye  and among
colours of a similar character the second will be of the same tone
as the first  and this is caused by the increased thickness of the
colour of the medium lying between the object and the eye 

307  OF PAINTING 

Of various colours which are none of them blue that which at a great
distance will look bluest is the nearest to black  and so 
conversely  the colour which is least like black will at a great
distance best preserve its own colour 

Hence the green of fields will assume a bluer hue than yellow or
white will  and conversely yellow or white will change less than
green  and red still less 

 VII  

 On the Proportions and on the Movements of the Human Figure  

 Leonardo s researches on the proportions and movements of the human
figure must have been for the most part completed and written before
the year  1498   for LUCA PACIOLO writes  in the dedication to
Ludovico il Moro  of his book  Divina Proportione   which was
published in that year    Leonardo da venci     hauedo gia co tutta
diligetia al degno libro de pictura e movimenti humani posto fine  

 The selection of Leonardo s axioms contained in the Vatican copy
attributes these words to the author    e il resto si dira nella
universale misura del huomo     MANZI  p  147  LUDWIG  No  264   
 LOMAZZO  again  in his  Idea del Tempio della Pittura Milano 1590 
cap  IV   says    Lionardo Vinci     dimostro anco in figura tutte
le proporzioni dei membri del corpo umano  

 The Vatican copy includes but very few sections of the   Universale
misura del huomo   and until now nothing has been made known of the
original MSS  on the subject which have supplied the very extensive
materials for this portion of the work  The collection at Windsor 
belonging to her Majesty the Queen  includes by far the most
important part of Leonardo s investigations on this subject 
constituting about half of the whole of the materials here
published  and the large number of original drawings adds greatly to
the interest which the subject itself must command  Luca Paciolo
would seem to have had these MSS   which I have distinguished by the
initials W  P   in his mind when he wrote the passage quoted above 
Still  certain notes of a later date  such as Nos  360  362 and 363 
from MS  E  written in 1513  14  sufficiently prove that Leonardo did
not consider his earlier studies on the Proportions and Movements of
the Human Figure final and complete  as we might suppose from Luca
Paciolo s statement  Or else he took the subject up again at a
subsequent period  since his former researches had been carried on
at Milan between 1490 and 1500  Indeed it is highly probable that
the anatomical studies which he was pursuing zvith so much zeal
between 1510  16 should have led him to reconsider the subject of
Proportion 

Preliminary observations  308  309  

308 

Every man  at three years old is half the full height he will grow
to at last 

309 

If a man 2 braccia high is too small  one of four is too tall  the
medium being what is admirable  Between 2 and 4 comes 3  therefore
take a man of 3 braccia in height and measure him by the rule I will
give you  If you tell me that I may be mistaken  and judge a man to
be well proportioned who does not conform to this division  I answer
that you must look at many men of 3 braccia  and out of the larger
number who are alike in their limbs choose one of those who are most
graceful and take your measurements  The length of the hand is 1 3
of a braccio  8 inches  and this is found 9 times in man  And the
face  Footnote 7  The account here given of the  braccio  is of
importance in understanding some of the succeeding chapters   Testa 
must here be understood to mean the face  The statements in this
section are illustrated in part on Pl  XI   is the same  and from
the pit of the throat to the shoulder  and from the shoulder to the
nipple  and from one nipple to the other  and from each nipple to
the pit of the throat 

Proportions of the head and face  310 318  

310 

The space between the parting of the lips  the mouth  and the base
of the nose is one seventh of the face 

The space from the mouth to the bottom of the chin  c d  is the
fourth part of the face and equal to the width of the mouth 

The space from the chin to the base of the nose  e f  is the third
part of the face and equal to the length of the nose and to the
forehead 

The distance from the middle of the nose to the bottom of the chin
 g h   is half the length of the face 

The distance from the top of the nose  where the eyebrows begin  to
the bottom of the chin   i k   is two thirds of the face 

The space from the parting of the lips to the top of the chin  l m  
that is where the chin ends and passes into the lower lip of the
mouth  is the third of the distance from the parting of the lips to
the bottom of the chin and is the twelfth part of the face  From the
top to the bottom of the chin  m n  is the sixth part of the face
and is the fifty fourth part of a man s height 

From the farthest projection of the chin to the throat  o p  is
equal to the space between the mouth and the bottom of the chin  and
a fourth of the face 

The distance from the top of the throat to the pit of the throat
below  q r  is half the length of the face and the eighteenth part
of a man s height 

From the chin to the back of the neck  s t   is the same distance as
between the mouth and the roots of the hair  that is three quarters
of the head 

From the chin to the jaw bone  v x  is half the head and equal to
the thickness of the neck in profile 

The thickness of the head from the brow to the nape is once and 3 4
that of the neck 

 Footnote  The drawings to this text  lines 1 10 are on Pl  VII  No 
I  The two upper sketches of heads  Pl  VII  No  2  belong to lines
11 14  and in the original are placed immediately below the sketches
reproduced on Pl  VII  No  1  

311 

The distance from the attachment of one ear to the other is equal to
that from the meeting of the eyebrows to the chin  and in a fine
face the width of the mouth is equal to the length from the parting
of the lips to the bottom of the chin 

312 

The cut or depression below the lower lip of the mouth is half way
between the bottom of the nose and the bottom of the chin 

The face forms a square in itself  that is its width is from the
outer corner of one eye to the other  and its height is from the
very top of the nose to the bottom of the lower lip of the mouth 
then what remains above and below this square amounts to the height
of such another square   a   b  is equal to the space between  c 
 d    d   n  in the same way to  n   c   and likewise  s   r    q 
 p    h   k  are equal to each other 

It is as far between  m  and  s  as from the bottom of the nose to
the chin  The ear is exactly as long as the nose  It is as far from
 x  to  j  as from the nose to the chin  The parting of the mouth
seen in profile slopes to the angle of the jaw  The ear should be as
high as from the bottom of the nose to the top of the eye lid  The
space between the eyes is equal to the width of an eye  The ear is
over the middle of the neck  when seen in profile  The distance from
4 to 5 is equal to that from s  to  r  

 Footnote  See Pl  VIII  No  I  where the text of lines 3 13 is also
given in facsimile  

313 

  a   b   is equal to   c   d   

 Footnote  See Pl  VII  No  3  Reference may also be made here to
two pen and ink drawings of heads in profile with figured
measurements  of which there is no description in the MS  These are
given on Pl  XVII  No  2   A head  to the left  with part of the
torso  W  P  5a   No  1 on the same plate is from MS  A 2b and in
the original occurs on a page with wholly irrelevant text on matters
of natural history  M  RAVAISSON in his edition of the Paris MS  A
has reproduced this head and discussed it fully  note on page 12  
he has however somewhat altered the original measurements  The
complicated calculations which M  RAVAISSON has given appear to me
in no way justified  The sketch  as we see it  can hardly have been
intended for any thing more than an experimental attempt to
ascertain relative proportions  We do not find that Leonardo made
use of circular lines in any other study of the proportions of the
human head  At the same time we see that the proportions of this
sketch are not in accordance with the rules which he usually
observed  see for instance No  310   

The head  a   f  1 6 larger than  n   f  

315 

From the eyebrow to the junction of the lip with the chin  and the
angle of the jaw and the upper angle where the ear joins the temple
will be a perfect square  And each side by itself is half the head 

The hollow of the cheek bone occurs half way between the tip of the
nose and the top of the jaw bone  which is the lower angle of the
setting on of the ear  in the frame here represented 

From the angle of the eye socket to the ear is as far as the length
of the ear  or the third of the face 

 Footnote  See Pl  IX  The text  in the original is written behind
the head  The handwriting would seem to indicate a date earlier than
1480  On the same leaf there is a drawing in red chalk of two
horsemen of which only a portion of the upper figure is here
visible  The whole leaf measures 22 1 2 centimetres wide by 29 long 
and is numbered 127 in the top right hand corner  

316 

From  a  to  b   that is to say from the roots of the hair in front
to the top of the head  ought to be equal to  c   d    that is from
the bottom of the nose to the meeting of the lips in the middle of
the mouth  From the inner corner of the eye  m  to the top of the
head  a  is as far as from  m  down to the chin  s    s   c   f   b 
are all at equal distances from each other 

 Footnote  The drawing in silver point on bluish tinted paper  Pl 
X  which belongs to this chapter has been partly drawn over in ink
by Leonardo himself  

317 

From the top of the head to the bottom of the chin is 1 9  and from
the roots of the hair to the chin is 1 9 of the distance from the
roots of the hair to the ground  The greatest width of the face is
equal to the space between the mouth and the roots of the hair and
is 1 12 of the whole height  From the top of the ear to the top of
the head is equal to the distance from the bottom of the chin to the
lachrymatory duct of the eye  and also equal to the distance from
the angle of the chin to that of the jaw  that is the 1 16 of the
whole  The small cartilage which projects over the opening of the
ear towards the nose is half way between the nape and the eyebrow 
the thickness of the neck in profile is equal to the space between
the chin and the eyes  and to the space between the chin and the
jaw  and it is 1 18 of the height of the man 

318 

 a b    c d    e f    g h    i k  are equal to each other in size
excepting that  d f  is accidental 

 Footnote  See Pl  XI  

Proportions of the head seen in front  319 321  

319 

 a n o f  are equal to the mouth 

 a c  and  a f  are equal to the space between one eye and the
other 

 n m o f q r  are equal to half the width of the eye lids  that is
from the inner  lachrymatory  corner of the eye to its outer corner 
and in like manner the division between the chin and the mouth  and
in the same way the narrowest part of the nose between the eyes  And
these spaces  each in itself  is the 19th part of the head   n o  is
equal to the length of the eye or of the space between the eyes 

 m c  is 1 3 of  n m  measuring from the outer corner of the eyelids
to the letter  c    b s  will be equal to the width of the nostril 

 Footnote  See Pl  XII  

320 

The distance between the centres of the pupils of the eyes is 1 3 of
the face  The space between the outer corners of the eyes  that is
where the eye ends in the eye socket which contains it  thus the
outer corners  is half the face 

The greatest width of the face at the line of the eyes is equal to
the distance from the roots of the hair in front to the parting of
the lips 

 Footnote  There are  with this section  two sketches of eyes  not
reproduced here  

321 

The nose will make a double square  that is the width of the nose at
the nostrils goes twice into the length from the tip of the nose to
the eyebrows  And  in the same way  in profile the distance from the
extreme side of the nostril where it joins the cheek to the tip of
the nose is equal to the width of the nose in front from one nostril
to the other  If you divide the whole length of the nose  that is
from the tip to the insertion of the eyebrows  into 4 equal parts 
you will find that one of these parts extends from the tip of the
nostrils to the base of the nose  and the upper division lies
between the inner corner of the eye and the insertion of the
eyebrows  and the two middle parts  together  are equal to the
length of the eye from the inner to the outer corner 

 Footnote  The two bottom sketches on Pl  VII  No  4 face the six
lines of this section   With regard to the proportions of the head
in profile see No  312  

322 

The great toe is the sixth part of the foot  taking the measure in
profile  on the inside of the foot  from where this toe springs from
the ball of the sole of the foot to its tip  a b   and it is equal
to the distance from the mouth to the bottom of the chin  If you
draw the foot in profile from the outside  make the little toe begin
at three quarters of the length of the foot  and you will find the
same distance from the insertion of this toe as to the farthest
prominence of the great toe 

323 

For each man respectively the distance between  a b  is equal to  c
d  

324 

Relative proportion of the hand and foot 

The foot is as much longer than the hand as the thickness of the arm
at the wrist where it is thinnest seen facing 

Again  you will find that the foot is as much longer than the hand
as the space between the inner angle of the little toe to the last
projection of the big toe  if you measure along the length of the
foot 

The palm of the hand without the fingers goes twice into the length
of the foot without the toes 

If you hold your hand with the fingers straight out and close
together you will find it to be of the same width as the widest part
of the foot  that is where it is joined onto the toes 

And if you measure from the prominence of the inner ancle to the end
of the great toe you will find this measure to be as long as the
whole hand 

From the top angle of the foot to the insertion of the toes is equal
to the hand from wrist joint to the tip of the thumb 

The smallest width of the hand is equal to the smallest width of the
foot between its joint into the leg and the insertion of the toes 

The width of the heel at the lower part is equal to that of the arm
where it joins the hand  and also to the leg where it is thinnest
when viewed in front 

The length of the longest toe  from its first division from the
great toe to its tip is the fourth of the foot from the centre of
the ancle bone to the tip  and it is equal to the width of the
mouth  The distance between the mouth and the chin is equal to that
of the knuckles and of the three middle fingers and to the length of
their first joints if the hand is spread  and equal to the distance
from the joint of the thumb to the outset of the nails  that is the
fourth part of the hand and of the face 

The space between the extreme poles inside and outside the foot
called the ancle or ancle bone  a b  is equal to the space between
the mouth and the inner corner of the eye 

325 

The foot  from where it is attached to the leg  to the tip of the
great toe is as long as the space between the upper part of the chin
and the roots of the hair  a b   and equal to five sixths of the
face 

326 

 a d  is a head s length   c b  is a head s length  The four smaller
toes are all equally thick from the nail at the top to the bottom 
and are 1 13 of the foot 

 Footnote  See Pl  XIV  No  1  a drawing of a foot with the text in
three lines below it  

327 

The whole length of the foot will lie between the elbow and the
wrist and between the elbow and the inner angle of the arm towards
the breast when the arm is folded  The foot is as long as the whole
head of a man  that is from under the chin to the topmost part of
the head Footnote 2   nel modo che qui i figurato   See Pl  VII  No 
4  the upper figure  The text breaks off at the end of line 2 and
the text given under No  321 follows below  It may be here remarked
that the second sketch on W  P  311 has in the original no
explanatory text   in the way here figured 

Proportions of the leg  328 331  

328 

The greatest thickness of the calf of the leg is at a third of its
height  a b   and is a twentieth part thicker than the greatest
thickness of the foot 

 a c  is half of the head  and equal to  d b  and to the insertion
of the five toes  e f    d k  diminishes one sixth in the leg  g h  
 g h  is 1 3 of the head   m n  increases one sixth from  a e  and
is 7 12 of the head   o p  is 1 10 less than  d k  and is 6 17 of
the head   a  is at half the distance between  b q   and is 1 4 of
the man   r  is half way between  s  and  b  Footnote 11   b  is
here and later on measured on the right side of the foot as seen by
the spectator    The concavity of the knee outside  r  is higher
than that inside  a   The half of the whole height of the leg from
the foot  r   is half way between the prominence  s  and the ground
 b    v  is half way between  t  and  b   The thickness of the thigh
seen in front is equal to the greatest width of the face  that is
2 3 of the length from the chin to the top of the head   z r  is 5 6
of 7 to  v    m n  is equal to 7  v  and is 1 4 of  r b    x y  goes
3 times into  r b   and into  r s  

 Footnote 22 35  The sketch illustrating these lines is on Pl  XIII 
No  2  

 Footnote 22  a b  entra in  c f 6  e  6  in  c n  Accurate
measurement however obliges us to read 7 for 6    a b  goes six
times into  c f  and six times into  c n  and is equal to  g h    i
k l m  goes 4 times into  d f   and 4 times into  d n  and is 3 7 of
the foot   p q r s  goes 3 times into  d f  and 3 times into  b n  
 Footnote  25   y  is not to be found on the diagram and  x  occurs
twice  this makes the passage very obscure    x y  is 1 8 of  x f 
and is equal to  n q   3 7 is 1 9 of  n f   4 5 is 1 10 of  n f 
 Footnote  22 27  Compare with this lines 18 24 of No  331  and the
sketch of a leg in profile Pl  XV   

I want to know how much a man increases in height by standing on
tip toe and how much  p g  diminishes by stooping  and how much it
increases at  n q  likewise in bending the foot 

 Footnote 34   e f  4  dal cazo   By reading  i  for  e  the sense
of this passage is made clear    e f  is four times in the distance
between the genitals and the sole of the foot   Footnote 35  2 is
not to be found in the sketch which renders the passage obscure  The
two last lines are plainly legible in the facsimile   3 7 is six
times from 3 to 2 and is equal to  g h  and  i k  

 Footnote  The drawing of a leg seen in front Pl  XIII  No  1
belongs to the text from lines 3 21  The measurements in this
section should be compared with the text No  331  lines 1 13  and
the sketch of a leg seen in front on Pl  XV  

329 

The length of the foot from the end of the toes to the heel goes
twice into that from the heel to the knee  that is where the leg
bone  fibula  joins the thigh bone  femur  

330 

 a n b  are equal   c n d  are equal   n c  makes two feet   n d 
makes 2 feet 

 Footnote  See the lower sketch  Pl  XIV  No  1  

331 

 m n o  are equal  The narrowest width of the leg seen in front goes
8 times from the sole of the foot to the joint of the knee  and is
the same width as the arm  seen in front at the wrist  and as the
longest measure of the ear  and as the three chief divisions into
which we divide the face  and this measurement goes 4 times from the
wrist joint of the hand to the point of the elbow   14  The foot is
as long as the space from the knee between  a  and  b   and the
patella of the knee is as long as the leg between  r  and  s  

 18  The least thickness of the leg in profile goes 6 times from the
sole of the foot to the knee joint and is the same width as the
space between the outer corner of the eye and the opening of the
ear  and as the thickest part of the arm seen in profile and between
the inner corner of the eye and the insertion of the hair 

 a b c    d   are all relatively of equal length   c d  goes twice
from the sole of the foot to the centre of the knee and the same
from the knee to the hip 

 28  a b c  are equal   a  to  b  is 2 feet  that is to say
measuring from the heel to the tip of the great toe 

 Footnote  See Pl  XV  The text of lines 2 17 is to the left of the
front view of the leg  to which it refers  Lines 18 27 are in the
middle column and refer to the leg seen in profile and turned to the
left  on the right hand side of the writing  Lines 20 30 are above 
to the left and apply to the sketch below them 

Some farther remarks on the proportion of the leg will be found in
No  336  lines 6  7  

On the central point of the whole body 

332 

In kneeling down a man will lose the fourth part of his height 

When a man kneels down with his hands folded on his breast the navel
will mark half his height and likewise the points of the elbows 

Half the height of a man who sits  that is from the seat to the top
of the head  will be where the arms fold below the breast  and
below the shoulders  The seated portion  that is from the seat to
the top of the head  will be more than half the man s  whole height 
by the length of the scrotum 

 Footnote  See Pl  VIII  No  2  

The relative proportions of the torso and of the whole figure 

333 

The cubit is one fourth of the height of a man and is equal to the
greatest width of the shoulders  From the joint of one shoulder to
the other is two faces and is equal to the distance from the top of
the breast to the navel   Footnote 9   dalla detta somita   It would
seem more accurate to read here  dal detto ombilico    From this
point to the genitals is a face s length 

 Footnote  Compare with this the sketches on the other page of the
same leaf  Pl  VIII  No  2  

The relative proportions of the head and of the torso 

334 

From the roots of the hair to the top of the breast  a b  is the
sixth part of the height of a man and this measure is equal 

From the outside part of one shoulder to the other is the same
distance as from the top of the breast to the navel and this measure
goes four times from the sole of the foot to the lower end of the
nose 

The  thickness of  the arm where it springs from the shoulder in
front goes 6 times into the space between the two outside edges of
the shoulders and 3 times into the face  and four times into the
length of the foot and three into the hand  inside or outside 

 Footnote  The three sketches Pl  XIV  No  2 belong to this text  

The relative proportions of the torso and of the leg  335  336  

335 

 a b c  are equal to each other and to the space from the armpit of
the shoulder to the genitals and to the distance from the tip of the
fingers of the hand to the joint of the arm  and to the half of the
breast  and you must know that  c b  is the third part of the height
of a man from the shoulders to the ground   d e f  are equal to each
other and equal to the greatest width of the shoulders 

 Footnote  See Pl  XVI  No  1  

336 

  Top of the chin  hip  the insertion of the middle finger  The end
of the calf of the leg on the inside of the thigh   The end of the
swelling of the shin bone of the leg   6  The smallest thickness of
the leg goes 3 times into the thigh seen in front 

 Footnote  See Pl  XVII  No  2  middle sketch  

The relative proportions of the torso and of the foot 

337 

The torso  a b  in its thinnest part measures a foot  and from  a 
to  b  is 2 feet  which makes two squares to the seat  its thinnest
part goes 3 times into the length  thus making 3 squares 

 Footnote  See Pl  VII  No  2  the lower sketch  

The proportions of the whole figure  338 341  

338 

A man when he lies down is reduced to 1 9 of his height 

339 

The opening of the ear  the joint of the shoulder  that of the hip
and the ancle are in perpendicular lines   a n  is equal to  m o  

 Footnote  See Pl  XVI  No  2  the upper sketch  

340 

From the chin to the roots of the hair is 1 10 of the whole figure 
From the joint of the palm of the hand to the tip of the longest
finger is 1 10  From the chin to the top of the head 1 8  and from
the pit of the stomach to the top of the breast is 1 6  and from the
pit below the breast bone to the top of the head 1 4  From the chin
to the nostrils 1 3 Part of the face  the same from the nostrils to
the brow and from the brow to the roots of the hair  and the foot is
1 6  the elbow 1 4  the width of the shoulders 1 4 

341 

The width of the shoulders is 1 4 of the whole  From the joint of
the shoulder to the hand is 1 3  from the parting of the lips to
below the shoulder blade is one foot 

The greatest thickness of a man from the breast to the spine is one
8th of his height and is equal to the space between the bottom of
the chin and the top of the head 

The greatest width is at the shoulders and goes 4 

The torso from the front and back 

342 

The width of a man under the arms is the same as at the hips 

A man s width across the hips is equal to the distance from the top
of the hip to the bottom of the buttock  when a man stands equally
balanced on both feet  and there is the same distance from the top
of the hip to the armpit  The waist  or narrower part above the hips
will be half way between the arm pits and the bottom of the buttock 

 Footnote  The lower sketch Pl  XVI  No  2  is drawn by the side of
line 1  

Vitruvius  scheme of proportions 

343 

Vitruvius  the architect  says in his work on architecture that the
measurements of the human body are distributed by Nature as follows 
that is that 4 fingers make 1 palm  and 4 palms make 1 foot  6 palms
make 1 cubit  4 cubits make a man s height  And 4 cubits make one
pace and 24 palms make a man  and these measures he used in his
buildings  If you open your legs so much as to decrease your height
1 14 and spread and raise your arms till your middle fingers touch
the level of the top of your head you must know that the centre of
the outspread limbs will be in the navel and the space between the
legs will be an equilateral triangle 

The length of a man s outspread arms is equal to his height 

From the roots of the hair to the bottom of the chin is the tenth of
a man s height  from the bottom of the chin to the top of his head
is one eighth of his height  from the top of the breast to the top
of his head will be one sixth of a man  From the top of the breast
to the roots of the hair will be the seventh part of the whole man 
From the nipples to the top of the head will be the fourth part of a
man  The greatest width of the shoulders contains in itself the
fourth part of the man  From the elbow to the tip of the hand will
be the fifth part of a man  and from the elbow to the angle of the
armpit will be the eighth part of the man  The whole hand will be
the tenth part of the man  the beginning of the genitals marks the
middle of the man  The foot is the seventh part of the man  From the
sole of the foot to below the knee will be the fourth part of the
man  From below the knee to the beginning of the genitals will be
the fourth part of the man  The distance from the bottom of the chin
to the nose and from the roots of the hair to the eyebrows is  in
each case the same  and like the ear  a third of the face 

 Footnote  See Pl  XVIII  The original leaf is 21 centimetres wide
and 33 1 2 long  At the ends of the scale below the figure are
written the words  diti   fingers  and  palmi   palms   The passage
quoted from Vitruvius is Book III  Cap  1  and Leonardo s drawing is
given in the editions of Vitruvius by FRA GIOCONDO  Venezia 1511 
fol   Firenze 1513  8vo   and by CESARIANO  Como 1521   

The arm and head 

344 

From  b  to  a  is one head  as well as from  c  to  a  and this
happens when the elbow forms a right angle 

 Footnote  See Pl  XLI  No  1  

Proportions of the arm  345 349  

345 

From the tip of the longest finger of the hand to the shoulder joint
is four hands or  if you will  four faces 

 a b c  are equal and each interval is 2 heads 

 Footnote  Lines 1 3 are given on Pl  XV below the front view of the
leg  lines 4 and 5 are below again  on the left side  The lettering
refers to the bent arm near the text  

346 

The hand from the longest finger to the wrist joint goes 4 times
from the tip of the longest finger to the shoulder joint 

347 

 a b c  are equal to each other and to the foot and to the space
between the nipple and the navel  d e  will be the third part of the
whole man 

 f g  is the fourth part of a man and is equal to  g h  and measures
a cubit 

 Footnote  See Pl  XIX  No  1  1   mamolino     bambino   little
child  may mean here the navel  

348 

 a b  goes 4 times into  a c  and 9 into  a m   The greatest
thickness of the arm between the elbow and the hand goes 6 times
into  a m  and is equal to  r f   The greatest thickness of the arm
between the shoulder and the elbow goes 4 times into  c m   and is
equal to  h n g   The smallest thickness of the arm above the elbow
 x y  is not the base of a square  but is equal to half the space
 h  3 which is found between the inner joint of the arm and the
wrist joint 

 11 The width of the wrist goes 12 times into the whole arm  that is
from the tip of the fingers to the shoulder joint  that is 3 times
into the hand and 9 into the arm 

The arm when bent is 4 heads 

The arm from the shoulder to the elbow in bending increases in
length  that is in the length from the shoulder to the elbow  and
this increase is equal to the thickness of the arm at the wrist when
seen in profile  And the space between the bottom of the chin and
the parting of the lips  is equal to the thickness of the 2 middle
fingers  and to the width of the mouth and to the space between the
roots of the hair on the forehead and the top of the head  Footnote 
 Queste cose   This passage seems to have been written on purpose to
rectify the foregoing lines  The error is explained by the
accompanying sketch of the bones of the arm    All these distances
are equal to each other  but they are not equal to the
above mentioned increase in the arm 

The arm between the elbow and wrist never increases by being bent or
extended 

The arm  from the shoulder to the inner joint when extended 

When the arm is extended   p n  is equal to  n a   And when it is
bent  n a  diminishes 1 6 of its length and  p n  does the same  The
outer elbow joint increases 1 7 when bent  and thus by being bent it
increases to the length of 2 heads  And on the inner side  by
bending  it is found that whereas the arm from where it joins the
side to the wrist  was 2 heads and a half  in bending it loses the
half head and measures only two  one from the  shoulder  joint to
the end  by the elbow   and the other to the hand 

The arm when folded will measure 2 faces up to the shoulder from the
elbow and 2 from the elbow to the insertion of the four fingers on
the palm of the hand  The length from the base of the fingers to the
elbow never alters in any position of the arm 

If the arm is extended it decreases by 1 3 of the length between  b 
and  h   and if  being extended  it is bent  it will increase the
half of  o e    Footnote 59 61  The figure sketched in the margin is
however drawn to different proportions   The length from the
shoulder to the elbow is the same as from the base of the thumb 
inside  to the elbow  a b c  

 Footnote 62 64  The arm sketch on the margin of the MS  is
identically the same as that given below on Pl  XX which may
therefore be referred to in this place  In line 62 we read therefore
 z c  for  m n    The smallest thickness of the arm in profile  z c 
goes 6 times between the knuckles of the hand and the dimple of the
elbow when extended and 14 times in the whole arm and 42 in the
whole man  64   The greatest thickness of the arm in profile is
equal to the greatest thickness of the arm in front  but the first
is placed at a third of the arm from the shoulder joint to the elbow
and the other at a third from the elbow towards the hand 

 Footnote  Compare Pl  XVII  Lines 1 10 and 11 15 are written in two
columns below the extended arm  and at the tips of the fingers we
find the words   fine d unghie   ends of the nails   Part of the
text  lines 22 to 25  is visible by the side of the sketches on Pl 
XXXV  No  1  

349 

From the top of the shoulder to the point of the elbow is as far as
from that point to the joints of the four fingers with the palm of
the hand  and each is 2 faces 

 5  a e  is equal to the palm of the hand   r f  and  o g  are equal
to half a head and each goes 4 times into  a b  and  b c   From  c 
to  m  is 1 2 a head   m n  is 1 3 of a head and goes 6 times into
 c b  and into  b a    a b  loses 1 7 of its length when the arm is
extended   c b  never alters   o  will always be the middle point
between  a  and  s  

 y l  is the fleshy part of the arm and measures one head  and when
the arm is bent this shrinks 2 5 of its length   o a  in bending
loses 1 6 and so does  o r  

 a b  is 1 7 of  r c    f s  will be 1 8 of  r c   and each of those
2 measurements is the largest of the arm   k h  is the thinnest part
between the shoulder and the elbow and it is 1 8 of the whole arm  r
c    o p  is 1 5 of  r l    c z  goes 13 times into  r c  

 Footnote  See Pl  XX where the text is also seen from lines 5 23  

The movement of the arm  350 354  

350 

In the innermost bend of the joints of every limb the reliefs are
converted into a hollow  and likewise every hollow of the innermost
bends becomes a convexity when the limb is straightened to the
utmost  And in this very great mistakes are often made by those who
have insufficient knowledge and trust to their own invention and do
not have recourse to the imitation of nature  and these variations
occur more in the middle of the sides than in front  and more at the
back than at the sides 

351 

When the arm is bent at an angle at the elbow  it will produce some
angle  the more acute the angle is  the more will the muscles within
the bend be shortened  while the muscles outside will become of
greater length than before  As is shown in the example   d c e  will
shrink considerably  and  b n  will be much extended 

 Footnote  See Pl  XIX  No  2  

352 

OF PAINTING 

The arm  as it turns  thrusts back its shoulder towards the middle
of the back 

353 

The principal movements of the hand are 10  that is forwards 
backwards  to right and to left  in a circular motion  up or down 
to close and to open  and to spread the fingers or to press them
together 

354 

OF THE MOTIONS OF THE FINGERS 

The movements of the fingers principally consist in extending and
bending them  This extension and bending vary in manner  that is 
sometimes they bend altogether at the first joint  sometimes they
bend  or extend  half way  at the 2nd joint  and sometimes they bend
in their whole length and in all the three joints at once  If the 2
first joints are hindered from bending  then the 3rd joint can be
bent with greater ease than before  it can never bend of itself  if
the other joints are free  unless all three joints are bent  Besides
all these movements there are 4 other principal motions of which 2
are up and down  the two others from side to side  and each of these
is effected by a single tendon  From these there follow an infinite
number of other movements always effected by two tendons  one tendon
ceasing to act  the other takes up the movement  The tendons are
made thick inside the fingers and thin outside  and the tendons
inside are attached to every joint but outside they are not 

 Footnote 26  This head line has  in the original  no text to
follow   Of the strength  and effect  of the 3 tendons inside the
fingers at the 3 joints 

The movement of the torso  355 361  

355 

Observe the altered position of the shoulder in all the movements of
the arm  going up and down  inwards and outwards  to the back and to
the front  and also in circular movements and any others 

And do the same with reference to the neck  hands and feet and the
breast above the lips  c 

356 

Three are the principal muscles of the shoulder  that is  b c d  
and two are the lateral muscles which move it forward and backward 
that is  a o    a  moves it forward  and  o  pulls it back  and bed
raises it   a b c  moves it upwards and forwards  and  c d o 
upwards and backwards  Its own weight almost suffices to move it
downwards 

The muscle  d  acts with the muscle  c  when the arm moves forward 
and in moving backward the muscle  b  acts with the muscle  c  

 Footnote  See Pl  XXI  In the original the lettering has been
written in ink upon the red chalk drawing and the outlines of the
figures have in most places been inked over  

357 

OF THE LOINS  WHEN BENT 

The loins or backbone being bent  The breasts are are always lower
than the shoulderblades of the back 

If the breast bone is arched the breasts are higher than the
shoulderblades 

If the loins are upright the breast will always be found at the same
level as the shoulderblades 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXII  No  1  

358 

 a b  the tendon and ankle in raising the heel approach each other
by a finger s breadth  in lowering it they separate by a finger s
breadth 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXII  No  2  Compare this facsimile and text with
Pl  III  No  2  and p  152 of MANZI S edition  Also with No  274 of
LUDWIG S edition of the Vatican Copy  

359 

Just so much as the part  d a  of the nude figure decreases in this
position so much does the opposite part increase  that is  in
proportion as the length of the part  d a  diminishes the normal
size so does the opposite upper part increase beyond its  normal 
size  The navel does not change its position to the male organ  and
this shrinking arises because when a figure stands on one foot  that
foot becomes the centre  of gravity  of the superimposed weight 
This being so  the middle between the shoulders is thrust above it
out of it perpendicular line  and this line  which forms the central
line of the external parts of the body  becomes bent at its upper
extremity  so as to be  above the foot which supports the body  and
the transverse lines are forced into such angles that their ends are
lower on the side which is supported  As is shown at  a b c  

 Footnote  See Pl  XXII  No  3  

360 

OF PAINTING 

Note in the motions and attitudes of figures how the limbs vary  and
their feeling  for the shoulderblades in the motions of the arms and
shoulders vary the  line of the  back bone very much  And you will
find all the causes of this in my book of Anatomy 

361 

OF  CHANGE OF  ATTITUDE 

The pit of the throat is over the feet  and by throwing one arm
forward the pit of the throat is thrown off that foot  And if the
leg is thrown forward the pit of the throat is thrown forward  and 
so it varies in every attitude 

362 

OF PAINTING 

Indicate which are the muscles  and which the tendons  which become
prominent or retreat in the different movements of each limb  or
which do neither  but are passive   And remember that these
indications of action are of the first importance and necessity in
any painter or sculptor who professes to be a master  c 

And indicate the same in a child  and from birth to decrepitude at
every stage of its life  as infancy  childhood  boyhood  youth  c 

And in each express the alterations in the limbs and joints  which
swell and which grow thinner 

363 

O Anatomical Painter  beware lest the too strong indication of the
bones  sinews and muscles  be the cause of your becoming wooden in
your painting by your wish to make your nude figures display all
their feeling  Therefore  in endeavouring to remedy this  look in
what manner the muscles clothe or cover their bones in old or lean
persons  and besides this  observe the rule as to how these same
muscles fill up the spaces of the surface that extend between them 
which are the muscles which never lose their prominence in any
amount of fatness  and which too are the muscles of which the
attachments are lost to sight in the very least plumpness  And in
many cases several muscles look like one single muscle in the
increase of fat  and in many cases  in growing lean or old  one
single muscle divides into several muscles  And in this treatise 
each in its place  all their peculiarities will be explained  and
particularly as to the spaces between the joints of each limb  c 
Again  do not fail  to observe  the variations in the forms of the
above mentioned muscles  round and about the joints of the limbs of
any animal  as caused by the diversity of the motions of each limb 
for on some side of those joints the prominence of these muscles is
wholly lost in the increase or diminution of the flesh of which
these muscles are composed   c 

 Footnote  DE ROSSI remarks on this chapter  in the Roman edition of
the Trattato  p  504    Non in questo luogo solo  ma in altri ancora
osservera il lettore  che Lionardo va fungendo quelli che fanno
abuso della loro dottrina anatomica  e sicuramente con cio ha in
mira il suo rivale Bonarroti  che di anatomia facea tanta pompa   
Note  that Leonardo wrote this passage in Rome  probably under the
immediate impression of MICHAELANGELO S paintings in the Sistine
Chapel and of RAPHAEL S Isaiah in Sant  Agostino  

364 

OF THE DIFFERENT MEASUREMENTS OF BOYS AND MEN 

There is a great difference in the length between the joints in men
and boys for  in man  from the top of the shoulder  by the neck  to
the elbow  and from the elbow to the tip of the thumb and from one
shoulder to the other  is in each instance two heads  while in a boy
it is but one because Nature constructs in us the mass which is the
home of the intellect  before forming that which contains the vital
elements 

365 

OF PAINTING 

Which are the muscles which subdivide in old age or in youth  when
becoming lean  Which are the parts of the limbs of the human frame
where no amount of fat makes the flesh thicker  nor any degree of
leanness ever diminishes it 

The thing sought for in this question will be found in all the
external joints of the bones  as the shoulder  elbow  wrists 
finger joints  hips  knees  ankle bone and toes and the like  all of
which shall be told in its place  The greatest thickness acquired by
any limb is at the part of the muscles which is farthest from its
attachments 

Flesh never increases on those portions of the limb where the bones
are near to the surface 

At  b r d a c e f  the increase or diminution of the flesh never
makes any considerable difference  Nature has placed in front of man
all those parts which feel most pain under a blow  and these are the
shin of the leg  the forehead  and the nose  And this was done for
the preservation of man  since  if such pain were not felt in these
parts  the number of blows to which they would be exposed must be
the cause of their destruction 

Describe why the bones of the arm and leg are double near the hand
and foot  respectively  

And where the flesh is thicker or thinner in the bending of the
limbs 

366 

OF PAINTING 

Every part of the whole must be in proportion to the whole  Thus  if
a man is of a stout short figure he will be the same in all his
parts  that is with short and thick arms  wide thick hands  with
short fingers with their joints of the same character  and so on
with the rest  I would have the same thing understood as applying to
all animals and plants  in diminishing   the various parts  do so in
due proportion to the size  as also in enlarging 

367 

OF THE AGREEMENT OF THE PROPORTION OF THE LIMBS 

And again  remember to be very careful in giving your figures limbs 
that they must appear to agree with the size of the body and
likewise to the age  Thus a youth has limbs that are not very
muscular not strongly veined  and the surface is delicate and round 
and tender in colour  In man the limbs are sinewy and muscular 
while in old men the surface is wrinkled  rugged and knotty  and the
sinews very prominent 

HOW YOUNG BOYS HAVE THEIR JOINTS JUST THE REVERSE OF THOSE OF MEN 
AS TO SIZE 

Little children have all the joints slender and the portions between
them are thick  and this happens because nothing but the skin covers
the joints without any other flesh and has the character of sinew 
connecting the bones like a ligature  And the fat fleshiness is laid
on between one joint and the next  and between the skin and the
bones  But  since the bones are thicker at the joints than between
them  as a mass grows up the flesh ceases to have that superfluity
which it had  between the skin and the bones  whence the skin clings
more closely to the bone and the limbs grow more slender  But since
there is nothing over the joints but the cartilaginous and sinewy
skin this cannot dry up  and  not drying up  cannot shrink  Thus 
and for this reason  children are slender at the joints and fat
between the joints  as may be seen in the joints of the fingers 
arms  and shoulders  which are slender and dimpled  while in man on
the contrary all the joints of the fingers  arms  and legs are
thick  and wherever children have hollows men have prominences 

The movement of the human figure  368 375  

368 

Of the manner of representing the 18 actions of man  Repose 
movement  running  standing  supported  sitting  leaning  kneeling 
lying down  suspended  Carrying or being carried  thrusting 
pulling  striking  being struck  pressing down and lifting up 

 As to how a figure should stand with a weight in its hand  Footnote
8  The original text ends here   Remember  

369 

A sitting man cannot raise himself if that part of his body which is
front of his axis  centre of gravity  does not weigh more than that
which is behind that axis  or centre  without using his arms 

A man who is mounting any slope finds that he must involuntarily
throw the most weight forward  on the higher foot  rather than
behind  that is in front of the axis and not behind it  Hence a man
will always  involuntarily  throw the greater weight towards the
point whither he desires to move than in any other direction 

The faster a man runs  the more he leans forward towards the point
he runs to and throws more weight in front of his axis than behind 
A man who runs down hill throws the axis onto his heels  and one who
runs up hill throws it into the points of his feet  and a man
running on level ground throws it first on his heels and then on the
points of his feet 

This man cannot carry his own weight unless  by drawing his body
back he balances the weight in front  in such a way as that the foot
on which he stands is the centre of gravity 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXII  No  4  

370 

How a man proceeds to raise himself to his feet  when he is sitting
on level ground 

371 

A man when walking has his head in advance of his feet 

A man when walking across a long level plain first leans  rather 
backwards and then as much forwards 

 Footnote 3 6  He strides forward with the air of a man going down
hill  when weary  on the contrary he walks like a man going up
hill  

372 

A man when running throws less weight on his legs than when standing
still  And in the same way a horse which is running feels less the
weight of the man he carries  Hence many persons think it wonderful
that  in running  the horse can rest on one single foot  From this
it may be stated that when a weight is in progressive motion the
more rapid it is the less is the perpendicular weight towards the
centre 

373 

If a man  in taking a jump from firm ground  can leap 3 braccia  and
when he was taking his leap it were to recede 1 3 of a braccio  that
would be taken off his former leap  and so if it were thrust forward
1 3 of a braccio  by how much would his leap be increased 

374 

OF DRAWING 

When a man who is running wants to neutralise the impetus that
carries him on he prepares a contrary impetus which is generated by
his hanging backwards  This can be proved  since  if the impetus
carries a moving body with a momentum equal to 4 and the moving body
wants to turn and fall back with a momentum of 4  then one momentum
neutralises the other contrary one  and the impetus is neutralised 

Of walking up and down  375 379 

375 

When a man wants to stop running and check the impetus he is forced
to hang back and take short quick steps   Footnote  Lines 5 31 refer
to the two upper figures  and the lower figure to the right is
explained by the last part of the chapter   The centre of gravity of
a man who lifts one of his feet from the ground always rests on the
centre of the sole of the foot  he stands on  

A man  in going up stairs involuntarily throws so much weight
forward and on the side of the upper foot as to be a counterpoise to
the lower leg  so that the labour of this lower leg is limited to
moving itself 

The first thing a man does in mounting steps is to relieve the leg
he is about to lift of the weight of the body which was resting on
that leg  and besides this  he gives to the opposite leg all the
rest of the bulk of the whole man  including  the weight of  the
other leg  he then raises the other leg and sets the foot upon the
step to which he wishes to raise himself  Having done this he
restores to the upper foot all the weight of the body and of the leg
itself  and places his hand on his thigh and throws his head forward
and repeats the movement towards the point of the upper foot 
quickly lifting the heel of the lower one  and with this impetus he
lifts himself up and at the same time extends the arm which rested
on his knee  and this extension of the arm carries up the body and
the head  and so straightens the spine which was curved 

 32  The higher the step is which a man has to mount  the farther
forward will he place his head in advance of his upper foot  so as
to weigh more on  a  than on  b   this man will not be on the step
 m   As is shown by the line  g f  

 Footnote  See Pl  XXIII  No  1  The lower sketch to the left
belongs to the four first lines  

376 

I ask the weight  pressure  of this man at every degree of motion on
these steps  what weight he gives to  b  and to  c  

 Footnote 8  These lines are  in the original  written in ink 
Observe the perpendicular line below the centre of gravity of the
man 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXIII  No  2  

377 

In going up stairs if you place your hands on your knees all the
labour taken by the arms is removed from the sinews at the back of
the knees 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXIII  No  3  

378 

The sinew which guides the leg  and which is connected with the
patella of the knee  feels it a greater labour to carry the man
upwards  in proportion as the leg is more bent  and the muscle which
acts upon the angle made by the thigh where it joins the body has
less difficulty and has a less weight to lift  because it has not
the  additional  weight of the thigh itself  And besides this it has
stronger muscles  being those which form the buttock 

379 

A man coming down hill takes little steps  because the weight rests
upon the hinder foot  while a man mounting takes wide steps  because
his weight rests on the foremost foot 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXIII  No  4  

On the human body in action  380 388  

380 

OF THE HUMAN BODY IN ACTION 

When you want to represent a man as moving some weight consider what
the movements are that are to be represented by different lines 
that is to say either from below upwards  with a simple movement  as
a man does who stoops forward to take up a weight which he will lift
as he straightens himself  Or as a man does who wants to squash
something backwards  or to force it forwards or to pull it downwards
with ropes passed through pullies  Footnote 10  Compare the sketch
on page 198 and on 201  S  K  M  II 1 86b     And here remember that
the weight of a man pulls in proportion as his centre of gravity is
distant from his fulcrum  and to this is added the force given by
his legs and bent back as he raises himself 

381 

Again  a man has even a greater store of strength in his legs than
he needs for his own weight  and to see if this is true  make a man
stand on the shore sand and then put another man on his back  and
you will see how much he will sink in  Then take the man from off
his back and make him jump straight up as high as he can  and you
will find that the print of his feet will be made deeper by the jump
than from having the man on his back  Hence  here  by 2 methods it
is proved that a man has double the strength he requires to support
his own body 

382 

OF PAINTING 

If you have to draw a man who is in motion  or lifting or pulling 
or carrying a weight equal to his own  in what way must you set on
his legs below his body 

 Footnote  In the MS  this question remains unanswered  

383 

OF THE STRENGTH OF MAN 

A man pulling a  dead  weight balanced against himself cannot pull
more than his own weight  And if he has to raise it he will  be able
to  raise as much more than his weight as his strength may be more
than that of other men   Footnote 7  The stroke at the end of this
line finishes in the original in a sort of loop or flourish  and a
similar flourish occurs at the end of the previous passage written
on the same page  M  RAVAISSON regards these as numbers  compare the
photograph of page 30b in his edition of MS  A   He remarks    Ce
chiffre  8  et  a la fin de l alinea precedent  le chiffre  7  sont 
dans le manuscrit  des renvois     The greatest force a man can
apply  with equal velocity and impetus  will be when he sets his
feet on one end of the balance  or lever  and then presses his
shoulders against some stable body  This will raise a weight at the
other end of the balance  lever   equal to his own weight and  added
to that  as much weight as he can carry on his shoulders 

384 

No animal can simply move  by its dead weight  a greater weight than
the sum of its own weight outside the centre of his fulcrum 

385 

A man who wants to send an arrow very far from the bow must be
standing entirely on one foot and raising the other so far from the
foot he stands on as to afford the requisite counterpoise to his
body which is thrown on the front foot  And he must not hold his arm
fully extended  and in order that he may be more able to bear the
strain he must hold a piece of wood which there is in all crossbows 
extending from the hand to the breast  and when he wishes to shoot
he suddenly leaps forward at the same instant and extends his arm
with the bow and releases the string  And if he dexterously does
every thing at once it will go a very long way 

386 

When two men are at the opposite ends of a plank that is balanced 
and if they are of equal weight  and if one of them wants to make a
leap into the air  then his leap will be made down from his end of
the plank and the man will never go up again but must remain in his
place till the man at the other end dashes up the board 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXIV  No  3  

387 

Of delivering a blow to the right or left 

 Footnote  Four sketches on Pl  XXIV  No  1 belong to this passage 
The rest of the sketches and notes on that page are of a
miscellaneous nature  

388 

Why an impetus is not spent at once  but diminishes  gradually in
some one direction   Footnote 1  The paper has been damaged at the
end of line 1   The impetus acquired in the line  a b c d  is spent
in the line  d e  but not so completely but that some of its force
remains in it and to this force is added the momentum in the line  d
e  with the force of the motive power  and it must follow than the
impetus multiplied by the blow is greater that the simple impetus
produced by the momentum  d e  

 Footnote 8  The sketch No  2 on Pl  XXIV stands  in the original 
between lines 7 and 8  Compare also the sketches on Pl  LIV   A man
who has to deal a great blow with his weapon prepares himself with
all his force on the opposite side to that where the spot is which
he is to hit  and this is because a body as it gains in velocity
gains in force against the object which impedes its motion 

On hair falling down in curls 

389 

Observe the motion of the surface of the water which resembles that
of hair  and has two motions  of which one goes on with the flow of
the surface  the other forms the lines of the eddies  thus the water
forms eddying whirlpools one part of which are due to the impetus of
the principal current and the other to the incidental motion and
return flow 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXV  Where also the text of this passage is given
in facsimile  

On draperies  390  392  

390 

OF THE NATURE OF THE FOLDS IN DRAPERY 

That part of a fold which is farthest from the ends where it is
confined will fall most nearly in its natural form 

Every thing by nature tends to remain at rest  Drapery  being of
equal density and thickness on its wrong side and on its right  has
a tendency to lie flat  therefore when you give it a fold or plait
forcing it out of its flatness note well the result of the
constraint in the part where it is most confined  and the part which
is farthest from this constraint you will see relapses most into the
natural state  that is to say lies free and flowing 

EXAMPLE 

 Footnote 13   a c sia   In the original text  b  is written instead
of  c   an evident slip of the pen   Let  a b c  be the fold of the
drapery spoken of above   a c  will be the places where this folded
drapery is held fast  I maintain that the part of the drapery which
is farthest from the plaited ends will revert most to its natural
form 

Therefore   b  being farthest from  a  and  c  in the fold  a b c 
it will be wider there than anywhere else 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXVIII  No  6  and compare the drawing from
Windsor Pl  XXX for farther illustration of what is here stated  

391 

OF SMALL FOLDS IN DRAPERIES 

How figures dressed in a cloak should not show the shape so much as
that the cloak looks as if it were next the flesh  since you surely
cannot wish the cloak to be next the flesh  for you must suppose
that between the flesh and the cloak there are other garments which
prevent the forms of the limbs appearing distinctly through the
cloak  And those limbs which you allow to be seen you must make
thicker so that the other garments may appear to be under the cloak 
But only give something of the true thickness of the limbs to a
nymph  Footnote 9   Una nifa   Compare the beautiful drawing of a
Nymph  in black chalk from the Windsor collection  Pl  XXVI   or an
angel  which are represented in thin draperies  pressed and clinging
to the limbs of the figures by the action of the wind 

392 

You ought not to give to drapery a great confusion of many folds 
but rather only introduce them where they are held by the hands or
the arms  the rest you may let fall simply where it is its nature to
flow  and do not let the nude forms be broken by too many details
and interrupted folds  How draperies should be drawn from nature 
that is to say if youwant to represent woollen cloth draw the folds
from that  and if it is to be silk  or fine cloth or coarse  or of
linen or of crape  vary the folds in each and do not represent
dresses  as many do  from models covered with paper or thin leather
which will deceive you greatly 

 Footnote  The little pen and ink drawing from Windsor  W  102  
given on Pl  XXVIII  No  7  clearly illustrates the statement made
at the beginning of this passage  the writing of the cipher 19 on
the same page is in Leonardo s hand  the cipher 21 is certainly
not  

 VIII  

 Botany for Painters and Elements of Landscape Painting  

 The chapters composing this portion of the work consist of
observations on Form  Light and Shade in Plants  and particularly in
Trees summed up in certain general rules by which the author intends
to guide the artist in the pictorial representation of landscape  

 With these the first principles of a  Theory of Landscape painting
 are laid down  a theory as profoundly thought out in its main
lines as it is lucidly worked out in its details  In reading these
chapters the conviction is irresistible that such a  Botany for
painters  is or ought to be of similar importance in the practice of
painting as the principles of the Proportions and Movements of the
human figure  i  e  Anatomy for painters 

 There can be no doubt that Leonardo  in laying down these rules 
did not intend to write on Botany in the proper scientific
sense  his own researches on that subject have no place here  it
need only be observed that they are easily distinguished by their
character and contents from those which are here collected and
arranged under the title  Botany for painters   In some cases where
this division might appear doubtful   as for instance in No  
402   the Painter is directly addressed and enjoined to take the
rule to heart as of special importance in his art  

 The original materials are principally derived from MS   G   in
which we often find this subject treated on several pages in
succession without any of that intermixture of other matters  which
is so frequent in Leonardo s writings  This MS   too  is one of the
latest  when it was written  the great painter was already more than
sixty years of age  so we can scarcely doubt that he regarded all he
wrote as his final views on the subject  And the same remark applies
to the chapters from MSS   E  and  M  which were also written
between  1513  15 

 For the sake of clearness  however  it has been desirable to
sacrifice  with few exceptions  the original order of the passages
as written  though it was with much reluctance and only after long
hesitation that I resigned myself to this necessity  Nor do I mean
to impugn the logical connection of the author s ideas in his MS  
but it will be easily understood that the sequence of disconnected
notes  as they occurred to Leonardo and were written down from time
to time  might be hardly satisfactory as a systematic arrangement of
his principles  The reader will find in the Appendix an exact
account of the order of the chapters in the original MS  and from
the data there given can restore them at will  As the materials are
here arranged  the structure of the tree as regards the growth of
the branches comes first   394 411   and then the insertion of the
leaves on the stems   412 419    Then follow the laws of Light and
Shade as applied  first  to the leaves  420 434   and  secondly  to
the whole tree and to groups of trees   435 457    After the remarks
on the Light and Shade in landscapes generally   458 464    we find
special observations on that of views of towns and buildings 
 465 469    To the theory of Landscape Painting belong also the
passages on the effect of Wind on Trees   470 473   and on the Light
and Shade of Clouds   474 477    since we find in these certain
comparisons with the effect of Light and Shade on Trees   e  g    in
No   476  4  5   and No   477  9  12    The chapters given in the
Appendix Nos   478  and  481  have hardly any connection with the
subjects previously treated  

Classification of trees 

393 

TREES 

Small  lofty  straggling  thick  that is as to foliage  dark  light 
russet  branched at the top  some directed towards the eye  some
downwards  with white stems  this transparent in the air  that not 
some standing close together  some scattered 

The relative thickness of the branches to the trunk  393  396  

394 

All the branches of a tree at every stage of its height when put
together are equal in thickness to the trunk  below them  

All the branches of a water  course  at every stage of its course 
if they are of equal rapidity  are equal to the body of the main
stream 

395 

Every year when the boughs of a plant  or tree  have made an end of
maturing their growth  they will have made  when put together  a
thickness equal to that of the main stem  and at every stage of its
ramification you will find the thickness of the said main stem  as 
 i k    g h    e f    c d    a b   will always be equal to each
other  unless the tree is pollard  if so the rule does not hold
good 

All the branches have a direction which tends to the centre of the
tree  m  

 Footnote  The two sketches of leafless trees one above another on
the left hand side of Pl  XXVII  No  1  belong to this passage  

396 

If the plant n grows to the thickness shown at m  its branches will
correspond  in thickness  to the junction a b in consequence of the
growth inside as well as outside 

The branches of trees or plants have a twist wherever a minor branch
is given off  and this giving off the branch forms a fork  this said
fork occurs between two angles of which the largest will be that
which is on the side of the larger branch  and in proportion  unless
accident has spoilt it 

 Footnote  The sketches illustrating this are on the right hand side
of PI  XXVII  No  I  and the text is also given there in facsimile  

397 

There is no boss on branches which has not been produced by some
branch which has failed 

The lower shoots on the branches of trees grow more than the upper
ones and this occurs only because the sap that nourishes them  being
heavy  tends downwards more than upwards  and again  because those
 branches  which grow downwards turn away from the shade which
exists towards the centre of the plant  The older the branches are 
the greater is the difference between their upper and their lower
shoots and in those dating from the same year or epoch 

 Footnote  The sketch accompanying this in the MS  is so effaced
that an exact reproduction was impossible  

398 

OF THE SCARS ON TREES 

The scars on trees grow to a greater thickness than is required by
the sap of the limb which nourishes them 

399 

The plant which gives out the smallest ramifications will preserve
the straightest line in the course of its growth 

 Footnote  This passage is illustrated by two partly effaced
sketches  One of these closely resembles the lower one given under
No  408  the other also represents short closely set boughs on an
upright trunk  

400 

OF THE RAMIFICATION 

The beginning of the ramification  the shoot  always has the central
line  axis  of its thickness directed to the central line  axis  of
the plant itself 

401 

In starting from the main stem the branches always form a base with
a prominence as is shown at  a b c d  

402 

WHY  VERY FREQUENTLY  TIMBER HAS VEINS THAT ARE NOT STRAIGHT 

When the branches which grow the second year above the branch of the
preceding year  are not of equal thickness above the antecedent
branches  but are on one side  then the vigour of the lower branch
is diverted to nourish the one above it  although it may be somewhat
on one side 

But if the ramifications are equal in their growth  the veins of the
main stem will be straight  parallel  and equidistant at every
degree of the height of the plant 

Wherefore  O Painter  you  who do not know these laws  in order to
escape the blame of those who understand them  it will be well that
you should represent every thing from nature  and not despise such
study as those do who work  only  for money 

The direction of growth  403 407  

403 

OF THE RAMIFICATIONS OF PLANTS 

The plants which spread very much have the angles of the spaces
which divide their branches more obtuse in proportion as their point
of origin is lower down  that is nearer to the thickest and oldest
portion of the tree  Therefore in the youngest portions of the tree
the angles of ramification are more acute   Footnote  Compare the
sketches on the lower portion of Pl  XXVII  No  2  

404 

The tips of the boughs of plants  and trees   unless they are borne
down by the weight of their fruits  turn towards the sky as much as
possible 

The upper side of their leaves is turned towards the sky that it may
receive the nourishment of the dew which falls at night 

The sun gives spirit and life to plants and the earth nourishes them
with moisture   9  With regard to this I made the experiment of
leaving only one small root on a gourd and this I kept nourished
with water  and the gourd brought to perfection all the fruits it
could produce  which were about 60 gourds of the long kind  andi set
my mind diligently  to consider  this vitality and perceived that
the dews of night were what supplied it abundantly with moisture
through the insertion of its large leaves and gave nourishment to
the plant and its offspring  or the seeds which its offspring had
to produce   21  

The rule of the leaves produced on the last shoot of the year will
be that they will grow in a contrary direction on the twin branches 
that is  that the insertion of the leaves turns round each branch in
such a way  as that the sixth leaf above is produced over the sixth
leaf below  and the way they turn is that if one turns towards its
companion to the right  the other turns to the left  the leaf
serving as the nourishing breast for the shoot or fruit which grows
the following year 

 Footnote  A French translation of lines 9 12 was given by M 
RAVAISSON in the  Gazette des Beaux Arts   Oct  1877  his paper also
contains some valuable information as to botanical science in the
ancient classical writers and at the time of the Renaissance  

405 

The lowest branches of those trees which have large leaves and heavy
fruits  such as nut trees  fig trees and the like  always droop
towards the ground 

The branches always originate above  in the axis of  the leaves 

406 

The upper shoots of the lateral branches of plants lie closer to the
parent branch than the lower ones 

407 

The lowest branches  after they have formed the angle of their
separation from the parent stem  always bend downwards so as not to
crowd against the other branches which follow them on the same stem
and to be better able to take the air which nourishes them  As is
shown by the angle  b a c   the branch  a c  after it has made the
corner of the angle  a c  bends downwards to  c d  and the lesser
shoot  c  dries up  being too thin 

The main branch always goes below  as is shown by the branch  f n
m   which does not go to  f n o  

The forms of trees  408  411  

408 

The elm always gives a greater length to the last branches of the
year s growth than to the lower ones  and Nature does this because
the highest branches are those which have to add to the size of the
tree  and those at the bottom must get dry because they grow in the
shade and their growth would be an impediment to the entrance of the
solar rays and the air among the main branches of the tree 

The main branches of the lower part bend down more than those above 
so as to be more oblique than those upper ones  and also because
they are larger and older 

409 

In general almost all the upright portions of trees curve somewhat
turning the convexity towards the South  and their branches are
longer and thicker and more abundant towards the South than towards
the North  And this occurs because the sun draws the sap towards
that surface of the tree which is nearest to it 

And this may be observed if the sun is not screened off by other
plants 

410 

The cherry tree is of the character of the fir tree as regards its
ramification placed in stages round its main stem  and its branches
spring  4 or five or 6  together  opposite each other  and the tips
of the topmost shoots form a pyramid from the middle upwards  and
the walnut and oak form a hemisphere from the middle upwards 

411 

The bough of the walnut which is only hit and beaten when it has
brought to perfection   

 Footnote  The end of the text and the sketch in red chalk belonging
to it  are entirely effaced  

The insertion of the leaves  412  419  

412 

OF THE INSERTION OF THE BRANCHES ON PLANTS 

Such as the growth of the ramification of plants is on their
principal branches  so is that of the leaves on the shoots of the
same plant  These leaves have  Footnote 6   Quattro modi   four
modes   Only three are described in the text  the fourth is only
suggested by a sketch 

This passage occurs in MANZI S edition of the Trattato  p  399  but
without the sketches and the text is mutilated in an important part 
The whole passage has been commented on  from MANZI S version  in
Part I of the  Nuovo Giornale Botanico Italiano   by Prof  G 
UZIELLI  Florence 1869  Vol  I   He remarks as to the  four modes  
  Leonardo  come si vede nelle linie sententi da solo tre esempli 
Questa ed altre inessattezze fanno desiderare  sia esaminato di
nuovo il manoscritto Vaticano    This has since been done by D 
KNAPP of Tubingen  and his accurate copy has been published by H 
LUDWIG  the painter  The passage in question occurs in his edition
as No  833  and there also the drawings are wanting  The space for
them has been left vacant  but in the Vatican copy   niente   has
been written on the margin  and in it  as well as in LUDWIG S and
MANZI S edition  the text is mutilated   four modes of growing one
above another  The first  which is the most general  is that the
sixth always originates over the sixth below  Footnote 8   la sesta
di sotto   Disposizione 2 5 o 1 5  Leonardo osservo probabilmente
soltanto la prima    UZIELLl     the second is that two third ones
above are over the two third ones below  Footnote 10   terze di
sotto   Intende qui senza dubbio parlare di foglie decussate  in cui
il terzo verticello e nel piano del primo    UZIELLI     and the
third way is that the third above is over the third below  Footnote
11  3a  di sotto   Disposizione 1 2    UZIELLI    

 Footnote  See the four sketches on the upper portion of the page
reproduced as fig  2 on P1  XXVII  

413 

A DESCRIPTION OF THE ELM 

The ramification of the elm has the largest branch at the top  The
first and the last but one are smaller  when the main trunk is
straight 

The space between the insertion of one leaf to the rest is half the
extreme length of the leaf or somewhat less  for the leaves are at
an interval which is about the 3rd of the width of the leaf 

The elm has more leaves near the top of the boughs than at the base 
and the broad  surface  of the leaves varies little as to  angle
and  aspect 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXVII  No  3  Above the sketch and close under
the number of the page is the word   olmo    elm   

414 

In the walnut tree the leaves which are distributed on the shoots of
this year are further apart from each other and more numerous in
proportion as the branch from which this shoot springs is a young
one  And they are inserted more closely and less in number when the
shoot that bears them springs from an old branch  Its fruits are
borne at the ends of the shoots  And its largest boughs are the
lowest on the boughs they spring from  And this arises from the
weight of its sap which is more apt to descend than to rise  and
consequently the branches which spring from them and rise towards
the sky are small and slender  20   and when the shoot turns towards
the sky its leaves spread out from it  at an angle  with an equal
distribution of their tips  and if the shoot turns to the horizon
the leaves lie flat  and this arises from the fact that leaves
without exception  turn their underside to the earth  29  

The shoots are smaller in proportion as they spring nearer to the
base of the bough they spring from 

 Footnote  See the two sketches on Pl XXVII  No  4  The second
refers to the passage lines 20 30  

415 

OF THE INSERTION OF THE LEAVES ON THE BRANCHES 

The thickness of a branch never diminishes within the space between
one leaf and the next excepting by so much as the thickness of the
bud which is above the leaf and this thickness is taken off from the
branch above  the node  as far as the next leaf 

Nature has so placed the leaves of the latest shoots of many plants
that the sixth leaf is always above the first  and so on in
succession  if the rule is not  accidentally  interfered with  and
this occurs for two useful ends in the plant  First that as the
shoot and the fruit of the following year spring from the bud or eye
which lies above and in close contact with the insertion of the leaf
 in the axil   the water which falls upon the shoot can run down to
nourish the bud  by the drop being caught in the hollow  axil  at
the insertion of the leaf  And the second advantage is  that as
these shoots develop in the following year one will not cover the
next below  since the 5 come forth on five different sides  and the
sixth which is above the first is at some distance 

416 

OF THE RAMIFICATIONS OF TREES AND THEIR FOLIAGE 

The ramifications of any tree  such as the elm  are wide and slender
after the manner of a hand with spread fingers  foreshortened  And
these are seen in the distribution  thus   the lower portions are
seen from above  and those that are above are seen from below  and
those in the middle  some from below and some from above  The upper
part is the extreme  top  of this ramification and the middle
portion is more foreshortened than any other of those which are
turned with their tips towards you  And of those parts of the middle
of the height of the tree  the longest will be towards the top of
the tree and will produce a ramification like the foliage of the
common willow  which grows on the banks of rivers 

Other ramifications are spherical  as those of such trees as put
forth their shoots and leaves in the order of the sixth being placed
above the first  Others are thin and light like the willow and
others 

417 

You will see in the lower branches of the elder  which puts forth
leaves two and two placed crosswise  at right angles  one above
another  that if the stem rises straight up towards the sky this
order never fails  and its largest leaves are on the thickest part
of the stem and the smallest on the slenderest part  that is towards
the top  But  to return to the lower branches  I say that the leaves
on these are placed on them crosswise like  those on  the upper
branches  and as  by the law of all leaves  they are compelled to
turn their upper surface towards the sky to catch the dew at night 
it is necessary that those so placed should twist round and no
longer form a cross 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXVII  No  5  

418 

A leaf always turns its upper side towards the sky so that it may
the better receive  on all its surface  the dew which drops gently
from the atmosphere  And these leaves are so distributed on the
plant as that one shall cover the other as little as possible  but
shall lie alternately one above another as may be seen in the ivy
which covers the walls  And this alternation serves two ends  that
is  to leave intervals by which the air and sun may penetrate
between them  The 2nd reason is that the drops which fall from the
first leaf may fall onto the fourth or  in other trees  onto the
sixth 

419 

Every shoot and every fruit is produced above the insertion  in the
axil  of its leaf which serves it as a mother  giving it water from
the rain and moisture from the dew which falls at night from above 
and often it protects them against the too great heat of the rays of
the sun 

LIGHT ON BRANCHES AND LEAVES  420  422  

420 

That part of the body will be most illuminated which is hit by the
luminous ray coming between right angles 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXVIII  No  1  

421 

Young plants have more transparent leaves and a more lustrous bark
than old ones  and particularly the walnut is lighter coloured in
May than in September 

422 

OF THE ACCIDENTS OF COLOURING IN TREES 

The accidents of colour in the foliage of trees are 4  That is 
shadow  light  lustre  reflected light  and transparency 

OF THE VISIBILITY OF THESE ACCIDENTS 

These accidents of colour in the foliage of trees become confused at
a great distance and that which has most breadth  whether light or
shade   c   will be most conspicuous 

The proportions of light and shade in a leaf  423 426  

423 

OF THE SHADOWS OF A LEAF 

Sometimes a leaf has three accidents  of light  that is  shade 
lustre  reflected light  and transparency  transmitted light   Thus 
if the light were at  n  as regards the leaf  s   and the eye at
 m   it would see  a  in full light   b  in shadow and  c 
transparent 

424 

A leaf with a concave surface seen from the under side and
up side down will sometimes show itself as half in shade  and half
transparent  Thus  if  o p  is the leaf and the light  m  and the
eye  n   this will see  o  in shadow because the light does not fall
upon it between equal angles  neither on the upper nor the under
side  and  p  is lighted on the upper side and the light is
transmitted to its under side   Footnote  See Pl  XXVIII  No  2  the
upper sketch on the page  In the original they are drawn in red
chalk  

425 

Although those leaves which have a polished surface are to a great
extent of the same colour on the right side and on the reverse  it
may happen that the side which is turned towards the atmosphere will
have something of the colour of the atmosphere  and it will seem to
have more of this colour of the atmosphere in proportion as the eye
is nearer to it and sees it more foreshortened  And  without
exception the shadows show as darker on the upper side than on the
lower  from the contrast offered by the high lights which limit the
shadows 

The under side of the leaf  although its colour may be in itself the
same as that of the upper side  shows a still finer colour  a colour
that is green verging on yellow  and this happens when the leaf is
placed between

426 

the eye and the light which falls upon it from the opposite side 

And its shadows are in the same positions as those were of the
opposite side  Therefore  O Painter  when you do trees close at
hand  remember that if the eye is almost under the tree you will see
its leaves  some  on the upper and  some  on the under side  and the
upper side will be bluer in proportion as they are seen more
foreshortened  and the same leaf sometimes shows part of the right
side and part of the under side  whence you must make it of two
colours 

Of the transparency of leaves  427 429  

427 

The shadows in transparent leaves seen from the under side are the
same shadows as there are on the right side of this leaf  they will
show through to the underside together with lights  but the lustre
 reflected light  can never show through 

428 

When one green has another  green  behind it  the lustre on the
leaves and their transparent  lights  show more strongly than in
those which are  seen  against the brightness of the atmosphere 

And if the sun illuminates the leaves without their coming between
it and the eye and without the eye facing the sun  then the
reflected lights and the transparent lights are very strong 

It is very effective to show some branches which are low down and
dark and so set off the illuminated greens which are at some
distance from the dark greens seen below  That part is darkest which
is nearest to the eye or which is farthest from the luminous
atmosphere 

429 

Never paint leaves transparent to the sun  because they are
confused  and this is because on the transparency of one leaf will
be seen the shadow of another leaf which is above it  This shadow
has a distinct outline and a certain depth of shade and sometimes is
 as much as  half or a third of the leaf which is shaded  and
consequently such an arrangement is very confused and the imitation
of it should be avoided 

The light shines least through a leaf when it falls upon it at an
acute angle 

The gradations of shade and colour in leaves  430 434  

430 

The shadows of plants are never black  for where the atmosphere
penetrates there can never be utter darkness 

431 

If the light comes from  m  and the eye is at  n  the eye will see
the colour of the leaves  a b  all affected by the colour of  m 
  that is of the atmosphere  and  b c  will be seen from the under
side as transparent  with a beautiful green colour verging on
yellow 

If  m  is the luminous body lighting up the leaf  s  all the eyes
that see the under side of this leaf will see it of a beautiful
light green  being transparent 

In very many cases the positions of the leaves will be without
shadow  or in full light   and their under side will be transparent
and the right side lustrous  reflecting light  

432 

The willow and other similar trees  which have their boughs lopped
every 3 or 4 years  put forth very straight branches  and their
shadow is about the middle where these boughs spring  and towards
the extreme ends they cast but little shade from having small leaves
and few and slender branches  Hence the boughs which rise towards
the sky will have but little shade and little relief  and the
branches which are at an angle from the horizon  downwards  spring
from the dark part of the shadow and grow thinner by degrees up to
their ends  and these will be in strong relief  being in gradations
of light against a background of shadow 

That tree will have the least shadow which has the fewest branches
and few leaves 

433 

OF DARK LEAVES IN FRONT OF TRANSPARENT ONES 

When the leaves are interposed between the light and the eye  then
that which is nearest to the eye will be the darkest  and the most
distant will be the lightest  not being seen against the atmosphere 
and this is seen in the leaves which are away from the centre of the
tree  that is towards the light 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXVIII  No  2  the lower sketch  

434 

OF THE LIGHTS ON DARK LEAVES 

The lights on such leaves which are darkest  will be most near to
the colour of the atmosphere that is reflected in them  And the
cause of this is that the light on the illuminated portion mingles
with the dark hue to compose a blue colour  and this light is
produced by the blueness of the atmosphere which is reflected in the
smooth surface of these leaves and adds to the blue hue which this
light usually produces when it falls on dark objects 

OF THE LIGHTS ON LEAVES OF A YELLOWISH GREEN 

But leaves of a green verging on yellow when they reflect the
atmosphere do not produce a reflection verging on blue  inasmuch as
every thing which appears in a mirror takes some colour from that
mirror  hence the blue of the atmosphere being reflected in the
yellow of the leaf appears green  because blue and yellow mixed
together make a very fine green colour  therefore the lustre of
light leaves verging on yellow will be greenish yellow 

A classification of trees according to their colours 

435 

The trees in a landscape are of various kinds of green  inasmuch as
some verge towards blackness  as firs  pines  cypresses  laurels 
box and the like  Some tend to yellow such as walnuts  and pears 
vines and verdure  Some are both yellowish and dark as chesnuts 
holm oak  Some turn red in autumn as the service tree  pomegranate 
vine  and cherry  and some are whitish as the willow  olive  reeds
and the like  Trees are of various forms    

The proportions of light and shade in trees  436 440  

436 

OF A GENERALLY DISTRIBUTED LIGHT AS LIGHTING UP TREES 

That part of the trees will be seen to lie in the least dark shadow
which is farthest from the earth 

To prove it let  a p  be the tree   n b c  the illuminated
hemisphere  the sky   the under portion of the tree faces the earth
 p c   that is on the side  o   and it faces a small part of the
hemisphere at  c d   But the highest part of the convexity a faces
the greatest part of the hemisphere  that is  b c   For this
reason  and because it does not face the darkness of the earth  it
is in fuller light  But if the tree has dense foliage  as the
laurel  arbutus  box or holm oak  it will be different  because 
although  a  does not face the earth  it faces the dark  green  of
the leaves cut up by many shadows  and this darkness is reflected
onto the under sides of the leaves immediately above  Thus these
trees have their darkest shadows nearest to the middle of the tree 

437 

OF THE SHADOWS OF VERDURE 

The shadows of verdure are always somewhat blue  and so is every
shadow of every object  and they assume this hue more in proportion
as they are remote from the eye  and less in proportion as they are
nearer  The leaves which reflect the blue of the atmosphere always
present themselves to the eye edgewise 

OF THE ILLUMINATED PART OF VERDURE AND OF MOUNTAINS 

The illuminated portion  at a great distance  will appear most
nearly of its natural colour where the strongest light falls upon
it 

438 

OF TREES THAT ARE LIGHTED BY THE SUN AND BY THE ATMOSPHERE 

In trees that are illuminated  both  by the sun and the atmosphere
and that have leaves of a dark colour  one side will be illuminated
by the atmosphere  only  and in consequence of this light will tend
to blueness  while on the other side they will be illuminated by the
atmosphere and the sun  and the side which the eye sees illuminated
by the sun will reflect light 

439 

OF DEPICTING A FOREST SCENE 

The trees and plants which are most thickly branched with slender
branches ought to have less dark shadow than those trees and plants
which  having broader leaves  will cast more shadow 

440 

ON PAINTING 

In the position of the eye which sees that portion of a tree
illuminated which turns towards the light  one tree will never be
seen to be illuminated equally with the other  To prove this  let
the eye be  c  which sees the two trees  b d  which are illuminated
by the sun  a   I say that this eye  c  will not see the light in
the same proportion to the shade  in one tree as in the other 
Because  the tree which is nearest to the sun will display so much
the stronger shadow than the more distant one  in proportion as one
tree is nearer to the rays of the sun that converge to the eye than
the other   c 

You see that the eye  c  sees nothing of the tree  d  but shadow 
while the same eye  c  sees the tree  b  half in light and half in
shade 

When a tree is seen from below  the eye sees the top of it as placed
within the circle made by its boughs 23  

Remember  O Painter  that the variety of depth of shade in any one
particular species of tree is in proportion to the rarity or density
of their branches 

 Footnote  The two lower sketches on the left of Pl XXVIII  No  3 
refer to lines 21 23  The upper sketch has apparently been effaced
by Leonardo himself  

The distribution of light and shade with reference to the position
of the spectator  441 443  

441 

The shadows of trees placed in a landscape do not display themselves
in the same position in the trees on the right hand and those on the
left  still more so if the sun is to the right or left  As is proved
by the 4th which says  Opaque bodies placed between the light and
the eye display themselves entirely in shadow  and by the 5th  The
eye when placed between the opaque body and the light sees the
opaque body entirely illuminated  And by the 6th  When the eye and
the opaque body are placed between darkness and light  it will be
seen half in shadow and half in light 

 Footnote  See the figure on the right hand side of Pl  XXVIII  No 
3  The first five lines of the text are written below the diagram
and above it are the last eight lines of the text  given as No 
461  

442 

OF THE HERBS OF THE FIELD 

Of the plants which take a shadow from the plants which spring among
them  those which are on this side  in front  of the shadow have the
stems lighted up on a background of shadow  and the plants on which
the shadows fall have their stems dark on a light background  that
is on the background beyond the shadow 

OF TREES WHICH ARE BETWEEN THE EYE AND THE LIGHT 

Of the trees which are between the eye and the light the part in
front will be light  but this light will be broken by the
ramifications of transparent leaves  being seen from the under
side  and lustrous leaves  being seen from the upper side  and the
background below and behind will be dark green  being in shadow from
the front portion of the said tree  This occurs in trees placed
above the eye 

443 

FROM WHENCE TO DEPICT A LANDSCAPE

Landscapes should be represented so that the trees may be half in
light and half in shadow  but it is better to do them when the sun
is covered with clouds  for then the trees are lighted by the
general light of the sky  and the general darkness of the earth  And
then they are darkest in certain parts in proportion as those parts
are nearest to the middle of the tree and to the earth 

The effects of morning light  444 448  

444 

OF TREES TO THE SOUTH 

When the sun is in the east the trees to the South and to the North
have almost as much light as shadow  But a greater share of light in
proportion as they lie to the West and a greater share of shadow in
proportion as they lie to the East 

OF MEADOWS 

If the sun is in the East the verdure of the meadows and of other
small plants is of a most beautiful green from being transparent to
the sun  this does not occur in the meadows to the West  and in
those to the South and North the grass is of a moderately brilliant
green 

445 

OF THE 4 POINTS OF THE COMPASS  IN LANDSCAPES  

When the sun is in the East all the portions of plants lighted by it
are of a most lively verdure  and this happens because the leaves
lighted by the sun within the half of the horizon that is the
Eastern half  are transparent  and within the Western semicircle the
verdure is of a dull hue and the moist air is turbid and of the
colour of grey ashes  not being transparent like that in the East 
which is quite clear and all the more so in proportion as it is
moister 

The shadows of the trees to the East cover a large portion of them
and are darker in proportion as the foliage of the trees is thicker 

446 

OF TREES IN THE EAST 

When the sun is in the East the trees seen towards the East will
have the light which surrounds them all round their shadows 
excepting on the side towards the earth  unless the tree has been
pruned  below  in the past year  And the trees to the South and
North will be half in shade and half in light  and more or less in
shade or in light in proportion as they are more or less to the East
or to the West 

The  position of  the eye above or below varies the shadows and
lights in trees  inasmuch as the eye placed above sees the tree with
the little shadow  and the eye placed below with a great deal of
shadow 

The colour of the green in plants varies as much as their species 

447 

OF THE SHADOWS IN TREES 

The sun being in the East  to the right   the trees to the West  or
left  of the eye will show in small relief and almost imperceptible
gradations  because the atmosphere which lies between the eye and
those trees is very dense  Footnote 7   per la 7a di questo   This
possibly referred to something written on the seventh page of this
note book marked  G   Unfortunately it has been cut out and lost   
see the 7th of this  and they have no shade  for though a shadow
exists in every detail of the ramification  it results that the
images of the shade and light that reach the eye are confused and
mingled together and cannot be perceived on account of their
minuteness  And the principal lights are in the middle of the trees 
and the shadows to wards the edges  and their separation is shown by
the shadows of the intervals between the trees  but when the forests
are thick with trees the thin edges are but little seen 

448 

OF TREES TO THE EAST 

When the sun is in the East the trees are darker towards the middle
while their edges are light 

The effects of midday light 

449 

OBJECTS IN HIGH LIGHT SHOW BUT LITTLE  BUT BETWEEN LIGHT AND SHADOW
THEY STAND OUT WELL 

To represent a landscape choose that the sun shall be at noon and
look towards the West or East and then draw  And if you turn towards
the North  every object placed on that side will have no shadow 
particularly those which are nearest to the  direction of the 
shadow of your head  And if you turn towards the South every object
on that side will be wholly in shadow  All the trees which are
towards the sun and have the atmosphere for their background are
dark  and the other trees which lie against that darkness will be
black  very dark  in the middle and lighter towards the edges 

The appearance of trees in the distance  450  451  

450 

OF THE SPACES  SHOWING THE SKY  IN TREES THEMSELVES 

The spaces between the parts in the mass of trees  and the spaces
between the trees in the air  are  at great distances  invisible to
the eye  for  where it is an effort  even  to see the whole it is
most difficult to discern the parts   But a confused mixture is the
result  partaking chiefly of the  hue  which predominates  The
spaces between the leaves consist of particles of illuminated air
which are very much smaller than the tree and are lost sight of
sooner than the tree  but it does not therefore follow that they are
not there  Hence  necessarily  a compounded  effect  is produced of
the sky and of the shadows of the tree in shade  which both together
strike the eye which sees them 

OF TREES WHICH CONCEAL THESE SPACES IN ONE ANOTHER 

That part of a tree will show the fewest spaces  behind which a
large number of trees are standing between the tree and the air
 sky   thus in the tree  a  the spaces are not concealed nor in  b  
as there is no tree behind  But in  c  only half shows the spaces
filled up by the tree  d   and part of the tree  d  is filled up by
the tree  e  and a little farther on all the spaces in the mass of
the trees are lost  and only that at the side remains 

451 

OF TREES 

What outlines are seen in trees at a distance against the sky which
serves as their background 

The outlines of the ramification of trees  where they lie against
the illuminated sky  display a form which more nearly approaches the
spherical on proportion as they are remote  and the nearer they are
the less they appear in this spherical form  as in the first tree
 a  which  being near to the eye  displays the true form of its
ramification  but this shows less in  b  and is altogether lost in
 c   where not merely the branches of the tree cannot be seen but
the whole tree is distinguished with difficulty  Every object in
shadow  of whatever form it may be  at a great distance appears to
be spherical  And this occurs because  if it is a square body  at a
very short distance it loses its angles  and a little farther off it
loses still more of its smaller sides which remain  And thus before
the whole is lost  to sight  the parts are lost  being smaller than
the whole  as a man  who in such a distant position loses his legs 
arms and head before  the mass of  his body  then the outlines of
length are lost before those of breadth  and where they have become
equal it would be a square if the angles remained  but as they are
lost it is round 

 Footnote  The sketch No  4  Pl  XXVIII  belongs to this passage  

The cast shadow of trees  452  453  

452 

The image of the shadow of any object of uniform breadth can never
be  exactly  the same as that of the body which casts it 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXVIII  No  5  

Light and shade on groups of trees  453 457  

453 

All trees seen against the sun are dark towards the middle and this
shadow will be of the shape of the tree when apart from others 

The shadows cast by trees on which the sun shines are as dark as
those of the middle of the tree 

The shadow cast by a tree is never less than the mass of the tree
but becomes taller in proportion as the spot on which it falls 
slopes towards the centre of the world 

The shadow will be densest in the middle of the tree when the tree
has the fewest branches 

 Footnote  The three diagrams which accompany this text are placed 
in the original  before lines 7 11  At the spots marked  B  Leonardo
wrote  Albero   tree   At  A  is the word  Sole   sun   at  C Monte 
 mountain  at  D piano   plain  and at  E cima   summit   

Every branch participates of the central shadow of every other
branch and consequently  of that  of the whole tree 

The form of any shadow from a branch or tree is circumscribed by the
light which falls from the side whence the light comes  and this
illumination gives the shape of the shadow  and this may be of the
distance of a mile from the side where the sun is 

If it happens that a cloud should anywhere overshadow some part of a
hill the  shadow of the  trees there will change less than in the
plains  for these trees on the hills have their branches thicker 
because they grow less high each year than in the plains  Therefore
as these branches are dark by nature and being so full of shade  the
shadow of the clouds cannot darken them any more  but the open
spaces between the trees  which have no strong shadow change very
much in tone and particularly those which vary from green  that is
ploughed lands or fallen mountains or barren lands or rocks  Where
the trees are against the atmosphere they appear all the same
colour  if indeed they are not very close together or very thickly
covered with leaves like the fir and similar trees  When you see the
trees from the side from which the sun lights them  you will see
them almost all of the same tone  and the shadows in them will be
hidden by the leaves in the light  which come between your eye and
those shadows 

TREES AT A SHORT DISTANCE 

 Footnote 29  The heading  alberi vicini   trees at a short
distance  is in the original manuscript written in the margin   When
the trees are situated between the sun and the eye  beyond the
shadow which spreads from their centre  the green of their leaves
will be seen transparent  but this transparency will be broken in
many places by the leaves and boughs in shadow which will come
between you and them  or  in their upper portions  they will be
accompanied by many lights reflected from the leaves 

454 

The trees of the landscape stand out but little from each other 
because their illuminated portions come against the illuminated
portions of those beyond and differ little from them in light and
shade 

455 

Of trees seen from below and against the light  one beyond the other
and near together  The topmost part of the first will be in great
part transparent and light  and will stand out against the dark
portion of the second tree  And thus it will be with all in
succession that are placed under the same conditions 

Let  s  be the light  and  r  the eye   c d n  the first tree   a b
c  the second  Then I say that  r   the eye  will see the portion  c
f  in great part transparent and lighted by the light  s  which
falls upon it from the opposite side  and it will see it  on a dark
ground  b c  because that is the dark part and shadow of the tree  a
b c  

But if the eye is placed at  t  it will see  o p  dark on the light
background  n g  

Of the transparent and shadowy parts of trees  that which is nearest
to you is the darkest 

456 

That part of a tree which has shadow for background  is all of one
tone  and wherever the trees or branches are thickest they will be
darkest  because there are no little intervals of air  But where the
boughs lie against a background of other boughs  the brighter parts
are seen lightest and the leaves lustrous from the sunlight falling
on them 

457 

In the composition of leafy trees be careful not to repeat too often
the same colour of one tree against the same colour of another
 behind it   but vary it with a lighter  or a darker  or a stronger
green 

On the treatment of light for landscapes  458 464  

458 

The landscape has a finer azure  tone  when  in fine weather the sun
is at noon than at any other time of the day  because the air is
purified of moisture  and looking at it under that aspect you will
see the trees of a beautiful green at the outside and the shadows
dark towards the middle  and in the remoter distance the atmosphere
which comes between you and them looks more beautiful when there is
something dark beyond  And still the azure is most beautiful  The
objects seen from the side on which the sun shines will not show you
their shadows  But  if you are lower than the sun  you can see what
is not seen by the sun and that will be all in shade  The leaves of
the trees  which come between you and the sun are of two principal
colours which are a splendid lustre of green  and the reflection of
the atmosphere which lights up the objects which cannot be seen by
the sun  and the shaded portions which only face the earth  and the
darkest which are surrounded by something that is not dark  The
trees in the landscape which are between you and the sun are far
more beautiful than those you see when you are between the sun and
them  and this is so because those which face the sun show their
leaves as transparent towards the ends of their branches  and those
that are not transparent  that is at the ends  reflect the light 
and the shadows are dark because they are not concealed by any
thing 

The trees  when you place yourself between them and the sun  will
only display to you their light and natural colour  which  in
itself  is not very strong  and besides this some reflected lights
which  being against a background which does not differ very much
from themselves in tone  are not conspicuous  and if you are lower
down than they are situated  they may also show those portions on
which the light of the sun does not fall and these will be dark 

In the Wind 

But  if you are on the side whence the wind blows  you will see the
trees look very much lighter than on the other sides  and this
happens because the wind turns up the under side of the leaves 
which  in all trees  is much whiter than the upper sides  and  more
especially  will they be very light indeed if the wind blows from
the quarter where the sun is  and if you have your back turned to
it 

 Footnote  At  S   in the original is the word  Sole   sun  and at
 N parte di nuvolo   the side of the clouds   

459 

When the sun is covered by clouds  objects are less conspicuous 
because there is little difference between the light and shade of
the trees and of the buildings being illuminated by the brightness
of the atmosphere which surrounds the objects in such a way that the
shadows are few  and these few fade away so that their outline is
lost in haze 

460 

OF TREES AND LIGHTS ON THEM 

The best method of practice in representing country scenes  or I
should say landscapes with their trees  is to choose them so that
the sun is covered with clouds so that the landscape receives an
universal light and not the direct light of the sun  which makes the
shadows sharp and too strongly different from the lights 

461 

OF PAINTING 

In landscapes which represent  a scene in  winter  The mountains
should not be shown blue  as we see in the mountains in the summer 
And this is proved  Footnote 5  6    Per la  4 a di questo   It is
impossible to ascertain what this quotation refers to   Questo 
certainly does not mean the MS  in hand  nor any other now known to
us  The same remark applies to the phrase in line 15   per la  2 a
di questo    in the 4th of this which says  Among mountains seen
from a great distance those will look of the bluest colour which are
in themselves the darkest  hence  when the trees are stripped of
their leaves  they will show a bluer tinge which will be in itself
darker  therefore  when the trees have lost their leaves they will
look of a gray colour  while  with their leaves  they are green  and
in proportion as the green is darker than the grey hue the green
will be of a bluer tinge than the gray  Also by the 2nd of this  The
shadows of trees covered with leaves are darker than the shadows of
those trees which have lost their leaves in proportion as the trees
covered with leaves are denser than those without leaves  and thus
my meaning is proved 

The definition of the blue colour of the atmosphere explains why the
landscape is bluer in the summer than in the winter 

462 

OF PAINTING IN A LANDSCAPE 

If the slope of a hill comes between the eye and the horizon 
sloping towards the eye  while the eye is opposite the middle of the
height of this slope  then that hill will increase in darkness
throughout its length  This is proved by the 7th of this which says
that a tree looks darkest when it is seen from below  the
proposition is verified  since this hill will  on its upper half
show all its trees as much from the side which is lighted by the
light of the sky  as from that which is in shade from the darkness
of the earth  whence it must result that these trees are of a medium
darkness  And from this  middle  spot towards the base of the hill 
these trees will be lighter by degrees by the converse of the 7th
and by the said 7th  For trees so placed  the nearer they are to the
summit of the hill the darker they necessarily become  But this
darkness is not in proportion to the distance  by the 8th of this
which says  That object shows darkest which is  seen  in the
clearest atmosphere  and by the 10th  That shows darkest which
stands out against a lighter background 

 Footnote  The quotation in this passage again cannot be verified  

463 

OF LANDSCAPES 

The colours of the shadows in mountains at a great distance take a
most lovely blue  much purer than their illuminated portions  And
from this it follows that when the rock of a mountain is reddish the
illuminated portions are violet     and the more they are lighted
the more they display their proper colour 

464 

A place is most luminous when it is most remote from mountains 

On the treatment of light for views of towns  465 469  

465 

OF LIGHT AND SHADOW IN A TOWN 

When the sun is in the East and the eye is above the centre of a
town  the eye will see the Southern part of the town with its roofs
half in shade and half in light  and the same towards the North  the
Eastern side will be all in shadow and the Western will be all in
light 

466 

Of the houses of a town  in which the divisions between the houses
may be distinguished by the light which fall on the mist at the
bottom  If the eye is above the houses the light seen in the space
that is between one house and the next sinks by degrees into thicker
mist  and yet  being less transparent  it appears whiter  and if the
houses are some higher than the others  since the true  colour  is
always more discernible through the thinner atmosphere  the houses
will look darker in proportion as they are higher up  Let  n o p q 
represent the various density of the atmosphere thick with moisture 
 a  being the eye  the house  b c  will look lightest at the bottom 
because it is in a thicker atmosphere  the lines  c d f  will appear
equally light  for although  f  is more distant than  c   it is
raised into a thinner atmosphere  if the houses  b e  are of the
same height  because they cross a brightness which is varied by
mist  but this is only because the line of the eye which starts from
above ends by piercing a lower and denser atmosphere at  d  than at
 b   Thus the line a  f  is lower at  f  than at  c   and the house
 f  will be seen darker at  e  from the line  e k  as far as  m  
than the tops of the houses standing in front of it 

467 

OF TOWNS OR OTHER BUILDINGS SEEN IN THE EVENING OR THE MORNING
THROUGH THE MIST 

Of buildings seen at a great distance in the evening or the morning 
as in mist or dense atmosphere  only those portions are seen in
brightness which are lighted up by the sun which is near the
horizon  and those portions which are not lighted up by the sun
remain almost of the same colour and medium tone as the mist 

WHY OBJECTS WHICH ARE HIGH UP AND AT A DISTANCE ARE DARKER THAN THE
LOWER ONES  EVEN IF THE MIST IS UNIFORMLY DENSE 

Of objects standing in a mist or other dense atmosphere  whether
from vapour or smoke or distance  those will be most visible which
are the highest  And among objects of equal height that will be the
darkest  strongest  which has for background the deepest mist  Thus
the eye  h  looking at  a b c   towers of equal height  one with
another  sees  c  the top of the first tower at  r   at two degrees
of depth in the mist  and sees the height of the middle tower  b 
through one single degree of mist  Therefore the top of the tower
 c  appears stronger than the top of the tower  b    c 

468 

OF THE SMOKE OF A TOWN 

Smoke is seen better and more distinctly on the Eastern side than on
the Western when the sun is in the East  and this arises from two
causes  the first is that the sun  with its rays  shines through the
particles of the smoke and lights them up and makes them visible 
The second is that the roofs of the houses seen in the East at this
time are in shadow  because their obliquity does not allow of their
being illuminated by the sun  And the same thing occurs with dust 
and both one and the other look the lighter in proportion as they
are denser  and they are densest towards the middle 

469 

OF SMOKE AND DUST 

If the sun is in the East the smoke of cities will not be visible in
the West  because on that side it is not seen penetrated by the
solar rays  nor on a dark background  since the roofs of the houses
turn the same side to the eye as they turn towards the sun  and on
this light background the smoke is not very visible 

But dust  under the same aspect  will look darker than smoke being
of denser material than smoke which is moist 

The effect of wind on trees  470 473  

470 

OF REPRESENTING WIND 

In representing wind  besides the bending of the boughs and the
reversing of their leaves towards the quarter whence the wind comes 
you should also represent them amid clouds of fine dust mingled with
the troubled air 

471 

Describe landscapes with the wind  and the water  and the setting
and rising of the sun 

THE WIND 

All the leaves which hung towards the earth by the bending of the
shoots with their branches  are turned up side down by the gusts of
wind  and here their perspective is reversed  for  if the tree is
between you and the quarter of the wind  the leaves which are
towards you remain in their natural aspect  while those on the
opposite side which ought to have their points in a contrary
direction have  by being turned over  their points turned towards
you 

472 

Trees struck by the force of the wind bend to the side towards which
the wind is blowing  and the wind being past they bend in the
contrary direction  that is in reverse motion 

473 

That portion of a tree which is farthest from the force which
strikes it is the most injured by the blow because it bears most
strain  thus nature has foreseen this case by thickening them in
that part where they can be most hurt  and most in such trees as
grow to great heights  as pines and the like   Footnote  Compare the
sketch drawn with a pen and washed with Indian ink on Pl  XL  No  1 
In the Vatican copy we find  under a section entitled   del fumo   
the following remark   Era sotto di questo capitulo un rompimento di
montagna  per dentro delle quali roture scherzaua fiame di fuoco 
disegnate di penna et ombrate d acquarella  da uedere cosa mirabile
et uiua  Ed  MANZI  p  235  Ed  LUDWIG  Vol  I  460   This appears
to refer to the left hand portion of the drawing here given from the
Windsor collection  and from this it must be inferred  that the leaf
as it now exists in the library of the Queen of England  was already
separated from the original MS  at the time when the Vatican copy
was made  

Light and shade on clouds  474 477  

474 

Describe how the clouds are formed and how they dissolve  and what
cause raises vapour 

475 

The shadows in clouds are lighter in proportion as they are nearer
to the horizon 

 Footnote  The drawing belonging to this was in black chalk and is
totally effaced  

476 

When clouds come between the sun and the eye all the upper edges of
their round forms are light  and towards the middle they are dark 
and this happens because towards the top these edges have the sun
above them while you are below them  and the same thing happens with
the position of the branches of trees  and again the clouds  like
the trees  being somewhat transparent  are lighted up in part  and
at the edges they show thinner 

But  when the eye is between the cloud and the sun  the cloud has
the contrary effect to the former  for the edges of its mass are
dark and it is light towards the middle  and this happens because
you see the same side as faces the sun  and because the edges have
some transparency and reveal to the eye that portion which is hidden
beyond them  and which  as it does not catch the sunlight like that
portion turned towards it  is necessarily somewhat darker  Again  it
may be that you see the details of these rounded masses from the
lower side  while the sun shines on the upper side and as they are
not so situated as to reflect the light of the sun  as in the first
instance they remain dark 

The black clouds which are often seen higher up than those which are
illuminated by the sun are shaded by other clouds  lying between
them and the sun 

Again  the rounded forms of the clouds that face the sun  show their
edges dark because they lie against the light background  and to see
that this is true  you may look at the top of any cloud that is
wholly light because it lies against the blue of the atmosphere 
which is darker than the cloud 

 Footnote  A drawing in red chalk from the Windsor collection  see
Pl  XXIX   representing a landscape with storm clouds  may serve to
illustrate this section as well as the following one  

477 

OF CLOUDS  SMOKE AND DUST AND THE FLAMES OF A FURNACE OR OF A
BURNING KILN 

The clouds do not show their rounded forms excepting on the sides
which face the sun  on the others the roundness is imperceptible
because they are in the shade   Footnote  The text of this chapter
is given in facsimile on Pls  XXXVI and XXXVII  The two halves of
the leaf form but one in the original  On the margin close to lines
4 and 5 is the note   rossore d aria inverso l orizonte    of the
redness of the atmosphere near the horizon   The sketches on the
lower portion of the page will be spoken of in No  668  

If the sun is in the East and the clouds in the West  the eye placed
between the sun and the clouds sees the edges of the rounded forms
composing these clouds as dark  and the portions which are
surrounded by this dark  edge  are light  And this occurs because
the edges of the rounded forms of these clouds are turned towards
the upper or lateral sky  which is reflected in them 

Both the cloud and the tree display no roundness at all on their
shaded side 

On images reflected in water 

478 

Painters often deceive themselves  by representing water in which
they make the water reflect the objects seen by the man  But the
water reflects the object from one side and the man sees it from the
other  and it often happens that the painter sees an object from
below  and thus one and the same object is seen from hind part
before and upside down  because the water shows the image of the
object in one way  and the eye sees it in another 

Of rainbows and rain  479  480  

479 

The colours in the middle of the rainbow mingle together 

The bow in itself is not in the rain nor in the eye that sees it 
though it is generated by the rain  the sun  and the eye  The
rainbow is always seen by the eye that is between the rain and the
body of the sun  hence if the sun is in the East and the rain is in
the West it will appear on the rain in the West 

480 

When the air is condensed into rain it would produce a vacuum if the
rest of the air did not prevent this by filling its place  as it
does with a violent rush  and this is the wind which rises in the
summer time  accompanied by heavy rain 

Of flower seeds 

481 

All the flowers which turn towards the sun perfect their seeds  but
not the others  that is to say those which get only the reflection
of the sun 

IX 

 The Practice of Painting  

 It is hardly necessary to offer any excuses for the division
carried out in the arrangement of the text into practical
suggestions and theoretical enquiries  It was evidently intended by
Leonardo himself as we conclude from incidental remarks in the MSS 
 for instance No  110    The fact that this arrangement was never
carried out either in the old MS  copies or in any edition since  is
easily accounted for by the general disorder which results from the
provisional distribution of the various chapters in the old copies 
We have every reason to believe that the earliest copyists  in
distributing the materials collected by them  did not in the least
consider the order in which the original MS lay before them  

 It is evident that almost all the chapters which refer to the
calling and life of the painter  and which are here brought together
in the first section  Nos   482 508    may be referred to two
distinct periods in Leonardo s life  most of them can be dated as
belonging to the year  1492  or to  1515   At about this later time
Leonardo may have formed the project of completing his Libro della
Pittura  after an interval of some years  as it would seem  during
which his interest in the subject had fallen somewhat into the
background  

 In the second section  which treats first of the artist s studio 
the construction of a suitable window forms the object of careful
investigations  the special importance attached to this by Leonardo
is sufficiently obvious  His theory of the incidence of light which
was fully discussed in a former part of this work  was to him by no
means of mere abstract value  but  being deduced  as he says  from
experience  or experiment  was required to prove its utility in
practice  Connected with this we find suggestions for the choice of
a light with practical hints as to sketching a picture and some
other precepts of a practical character which must come under
consideration in the course of completing the painting  In all this
I have followed the same principle of arrangement in the text as was
carried out in the Theory of Painting  thus the suggestions for the
Perspective of a picture   Nos   536 569    are followed by the
theory of light and shade for the practical method of optics  Nos  
548  566   and this by the practical precepts or the treatment of
aerial perspective   567  570    

 In the passage on Portrait and Figure Painting the principles of
painting as applied to a bust and head are separated and placed
first  since the advice to figure painters must have some connection
with the principles of the treatment of composition by which they
are followed  

 But this arrangement of the text made it seem advisable not to pick
out the practical precepts as to the representation of trees and
landscape from the close connection in which they were originally
placed  unlike the rest of the practical precepts  with the theory
of this branch of the subject  They must therefore be sought under
the section entitled Botany for Painters  

 As a supplement to the  Libro di Pittura  I have here added those
texts which treat of the Painter s materials   as chalk  drawing
paper  colours and their preparation  of the management of oils and
varnishes  in the appendix are some notes on chemical substances 
Possibly some of these  if not all  may have stood in connection
with the preparation of colours  It is in the very nature of things
that Leonardo s incidental indications as to colours and the like
should be now a days extremely obscure and could only be explained
by professional experts  by them even in but few instances  It might
therefore have seemed advisable to reproduce exactly the original
text without offering any translation  The rendering here given is
merely an attempt to suggest what Leonardo s meaning may have been  

 LOMAZZO tells us in his  Trattato dell arte della Pittura  Scultura
ed Architettura  Milano 1584  libro II  Cap  XIV    Va discorrendo
ed argomentando Leonardo Vinci in un suo libro letto da me    
questi anni passati  ch egli scrisse di mano stanca ai prieghi di
LUDOVICO SFORZA duca di Milano  in determinazione di questa
questione  se e piu nobile la pittura o la scultura  dicendo che
quanto piu un arte porta seco fatica di corpo  e sudore  tanto piu e
vile  e men pregiata    But the existence of any book specially
written for Lodovico il Moro on the superiority of Painting over
sculpture is perhaps mythical  The various passages in praise of
Painting as compared not merely with Sculpture but with Poetry  are
scattered among MSS  of very different dates  

 Besides  the way  in which the subject is discussed appears not to
support the supposition  that these texts were prepared at a special
request of the Duke  

I 

MORAL PRECEPTS FOR THE STUDENT OF PAINTING 

How to ascertain the dispositions for an artistic career 

482 

A WARNING CONCERNING YOUTHS WISHING TO BE PAINTERS 

Many are they who have a taste and love for drawing  but no talent 
and this will be discernible in boys who are not diligent and never
finish their drawings with shading 

The course of instruction for an artist  483 485  

483 

The youth should first learn perspective  then the proportions of
objects  Then he may copy from some good master  to accustom himself
to fine forms  Then from nature  to confirm by practice the rules he
has learnt  Then see for a time the works of various masters  Then
get the habit of putting his art into practice and work 

 Footnote  The Vatican copy and numerous abridgements all place this
chapter at the beginning of the  Trattato   and in consequence
DUFRESNE and all subsequent editors have done the same  In the
Vatican copy however all the general considerations on the relation
of painting to the other arts are placed first  as introductory  

484 

OF THE ORDER OF LEARNING TO DRAW 

First draw from drawings by good masters done from works of art and
from nature  and not from memory  then from plastic work  with the
guidance of the drawing done from it  and then from good natural
models and this you must put into practice 

485 

PRECEPTS FOR DRAWING 

The artist ought first to exercise his hand by copying drawings from
the hand of a good master  And having acquired that practice  under
the criticism of his master  he should next practise drawing objects
in relief of a good style  following the rules which will presently
be given 

The study of the antique  486  487  

486 

OF DRAWING 

Which is best  to draw from nature or from the antique  and which is
more difficult to do outlines or light and shade 

487 

It is better to imitate  copy  the antique than modern work 

 Footnote 486  487  These are the only two passages in which
Leonardo alludes to the importance of antique art in the training of
an artist  The question asked in No  486 remains unanswered by him
and it seems to me very doubtful whether the opinion stated in No 
487 is to be regarded as a reply to it  This opinion stands in the
MS  in a connection  as will be explained later on  which seems to
require us to limit its application to a single special case  At any
rate we may suspect that when Leonardo put the question  he felt
some hesitation as to the answer  Among his very numerous drawings I
have not been able to find a single study from the antique  though a
drawing in black chalk  at Windsor  of a man on horseback  PI 
LXXIII  may perhaps be a reminiscence of the statue of Marcus
Aurelius at Rome  It seems to me that the drapery in a pen and ink
drawing of a bust  also at Windsor  has been borrowed from an
antique model  Pl  XXX   G  G  Rossi has  I believe  correctly
interpreted Leonardo s feeling towards the antique in the following
note on this passage in manzi s edition  p  501   Sappiamo dalla
storia  che i valorosi artisti Toscani dell eta dell oro dell arte
studiarono sugli antichi marmi raccolti dal Magnifico LORENZO DE 
MEDICI  Pare che il Vinci a tali monumenti non si accostasse  Quest 
uomo sempre riconosce per maestra la natura  e questo principio lo
stringeva alla sola imitazione di essa   Compare No  10  26  28
footnote  

The necessity of anatomical knowledge  488  489  

488 

OF PAINTING 

It is indispensable to a Painter who would be thoroughly familiar
with the limbs in all the positions and actions of which they are
capable  in the nude  to know the anatomy of the sinews  bones 
muscles and tendons so that  in their various movements and
exertions  he may know which nerve or muscle is the cause of each
movement and show those only as prominent and thickened  and not the
others all over  the limb   as many do who  to seem great
draughtsmen  draw their nude figures looking like wood  devoid of
grace  so that you would think you were looking at a sack of walnuts
rather than the human form  or a bundle of radishes rather than the
muscles of figures 

489 

HOW IT IS NECESSARY TO A PAINTER THAT HE SHOULD KNOW THE INTRINSIC
FORMS  STRUCTURE  OF MAN 

The painter who is familiar with the nature of the sinews  muscles 
and tendons  will know very well  in giving movement to a limb  how
many and which sinews cause it  and which muscle  by swelling 
causes the contraction of that sinew  and which sinews  expanded
into the thinnest cartilage  surround and support the said muscle 
Thus he will variously and constantly demonstrate the different
muscles by means of the various attitudes of his figures  and will
not do  as many who  in a variety of movements  still display the
very same things  modelling  in the arms  back  breast and legs  And
these things are not to be regarded as minor faults 

How to acquire practice 

490 

OF STUDY AND THE ORDER OF STUDY 

I say that first you ought to learn the limbs and their mechanism 
and having this knowledge  their actions should come next  according
to the circumstances in which they occur in man  And thirdly to
compose subjects  the studies for which should be taken from natural
actions and made from time to time  as circumstances allow  and pay
attention to them in the streets and  piazze  and fields  and note
them down with a brief indication of the forms   Footnote 5  Lines
5 7 explained by the lower portion of the sketch No  1 on Pl  XXXI  
thus for a head make an o  and for an arm a straight or a bent line 
and the same for the legs and the body   Footnote 7  Lines 5 7
explained by the lower portion of the sketch No  1 on Pl  XXXI   and
when you return home work out these notes in a complete form  The
Adversary says that to acquire practice and do a great deal of work
it is better that the first period of study should be employed in
drawing various compositions done on paper or on walls by divers
masters  and that in this way practice is rapidly gained  and good
methods  to which I reply that the method will be good  if it is
based on works of good composition and by skilled masters  But since
such masters are so rare that there are but few of them to be found 
it is a surer way to go to natural objects  than to those which are
imitated from nature with great deterioration  and so form bad
methods  for he who can go to the fountain does not go to the
water jar 

 Footnote  This passage has been published by Dr  M  JORDAN   Das
Malerbuck des L  da Vinci   p  89  his reading however varies
slightly from mine  

Industry and thoroughness the first conditions  491 493  

491 

WHAT RULES SHOULD BE GIVEN TO BOYS LEARNING TO PAINT 

We know for certain that sight is one of the most rapid actions we
can perform  In an instant we see an infinite number of forms  still
we only take in thoroughly one object at a time  Supposing that you 
Reader  were to glance rapidly at the whole of this written page 
you would instantly perceive that it was covered with various
letters  but you could not  in the time  recognise what the letters
were  nor what they were meant to tell  Hence you would need to see
them word by word  line by line to be able to understand the
letters  Again  if you wish to go to the top of a building you must
go up step by step  otherwise it will be impossible that you should
reach the top  Thus I say to you  whom nature prompts to pursue this
art  if you wish to have a sound knowledge of the forms of objects
begin with the details of them  and do not go on to the second
 step  till you have the first well fixed in memory and in practice 
And if you do otherwise you will throw away your time  or certainly
greatly prolong your studies  And remember to acquire diligence
rather than rapidity 

492 

HOW THAT DILIGENCE  ACCURACY  SHOULD FIRST BE LEARNT RATHER THAN
RAPID EXECUTION 

If you  who draw  desire to study well and to good purpose  always
go slowly to work in your drawing  and discriminate in  the lights 
which have the highest degree of brightness  and to what extent and
likewise in the shadows  which are those that are darker than the
others and in what way they intermingle  then their masses and the
relative proportions of one to the other  And note in their
outlines  which way they tend  and which part of the lines is curved
to one side or the other  and where they are more or less
conspicuous and consequently broad or fine  and finally  that your
light and shade blend without strokes and borders  but  looking like
smoke  And when you have thus schooled your hand and your judgment
by such diligence  you will acquire rapidity before you are aware 

The artist s private life and choice of company  493 494  

493 

OF THE LIFE OF THE PAINTER IN THE COUNTRY 

A painter needs such mathematics as belong to painting  And the
absence of all companions who are alienated from his studies  his
brain must be easily impressed by the variety of objects  which
successively come before him  and also free from other cares
 Footnote 6  Leonardo here seems to be speaking of his own method of
work as displayed in his MSS  and this passage explains  at least in
part  the peculiarities in their arrangement    And if  when
considering and defining one subject  a second subject
intervenes  as happens when an object occupies the mind  then he
must decide which of these cases is the more difficult to work out 
and follow that up until it becomes quite clear  and then work out
the explanation of the other  Footnote 11  Leonardo here seems to be
speaking of his own method of work as displayed in his MSS  and this
passage explains  at least in part  the peculiarities in their
arrangement    And above all he must keep his mind as clear as the
surface of a mirror  which assumes colours as various as those of
the different objects  And his companions should be like him as to
their studies  and if such cannot be found he should keep his
speculations to himself alone  so that at last he will find no more
useful company  than his own  

 Footnote  In the title line Leonardo had originally written  del
pictore filosofo   the philosophical painter   but he himself struck
out filosofo   Compare in No  363  pictora notomista   anatomical
painter   The original text is partly reproduced on Pl  CI  

494 

OF THE LIFE OF THE PAINTER IN HIS STUDIO 

To the end that well being of the body may not injure that of the
mind  the painter or draughtsman must remain solitary  and
particularly when intent on those studies and reflections which will
constantly rise up before his eye  giving materials to be well
stored in the memory  While you are alone you are entirely your own
 master  and if you have one companion you are but half your own 
and the less so in proportion to the indiscretion of his behaviour 
And if you have many companions you will fall deeper into the same
trouble  If you should say   I will go my own way and withdraw
apart  the better to study the forms of natural objects   I tell
you  you will not be able to help often listening to their chatter 
And so  since one cannot serve two masters  you will badly fill the
part of a companion  and carry out your studies of art even worse 
And if you say   I will withdraw so far that their words cannot
reach me and they cannot disturb me   I can tell you that you will
be thought mad  But  you see  you will at any rate be alone  And if
you must have companions ship find it in your studio  This may
assist you to have the advantages which arise from various
speculations  All other company may be highly mischievous 

The distribution of time for studying  495 497  

495 

OF WHETHER IT IS BETTER TO DRAW WITH COMPANIONS OR NOT 

I say and insist that drawing in company is much better than alone 
for many reasons  The first is that you would be ashamed to be seen
behindhand among the students  and such shame will lead you to
careful study  Secondly  a wholesome emulation will stimulate you to
be among those who are more praised than yourself  and this praise
of others will spur you on  Another is that you can learn from the
drawings of others who do better than yourself  and if you are
better than they  you can profit by your contempt for their defects 
while the praise of others will incite you to farther merits 

 Footnote  The contradiction by this passage of the foregoing
chapter is only apparent  It is quite clear  from the nature of the
reasoning which is here used to prove that it is more improving to
work with others than to work alone  that the studies of pupils only
are under consideration here  

496 

OF STUDYING  IN THE DARK  WHEN YOU WAKE  OR IN BED BEFORE YOU GO TO
SLEEP 

I myself have proved it to be of no small use  when in bed in the
dark  to recall in fancy the external details of forms previously
studied  or other noteworthy things conceived by subtle speculation 
and this is certainly an admirable exercise  and useful for
impressing things on the memory 

497 

OF THE TIME FOR STUDYING SELECTION OF SUBJECTS 

Winter evenings ought to be employed by young students in looking
over the things prepared during the summer  that is  all the
drawings from the nude done in the summer should be brought together
and a choice made of the best  studies of  limbs and bodies among
them  to apply in practice and commit to memory 

OF POSITIONS 

After this in the following summer you should select some one who is
well grown and who has not been brought up in doublets  and so may
not be of stiff carriage  and make him go through a number of agile
and graceful actions  and if his muscles do not show plainly within
the outlines of his limbs that does not matter at all  It is enough
that you can see good attitudes and you can correct  the drawing of 
the limbs by those you studied in the winter 

 Footnote  An injunction to study in the evening occurs also in No 
524  

On the productive power of minor artists  498 501  

498 

He is a poor disciple who does not excel his master 

499 

Nor is the painter praiseworthy who does but one thing well  as the
nude figure  heads  draperies  animals  landscapes or other such
details  irrespective of other work  for there can be no mind so
inept  that after devoting itself to one single thing and doing it
constantly  it should fail to do it well 

 Footnote  In MANZI S edition  p  502  the painter G  G  Bossi
indignantly remarks on this passage    Parla il Vince in questo
luogo come se tutti gli artisti avessero quella sublimita d ingegno
capace di abbracciare tutte le cose  di cui era egli dotato   And he
then mentions the case of CLAUDE LORRAIN  But he overlooks the fact
that in Leonardo s time landscape painting made no pretensions to
independence but was reckoned among the details   particulari  
lines 3  4   

500 

THAT A PAINTER IS NOT ADMIRABLE UNLESS HE IS UNIVERSAL 

Some may distinctly assert that those persons are under a delusion
who call that painter a good master who can do nothing well but a
head or a figure  Certainly this is no great achievement  after
studying one single thing for a life time who would not have
attained some perfection in it  But  since we know that painting
embraces and includes in itself every object produced by nature or
resulting from the fortuitous actions of men  in short  all that the
eye can see  he seems to me but a poor master who can only do a
figure well  For do you not perceive how many and various actions
are performed by men only  how many different animals there are  as
well as trees  plants  flowers  with many mountainous regions and
plains  springs and rivers  cities with public and private
buildings  machines  too  fit for the purposes of men  divers
costumes  decorations and arts  And all these things ought to be
regarded as of equal importance and value  by the man who can be
termed a good painter 

501 

OF THE MISERABLE PRETENCES MADE BY THOSE WHO FALSELY AND UNWORTHILY
ACQUIRE THE NAME OF PAINTERS 

Now there is a certain race of painters who  having studied but
little  must need take as their standard of beauty mere gold and
azure  and these  with supreme conceit  declare that they will not
give good work for miserable payment  and that they could do as well
as any other if they were well paid  But  ye foolish folks  cannot
such artists keep some good work  and then say  this is a costly
work and this more moderate and this is average work and show that
they can work at all prices 

A caution against one sided study 

502 

HOW  IN IMPORTANT WORKS  A MAN SHOULD NOT TRUST ENTIRELY TO HIS
MEMORY WITHOUT CONDESCENDING TO DRAW FROM NATURE 

Any master who should venture to boast that he could remember all
the forms and effects of nature would certainly appear to me to be
graced with extreme ignorance  inasmuch as these effects are
infinite and our memory is not extensive enough to retain them 
Hence  O  painter  beware lest the lust of gain should supplant in
you the dignity of art  for the acquisition of glory is a much
greater thing than the glory of riches  Hence  for these and other
reasons which might be given  first strive in drawing to represent
your intention to the eye by expressive forms  and the idea
originally formed in your imagination  then go on taking out or
putting in  until you have satisfied yourself  Then have living men 
draped or nude  as you may have purposed in your work  and take care
that in dimensions and size  as determined by perspective  nothing
is left in the work which is not in harmony with reason and the
effects in nature  And this will be the way to win honour in your
art 

How to acquire universality  503 506  

503 

OF VARIETY IN THE FIGURES 

The painter should aim at universality  because there is a great
want of self respect in doing one thing well and another badly  as
many do who study only the  rules of  measure and proportion in the
nude figure and do not seek after variety  for a man may be well
proportioned  or he may be fat and short  or tall and thin  or
medium  And a painter who takes no account of these varieties always
makes his figures on one pattern so that they might all be taken for
brothers  and this is a defect that demands stern reprehension 

504 

HOW SOMETHING MAY BE LEARNT EVERYWHERE 

Nature has beneficently provided that throughout the world you may
find something to imitate 

505 

OF THE MEANS OF ACQUIRING UNIVERSALITY 

It is an easy matter to men to acquire universality  for all
terrestrial animals resemble each other as to their limbs  that is
in their muscles  sinews and bones  and they do not vary excepting
in length or in thickness  as will be shown under Anatomy  But then
there are aquatic animals which are of great variety  I will not try
to convince the painter that there is any rule for them for they are
of infinite variety  and so is the insect tribe 

506 

PAINTING 

The mind of the painter must resemble a mirror  which always takes
the colour of the object it reflects and is completely occupied by
the images of as many objects as are in front of it  Therefore you
must know  Oh Painter  that you cannot be a good one if you are not
the universal master of representing by your art every kind of form
produced by nature  And this you will not know how to do if you do
not see them  and retain them in your mind  Hence as you go through
the fields  turn your attention to various objects  and  in turn
look now at this thing and now at that  collecting a store of divers
facts selected and chosen from those of less value  But do not do
like some painters who  when they are wearied with exercising their
fancy dismiss their work from their thoughts and take exercise in
walking for relaxation  but still keep fatigue in their mind which 
though they see various objects  around them   does not apprehend
them  but  even when they meet friends or relations and are saluted
by them  although they see and hear them  take no more cognisance of
them than if they had met so much empty air 

Useful games and exercises  507  508  

507 

OF GAMES TO BE PLAYED BY THOSE WHO DRAW 

When  Oh draughtsmen  you desire to find relaxation in games you
should always practise such things as may be of use in your
profession  by giving your eye good practice in judging accurately
of the breadth and length of objects  Thus  to accustom your mind to
such things  let one of you draw a straight line at random on a
wall  and each of you  taking a blade of grass or of straw in his
hand  try to cut it to the length that the line drawn appears to him
to be  standing at a distance of 10 braccia  then each one may go up
to the line to measure the length he has judged it to be  And he who
has come nearest with his measure to the length of the pattern is
the best man  and the winner  and shall receive the prize you have
settled beforehand  Again you should take forshortened measures 
that is take a spear  or any other cane or reed  and fix on a point
at a certain distance  and let each one estimate how many times he
judges that its length will go into that distance  Again  who will
draw best a line one braccio long  which shall be tested by a
thread  And such games give occasion to good practice for the eye 
which is of the first importance in painting 

508 

A WAY OF DEVELOPING AND AROUSING THE MIND TO VARIOUS INVENTIONS 

I cannot forbear to mention among these precepts a new device for
study which  although it may seem but trivial and almost ludicrous 
is nevertheless extremely useful in arousing the mind to various
inventions  And this is  when you look at a wall spotted with
stains  or with a mixture of stones  if you have to devise some
scene  you may discover a resemblance to various landscapes 
beautified with mountains  rivers  rocks  trees  plains  wide
valleys and hills in varied arrangement  or again you may see
battles and figures in action  or strange faces and costumes  and an
endless variety of objects  which you could reduce to complete and
well drawn forms  And these appear on such walls confusedly  like
the sound of bells in whose jangle you may find any name or word you
choose to imagine 

II 

THE ARTIST S STUDIO   INSTRUMENTS AND HELPS FOR THE APPLICATION OF
PERSPECTIVE   ON JUDGING OF A PICTURE 

On the size of the studio 

509 

Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind  large ones weaken it 

On the construction of windows  510 512  

510 

The larger the wall the less the light will be 

511 

The different kinds of light afforded in cellars by various forms of
windows  The least useful and the coldest is the window at  a   The
most useful  the lightest and warmest and most open to the sky is
the window at  b   The window at  c  is of medium utility 

 Footnote  From a reference to the notes on the right light for
painting it becomes evident that the observations made on
cellar windows have a direct bearing on the construction of the
studio window  In the diagram  b  as well as in that under No  510
the window opening is reduced to a minimum  but only  it would seem 
in order to emphasize the advantage of walls constructed on the plan
there shown  

512 

OF THE PAINTER S WINDOW AND ITS ADVANTAGE 

The painter who works from nature should have a window  which he can
raise and lower  The reason is that sometimes you will want to
finish a thing you are drawing  close to the light 

Let  a b c d  be the chest on which the work may be raised or
lowered  so that the work moves up and down and not the painter  And
every evening you can let down the work and shut it up above so that
in the evening it may be in the fashion of a chest which  when shut
up  may serve the purpose of a bench 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXXI  No  2  In this plate the lines have
unfortunately lost their sharpness  for the accidental loss of the
negative has necessitated a reproduction from a positive  But having
formerly published this sketch by another process  in VON LUTZOW S
 Zeitschrift fur bildende Kunst   Vol  XVII  pg  13  I have
reproduced it here in the text  The sharpness of the outline in the
original sketch is here preserved but it gives it from the reversed
side  

On the best light for painting  513 520  

513 

Which light is best for drawing from nature  whether high or low  or
large or small  or strong and broad  or strong and small  or broad
and weak or small and weak 

 Footnote  The question here put is unanswered in the original MS  

514 

OF THE QUALITY OF THE LIGHT 

A broad light high up and not too strong will render the details of
objects very agreeable 

515 

THAT THE LIGHT FOR DRAWING FROM NATURE SHOULD BE HIGH UP 

The light for drawing from nature should come from the North in
order that it may not vary  And if you have it from the South  keep
the window screened with cloth  so that with the sun shining the
whole day the light may not vary  The height of the light should be
so arranged as that every object shall cast a shadow on the ground
of the same length as itself 

516 

THE KIND OF LIGHT REQUISITE FOR PAINTING LIGHT AND SHADE 

An object will display the greatest difference of light and shade
when it is seen in the strongest light  as by sunlight  or  at
night  by the light of a fire  But this should not be much used in
painting because the works remain crude and ungraceful 

An object seen in a moderate light displays little difference in the
light and shade  and this is the case towards evening or when the
day is cloudy  and works then painted are tender and every kind of
face becomes graceful  Thus  in every thing extremes are to be
avoided  Too much light gives crudeness  too little prevents our
seeing  The medium is best 

OF SMALL LIGHTS 

Again  lights cast from a small window give strong differences of
light and shade  all the more if the room lighted by it be large 
and this is not good for painting 

517 

PAINTING 

The luminous air which enters by passing through orifices in walls
into dark rooms will render the place less dark in proportion as the
opening cuts into the walls which surround and cover in the
pavement 

518 

OF THE QUALITY OF LIGHT 

In proportion to the number of times that  a b  goes into  c d  will
it be more luminous than  c d   And similarly  in proportion as the
point  e  goes into  c d  will it be more luminous than  c d   and
this light is useful for carvers of delicate work   Footnote 5  For
the same reason a window thus constructed would be convenient for an
illuminator or a miniature painter  

 Footnote  M  RAVAISSON in his edition of the Paris MS  A remarks on
this passage    La figure porte les lettres  f  et  g   auxquelles
rien ne renvoie dans l explication  par consequent  cette
explication est incomplete  La figure semblerait  d ailleurs  se
rapporter a l effet de la reflexion par un miroir concave    So far
as I can see the text is not imperfect  nor is the sense obscure  It
is hardly necessary to observe that  c d  here indicate the wall of
the room opposite to the window  e  and the semicircle described by
 f g  stands for the arch of the sky  this occurs in various
diagrams  for example under 511  A similar semicircle  Pl III  No  2
 and compare No  149  is expressly called   orizonte   in writing  

519 

That the light should fall upon a picture from one window only  This
may be seen in the case of objects in this form  If you want to
represent a round ball at a certain height you must make it oval in
this shape  and stand so far off as that by foreshortening it
appears round 

520 

OF SELECTING THE LIGHT WHICH GIVES MOST GRACE TO FACES 

If you should have a court yard that you can at pleasure cover with
a linen awning that light will be good  Or when you want to take a
portrait do it in dull weather  or as evening falls  making the
sitter stand with his back to one of the walls of the court yard 
Note in the streets  as evening falls  the faces of the men and
women  and when the weather is dull  what softness and delicacy you
may perceive in them  Hence  Oh Painter  have a court arranged with
the walls tinted black and a narrow roof projecting within the
walls  It should be 10 braccia wide and 20 braccia long and 10
braccia high and covered with a linen awning  or else paint a work
towards evening or when it is cloudy or misty  and this is a perfect
light 

On various helps in preparing a picture  521 530  

521 

To draw a nude figure from nature  or any thing else  hold in your
hand a plumb line to enable you to judge of the relative position
of objects 

522 

OF DRAWING AN OBJECT 

When you draw take care to set up a principal line which you must
observe all throughout the object you are drawing  every thing
should bear relation to the direction of this principal line 

523 

OF A MODE OF DRAWING A PLACE ACCURATELY 

Have a piece of glass as large as a half sheet of royal folio paper
and set thus firmly in front of your eyes that is  between your eye
and the thing you want to draw  then place yourself at a distance of
2 3 of a braccia from the glass fixing your head with a machine in
such a way that you cannot move it at all  Then shut or entirely
cover one eye and with a brush or red chalk draw upon the glass that
which you see beyond it  then trace it on paper from the glass 
afterwards transfer it onto good paper  and paint it if you like 
carefully attending to the arial perspective 

HOW TO LEARN TO PLACE YOUR FIGURES CORRECTLY 

If you want to acquire a practice of good and correct attitudes for
your figures  make a square frame or net  and square it out with
thread  place this between your eye and the nude model you are
drawing  and draw these same squares on the paper on which you mean
to draw the figure  but very delicately  Then place a pellet of wax
on a spot of the net which will serve as a fixed point  which 
whenever you look at your model  must cover the pit of the throat 
or  if his back is turned  it may cover one of the vertebrae of the
neck  Thus these threads will guide you as to each part of the body
which  in any given attitude will be found below the pit of the
throat  or the angles of the shoulders  or the nipples  or hips and
other parts of the body  and the transverse lines of the net will
show you how much the figure is higher over the leg on which it is
posed than over the other  and the same with the hips  and the knees
and the feet  But always fix the net perpendicularly so that all the
divisions that you see the model divided into by the net work
correspond with your drawing of the model on the net work you have
sketched  The squares you draw may be as much smaller than those of
the net as you wish that your figure should be smaller than nature 
Afterwards remember when drawing figures  to use the rule of the
corresponding proportions of the limbs as you have learnt it from
the frame and net  This should be 3 braccia and a half high and 3
braccia wide  7 braccia distant from you and 1 braccio from the
model 

 Footnote  Leonardo is commonly credited with the invention of the
arrangement of a plate of glass commonly known as the  vertical
plane   Professor E  VON BRUCKE in his   Bruchstucke aus der Theorie
der bildenden Kunste    Leipzig 1877  pg  3  writes on this
contrivance    Unsere Glastafel ist die sogenannte Glastafel des
Leonardo da Vinci  die in Gestalt einer Glastafel vorgestellte
Bildflache    

524 

A METHOD OF DRAWING AN OBJECT IN RELIEF AT NIGHT 

Place a sheet of not too transparent paper between the relievo and
the light and you can draw thus very well 

 Footnote  Bodies thus illuminated will show on the surface of the
paper how the copyist has to distribute light and shade  

525 

If you want to represent a figure on a wall  the wall being
foreshortened  while the figure is to appear in its proper form  and
as standing free from the wall  you must proceed thus  have a thin
plate of iron and make a small hole in the centre  this hole must be
round  Set a light close to it in such a position as that it shines
through the central hole  then place any object or figure you please
so close to the wall that it touches it and draw the outline of the
shadow on the wall  then fill in the shade and add the lights  place
the person who is to see it so that he looks through that same hole
where at first the light was  and you will never be able to persuade
yourself that the image is not detached from the wall 

 Footnote   uno piccolo spiracelo nel mezzo   M  RAVAISSON  in his
edition of MS  A  Paris   p  52  reads  nel muro   evidently a
mistake for  nel mezzo  which is quite plainly written  and he
translates it   fait lui une petite ouverture dans le mur    adding
in a note    les mots  dans le mur  paraissent etre de trop 
Leonardo a du les ecrire par distraction   But   nel mezzo   is
clearly legible even on the photograph facsimile given by Ravaisson
himself  and the objection he raises disappears at once  It is not
always wise or safe to try to prove our author s absence of mind or
inadvertence by apparent difficulties in the sense or connection of
the text  

526 

TO DRAW A FIGURE ON A WALL 12 BRACCIA HIGH WHICH SHALL LOOK 24
BRACCIA HIGH 

If you wish to draw a figure or any other object to look 24 braccia
high you must do it in this way  First  on the surface  m r  draw
half the man you wish to represent  then the other half  then put on
the vault  m n   the rest of  the figure spoken of above  first set
out the vertical plane on the floor of a room of the same shape as
the wall with the coved part on which you are to paint your figure 
Then  behind it  draw a figure set out in profile of whatever size
you please  and draw lines from it to the point  f  and  as these
lines cut  m n  on the vertical plane  so will the figure come on
the wall  of which the vertical plane gives a likeness  and you will
have all the  relative  heights and prominences of the figure  And
the breadth or thickness which are on the upright wall  m n  are to
be drawn in their proper form  since  as the wall recedes the figure
will be foreshortened by itself  but  that part of  the figure which
goes into the cove you must foreshorten  as if it were standing
upright  this diminution you must set out on a flat floor and there
must stand the figure which is to be transferred from the vertical
plane  r n  Footnote 17   che leverai dalla pariete r n   The
letters refer to the larger sketch  No  3 on Pl  XXXI   in its real
size and reduce it once more on a vertical plane  and this will be a
good method  Footnote 18  Leonardo here says nothing as to how the
image foreshortened by perspective and thus produced on the vertical
plane is to be transferred to the wall  but from what is said in
Nos  525 and 523 we may conclude that he was familiar with the
process of casting the enlarged shadow of a squaring net on the
surface of a wall to guide him in drawing the figure 

 Pariete di rilieuo   sur une parai en relief    RAVAISSON     Auf
einer Schnittlinie zum Aufrichten    LUDWIG   The explanation of
this puzzling expression must be sought in No  545  lines 15 17   

 Footnote  See Pl  XXXI  3  The second sketch  which in the plate is
incomplete  is here reproduced and completed from the original to
illustrate the text  In the original the larger diagram is placed
between lines 5 and 6 

1  2  C  A  157a  463a has the similar heading    del cressciere
della figura    and the text begins    Se voli fare 1a figura
grande  b c  but here it breaks off  The translation here given
renders the meaning of the passage as I think it must be understood 
The MS  is perfectly legible and the construction of the sentence is
simple and clear  difficulties can only arise from the very fullness
of the meaning  particularly towards the end of the passage  

527 

If you would to draw a cube in an angle of a wall  first draw the
object in its own proper shape and raise it onto a vertical plane
until it resembles the angle in which the said object is to be
represented 

528 

Why are paintings seen more correctly in a mirror than out of it 

529 

HOW THE MIRROR IS THE MASTER  AND GUIDE  OF PAINTERS 

When you want to see if your picture corresponds throughout with the
objects you have drawn from nature  take a mirror and look in that
at the reflection of the real things  and compare the reflected
image with your picture  and consider whether the subject of the two
images duly corresponds in both  particularly studying the mirror 
You should take the mirror for your guide  that is to say a flat
mirror  because on its surface the objects appear in many respects
as in a painting  Thus you see  in a painting done on a flat
surface  objects which appear in relief  and in the mirror  also a
flat surface  they look the same  The picture has one plane surface
and the same with the mirror  The picture is intangible  in so far
as that which appears round and prominent cannot be grasped in the
hands  and it is the same with the mirror  And since you can see
that the mirror  by means of outlines  shadows and lights  makes
objects appear in relief  you  who have in your colours far stronger
lights and shades than those in the mirror  can certainly  if you
compose your picture well  make that also look like a natural scene
reflected in a large mirror 

 Footnote  I understand the concluding lines of this passage as
follows  If you draw the upper half a figure on a large sheet of
paper laid out on the floor of a room   sala be piana   to the same
scale   con le sue vere grosseze   as the lower half  already drawn
upon the wall  lines 10  11 you must then reduce them on a   pariete
di rilievo    a curved vertical plane which serves as a model to
reproduce the form of the vault  

530 

OF JUDGING YOUR OWN PICTURES 

We know very well that errors are better recognised in the works of
others than in our own  and that often  while reproving little
faults in others  you may ignore great ones in yourself  To avoid
such ignorance  in the first place make yourself a master of
perspective  then acquire perfect knowledge of the proportions of
men and other animals  and also  study good architecture  that is so
far as concerns the forms of buildings and other objects which are
on the face of the earth  these forms are infinite  and the better
you know them the more admirable will your work be  And in cases
where you lack experience do not shrink from drawing them from
nature  But  to carry out my promise above  in the title   I say
that when you paint you should have a flat mirror and often look at
your work as reflected in it  when you will see it reversed  and it
will appear to you like some other painter s work  so you will be
better able to judge of its faults than in any other way  Again  it
is well that you should often leave off work and take a little
relaxation  because  when you come back to it you are a better
judge  for sitting too close at work may greatly deceive you  Again 
it is good to retire to a distance because the work looks smaller
and your eye takes in more of it at a glance and sees more easily
the discords or disproportion in the limbs and colours of the
objects 

On the management of works  531  532  

531 

OF A METHOD OF LEARNING WELL BY HEART 

When you want to know a thing you have studied in your memory
proceed in this way  When you have drawn the same thing so many
times that you think you know it by heart  test it by drawing it
without the model  but have the model traced on flat thin glass and
lay this on the drawing you have made without the model  and note
carefully where the tracing does not coincide with your drawing  and
where you find you have gone wrong  and bear in mind not to repeat
the same mistakes  Then return to the model  and draw the part in
which you were wrong again and again till you have it well in your
mind  If you have no flat glass for tracing on  take some very thin
kidts kin parchment  well oiled and dried  And when you have used it
for one drawing you can wash it clean with a sponge and make a
second 

532 

THAT A PAINTER OUGHT TO BE CURIOUS TO HEAR THE OPINIONS OF EVERY ONE
ON HIS WORK 

Certainly while a man is painting he ought not to shrink from
hearing every opinion  For we know very well that a man  though he
may not be a painter  is familiar with the forms of other men and
very capable of judging whether they are hump backed  or have one
shoulder higher or lower than the other  or too big a mouth or nose 
and other defects  and  as we know that men are competent to judge
of the works of nature  how much more ought we to admit that they
can judge of our errors  since you know how much a man may be
deceived in his own work  And if you are not conscious of this in
yourself study it in others and profit by their faults  Therefore be
curious to hear with patience the opinions of others  consider and
weigh well whether those who find fault have ground or not for
blame  and  if so amend  but  if not make as though you had not
heard  or if he should be a man you esteem show him by argument the
cause of his mistake 

On the limitations of painting  533 535 

533 

HOW IN SMALL OBJECTS ERRORS ARE LESS EVIDENT THAN IN LARGE ONES 

In objects of minute size the extent of error is not so perceptible
as in large ones  and the reason is that if this small object is a
representation of a man or of some other animal  from the immense
diminution the details cannot be worked out by the artist with the
finish that is requisite  Hence it is not actually complete  and 
not being complete  its faults cannot be determined  For instance 
Look at a man at a distance of 300 braccia and judge attentively
whether he be handsome or ugly  or very remarkable or of ordinary
appearance  You will find that with the utmost effort you cannot
persuade yourself to decide  And the reason is that at such a
distance the man is so much diminished that the character of the
details cannot be determined  And if you wish to see how much this
man is diminished  by distance  hold one of your fingers at a span s
distance from your eye  and raise or lower it till the top joint
touches the feet of the figure you are looking at  and you will see
an incredible reduction  For this reason we often doubt as to the
person of a friend at a distance 

534 

WHY A PAINTING CAN NEVER APPEAR DETACHED AS NATURAL OBJECTS DO 

Painters often fall into despair of imitating nature when they see
their pictures fail in that relief and vividness which objects have
that are seen in a mirror  while they allege that they have colours
which for brightness or depth far exceed the strength of light and
shade in the reflections in the mirror  thus displaying their own
ignorance rather than the real cause  because they do not know it 
It is impossible that painted objects should appear in such relief
as to resemble those reflected in the mirror  although both are seen
on a flat surface  unless they are seen with only one eye  and the
reason is that two eyes see one object behind another as  a  and  b 
see  m  and  n    m  cannot exactly occupy  the space of   n 
because the base of the visual lines is so broad that the second
body is seen beyond the first  But if you close one eye  as at  s 
the body  f  will conceal  r   because the line of sight proceeds
from a single point and makes its base in the first body  whence the
second  of the same size  can never be seen 

 Footnote  This passage contains the solution of the problem
proposed in No  29  lines 10 14  Leonardo was evidently familiar
with the law of optics on which the construction of the stereoscope
depends  Compare E  VON BRUCKE   Bruchstucke aus der Theorie der
bildenden Kunste   pg  69    Schon Leonardo da Vinci wusste  dass
ein noch so gut gemaltes Bild nie den vollen Eindruck der
Korperlichkeit geben kann  wie ihn die Natur selbst giebt  Er
erklart dies auch in Kap  LIII und Kap  CCCXLI   ed  DU FRESNE 
 des   Trattato   in sachgemasser Weise aus dem Sehen mit beiden
Augen   

Chap  53 of DU FRESNE S edition corresponds to No  534 of this
work  

535 

WHY OF TWO OBJECTS OF EQUAL SIZE A PAINTED ONE WILL LOOK LARGER THAN
A SOLID ONE 

The reason of this is not so easy to demonstrate as many others 
Still I will endeavour to accomplish it  if not wholly  at any rate
in part  The perspective of diminution demonstrates by reason  that
objects diminish in proportion as they are farther from the eye  and
this reasoning is confirmed by experience  Hence  the lines of sight
that extend between the object and the eye  when they are directed
to the surface of a painting are all intersected at uniform limits 
while those lines which are directed towards a piece of sculpture
are intersected at various limits and are of various lengths  The
lines which are longest extend to a more remote limb than the others
and therefore that limb looks smaller  As there are numerous lines
each longer than the others  since there are numerous parts  each
more remote than the others and these  being farther off 
necessarily appear smaller  and by appearing smaller it follows that
their diminution makes the whole mass of the object look smaller 
But this does not occur in painting  since the lines of sight all
end at the same distance there can be no diminution  hence the parts
not being diminished the whole object is undiminished  and for this
reason painting does not diminish  as a piece of sculpture does 

On the choice of a position  536 537 

536 

HOW HIGH THE POINT OF SIGHT SHOULD BE PLACED 

The point of sight must be at the level of the eye of an ordinary
man  and the farthest limit of the plain where it touches the sky
must be placed at the level of that line where the earth and sky
meet  excepting mountains  which are independent of it 

537 

OF THE WAY TO DRAW FIGURES FOR HISTORICAL PICTURES 

The painter must always study on the wall on which he is to picture
a story the height of the position where he wishes to arrange his
figures  and when drawing his studies for them from nature he must
place himself with his eye as much below the object he is drawing
as  in the picture  it will have to be above the eye of the
spectator  Otherwise the work will look wrong 

The apparent size of figures in a picture  538 539 

538 

OF PLACING A FIGURE IN THE FOREGROUND OF A HISTORICAL PICTURE 

You must make the foremost figure in the picture less than the size
of nature in proportion to the number of braccia at which you place
it from the front line  and make the others in proportion by the
above rule 

539 

PERSPECTIVE 

You are asked  O Painter  why the figures you draw on a small scale
according to the laws of perspective do not appear  notwithstanding
the demonstration of distance  as large as real ones  their height
being the same as in those painted on the wall 

And why  painted  objects seen at a small distance appear larger
than the real ones 

The right position of the artist  when painting  and of the
spectator  540 547 

540 

OF PAINTING 

When you draw from nature stand at a distance of 3 times the height
of the object you wish to draw 

541 

OF DRAWING FROM RELIEF 

In drawing from the round the draughtsman should so place himself
that the eye of the figure he is drawing is on a level with his own 
This should be done with any head he may have to represent from
nature because  without exception  the figures or persons you meet
in the streets have their eyes on the same level as your own  and if
you place them higher or lower you will see that your drawing will
not be true 

542 

WHY GROUPS OF FIGURES ONE ABOVE ANOTHER ARE TO BE AVOIDED 

The universal practice which painters adopt on the walls of chapels
is greatly and reasonably to be condemned  Inasmuch as they
represent one historical subject on one level with a landscape and
buildings  and then go up a step and paint another  varying the
point  of sight   and then a third and a fourth  in such a way as
that on one wall there are 4 points of sight  which is supreme folly
in such painters  We know that the point of sight is opposite the
eye of the spectator of the scene  and if you would  have me  tell
you how to represent the life of a saint divided into several
pictures on one and the same wall  I answer that you must set out
the foreground with its point of sight on a level with the eye of
the spectator of the scene  and upon this plane represent the more
important part of the story large and then  diminishing by degrees
the figures  and the buildings on various hills and open spaces  you
can represent all the events of the history  And on the remainder of
the wall up to the top put trees  large as compared with the
figures  or angels if they are appropriate to the story  or birds or
clouds or similar objects  otherwise do not trouble yourself with it
for your whole work will be wrong 

543 

A PICTURE OF OBJECTS IN PERSPECTIVE WILL LOOK MORE LIFELIKE WHEN
SEEN FROM THE POINT FROM WHICH THE OBJECTS WERE DRAWN 

If you want to represent an object near to you which is to have the
effect of nature  it is impossible that your perspective should not
look wrong  with every false relation and disagreement of proportion
that can be imagined in a wretched work  unless the spectator  when
he looks at it  has his eye at the very distance and height and
direction where the eye or the point of sight was placed in doing
this perspective  Hence it would be necessary to make a window  or
rather a hole  of the size of your face through which you can look
at the work  and if you do this  beyond all doubt your work  if it
is correct as to light and shade  will have the effect of nature 
nay you will hardly persuade yourself that those objects are
painted  otherwise do not trouble yourself about it  unless indeed
you make your view at least 20 times as far off as the greatest
width or height of the objects represented  and this will satisfy
any spectator placed anywhere opposite to the picture 

If you want the proof briefly shown  take a piece of wood in the
form of a little column  eight times as high as it is thick  like a
column without any plinth or capital  then mark off on a flat wall
40 equal spaces  equal to its width so that between them they make
40 columns resembling your little column  you then must fix 
opposite the centre space  and at 4 braccia from the wall  a thin
strip of iron with a small round hole in the middle about as large
as a big pearl  Close to this hole place a light touching it  Then
place your column against each mark on the wall and draw the outline
of its shadow  afterwards shade it and look through the hole in the
iron plate 

 Footnote  In the original there is a wide space between lines 3 and
4 in which we find two sketches not belonging to the text  It is
unnecessary to give prominence to the points in which my reading
differs from that of M  RAVAISSON or to justify myself  since they
are all of secondary importance and can also be immediately verified
from the photograph facsimile in his edition  

544 

A diminished object should be seen from the same distance  height
and direction as the point of sight of your eye  or else your
knowledge will produce no good effect 

And if you will not  or cannot  act on this principle  because as
the plane on which you paint is to be seen by several persons you
would need several points of sight which would make it look
discordant and wrong  place yourself at a distance of at least 10
times the size of the objects 

The lesser fault you can fall into then  will be that of
representing all the objects in the foreground of their proper size 
and on whichever side you are standing the objects thus seen will
diminish themselves while the spaces between them will have no
definite ratio  For  if you place yourself in the middle of a
straight row  of objects   and look at several columns arranged in a
line you will see  beyond a few columns separated by intervals  that
the columns touch  and beyond where they touch they cover each
other  till the last column projects but very little beyond the last
but one  Thus the spaces between the columns are by degrees entirely
lost  So  if your method of perspective is good  it will produce the
same effect  this effect results from standing near the line in
which the columns are placed  This method is not satisfactory unless
the objects seen are viewed from a small hole  in the middle of
which is your point of sight  but if you proceed thus your work will
be perfect and will deceive the beholder  who will see the columns
as they are here figured 

Here the eye is in the middle  at the point  a  and near to the
columns 

 Footnote  The diagram which stands above this chapter in the
original with the note belonging to it   a b  e la ripruova     a b 
is the proof  has obviously no connection with the text  The second
sketch alone is reproduced and stands in the original between lines
22 and 23  

545 

If you cannot arrange that those who look at your work should stand
at one particular point  when constructing your work  stand back
until your eye is at least 20 times as far off as the greatest
height and width of your work  This will make so little difference
when the eye of the spectator moves  that it will be hardly
appreciable  and it will look very good 

If the point of sight is at  t  you would make the figures on the
circle  d b e  all of one size  as each of them bears the same
relation to the point  t   But consider the diagram given below and
you will see that this is wrong  and why I shall make  b  smaller
than  d e   Footnote 8  The second diagram of this chapter stands in
the original between lines 8 and 9   

It is easy to understand that if 2 objects equal to each other are
placed side by side the one at 3 braccia distance looks smaller than
that placed at 2 braccia  This however is rather theoretical than
for practice  because you stand close by  Footnote 11  Instead of
  se preso      sie presso   M  RAVAISSON reads   sempre se   which
gives rise to the unmeaning rendering    parceque toujours        

All the objects in the foreground  whether large or small  are to be
drawn of their proper size  and if you see them from a distance they
will appear just as they ought  and if you see them close they will
diminish of themselves 

 Footnote 15  Compare No  526 line 18   Take care that the vertical
plan on which you work out the perspective of the objects seen is of
the same form as the wall on which the work is to be executed 

546 

OF PAINTING 

The size of the figures represented ought to show you the distance
they are seen from  If you see a figure as large as nature you know
it appears to be close to the eye 

547 

WHERE A SPECTATOR SHOULD STAND TO LOOK AT A PICTURE 

Supposing  a b  to be the picture and  d  to be the light  I say
that if you place yourself between  c  and  e  you will not
understand the picture well and particularly if it is done in oils 
or still more if it is varnished  because it will be lustrous and
somewhat of the nature of a mirror  And for this reason the nearer
you go towards the point  c   the less you will see  because the
rays of light falling from the window on the picture are reflected
to that point  But if you place yourself between  e  and  d  you
will get a good view of it  and the more so as you approach the
point  d   because that spot is least exposed to these reflected
rays of light 

III 

THE PRACTICAL METHODS OF LIGHT AND SHADE AND AERIAL PERSPECTIVE 

Gradations of light and shade 

548 

OF PAINTING  OF THE DARKNESS OF THE SHADOWS  OR I MAY SAY  THE
BRIGHTNESS OF THE LIGHTS 

Although practical painters attribute to all shaded objects  trees 
fields  hair  beards and skin  four degrees of darkness in each
colour they use  that is to say first a dark foundation  secondly a
spot of colour somewhat resembling the form of the details  thirdly
a somewhat brighter and more defined portion  fourthly the lights
which are more conspicuous than other parts of the figure  still to
me it appears that these gradations are infinite upon a continuous
surface which is in itself infinitely divisible  and I prove it
thus    Footnote 7  See Pl  XXXI  No  1  the two upper sketches  
Let  a g  be a continuous surface and let  d  be the light which
illuminates it  I say  by the 4th  proposition  which says that that
side of an illuminated body is most highly lighted which is nearest
to the source of light  that therefore  g  must be darker than  c 
in proportion as the line  d g  is longer than the line  d c   and
consequently that these gradations of light  or rather of shadow 
are not 4 only  but may be conceived of as infinite  because  c d 
is a continuous surface and every continuous surface is infinitely
divisible  hence the varieties in the length of lines extending
between the light and the illuminated object are infinite  and the
proportion of the light will be the same as that of the length of
the lines between them  extending from the centre of the luminous
body to the surface of the illuminated object 

On the choice of light for a picture  549 554  

549 

HOW THE PAINTER MUST PLACE HIMSELF WITH REFERENCE TO THE LIGHT  TO
GIVE THE EFFECT OF RELIEF 

Let  a b  be the window   m  the point of light  I say that on
whichever side the painter places himself he will be well placed if
only his eye is between the shaded and the illuminated portions of
the object he is drawing  and this place you will find by putting
yourself between the point  m  and the division between the shadow
and the light on the object to be drawn 

550 

THAT SHADOWS CAST BY A PARTICULAR LIGHT SHOULD BE AVOIDED  BECAUSE
THEY ARE EQUALLY STRONG AT THE ENDS AND AT THE BEGINNING 

The shadows cast by the sun or any other particular light have not a
pleasing effect on the body to which they belong  because the parts
remain confuse  being divided by distinct outlines of light and
shade  And the shadows are of equal strength at the end and at the
beginning 

551 

HOW LIGHT SHOULD BE THROWN UPON FIGURES 

The light must be arranged in accordance with the natural conditions
under which you wish to represent your figures  that is  if you
represent them in the sunshine make the shadows dark with large
spaces of light  and mark their shadows and those of all the
surrounding objects strongly on the ground  And if you represent
them as in dull weather give little difference of light and shade 
without any shadows at their feet  If you represent them as within
doors  make a strong difference between the lights and shadows  with
shadows on the ground  If the window is screened and the walls
white  there will be little difference of light  If it is lighted by
firelight make the high lights ruddy and strong  and the shadows
dark  and those cast on the walls and on the floor will be clearly
defined and the farther they are from the body the broader and
longer will they be  If the light is partly from the fire and partly
from the outer day  that of day will be the stronger and that of the
fire almost as red as fire itself  Above all see that the figures
you paint are broadly lighted and from above  that is to say all
living persons that you paint  for you will see that all the people
you meet out in the street are lighted from above  and you must know
that if you saw your most intimate friend with a light  on his face 
from below you would find it difficult to recognise him 

552 

OF HELPING THE APPARENT RELIEF OF A PICTURE BY GIVING IT ARTIFICIAL
LIGHT AND SHADE 

To increase relief of a picture you may place  between your figure
and the solid object on which its shadow falls  a line of bright
light  dividing the figure from the object in shadow  And on the
same object you shall represent two light parts which will surround
the shadow cast upon the wall by the figure placed opposite  6   and
do this frequently with the limbs which you wish should stand out
somewhat from the body they belong to  particularly when the arms
cross the front of the breast show  between the shadow cast by the
arms on the breast and the shadow on the arms themselves  a little
light seeming to fall through a space between the breast and the
arms  and the more you wish the arm to look detached from the breast
the broader you must make the light  always contrive also to arrange
the figures against the background in such a way as that the parts
in shadow are against a light background and the illuminated
portions against a dark background 

 Footnote 6  Compare the two diagrams under No  565  

553 

OF SITUATION 

Remember  to note  the situation of your figures  for the light and
shade will be one thing if the object is in a dark place with a
particular light  and another thing if it is in a light place with
direct sunlight  one thing in a dark place with a diffused evening
light or a cloudy sky  and another in the diffused light of the
atmosphere lighted by the sun 

554 

OF THE JUDGMENT TO BE MADE OF A PAINTER S WORK 

First you must consider whether the figures have the relief required
by their situation and the light which illuminates them  for the
shadows should not be the same at the extreme ends of the
composition as in the middle  because it is one thing when figures
are surrounded by shadows and another when they have shadows only on
one side  Those which are in the middle of the picture are
surrounded by shadows  because they are shaded by the figures which
stand between them and the light  And those are lighted on one side
only which stand between the principal group and the light  because
where they do not look towards the light they face the group and the
darkness of the group is thrown on them  and where they do not face
the group they face the brilliant light and it is their own darkness
shadowing them  which appears there 

In the second place observe the distribution or arrangement of
figures  and whether they are distributed appropriately to the
circumstances of the story  Thirdly  whether the figures are
actively intent on their particular business 

555 

OF THE TREATMENT OF THE LIGHTS 

First give a general shadow to the whole of that extended part which
is away from the light  Then put in the half shadows and the strong
shadows  comparing them with each other and  in the same way give
the extended light in half tint  afterwards adding the half lights
and the high lights  likewise comparing them together 

The distribution of light and shade  556 559 

556 

OF SHADOWS ON BODIES 

When you represent the dark shadows in bodies in light and shade 
always show the cause of the shadow  and the same with reflections 
because the dark shadows are produced by dark objects and the
reflections by objects only moderately lighted  that is with
diminished light  And there is the same proportion between the
highly lighted part of a body and the part lighted by a reflection
as between the origin of the lights on the body and the origin of
the reflections 

557 

OF LIGHTS AND SHADOWS 

I must remind you to take care that every portion of a body  and
every smallest detail which is ever so little in relief  must be
given its proper importance as to light and shade 

558 

OF THE WAY TO MAKE THE SHADOW ON FIGURES CORRESPOND TO THE LIGHT AND
TO  THE COLOUR  OF THE BODY 

When you draw a figure and you wish to see whether the shadow is the
proper complement to the light  and neither redder nor yellower than
is the nature of the colour you wish to represent in shade  proceed
thus  Cast a shadow with your finger on the illuminated portion  and
if the accidental shadow that you have made is like the natural
shadow cast by your finger on your work  well and good  and by
putting your finger nearer or farther off  you can make darker or
lighter shadows  which you must compare with your own 

559 

OF SURROUNDING BODIES BY VARIOUS FORMS OF SHADOW 

Take care that the shadows cast upon the surface of the bodies by
different objects must undulate according to the various curves of
the limbs which cast the shadows  and of the objects on which they
are cast 

The juxtaposition of light and shade  560  561  

560 

ON PAINTING 

The comparison of the various qualities of shadows and lights not
infrequently seems ambiguous and confused to the painter who desires
to imitate and copy the objects he sees  The reason is this  If you
see a white drapery side by side with a black one  that part of the
white drapery which lies against the black one will certainly look
much whiter than the part which lies against something whiter than
itself   Footnote  It is evident from this that so early as in 1492
Leonardo s writing in perspective was so far advanced that he could
quote his own statements   As bearing on this subject compare what
is said in No  280   And the reason of this is shown in my  book on 
perspective 

561 

OF SHADOWS 

Where a shadow ends in the light  note carefully where it is paler
or deeper and where it is more or less indistinct towards the light 
and  above all  in  painting  youthful figures I remind you not to
make the shadow end like a stone  because flesh has a certain
transparency  as may be seen by looking at a hand held between the
eye and the sun  which shines through it ruddy and bright  Place the
most highly coloured part between the light and shadow  And to see
what shadow tint is needed on the flesh  cast a shadow on it with
your finger  and according as you wish to see it lighter or darker
hold your finger nearer to or farther from your picture  and copy
that  shadow  

On the lighting of the background  562 565  

562 

OF THE BACKGROUNDS FOR PAINTED FIGURES 

The ground which surrounds the forms of any object you paint should
be darker than the high lights of those figures  and lighter than
their shadowed part   c 

563 

OF THE BACKGROUND THAT THE PAINTER SHOULD ADOPT IN HIS WORKS 

Since experience shows us that all bodies are surrounded by light
and shade it is necessary that you  O Painter  should so arrange
that the side which is in light shall terminate against a dark body
and likewise that the shadow side shall terminate against a light
body  And by  following  this rule you will add greatly to the
relief of your figures 

564 

A most important part of painting consists in the backgrounds of the
objects represented  against these backgrounds the outlines of
those natural objects which are convex are always visible  and also
the forms of these bodies against the background  even though the
colours of the bodies should be the same as that of the background 
This is caused by the convex edges of the objects not being
illuminated in the same way as  by the same light  the background is
illuminated  since these edges will often be lighter or darker than
the background  But if the edge is of the same colour as the
background  beyond a doubt it will in that part of the picture
interfere with your perception of the outline  and such a choice in
a picture ought to be rejected by the judgment of good painters 
inasmuch as the purpose of the painter is to make his figures appear
detached from the background  while in the case here described the
contrary occurs  not only in the picture  but in the objects
themselves 

565 

That you ought  when representing objects above the eye and on one
side  if you wish them to look detached from the wall  to show 
between the shadow on the object and the shadow it casts a middle
light  so that the body will appear to stand away from the wall 

On the lighting of white objects 

566 

HOW WHITE BODIES SHOULD BE REPRESENTED 

If you are representing a white body let it be surrounded by ample
space  because as white has no colour of its own  it is tinged and
altered in some degree by the colour of the objects surrounding it 
If you see a woman dressed in white in the midst of a landscape 
that side which is towards the sun is bright in colour  so much so
that in some portions it will dazzle the eyes like the sun itself 
and the side which is towards the atmosphere   luminous through
being interwoven with the sun s rays and penetrated by them  since
the atmosphere itself is blue  that side of the woman s figure will
appear steeped in blue  If the surface of the ground about her be
meadows and if she be standing between a field lighted up by the sun
and the sun itself  you will see every portion of those folds which
are towards the meadow tinged by the reflected rays with the colour
of that meadow  Thus the white is transmuted into the colours of the
luminous and of the non luminous objects near it 

The methods of aerial  567  570  

567 

WHY FACES  SEEN  AT A DISTANCE LOOK DARK 

We see quite plainly that all the images of visible objects that lie
before us  whether large or small  reach our sense by the minute
aperture of the eye  and if  through so small a passage the image
can pass of the vast extent of sky and earth  the face of a
man  being by comparison with such large images almost nothing by
reason of the distance which diminishes it   fills up so little of
the eye that it is indistinguishable  Having  also  to be
transmitted from the surface to the sense through a dark medium 
that is to say the crystalline lens which looks dark  this image 
not being strong in colour becomes affected by this darkness on its
passage  and on reaching the sense it appears dark  no other reason
can in any way be assigned  If the point in the eye is black  it is
because it is full of a transparent humour as clear as air and acts
like a perforation in a board  on looking into it it appears dark
and the objects seen through the bright air and a dark one become
confused in this darkness 

WHY A MAN SEEN AT A CERTAIN DISTANCE IS NOT RECOGNISABLE 

The perspective of diminution shows us that the farther away an
object is the smaller it looks  If you look at a man at a distance
from you of an arrow s flight  and hold the eye of a small needle
close to your own eye  you can see through it several men whose
images are transmitted to the eye and will all be comprised within
the size of the needle s eye  hence  if the man who is at the
distance of an arrow s flight can send his whole image to your eye 
occupying only a small space in the needle s eye how can you
 expect  in so small a figure to distinguish or see the nose or
mouth or any detail of his person  and  not seeing these you cannot
recognise the man  since these features  which he does not show  are
what give men different aspects 

568 

THE REASON WHY SMALL FIGURES SHOULD NOT BE MADE FINISHED 

I say that the reason that objects appear diminished in size is
because they are remote from the eye  this being the case it is
evident that there must be a great extent of atmosphere between the
eye and the objects  and this air interferes with the distinctness
of the forms of the object  Hence the minute details of these
objects will be indistinguishable and unrecognisable  Therefore  O
Painter  make your smaller figures merely indicated and not highly
finished  otherwise you will produce effects the opposite to nature 
your supreme guide  The object is small by reason of the great
distance between it and the eye  this great distance is filled with
air  that mass of air forms a dense body which intervenes and
prevents the eye seeing the minute details of objects 

569 

Whenever a figure is placed at a considerable distance you lose
first the distinctness of the smallest parts  while the larger parts
are left to the last  losing all distinctness of detail and outline 
and what remains is an oval or spherical figure with confused edges 

570 

OF PAINTING 

The density of a body of smoke looks white below the horizon while
above the horizon it is dark  even if the smoke is in itself of a
uniform colour  this uniformity will vary according to the variety
in the ground on which it is seen 

IV 

OF PORTRAIT AND FIGURE PAINTING 

Of sketching figures and portraits  571 572  

571 

OF THE WAY TO LEARN TO COMPOSE FIGURES  IN GROUPS  IN HISTORICAL
PICTURES 

When you have well learnt perspective and have by heart the parts
and forms of objects  you must go about  and constantly  as you go 
observe  note and consider the circumstances and behaviour of men in
talking  quarrelling or laughing or fighting together  the action of
the men themselves and the actions of the bystanders  who separate
them or who look on  And take a note of them with slight strokes
thus  in a little book which you should always carry with you  And
it should be of tinted paper  that it may not be rubbed out  but
change the old  when full  for a new one  since these things should
not be rubbed out but preserved with great care  for the forms  and
positions of objects are so infinite that the memory is incapable of
retaining them  wherefore keep these  sketches  as your guides and
masters 

 Footnote  Among Leonardo s numerous note books of pocket size not
one has coloured paper  so no sketches answering to this description
can be pointed out  The fact that most of the notes are written in
ink  militates against the supposition that they were made in the
open air  

572 

OF A METHOD OF KEEPING IN MIND THE FORM OF A FACE 

If you want to acquire facility for bearing in mind the expression
of a face  first make yourself familiar with a variety of  forms of 
several heads  eyes  noses  mouths  chins and cheeks and necks and
shoulders  And to put a case  Noses are of 10 types  straight 
bulbous  hollow  prominent above or below the middle  aquiline 
regular  flat  round or pointed  These hold good as to profile  In
full face they are of 11 types  these are equal thick in the middle 
thin in the middle  with the tip thick and the root narrow  or
narrow at the tip and wide at the root  with the nostrils wide or
narrow  high or low  and the openings wide or hidden by the point 
and you will find an equal variety in the other details  which
things you must draw from nature and fix them in your mind  Or else 
when you have to draw a face by heart  carry with you a little book
in which you have noted such features  and when you have cast a
glance at the face of the person you wish to draw  you can look  in
private  which nose or mouth is most like  or there make a little
mark to recognise it again at home  Of grotesque faces I need say
nothing  because they are kept in mind without difficulty 

The position of the head 

573 

HOW YOU SHOULD SET TO WORK TO DRAW A HEAD OF WHICH ALL THE PARTS
SHALL AGREE WITH THE POSITION GIVEN TO IT 

To draw a head in which the features shall agree with the turn and
bend of the head  pursue this method  You know that the eyes 
eyebrows  nostrils  corners of the mouth  and sides of the chin  the
jaws  cheeks  ears and all the parts of a face are squarely and
straightly set upon the face 

 Footnote  Compare the drawings and the text belonging to them on
Pl  IX   No  315   Pl  X  No  316   Pl  XL  No  318  and Pl  XII 
 No  319   

Therefore when you have sketched the face draw lines passing from
one corner of the eye to the other  and so for the placing of each
feature  and after having drawn the ends of the lines beyond the two
sides of the face  look if the spaces inside the same parallel lines
on the right and on the left are equal  12   But be sure to remember
to make these lines tend to the point of sight 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXXI  No  4  the slight sketch on the left hand
side  The text of this passage is written by the side of it  In this
sketch the lines seem intentionally incorrect and converging to the
right  compare I  12  instead of parallel  Compare too with this
text the drawing in red chalk from Windsor Castle which is
reproduced on Pl  XL  No  2  

Of the light on the face  574 576  

574 

HOW TO KNOW WHICH SIDE OF AN OBJECT IS TO BE MORE OR LESS LUMINOUS
THAN THE OTHER 

Let  f  be the light  the head will be the object illuminated by it
and that side of the head on which the rays fall most directly will
be the most highly lighted  and those parts on which the rays fall
most aslant will be less lighted  The light falls as a blow might 
since a blow which falls perpendicularly falls with the greatest
force  and when it falls obliquely it is less forcible than the
former in proportion to the width of the angle   Exempli gratia  if
you throw a ball at a wall of which the extremities are equally far
from you the blow will fall straight  and if you throw the ball at
the wall when standing at one end of it the ball will hit it
obliquely and the blow will not tell 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXXI  No  4  the sketch on the right hand side  

575 

THE PROOF AND REASON WHY AMONG THE ILLUMINATED PARTS CERTAIN
PORTIONS ARE IN HIGHER LIGHT THAN OTHERS 

Since it is proved that every definite light is  or seems to be 
derived from one single point the side illuminated by it will have
its highest light on the portion where the line of radiance falls
perpendicularly  as is shown above in the lines  a g   and also in
 a h  and in  l a   and that portion of the illuminated side will be
least luminous  where the line of incidence strikes it between two
more dissimilar angles  as is seen at  b c d   And by this means you
may also know which parts are deprived of light as is seen at  m k  

Where the angles made by the lines of incidence are most equal there
will be the highest light  and where they are most unequal it will
be darkest 

I will make further mention of the reason of reflections 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXXII  The text  here given complete  is on the
right hand side  The small circles above the beginning of lines 5
and 11 as well as the circle above the text on Pl  XXXI  are in a
paler ink and evidently added by a later hand in order to
distinguish the text as belonging to the  Libro di Pittura   see
Prolegomena  No  12  p  3   The text on the left hand side of this
page is given as Nos  577 and 137  

576 

Where the shadow should be on the face 

General suggestions for historical pictures  577 581  

577 

When you compose a historical picture take two points  one the point
of sight  and the other the source of light  and make this as
distant as possible 

578 

Historical pictures ought not to be crowded and confused with too
many figures 

579 

PRECEPTS IN PAINTING 

Let you sketches of historical pictures be swift and the working out
of the limbs not be carried too far  but limited to the position of
the limbs  which you can afterwards finish as you please and at your
leisure 

 Footnote  See Pl  XXXVIII  No  2  The pen and ink drawing given
there as No  3 may also be compared with this passage  It is in the
Windsor collection where it is numbered 101  

580 

The sorest misfortune is when your views are in advance of your
work 

581 

Of composing historical pictures  Of not considering the limbs in
the figures in historical pictures  as many do who  in the wish to
represent the whole of a figure  spoil their compositions  And when
you place one figure behind another take care to draw the whole of
it so that the limbs which come in front of the nearer figures may
stand out in their natural size and place 

How to represent the differences of age and sex  582 583  

582 

How the ages of man should be depicted  that is  Infancy  Childhood 
Youth  Manhood  Old age  Decrepitude 

 Footnote  No answer is here given to this question  in the original
MS  

583 

Old men ought to be represented with slow and heavy movements  their
legs bent at the knees  when they stand still  and their feet placed
parallel and apart  bending low with the head leaning forward  and
their arms but little extended 

Women must be represented in modest attitudes  their legs close
together  their arms closely folded  their heads inclined and
somewhat on one side 

Old women should be represented with eager  swift and furious
gestures  like infernal furies  but the action should be more
violent in their arms and head than in their legs 

Little children  with lively and contorted movements when sitting 
and  when standing still  in shy and timid attitudes 

 Footnote   bracci raccolte   Compare Pl  XXXIII  This drawing  in
silver point on yellowish tinted paper  the lights heightened with
white  represents two female hands laid together in a lap  Above is
a third finished study of a right hand  apparently holding a veil
from the head across the bosom  This drawing evidently dates from
before 1500 and was very probably done at Florence  perhaps as a
preparatory study for some picture  The type of hand with its
slender thin forms is more like the style of the  Vierge aux
Rochers  in the Louvre than any later works  as the Mona Lisa for
instance  

Of representing the emotions 

584 

THAT A FIGURE IS NOT ADMIRABLE UNLESS IT EXPRESSES BY ITS ACTION THE
PASSION OF ITS SENTIMENT 

That figure is most admirable which by its actions best expresses
the passion that animates it 

HOW AN ANGRY MAN IS TO BE FIGURED 

You must make an angry person holding someone by the hair  wrenching
his head against the ground  and with one knee on his ribs  his
right arm and fist raised on high  His hair must be thrown up  his
brow downcast and knit  his teeth clenched and the two corners of
his mouth grimly set  his neck swelled and bent forward as he leans
over his foe  and full of furrows 

HOW TO REPRESENT A MAN IN DESPAIR 

You must show a man in despair with a knife  having already torn
open his garments  and with one hand tearing open the wound  And
make him standing on his feet and his legs somewhat bent and his
whole person leaning towards the earth  his hair flying in disorder 

Of representing imaginary animals 

585 

HOW YOU SHOULD MAKE AN IMAGINARY ANIMAL LOOK NATURAL 

You know that you cannot invent animals without limbs  each of
which  in itself  must resemble those of some other animal  Hence if
you wish to make an animal  imagined by you  appear natural  let us
say a Dragon  take for its head that of a mastiff or hound  with the
eyes of a cat  the ears of a porcupine  the nose of a greyhound  the
brow of a lion  the temples of an old cock  the neck of a water
tortoise 

 Footnote  The sketch here inserted of two men on horseback fighting
a dragon is the facsimile of a pen and ink drawing belonging to
BARON EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD of Paris  

The selection of forms 

586 

OF THE DELUSIONS WHICH ARISE IN JUDGING OF THE LIMBS 

A painter who has clumsy hands will paint similar hands in his
works  and the same will occur with any limb  unless long study has
taught him to avoid it  Therefore  O Painter  look carefully what
part is most ill favoured in your own person and take particular
pains to correct it in your studies  For if you are coarse  your
figures will seem the same and devoid of charm  and it is the same
with any part that may be good or poor in yourself  it will be shown
in some degree in your figures 

587 

OF THE SELECTION OF BEAUTIFUL FACES 

It seems to me to be no small charm in a painter when he gives his
figures a pleasing air  and this grace  if he have it not by nature 
he may acquire by incidental study in this way  Look about you and
take the best parts of many beautiful faces  of which the beauty is
confirmed rather by public fame than by your own judgment  for you
might be mistaken and choose faces which have some resemblance to
your own  For it would seem that such resemblances often please us 
and if you should be ugly  you would select faces that were not
beautiful and you would then make ugly faces  as many painters do 
For often a master s work resembles himself  So select beauties as I
tell you  and fix them in your mind 

588 

Of the limbs  which ought to be carefully selected  and of all the
other parts with regard to painting 

589 

When selecting figures you should choose slender ones rather than
lean and wooden ones 

590 

OF THE MUSCLES OF ANIMALS 

The hollow spaces interposed between the muscles must not be of such
a character as that the skin should seem to cover two sticks laid
side by side like  c   nor should they seem like two sticks somewhat
remote from such contact so that the skin hangs in an empty loose
curve as at  f   but it should be like  i   laid over the spongy fat
that lies in the angles as the angle  n m o   which angle is formed
by the contact of the ends of the muscles and as the skin cannot
fold down into such an angle  nature has filled up such angles with
a small quantity of spongy and  as I may say  vesicular fat  with
minute bladders  in it  full of air  which is condensed or rarefied
in them according to the increase or the diminution of the substance
of the muscles  in which latter case the concavity  i  always has a
larger curve than the muscle 

591 

OF UNDULATING MOVEMENTS AND EQUIPOISE IN FIGURES AND OTHER ANIMALS 

When representing a human figure or some graceful animal  be careful
to avoid a wooden stiffness  that is to say make them move with
equipoise and balance so as not to look like a piece of wood  but
those you want to represent as strong you must not make so 
excepting in the turn of the head 

How to pose figures 

592 

OF GRACE IN THE LIMBS 

The limbs should be adapted to the body with grace and with
reference to the effect that you wish the figure to produce  And if
you wish to produce a figure that shall of itself look light and
graceful you must make the limbs elegant and extended  and without
too much display of the muscles  and those few that are needed for
your purpose you must indicate softly  that is  not very prominent
and without strong shadows  the limbs  and particularly the arms
easy  that is  none of the limbs should be in a straight line with
the adjoining parts  And if the hips  which are the pole of a man 
are by reason of his position  placed so  that the right is higher
than the left  make the point of the higher shoulder in a
perpendicular line above the highest prominence of the hip  and let
this right shoulder be lower than the left  Let the pit of the
throat always be over the centre of the joint of the foot on which
the man is leaning  The leg which is free should have the knee lower
than the other  and near the other leg  The positions of the head
and arms are endless and I shall therefore not enlarge on any rules
for them  Still  let them be easy and pleasing  with various turns
and twists  and the joints gracefully bent  that they may not look
like pieces of wood 

Of appropriate gestures  593 600  

593 

A picture or representation of human figures  ought to be done in
such a way as that the spectator may easily recognise  by means of
their attitudes  the purpose in their minds  Thus  if you have to
represent a man of noble character in the act of speaking  let his
gestures be such as naturally accompany good words  and  in the same
way  if you wish to depict a man of a brutal nature  give him fierce
movements  as with his arms flung out towards the listener  and his
head and breast thrust forward beyond his feet  as if following the
speaker s hands  Thus it is with a deaf and dumb person who  when he
sees two men in conversation  although he is deprived of
hearing  can nevertheless understand  from the attitudes and
gestures of the speakers  the nature of their discussion  I once saw
in Florence a man who had become deaf who  when you spoke very loud
did not understand you  but if you spoke gently and without making
any sound  understood merely from the movement of the lips  Now
perhaps you will say that the lips of a man who speaks loudly do not
move like those of one speaking softly  and that if they were to
move them alike they would be alike understood  As to this argument 
I leave the decision to experiment  make a man speak to you gently
and note  the motion of  his lips 

 Footnote  The first ten lines of this text have already been
published  but with a slightly different reading by Dr  M  JORDAN 
 Das Malerbuch Leonardo da Vinci s  p  86  

594 

OF REPRESENTING A MAN SPEAKING TO A MULTITUDE 

When you wish to represent a man speaking to a number of people 
consider the matter of which he has to treat and adapt his action to
the subject  Thus  if he speaks persuasively  let his action be
appropriate to it  If the matter in hand be to set forth an
argument  let the speaker  with the fingers of the right hand hold
one finger of the left hand  having the two smaller ones closed  and
his face alert  and turned towards the people with mouth a little
open  to look as though he spoke  and if he is sitting let him
appear as though about to rise  with his head forward  If you
represent him standing make him leaning slightly forward with body
and head towards the people  These you must represent as silent and
attentive  all looking at the orator s face with gestures of
admiration  and make some old men in astonishment at the things they
hear  with the corners of their mouths pulled down and drawn in 
their cheeks full of furrows  and their eyebrows raised  and
wrinkling the forehead where they meet  Again  some sitting with
their fingers clasped holding their weary knees  Again  some bent
old man  with one knee crossed over the other  on which let him hold
his hand with his other elbow resting in it and the hand supporting
his bearded chin 

 Footnote  The sketches introduced here are a facsimile of a pen and
ink drawing in the Louvre which Herr CARL BRUN considers as studies
for the Last Supper in the church of  Santa Maria delle Grazie   see
Leonardo da Vinci  LXI  pp  21  27 and 28 in DOHME S  Kunst und
Kunstler   Leipzig  Seemann   I shall not here enter into any
discussion of this suggestion  but as a justification for
introducing the drawing in this place  I may point out that some of
the figures illustrate this passage as perfectly as though they had
been drawn for that express purpose  I have discussed the
probability of a connection between this sketch and the picture of
the Last Supper on p  335  The original drawing is 27 3 4
centimetres wide by 21 high   The drawing in silver point on reddish
paper given on Pl  LII  No  1  the original at Windsor Castle  may
also serve to illustrate the subject of appropriate gestures 
treated in Nos  593 and 594  

595 

OF THE DISPOSITION OF LIMBS 

As regards the disposition of limbs in movement you will have to
consider that when you wish to represent a man who  by some chance 
has to turn backwards or to one side  you must not make him move his
feet and all his limbs towards the side to which he turns his head 
Rather must you make the action proceed by degrees and through the
different joints  that is  those of the foot  the knee and the hip
and the neck  And if you set him on the right leg  you must make the
left knee bend inwards  and let his foot be slightly raised on the
outside  and the left shoulder be somewhat lower than the right 
while the nape of the neck is in a line directly over the outer
ancle of the left foot  And the left shoulder will be in a
perpendicular line above the toes of the right foot  And always set
your figures so that the side to which the head turns is not the
side to which the breast faces  since nature for our convenience has
made us with a neck which bends with ease in many directions  the
eye wishing to turn to various points  the different joints  And if
at any time you make a man sitting with his arms at work on
something which is sideways to him  make the upper part of his body
turn upon the hips 

 Footnote  Compare Pl  VII  No  5  The original drawing at Windsor
Castle is numbered 104  

596 

When you draw the nude always sketch the whole figure and then
finish those limbs which seem to you the best  but make them act
with the other limbs  otherwise you will get a habit of never
putting the limbs well together on the body 

Never make the head turn the same way as the torso  nor the arm and
leg move together on the same side  And if the face is turned to the
right shoulder  make all the parts lower on the left side than on
the right  and when you turn the body with the breast outwards  if
the head turns to the left side make the parts on the right side
higher than those on the left 

 Footnote  In the original MS  a much defaced sketch is to be seen
by the side of the second part of this chapter  its faded condition
has rendered reproduction impossible  In M  RAVAISSON S facsimile
the outlines of the head have probably been touched up  This passage
however is fitly illustrated by the drawings on Pl  XXI  

597 

OF PAINTING 

Of the nature of movements in man  Do not repeat the same gestures
in the limbs of men unless you are compelled by the necessity of
their action  as is shown in  a b  

 Footnote  See Pl  V  where part of the text is also reproduced  The
effaced figure to the extreme left has evidently been cancelled by
Leonardo himself as unsatisfactory  

598 

The motions of men must be such as suggest their dignity or their
baseness 

599 

OF PAINTING 

Make your work carry out your purpose and meaning  That is when you
draw a figure consider well who it is and what you wish it to be
doing 

OF PAINTING 

With regard to any action which you give in a picture to an old man
or to a young one  you must make it more energetic in the young man
in proportion as he is stronger than the old one  and in the same
way with a young man and an infant 

600 

OF SETTING ON THE LIMBS 

The limbs which are used for labour must be muscular and those which
are not much used you must make without muscles and softly rounded 

OF THE ACTION OF THE FIGURES 

Represent your figures in such action as may be fitted to express
what purpose is in the mind of each  otherwise your art will not be
admirable 

V 

SUGGESTIONS FOR COMPOSITIONS 

Of painting battle pieces  601 603  

601 

OF THE WAY OF REPRESENTING A BATTLE 

First you must represent the smoke of artillery mingling in the air
with the dust and tossed up by the movement of horses and the
combatants  And this mixture you must express thus  The dust  being
a thing of earth  has weight  and although from its fineness it is
easily tossed up and mingles with the air  it nevertheless readily
falls again  It is the finest part that rises highest  hence that
part will be least seen and will look almost of the same colour as
the air  The higher the smoke mixed with the dust laden air rises
towards a certain level  the more it will look like a dark cloud 
and it will be seen that at the top  where the smoke is more
separate from the dust  the smoke will assume a bluish tinge and the
dust will tend to its colour  This mixture of air  smoke and dust
will look much lighter on the side whence the light comes than on
the opposite side  The more the combatants are in this turmoil the
less will they be seen  and the less contrast will there be in their
lights and shadows  Their faces and figures and their appearance 
and the musketeers as well as those near them you must make of a
glowing red  And this glow will diminish in proportion as it is
remote from its cause 

The figures which are between you and the light  if they be at a
distance  will appear dark on a light background  and the lower part
of their legs near the ground will be least visible  because there
the dust is coarsest and densest  19   And if you introduce horses
galloping outside the crowd  make the little clouds of dust distant
from each other in proportion to the strides made by the horses  and
the clouds which are furthest removed from the horses  should be
least visible  make them high and spreading and thin  and the nearer
ones will be more conspicuous and smaller and denser  23   The air
must be full of arrows in every direction  some shooting upwards 
some falling  some flying level  The balls from the guns must have a
train of smoke following their flight  The figures in the foreground
you must make with dust on the hair and eyebrows and on other flat
places likely to retain it  The conquerors you will make rushing
onwards with their hair and other light things flying on the wind 
with their brows bent down 

 Footnote  19  23  Compare 608  57  75  

602 

and with the opposite limbs thrust forward  that is where a man puts
forward the right foot the left arm must be advanced  And if you
make any one fallen  you must show the place where he has slipped
and been dragged along the dust into blood stained mire  and in the
half liquid earth arround show the print of the tramping of men and
horses who have passed that way  Make also a horse dragging the dead
body of his master  and leaving behind him  in the dust and mud  the
track where the body was dragged along  You must make the conquered
and beaten pale  their brows raised and knit  and the skin above
their brows furrowed with pain  the sides of the nose with wrinkles
going in an arch from the nostrils to the eyes  and make the
nostrils drawn up  which is the cause of the lines of which I
speak    and the lips arched upwards and discovering the upper
teeth  and the teeth apart as with crying out and lamentation  And
make some one shielding his terrified eyes with one hand  the palm
towards the enemy  while the other rests on the ground to support
his half raised body  Others represent shouting with their mouths
open  and running away  You must scatter arms of all sorts among the
feet of the combatants  as broken shields  lances  broken swords and
other such objects  And you must make the dead partly or entirely
covered with dust  which is changed into crimson mire where it has
mingled with the flowing blood whose colour shows it issuing in a
sinuous stream from the corpse  Others must be represented in the
agonies of death grinding their teeth  rolling their eyes  with
their fists clenched against their bodies and their legs contorted 
Some might be shown disarmed and beaten down by the enemy  turning
upon the foe  with teeth and nails  to take an inhuman and bitter
revenge  You might see some riderless horse rushing among the enemy 
with his mane flying in the wind  and doing no little mischief with
his heels  Some maimed warrior may be seen fallen to the earth 
covering himself with his shield  while the enemy  bending over him 
tries to deal him a deathstroke  There again might be seen a number
of men fallen in a heap over a dead horse  You would see some of the
victors leaving the fight and issuing from the crowd  rubbing their
eyes and cheeks with both hands to clean them of the dirt made by
their watering eyes smarting from the dust and smoke  The reserves
may be seen standing  hopeful but cautious  with watchful eyes 
shading them with their hands and gazing through the dense and murky
confusion  attentive to the commands of their captain  The captain
himself  his staff raised  hurries towards these auxiliaries 
pointing to the spot where they are most needed  And there may be a
river into which horses are galloping  churning up the water all
round them into turbulent waves of foam and water  tossed into the
air and among the legs and bodies of the horses  And there must not
be a level spot that is not trampled with gore 

603 

OF LIGHTING THE LOWER PARTS OF BODIES CLOSE TOGETHER  AS OF MEN IN
BATTLE 

As to men and horses represented in battle  their different parts
will be dark in proportion as they are nearer to the ground on which
they stand  And this is proved by the sides of wells which grow
darker in proportion to their depth  the reason of which is that the
deepest part of the well sees and receives a smaller amount of the
luminous atmosphere than any other part 

And the pavement  if it be of the same colour as the legs of these
said men and horses  will always be more lighted and at a more
direct angle than the said legs  c 

604 

OF THE WAY TO REPRESENT A NIGHT  SCENE  

That which is entirely bereft of light is all darkness  given a
night under these conditions and that you want to represent a night
scene   arrange that there shall be a great fire  then the objects
which are nearest to this fire will be most tinged with its colour 
for those objects which are nearest to a coloured light participate
most in its nature  as therefore you give the fire a red colour  you
must make all the objects illuminated by it ruddy  while those which
are farther from the fire are more tinted by the black hue of night 
The figures which are seen against the fire look dark in the glare
of the firelight because that side of the objects which you see is
tinged by the darkness of the night and not by the fire  and those
who stand at the side are half dark and half red  while those who
are visible beyond the edges of the flame will be fully lighted by
the ruddy glow against a black background  As to their gestures 
make those which are near it screen themselves with their hands and
cloaks as a defence against the intense heat  and with their faces
turned away as if about to retire  Of those farther off represent
several as raising their hands to screen their eyes  hurt by the
intolerable glare 

Of depicting a tempest  605  606  

605 

Describe a wind on land and at sea  Describe a storm of rain 

606 

HOW TO REPRESENT A TEMPEST 

If you wish to represent a tempest consider and arrange well its
effects as seen  when the wind  blowing over the face of the sea and
earth  removes and carries with it such things as are not fixed to
the general mass  And to represent the storm accurately you must
first show the clouds scattered and torn  and flying with the wind 
accompanied by clouds of sand blown up from the sea shore  and
boughs and leaves swept along by the strength and fury of the blast
and scattered with other light objects through the air  Trees and
plants must be bent to the ground  almost as if they would follow
the course of the gale  with their branches twisted out of their
natural growth and their leaves tossed and turned about  Footnote
11  See Pl  XL  No  2    Of the men who are there some must have
fallen to the ground and be entangled in their garments  and hardly
to be recognized for the dust  while those who remain standing may
be behind some tree  with their arms round it that the wind may not
tear them away  others with their hands over their eyes for the
dust  bending to the ground with their clothes and hair streaming in
the wind   Footnote 15  See Pl  XXXIV  the right hand lower sketch  
Let the sea be rough and tempestuous and full of foam whirled among
the lofty waves  while the wind flings the lighter spray through the
stormy air  till it resembles a dense and swathing mist  Of the
ships that are therein some should be shown with rent sails and the
tatters fluttering through the air  with ropes broken and masts
split and fallen  And the ship itself lying in the trough of the sea
and wrecked by the fury of the waves with the men shrieking and
clinging to the fragments of the vessel  Make the clouds driven by
the impetuosity of the wind and flung against the lofty mountain
tops  and wreathed and torn like waves beating upon rocks  the air
itself terrible from the deep darkness caused by the dust and fog
and heavy clouds 

Of representing the deluge  607 609  

607 

TO REPRESENT THE DELUGE 

The air was darkened by the heavy rain whose oblique descent driven
aslant by the rush of the winds  flew in drifts through the air not
otherwise than as we see dust  varied only by the straight lines of
the heavy drops of falling water  But it was tinged with the colour
of the fire kindled by the thunder bolts by which the clouds were
rent and shattered  and whose flashes revealed the broad waters of
the inundated valleys  above which was seen the verdure of the
bending tree tops  Neptune will be seen in the midst of the water
with his trident  and  15  let AEolus with his winds be shown
entangling the trees floating uprooted  and whirling in the huge
waves  The horizon and the whole hemisphere were obscure  but lurid
from the flashes of the incessant lightning  Men and birds might be
seen crowded on the tall trees which remained uncovered by the
swelling waters  originators of the mountains which surround the
great abysses  Footnote 23  Compare Vol  II  No  979   

608 

OF THE DELUGE AND HOW TO REPRESENT IT IN A PICTURE 

Let the dark and gloomy air be seen buffeted by the rush of contrary
winds and dense from the continued rain mingled with hail and
bearing hither and thither an infinite number of branches torn from
the trees and mixed with numberless leaves  All round may be seen
venerable trees  uprooted and stripped by the fury of the winds  and
fragments of mountains  already scoured bare by the torrents 
falling into those torrents and choking their valleys till the
swollen rivers overflow and submerge the wide lowlands and their
inhabitants  Again  you might have seen on many of the hill tops
terrified animals of different kinds  collected together and subdued
to tameness  in company with men and women who had fled there with
their children  The waters which covered the fields  with their
waves were in great part strewn with tables  bedsteads  boats and
various other contrivances made from necessity and the fear of
death  on which were men and women with their children amid sounds
of lamentation and weeping  terrified by the fury of the winds which
with their tempestuous violence rolled the waters under and over and
about the bodies of the drowned  Nor was there any object lighter
than the water which was not covered with a variety of animals
which  having come to a truce  stood together in a frightened
crowd  among them wolves  foxes  snakes and others  fleing from
death  And all the waters dashing on their shores seemed to be
battling them with the blows of drowned bodies  blows which killed
those in whom any life remained  19   You might have seen
assemblages of men who  with weapons in their hands  defended the
small spots that remained to them against lions  wolves and beasts
of prey who sought safety there  Ah  what dreadful noises were heard
in the air rent by the fury of the thunder and the lightnings it
flashed forth  which darted from the clouds dealing ruin and
striking all that opposed its course  Ah  how many you might have
seen closing their ears with their hands to shut out the tremendous
sounds made in the darkened air by the raging of the winds mingling
with the rain  the thunders of heaven and the fury of the
thunder bolts  Others were not content with shutting their eyes  but
laid their hands one over the other to cover them the closer that
they might not see the cruel slaughter of the human race by the
wrath of God  Ah  how many laments  and how many in their terror
flung themselves from the rocks  Huge branches of great oaks loaded
with men were seen borne through the air by the impetuous fury of
the winds  How many were the boats upset  some entire  and some
broken in pieces  on the top of people labouring to escape with
gestures and actions of grief foretelling a fearful death  Others 
with desperate act  took their own lives  hopeless of being able to
endure such suffering  and of these  some flung themselves from
lofty rocks  others strangled themselves with their own hands  other
seized their own children and violently slew them at a blow  some
wounded and killed themselves with their own weapons  others 
falling on their knees recommended themselves to God  Ah  how many
mothers wept over their drowned sons  holding them upon their knees 
with arms raised spread out towards heaven and with words and
various threatening gestures  upbraiding the wrath of the gods 
Others with clasped hands and fingers clenched gnawed them and
devoured them till they bled  crouching with their breast down on
their knees in their intense and unbearable anguish  Herds of
animals were to be seen  such as horses  oxen  goats and swine
already environed by the waters and left isolated on the high peaks
of the mountains  huddled together  those in the middle climbing to
the top and treading on the others  and fighting fiercely
themselves  and many would die for lack of food  Already had the
birds begun to settle on men and on other animals  finding no land
uncovered which was not occupied by living beings  and already had
famine  the minister of death  taken the lives of the greater number
of the animals  when the dead bodies  now fermented  where leaving
the depth of the waters and were rising to the top  Among the
buffeting waves  where they were beating one against the other  and 
like as balls full of air  rebounded from the point of concussion 
these found a resting place on the bodies of the dead  And above
these judgements  the air was seen covered with dark clouds  riven
by the forked flashes of the raging bolts of heaven  lighting up on
all sides the depth of the gloom 

The motion of the air is seen by the motion of the dust thrown up by
the horse s running and this motion is as swift in again filling up
the vacuum left in the air which enclosed the horse  as he is rapid
in passing away from the air 

Perhaps it will seem to you that you may reproach me with having
represented the currents made through the air by the motion of the
wind notwithstanding that the wind itself is not visible in the air 
To this I must answer that it is not the motion of the wind but only
the motion of the things carried along by it which is seen in the
air 

THE DIVISIONS   Footnote 76  These observations  added at the bottom
of the page containing the full description of the doluge seem to
indicate that it was Leonardo s intention to elaborate the subject
still farther in a separate treatise  

Darkness  wind  tempest at sea  floods of water  forests on fire 
rain  bolts from heaven  earthquakes and ruins of mountains 
overthrow of cities  Footnote 81   Spianamenti di citta   overthrow
of cities   A considerable number of drawings in black chalk  at
Windsor  illustrate this catastrophe  Most of them are much rubbed 
one of the least injured is reproduced at Pl  XXXIX  Compare also
the pen and ink sketch Pl  XXXVI   

Whirlwinds which carry water  spouts  branches of trees  and men
through the air 

Boughs stripped off by the winds  mingling by the meeting of the
winds  with people upon them 

Broken trees loaded with people 

Ships broken to pieces  beaten on rocks 

Flocks of sheep  Hail stones  thunderbolts  whirlwinds 

People on trees which are unable to to support them  trees and
rocks  towers and hills covered with people  boats  tables  troughs 
and other means of floating  Hills covered with men  women and
animals  and lightning from the clouds illuminating every thing 

 Footnote  This chapter  which  with the next one  is written on a
loose sheet  seems to be the passage to which one of the compilers
of the Vatican copy alluded when he wrote on the margin of fol  36 
  Qua mi ricordo della mirabile discritione del Diluuio dello
autore    It is scarcely necessary to point out that these chapters
are among those which have never before been published  The
description in No  607 may be regarded as a preliminary sketch for
this one  As the MS  G   in which it is to be found  must be
attributed to the period of about 1515 we may deduce from it the
approximate date of the drawings on Pl  XXXIV  XXXV  Nos  2 and 3 
XXXVI and XXXVII  since they obviously belong to this text  The
drawings No  2 on Pl  XXXV are  in the original  side by side with
the text of No  608  lines 57 to 76 are shown in the facsimile  In
the drawing in Indian ink given on Pl  XXXIV we see Wind gods in the
sky  corresponding to the allusion to Aeolus in No  607 1 
15  Plates XXXVI and XXXVII form one sheet in the original  The
texts reproduced on these Plates have however no connection with the
sketches  excepting the sketches of clouds on the right hand side 
These texts are given as No  477  The group of small figures on Pl 
XXXVII  to the left  seems to be intended for a   congregatione
d uomini    See No  608  1  19  

609 

DESCRIPTION OF THE DELUGE 

Let there be first represented the summit of a rugged mountain with
valleys surrounding its base  and on its sides let the surface of
the soil be seen to slide  together with the small roots of the
bushes  denuding great portions of the surrounding rocks  And
descending ruinous from these precipices in its boisterous course 
let it dash along and lay bare the twisted and gnarled roots of
large trees overthrowing their roots upwards  and let the mountains 
as they are scoured bare  discover the profound fissures made in
them by ancient earthquakes  The base of the mountains may be in
great part clothed and covered with ruins of shrubs  hurled down
from the sides of their lofty peaks  which will be mixed with mud 
roots  boughs of trees  with all sorts of leaves thrust in with the
mud and earth and stones  And into the depth of some valley may have
fallen the fragments of a mountain forming a shore to the swollen
waters of its river  which  having already burst its banks  will
rush on in monstrous waves  and the greatest will strike upon and
destroy the walls of the cities and farmhouses in the valley  14  
Then the ruins of the high buildings in these cities will throw up a
great dust  rising up in shape like smoke or wreathed clouds against
the falling rain  But the swollen waters will sweep round the pool
which contains them striking in eddying whirlpools against the
different obstacles  and leaping into the air in muddy foam  then 
falling back  the beaten water will again be dashed into the air 
And the whirling waves which fly from the place of concussion  and
whose impetus moves them across other eddies going in a contrary
direction  after their recoil will be tossed up into the air but
without dashing off from the surface  Where the water issues from
the pool the spent waves will be seen spreading out towards the
outlet  and there falling or pouring through the air and gaining
weight and impetus they will strike on the water below piercing it
and rushing furiously to reach its depth  from which being thrown
back it returns to the surface of the lake  carrying up the air that
was submerged with it  and this remains at the outlet in foam
mingled with logs of wood and other matters lighter than water 
Round these again are formed the beginnings of waves which increase
the more in circumference as they acquire more movement  and this
movement rises less high in proportion as they acquire a broader
base and thus they are less conspicuous as they die away  But if
these waves rebound from various objects they then return in direct
opposition to the others following them  observing the same law of
increase in their curve as they have already acquired in the
movement they started with  The rain  as it falls from the clouds is
of the same colour as those clouds  that is in its shaded side 
unless indeed the sun s rays should break through them  in that case
the rain will appear less dark than the clouds  And if the heavy
masses of ruin of large mountains or of other grand buildings fall
into the vast pools of water  a great quantity will be flung into
the air and its movement will be in a contrary direction to that of
the object which struck the water  that is to say  The angle of
reflection will be equal to the angle of incidence  Of the objects
carried down by the current  those which are heaviest or rather
largest in mass will keep farthest from the two opposite shores  The
water in the eddies revolves more swiftly in proportion as it is
nearer to their centre  The crests of the waves of the sea tumble to
their bases falling with friction on the bubbles of their sides  and
this friction grinds the falling water into minute particles and
this being converted into a dense mist  mingles with the gale in the
manner of curling smoke and wreathing clouds  and at last it  rises
into the air and is converted into clouds  But the rain which falls
through the atmosphere being driven and tossed by the winds becomes
rarer or denser according to the rarity or density of the winds that
buffet it  and thus there is generated in the atmosphere a moisture
formed of the transparent particles of the rain which is near to the
eye of the spectator  The waves of the sea which break on the slope
of the mountains which bound it  will foam from the velocity with
which they fall against these hills  in rushing back they will meet
the next wave as it comes and and after a loud noise return in a
great flood to the sea whence they came  Let great numbers of
inhabitants  men and animals of all kinds  be seen driven  54  by
the rising of the deluge to the peaks of the mountains in the midst
of the waters aforesaid 

The wave of the sea at Piombino is all foaming water   Footnote 55 
56  These two lines are written below the bottom sketch on Pl  XXXV 
3  The MS  Leic  being written about the year 1510 or later  it does
not seem to me to follow that the sketches must have been made at
Piombino  where Leonardo was in the year 1502 and possibly returned
there subsequently  see Vol  II  Topographical notes   

Of the water which leaps up from the spot where great masses fall on
its surface  Of the winds of Piombino at Piombino  Eddies of wind
and rain with boughs and shrubs mixed in the air  Emptying the boats
of the rain water 

 Footnote  The sketches on Pl  XXXV 3 stand by the side of lines 14
to 54  

Of depicting natural phenomena  610  611  

610 

The tremendous fury of the wind driven by the falling in of the
hills on the caves within  by the falling of the hills which served
as roofs to these caverns 

A stone flung through the air leaves on the eye which sees it the
impression of its motion  and the same effect is produced by the
drops of water which fall from the clouds when it  16  rains 

 17  A mountain falling on a town  will fling up dust in the form of
clouds  but the colour of this dust will differ from that of the
clouds  Where the rain is thickest let the colour of the dust be
less conspicuous and where the dust is thickest let the rain be less
conspicuous  And where the rain is mingled with the wind and with
the dust the clouds created by the rain must be more transparent
than those of dust  alone   And when flames of fire are mingled with
clouds of smoke and water very opaque and dark clouds will be formed
 Footnote 26 28  Compare Pl  XL  1  the drawing in Indian ink on the
left hand side  which seems to be a reminiscence of his observations
of an eruption  see his remarks on Mount Etna in Vol II     And the
rest of this subject will be treated in detail in the book on
painting 

 Footnote  See the sketches and text on Pl  XXXVIII  No  1  Lines
1 16 are there given on the left hand side  17 30 on the right  The
four lines at the bottom on the right are given as No  472  Above
these texts  which are written backwards  there are in the original
sixteen lines in a larger writing from left to right  but only half
of this is here visible  They treat of the physical laws of motion
of air and water  It does not seem to me that there is any reason
for concluding that this writing from left to right is spurious 
Compare with it the facsimile of the rough copy of Leonardo s letter
to Ludovico il Moro in Vol  II  

611 

People were to be seen eagerly embarking victuals on various kinds
of hastily made barks  But little of the waves were visible in those
places where the dark clouds and rain were reflected 

But where the flashes caused by the bolts of heaven were reflected 
there were seen as many bright spots  caused by the image of the
flashes  as there were waves to reflect them to the eye of the
spectator 

The number of the images produced by the flash of lightning on the
waves of the water were multiplied in proportion to the distance of
the spectator s eye 

So also the number of the images was diminished in proportion as
they were nearer the eye which saw them  Footnote 22  23   Com e
provato   See Vol  II  Nos  874 878 and 892 901   as it has been
proved in the definition of the luminosity of the moon  and of our
marine horizon when the sun s rays are reflected in it and the eye
which receives the reflection is remote from the sea 

VI 

THE ARTIST S MATERIALS 

Of chalk and paper  612  617  

612 

To make points  crayons  for colouring dry  Temper with a little wax
and do not dry it  which wax you must dissolve with water  so that
when the white lead is thus tempered  the water being distilled  may
go off in vapour and the wax may remain  you will thus make good
crayons  but you must know that the colours must be ground with a
hot stone 

613 

Chalk dissolves in wine and in vinegar or in aqua fortis and can be
recombined with gum 

614 

PAPER FOR DRAWING UPON IN BLACK BY THE AID OF YOUR SPITTLE 

Take powdered gall nuts and vitriol  powder them and spread them on
paper like a varnish  then write on it with a pen wetted with
spittle and it will turn as black as ink 

615 

If you want to make foreshortened letters stretch the paper in a
drawing frame and then draw your letters and cut them out  and make
the sunbeams pass through the holes on to another stretched paper 
and then fill up the angles that are wanting 

616 

This paper should be painted over with candle soot tempered with
thin glue  then smear the leaf thinly with white lead in oil as is
done to the letters in printing  and then print in the ordinary way 
Thus the leaf will appear shaded in the hollows and lighted on the
parts in relief  which however comes out here just the contrary 

 Footnote  This text  which accompanies a facsimile impression of a
leaf of sage  has already been published in the  Saggio delle Opere
di L  da Vinci   Milano 1872  p  11  G  GOVI observes on this
passage    Forse aveva egli pensato ancora a farsi un erbario  od
almeno a riprodurre facilmente su carta le forme e i particolari
delle foglie di diverse piante  poiche  modificando un metodo che
probabilmente gli eia stato insegnato da altri  e che piu tardi si
legge ripetuto in molti ricettarii e libri di segreti   accanto a
una foglia di Salvia impressa in nero su carta bianca  lascio
scritto  Questa carta    

Erano i primi tentativi di quella riproduzione immediata delle parti
vegetali  che poi sotto il nome d Impressione Naturale  fu condotta
a tanta perfezione in questi ultimi tempi dal signor de Hauer e da
altri    

617 

Very excellent will be a stiff white paper  made of the usual
mixture and filtered milk of an herb called calves foot  and when
this paper is prepared and damped and folded and wrapped up it may
be mixed with the mixture and thus left to dry  but if you break it
before it is moistened it becomes somewhat like the thin paste
called  lasagne  and you may then damp it and wrap it up and put it
in the mixture and leave it to dry  or again this paper may be
covered with stiff transparent white and  sardonio  and then damped
so that it may not form angles and then covered up with strong
transparent size and as soon as it is firm cut it two fingers  and
leave it to dry  again you may make stiff cardboard of  sardonio 
and dry it and then place it between two sheets of papyrus and break
it inside with a wooden mallet with a handle and then open it with
care holding the lower sheet of paper flat and firm so that the
broken pieces be not separated  then have a sheet of paper covered
with hot glue and apply it on the top of all these pieces and let
them stick fast  then turn it upside down and apply transparent size
several times in the spaces between the pieces  each time pouring in
first some black and then some stiff white and each time leaving it
to dry  then smooth it and polish it 

On the preparation and use of colours  618 627  

618 

To make a fine green take green and mix it with bitumen and you will
make the shadows darker  Then  for lighter  shades  green with
yellow ochre  and for still lighter green with yellow  and for the
high lights pure yellow  then mix green and turmeric together and
glaze every thing with it  To make a fine red take cinnabar or red
chalk or burnt ochre for the dark shadows and for the lighter ones
red chalk and vermilion and for the lights pure vermilion and then
glaze with fine lake  To make good oil for painting  One part of
oil  one of the first refining and one of the second 

619 

Use black in the shadow  and in the lights white  yellow  green 
vermilion and lake  Medium shadows  take the shadow as above and mix
it with the flesh tints just alluded to  adding to it a little
yellow and a little green and occasionally some lake  for the
shadows take green and lake for the middle shades 

 Footnote 618 and 619  If we may judge from the flourishes with
which the writing is ornamented these passages must have been
written in Leonardo s youth  

620 

You can make a fine ochre by the same method as you use to make
white 

621 

A FINE YELLOW 

Dissolve realgar with one part of orpiment  with aqua fortis 

WHITE 

Put the white into an earthen pot  and lay it no thicker than a
string  and let it stand in the sun undisturbed for 2 days  and in
the morning when the sun has dried off the night dews 

622 

To make reddish black for flesh tints take red rock crystals from
Rocca Nova or garnets and mix them a little  again armenian bole is
good in part 

623 

The shadow will be burnt  terra verte  

624 

THE PROPORTIONS OF COLOURS 

If one ounce of black mixed with one ounce of white gives a certain
shade of darkness  what shade of darkness will be produced by 2
ounces of black to 1 ounce of white 

625 

Remix black  greenish yellow and at the end blue 

626 

Verdigris with aloes  or gall or turmeric makes a fine green and so
it does with saffron or burnt orpiment  but I doubt whether in a
short time they will not turn black  Ultramarine blue and glass
yellow mixed together make a beautiful green for fresco  that is
wall painting  Lac and verdigris make a good shadow for blue in oil
painting 

627 

Grind verdigris many times coloured with lemon juice and keep it
away from yellow     

Of preparing the panel 

628 

TO PREPARE A PANEL FOR PAINTING ON 

The panel should be cypress or pear or service tree or walnut  You
must coat it over with mastic and turpentine twice distilled and
white or  if you like  lime  and put it in a frame so that it may
expand and shrink according to its moisture and dryness  Then give
it  a coat  of aqua vitae in which you have dissolved arsenic or
 corrosive  sublimate  2 or 3 times  Then apply boiled linseed oil
in such a way as that it may penetrate every part  and before it is
cold rub it well with a cloth to dry it  Over this apply liquid
varnish and white with a stick  then wash it with urine when it is
dry  and dry it again  Then pounce and outline your drawing finely
and over it lay a priming of 30 parts of verdigris with one of
verdigris with two of yellow 

 Footnote  M  RAVAISSON S reading varies from mine in the following
passages 

1  opero allor     bo  alloro        ou bien de  laurier    

6   fregalo bene con un panno   He reads  pane  for  panno  and
renders it    Frotte le bien avec un pain de facon  jusqu a ce 
qu il   etc 

7   colla stecca po laua   He reads   polacca       avec le couteau
de bois     polonais        

The preparation of oils  629  634  

629 

OIL 

Make some oil of mustard seed  and if you wish to make it with
greater ease mix the ground seeds with linseed oil and put it all
under the press 

630 

TO REMOVE THE SMELL OF OIL 

Take the rank oil and put ten pints into a jar and make a mark on
the jar at the height of the oil  then add to it a pint of vinegar
and make it boil till the oil has sunk to the level of the mark and
thus you will be certain that the oil is returned to its original
quantity and the vinegar will have gone off in vapour  carrying with
it the evil smell  and I believe you may do the same with nut oil or
any other oil that smells badly 

631 

Since walnuts are enveloped in a thin rind  which partakes of the
nature of      if you do not remove it when you make the oil from
them  this skin tinges the oil  and when you work with it this skin
separates from the oil and rises to the surface of the painting  and
this is what makes it change 

632 

TO RESTORE OIL COLOURS THAT HAVE BECOME DRY 

If you want to restore oil colours that have become dry keep them
soaking in soft soap for a night and  with your finger  mix them up
with the soft soap  then pour them into a cup and wash them with
water  and in this way you can restore colours that have got dry 
But take care that each colour has its own vessel to itself adding
the colour by degrees as you restore it and mind that they are
thoroughly softened  and when you wish to use them for tempera wash
them five and six times with spring water  and leave them to settle 
if the soft soap should be thick with any of the colours pass it
through a filter   Footnote  The same remark applies to these
sections as to No  618 and 619  

633 

OIL 

Mustard seed pounded with linseed oil 

634 

    outside the bowl 2 fingers lower than the level of the oil  and
pass it into the neck of a bottle and let it stand and thus all the
oil will separate from this milky liquid  it will enter the bottle
and be as clear as crystal  and grind your colours with this  and
every coarse or viscid part will remain in the liquid  You must know
that all the oils that have been created in seads or fruits are
quite clear by nature  and the yellow colour you see in them only
comes of your not knowing how to draw it out  Fire or heat by its
nature has the power to make them acquire colour  See for example
the exudation or gums of trees which partake of the nature of rosin 
in a short time they harden because there is more heat in them than
in oil  and after some time they acquire a certain yellow hue
tending to black  But oil  not having so much heat does not do so 
although it hardens to some extent into sediment it becomes finer 
The change in oil which occurs in painting proceeds from a certain
fungus of the nature of a husk which exists in the skin which covers
the nut  and this being crushed along with the nuts and being of a
nature much resembling oil mixes with it  it is of so subtle a
nature that it combines with all colours and then comes to the
surface  and this it is which makes them change  And if you want the
oil to be good and not to thicken  put into it a little camphor
melted over a slow fire and mix it well with the oil and it will
never harden 

 Footnote  The same remark applies to these sections as to No  618
and 619  

On varnishes  or powders   635 637  

635 

VARNISH  OR POWDER  

Take cypress  oil  and distil it and have a large pitcher  and put
in the extract with so much water as may make it appear like amber 
and cover it tightly so that none may evaporate  And when it is
dissolved you may add in your pitcher as much of the said solution 
as shall make it liquid to your taste  And you must know that amber
is the gum of the cypress tree 

VARNISH  OR POWDER  

And since varnish  powder  is the resin of juniper  if you distil
juniper you can dissolve the said varnish  powder  in the essence 
as explained above 

636 

VARNISH  OR POWDER  

Notch a juniper tree and give it water at the roots  mix the liquor
which exudes with nut oil and you will have a perfect varnish
 powder   made like amber varnish  powder   fine and of the best
quality make it in May or April 

637 

VARNISH  OR POWDER  

Mercury with Jupiter and Venus   a paste made of these must be
corrected by the mould     continuously  until Mercury separates
itself entirely from Jupiter and Venus   Footnote  Here  and in No 
641  Mercurio  seems to mean quicksilver   Giove  stands for iron 
 Venere  for copper and  Saturno  for lead  

On chemical materials  638 650  

638 

Note how aqua vitae absorbs into itself all the colours and smells
of flowers  If you want to make blue put iris flowers into it and
for red solanum berries    

639 

Salt may be made from human excrement burnt and calcined and made
into lees  and dried by a slow fire  and all dung in like manner
yields salt  and these salts when distilled are very pungent 

640 

Sea water filtered through mud or clay  leaves all its saltness in
it  Woollen stuffs placed on board ship absorb fresh water  If sea
water is distilled under a retort it becomes of the first excellence
and any one who has a little stove in his kitchen can  with the same
wood as he cooks with  distil a great quantity of water if the
retort is a large one 

641 

MOULD    

The mould     may be of Venus  or of Jupiter and Saturn and placed
frequently in the fire  And it should be worked with fine emery and
the mould     should be of Venus and Jupiter impasted over    
Venus  But first you will test Venus and Mercury mixed with Jove 
and take means to cause Mercury to disperse  and then fold them well
together so that Venus or Jupiter be connected as thinly as
possible 

 Footnote  See the note to 637  

642 

Nitre  vitriol  cinnabar  alum  salt ammoniac  sublimated mercury 
rock salt  alcali salt  common salt  rock alum  alum schist     
arsenic  sublimate  realgar  tartar  orpiment  verdegris 

643 

Pitch four ounces virgin wax  four ounces incense  two ounces oil of
roses one ounce 

644 

Four ounces virgin wax  four ounces Greek pitch  two ounces incense 
one ounce oil of roses  first melt the wax and oil then the Greek
pitch then the other things in powder 

645 

Very thin glass may be cut with scissors and when placed over inlaid
work of bone  gilt  or stained of other colours you can saw it
through together with the bone and then put it together and it will
retain a lustre that will not be scratched nor worn away by rubbing
with the hand 

646 

TO DILUTE WHITE WINE AND MAKE IT PURPLE 

Powder gall nuts and let this stand 8 days in the white wine  and in
the same way dissolve vitriol in water  and let the water stand and
settle very clear  and the wine likewise  each by itself  and strain
them well  and when you dilute the white wine with the water the
wine will become red 

647 

Put marcasite into aqua fortis and if it turns green  know that it
has copper in it  Take it out with saltpetre and soft soap 

648 

A white horse may have the spots removed with the Spanish haematite
or with aqua fortis or with     Removes the black hair on a white
horse with the singeing iron  Force him to the ground 

649 

FIRE 

If you want to make a fire which will set a hall in a blaze without
injury do this  first perfume the hall with a dense smoke of incense
or some other odoriferous substance  It is a good trick to play  Or
boil ten pounds of brandy to evaporate  but see that the hall is
completely closed and throw up some powdered varnish among the fumes
and this powder will be supported by the smoke  then go into the
room suddenly with a lighted torch and at once it will be in a
blaze 

650 

FIRE 

Take away that yellow surface which covers oranges and distill them
in an alembic  until the distillation may be said to be perfect 

FIRE 

Close a room tightly and have a brasier of brass or iron with fire
in it and sprinkle on it two pints of aqua vitae  a little at a
time  so that it may be converted into smoke  Then make some one
come in with a light and suddenly you will see the room in a blaze
like a flash of lightning  and it will do no harm to any one 

VII 

PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY OF THE ART OF PAINTING 

The relation of art and nature  651  652  

651 

What is fair in men  passes away  but not so in art 

652 

HE WHO DESPISES PAINTING LOVES NEITHER PHILOSOPHY NOR NATURE 

If you condemn painting  which is the only imitator of all visible
works of nature  you will certainly despise a subtle invention which
brings philosophy and subtle speculation to the consideration of the
nature of all forms  seas and plains  trees  animals  plants and
flowers  which are surrounded by shade and light  And this is true
knowledge and the legitimate issue of nature  for painting is born
of nature  or  to speak more correctly  we will say it is the
grandchild of nature  for all visible things are produced by nature 
and these her children have given birth to painting  Hence we may
justly call it the grandchild of nature and related to God 

Painting is superior to poetry  653  654  

653 

THAT PAINTING SURPASSES ALL HUMAN WORKS BY THE SUBTLE CONSIDERATIONS
BELONGING TO IT 

The eye  which is called the window of the soul  is the principal
means by which the central sense can most completely and abundantly
appreciate the infinite works of nature  and the ear is the second 
which acquires dignity by hearing of the things the eye has seen  If
you  historians  or poets  or mathematicians had not seen things
with your eyes you could not report of them in writing  And if you 
0 poet  tell a story with your pen  the painter with his brush can
tell it more easily  with simpler completeness and less tedious to
be understood  And if you call painting dumb poetry  the painter may
call poetry blind painting  Now which is the worse defect  to be
blind or dumb  Though the poet is as free as the painter in the
invention of his fictions they are not so satisfactory to men as
paintings  for  though poetry is able to describe forms  actions and
places in words  the painter deals with the actual similitude of the
forms  in order to represent them  Now tell me which is the nearer
to the actual man  the name of man or the image of the man  The name
of man differs in different countries  but his form is never changed
but by death 

654 

And if the poet gratifies the sense by means of the ear  the painter
does so by the eye  the worthier sense  but I will say no more of
this but that  if a good painter represents the fury of a battle 
and if a poet describes one  and they are both together put before
the public  you will see where most of the spectators will stop  to
which they will pay most attention  on which they will bestow most
praise  and which will satisfy them best  Undoubtedly painting being
by a long way the more intelligible and beautiful  will please most 
Write up the name of God  Christ  in some spot and setup His image
opposite and you will see which will be most reverenced  Painting
comprehends in itself all the forms of nature  while you have
nothing but words  which are not universal as form is  and if you
have the effects of the representation  we have the representation
of the effects  Take a poet who describes the beauty of a lady to
her lover and a painter who represents her and you will see to which
nature guides the enamoured critic  Certainly the proof should be
allowed to rest on the verdict of experience  You have ranked
painting among the mechanical arts but  in truth  if painters were
as apt at praising their own works in writing as you are  it would
not lie under the stigma of so base a name  If you call it
mechanical because it is  in the first place  manual  and that it is
the hand which produces what is to be found in the imagination  you
too writers  who set down manually with the pen what is devised in
your mind  And if you say it is mechanical because it is done for
money  who falls into this error  if error it can be called  more
than you  If you lecture in the schools do you not go to whoever
pays you most  Do you do any work without pay  Still  I do not say
this as blaming such views  for every form of labour looks for its
reward  And if a poet should say   I will invent a fiction with a
great purpose   the painter can do the same  as Apelles painted
Calumny  If you were to say that poetry is more eternal  I say the
works of a coppersmith are more eternal still  for time preserves
them longer than your works or ours  nevertheless they have not much
imagination  29   And a picture  if painted on copper with enamel
colours may be yet more permanent  We  by our arts may be called the
grandsons of God  If poetry deals with moral philosophy  painting
deals with natural philosophy  Poetry describes the action of the
mind  painting considers what the mind may effect by the motions  of
the body   If poetry can terrify people by hideous fictions 
painting can do as much by depicting the same things in action 
Supposing that a poet applies himself to represent beauty  ferocity 
or a base  a foul or a monstrous thing  as against a painter  he may
in his ways bring forth a variety of forms  but will the painter not
satisfy more  are there not pictures to be seen  so like the actual
things  that they deceive men and animals 

Painting is superior to sculpture  655  656  

655 

THAT SCULPTURE IS LESS INTELLECTUAL THAN PAINTING  AND LACKS MANY
CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURE 

I myself  having exercised myself no less in sculpture than in
painting and doing both one and the other in the same degree  it
seems to me that I can  without invidiousness  pronounce an opinion
as to which of the two is of the greatest merit and difficulty and
perfection  In the first place sculpture requires a certain light 
that is from above  a picture carries everywhere with it its own
light and shade  Thus sculpture owes its importance to light and
shade  and the sculptor is aided in this by the nature  of the
relief which is inherent in it  while the painter whose art
expresses the accidental aspects of nature  places his effects in
the spots where nature must necessarily produce them  The sculptor
cannot diversify his work by the various natural colours of objects 
painting is not defective in any particular  The sculptor when he
uses perspective cannot make it in any way appear true  that of the
painter can appear like a hundred miles beyond the picture itself 
Their works have no aerial perspective whatever  they cannot
represent transparent bodies  they cannot represent luminous bodies 
nor reflected lights  nor lustrous bodies  as mirrors and the like
polished surfaces  nor mists  nor dark skies  nor an infinite number
of things which need not be told for fear of tedium  As regards the
power of resisting time  though they have this resistance  Footnote
19  From what is here said as to painting on copper it is very
evident that Leonardo was not acquainted with the method of painting
in oil on thin copper plates  introduced by the Flemish painters of
the XVIIth century  J  LERMOLIEFF has already pointed out that in
the various collections containing pictures by the great masters of
the Italian Renaissance  those painted on copper  for instance the
famous reading Magdalen in the Dresden Gallery  are the works of a
much later date  see  Zeitschrift fur bildende Kunst   Vol  X pg 
333  and   Werke italienischer Master in den Galerien von Munchen 
Dresden und Berlin   Leipzig 1880  pg  158 and 159    Compare No 
654  29    a picture painted on thick copper covered with white
enamel on which it is painted with enamel colours and then put into
the fire again and baked  far exceeds sculpture in permanence  It
may be said that if a mistake is made it is not easy to remedy it 
it is but a poor argument to try to prove that a work be the nobler
because oversights are irremediable  I should rather say that it
will be more difficult to improve the mind of the master who makes
such mistakes than to repair the work he has spoilt 

656 

We know very well that a really experienced and good painter will
not make such mistakes  on the contrary  with sound rules he will
remove so little at a time that he will bring his work to a good
issue  Again the sculptor if working in clay or wax  can add or
reduce  and when his model is finished it can easily be cast in
bronze  and this is the last operation and is the most permanent
form of sculpture  Inasmuch as that which is merely of marble is
liable to ruin  but not bronze  Hence a painting done on copper
which as I said of painting may be added to or altered  resembles
sculpture in bronze  which  having first been made in wax could then
be altered or added to  and if sculpture in bronze is durable  this
work in copper and enamel is absolutely imperishable  Bronze is but
dark and rough after all  but this latter is covered with various
and lovely colours in infinite variety  as has been said above  or
if you will have me only speak of painting on panel  I am content to
pronounce between it and sculpture  saying that painting is the more
beautiful and the more imaginative and the more copious  while
sculpture is the more durable but it has nothing else  Sculpture
shows with little labour what in painting appears a miraculous thing
to do  to make what is impalpable appear palpable  flat objects
appear in relief  distant objects seem close  In fact painting is
adorned with infinite possibilities which sculpture cannot command 

Aphorisms  657 659  

657 

OF PAINTING 

Men and words are ready made  and you  O Painter  if you do not know
how to make your figures move  are like an orator who knows not how
to use his words 

658 

As soon as the poet ceases to represent in words what exists in
nature  he in fact ceases to resemble the painter  for if the poet 
leaving such representation  proceeds to describe the flowery and
flattering speech of the figure  which he wishes to make the
speaker  he then is an orator and no longer a poet nor a painter 
And if he speaks of the heavens he becomes an astrologer  and
philosopher  and a theologian  if he discourses of nature or God 
But  if he restricts himself to the description of objects  he would
enter the lists against the painter  if with words he could satisfy
the eye as the painter does 

659 

Though you may be able to tell or write the exact description of
forms  the painter can so depict them that they will appear alive 
with the shadow and light which show the expression of a face  which
you cannot accomplish with the pen though it can be achieved by the
brush 

On the history of painting  660  661  

660 

THAT PAINTING DECLINES AND DETERIORATES FROM AGE TO AGE  WHEN
PAINTERS HAVE NO OTHER STANDARD THAN PAINTING ALREADY DONE 

Hence the painter will produce pictures of small merit if he takes
for his standard the pictures of others  But if he will study from
natural objects he will bear good fruit  as was seen in the painters
after the Romans who always imitated each other and so their art
constantly declined from age to age  After these came Giotto the
Florentine who  not content with imitating the works of Cimabue his
master  being born in the mountains and in a solitude inhabited only
by goats and such beasts  and being guided by nature to his art 
began by drawing on the rocks the movements of the goats of which he
was keeper  And thus he began to draw all the animals which were to
be found in the country  and in such wise that after much study he
excelled not only all the masters of his time but all those of many
bygone ages  Afterwards this art declined again  because everyone
imitated the pictures that were already done  thus it went on from
century to century until Tomaso  of Florence  nicknamed Masaccio 
showed by his perfect works how those who take for their standard
any one but nature  the mistress of all masters  weary themselves in
vain  And  I would say about these mathematical studies that those
who only study the authorities and not the works of nature are
descendants but not sons of nature the mistress of all good authors 
Oh  how great is the folly of those who blame those who learn from
nature  Footnote 22   lasciando stare li autori   In this
observation we may detect an indirect evidence that Leonardo
regarded his knowledge of natural history as derived from his own
investigations  as well as his theories of perspective and optics 
Compare what he says in praise of experience  Vol II   XIX     
setting aside those authorities who themselves were the disciples of
nature 

661 

That the first drawing was a simple line drawn round the shadow of a
man cast by the sun on a wall 

The painter s scope 

662 

The painter strives and competes with nature 

 X 

Studies and Sketches for Pictures and Decorations 

An artist s manuscript notes can hardly be expected to contain any
thing more than incidental references to those masterpieces of his
work of which the fame  sounded in the writings of his
contemporaries  has left a glorious echo to posterity  We need not
therefore be surprised to find that the texts here reproduced do not
afford us such comprehensive information as we could wish  On the
other hand  the sketches and studies prepared by Leonardo for the
two grandest compositions he ever executed  The Fresco of the Last
Supper in the Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie at Milan  and
the Cartoon of the Battle of Anghiari  for the Palazzo della
Signoria at Florence  have been preserved  and  though far from
complete  are so much more numerous than the manuscript notes  that
we are justified in asserting that in value and interest they amply
compensate for the meagerness of the written suggestions 

The notes for the composition of the Last Supper  which are given
under nos   665  and  666  occur in a MS  at South Kensington  II2 
written in the years  1494 1495   This MS  sketch was noted down not
more than three or four years before the painting was executed 
which justifies the inference that at the time when it was written
the painter had not made up his mind definitely even as to the
general scheme of the work  and from this we may also conclude that
the drawings of apostles  heads at Windsor  in red chalk  must be
ascribed to a later date  They are studies for the head of St 
Matthew  the fourth figure on Christ s left hand  see Pl  XL VII 
the sketch  in black chalk  for the head of St  Philip  the third
figure on the left hand  see Pl  XL VIII  for St  Peter s right
arm  see Pl  XLIX  and for the expressive head of Judas which has
unfortunately somewhat suffered by subsequent restoration of
outlines   see Pl  L  According to a tradition  as unfounded as it
is improbable  Leonardo made use of the head of Padre Bandelli  the
prior of the convent  as the prototype of his Judas  this however
has already been contradicted by Amoretti  Memorie storiche  cap 
XIV  The study of the head of a criminal on Pl  LI has  it seems to
me  a better claim to be regarded as one of the preparatory sketches
for the head of Judas  The Windsor collection contains two old
copies of the head of St  Simon  the figure to the extreme left of
Christ  both of about equal merit  they are marked as Nos   21  and 
36    the second was reproduced on Pl  VIII of the Grosvenor
Gallery Publication in  1878   There is also at Windsor a drawing in
black chalk of folded hands  marked with the old No   212   No  LXI
of the Grosvenor Gallery Publication  which I believe to be a copy
of the hands of St  John  by some unknown pupil  A reproduction of
the excellent drawings of heads of Apostles in the possession of H 
R  H  the Grand Duchess of Weimar would have been out of my province
in this work  and  with regard to them  I must confine myself to
pointing out that the difference in style does not allow of our
placing the Weimar drawings in the same category as those here
reproduced  The mode of grouping in the Weimar drawings is of itself
sufficient to indicate that they were not executed before the
picture was painted  but  on the contrary  afterwards  and it is  on
the face of it  incredible that so great a master should thus have
copied from his own work 

The drawing of Christ s head  in the Brera palace at Milan was
perhaps originally the work of Leonardo s hand  it has unfortunately
been entirely retouched and re drawn  so that no decisive opinion
can be formed as to its genuineness 

The red chalk drawing reproduced on Pl  XLVI is in the Accademia at
Venice  it was probably made before the text  Nos   664  and  665 
 was written 

The two pen and ink sketches on Pl  XLV seem to belong to an even
earlier date  the more finished drawing of the two  on the right
hand  represents Christ with only St  John and Judas and a third
disciple whose action is precisely that described in No   666 
 Pl   4   It is hardly necessary to observe that the other sketches
on this page and the lines of text below the circle  containing the
solution of a geometrical problem  have no reference to the picture
of the Last Supper  With this figure of Christ may be compared a
similar pen and ink drawing reproduced on page  297  below on the
left hand  the original is in the Louvre  On this page again the
rest of the sketches have no direct bearing on the composition of
the Last Supper  not even  as it seems to me  the group of four men
at the bottom to the right hand  who are listening to a fifth  in
their midst addressing them  Moreover the writing on this page  an
explanation of a disk shaped instrument  is certainly not in the
same style as we find constantly used by Leonardo after the year 
1489 

 It may be incidentally remarked that no sketches are known for the
portrait of  Mona Lisa   nor do the MS  notes ever allude to it 
though according to Vasari the master had it in hand for fully four
years 

Leonardo s cartoon for the picture of the battle of Anghiari has
shared the fate of the rival work  Michaelangelo s  Bathers summoned
to Battle   Both have been lost in some wholly inexplicable manner 
I cannot here enter into the remarkable history of this work  I can
only give an account of what has been preserved to us of Leonardo s
scheme and preparations for executing it  The extent of the material
in studies and drawings was till now quite unknown  Their
publication here may give some adequate idea of the grandeur of this
famous work  The text given as No   669  contains a description of
the particulars of the battle  but for the reasons given in the note
to this text  I must abandon the idea of taking this passage as the
basis of my attempt to reconstruct the picture as the artist
conceived and executed it 

I may here remind the reader that Leonardo prepared the cartoon in
the Sala del Papa of Santa Maria Novella at Florence and worked
there from the end of October 1503 till February 1504  and then was
busied with the painting in the Sala del Consiglio in the Palazzo
della Signoria  till the work was interrupted at the end of May
1506   See Milanesi s note to Vasari pp  43  45 Vol  IV ed  1880  
Vasari  as is well known  describes only one scene or episode of the
cartoon  the Battle for the Standard in the foreground of the
composition  as it would seem  and this only was ever finished as a
mural decoration in the Sala del Consiglio  This portion of the
composition is familiar to all from the disfigured copy engraved by
Edelinck  Mariette had already very acutely observed that Edelinck
must surely have worked from a Flemish copy of the picture  There is
in the Louvre a drawing by Rubens  No  565  which also represents
four horsemen fighting round a standard and which agrees with
Edelinck s engraving  but the engraving reverses the drawing  An
earlier Flemish drawing  such as may have served as the model for
both Rubens and Edelinck  is in the Uffizi collection  see
Philpots s Photograph  No  732   It seems to be a work of the second
half of the XVIth century  a time when both the picture and the
cartoon had already been destroyed  It is apparently the production
of a not very skilled hand  Raphael Trichet du Fresne  1651 
mentions that a small picture by Leonardo himself of the Battle of
the Standard was then extant in the Tuileries  by this he probably
means the painting on panel which is now in the possession of Madame
Timbal in Paris  and which has lately been engraved by Haussoullier
as a work by Leonardo  The picture  which is very carefully painted 
seems to me however to be the work of some unknown Florentine
painter  and probably executed within the first ten years of the
XVIth century  At the same time  it would seem to be a copy not from
Leonardo s cartoon  but from his picture in the Palazzo della
Signoria  at any rate this little picture  and the small Flemish
drawing in Florence are the oldest finished copies of this episode
in the great composition of the Battle of Anghiari 

In his Life of Raphael  Vasari tells us that Raphael copied certain
works of Leonardo s during his stay in Florence  Raphael s first
visit to Florence lasted from the middle of October 1504 till July
1505  and he revisited it in the summer of 1506  The hasty sketch 
now in the possession of the University of Oxford and reproduced on
page 337 also represents the Battle of the Standard and seems to
have been made during his first stay  and therefore not from the
fresco but from the cartoon  for  on the same sheet we also find 
besides an old man s head drawn in Leonardo s style  some studies
for the figure of St  John the Martyr which Raphael used in 1505 in
his great fresco in the Church of San Severo at Perugia 

Of Leonardo s studies for the Battle of Anghiari I must in the first
place point to five  on three of which  Pl  LII 2  Pl  LIII  Pl 
LVI  we find studies for the episode of the Standard  The standard
bearer  who  in the above named copies is seen stooping  holding on
to the staff across his shoulder  is immediately recognisable as the
left hand figure in Raphael s sketch  and we find it in a similar
attitude in Leonardo s pen and ink drawing in the British
Museum  Pl  LII  2  the lower figure to the right  It is not
difficult to identify the same figure in two more complicated groups
in the pen and ink drawings  now in the Accademia at Venice  Pl 
LIII  and Pl  LIV  where we also find some studies of foot soldiers
fighting  On the sheet in the British Museum  Pl  LII  2  we find 
among others  one group of three horses galloping forwards  one
horseman is thrown and protects himself with his buckler against the
lance thrusts of two others on horseback  who try to pierce him as
they ride past  The same action is repeated  with some variation  in
two sketches in pen and ink on a third sheet  in the Accademia at
Venice  Pl  LV  a coincidence which suggests the probability of such
an incident having actually been represented on the cartoon  We are
not  it is true  in a position to declare with any certainty which
of these three dissimilar sketches may have been the nearest to the
group finally adopted in executing the cartoon 

With regard  however  to one of the groups of horsemen it is
possible to determine with perfect certainty not only which
arrangement was preferred  but the position it occupied in the
composition  The group of horsemen on Pl  LVII is a drawing in black
chalk at Windsor  which is there attributed to Leonardo  but which
appears to me to be the work of Cesare da Sesto  and the
Commendatore Giov  Morelli supports me in this view  It can hardly
be doubted that da Sesto  as a pupil of Leonardo s  made this
drawing from his master s cartoon  if we compare it with the copy
made by Raphael  here reproduced  for just above the fighting
horseman in Raphael s copy it is possible to detect a horse which is
seen from behind  going at a slower pace  with his tail flying out
to the right and the same horse may be seen in the very same
attitude carrying a dimly sketched rider  in the foreground of
Cesare da Sesto s drawing  

 If a very much rubbed drawing in black chalk at Windsor  Pl 
LVI  is  as it appears to be  the reversed impression of an original
drawing  it is not difficult to supplement from it the portions
drawn by Cesare da Sesto  Nay  it may prove possible to reconstruct
the whole of the lost cartoon from the mass of materials we now have
at hand which we may regard as the nucleus of the composition  A
large pen and ink drawing by Raphael in the Dresden collection 
representing three horsemen fighting  and another  by Cesare da
Sesto  in the Uffizi  of light horsemen fighting are a further
contribution which will help us to reconstruct it  

 The sketch reproduced on Pl  LV gives a suggestive example of the
way in which foot soldiers may have been introduced into the cartoon
as fighting among the groups of horsemen  and I may here take the
opportunity of mentioning that  for reasons which it would be out of
place to enlarge upon here  I believe the two genuine drawings by
Raphael s hand in his  Venetian sketch book  as it is called  one of
a standard bearer marching towards the left  and one of two
foot soldiers armed with spears and fighting with a horseman  to be
undoubtedly copies from the cartoon of the Battle of Anghiari  

 Leonardo s two drawings  preserved in the museum at Buda Pesth and
reproduced on pages 338 and 339 are preliminary studies for the
heads of fighting warriors  The two heads drawn in black chalk  pg 
338  and the one seen in profile  turned to the left  drawn in red
chalk  pg  339   correspond exactly with those of two horsemen in
the scene of the fight round the standard as we see them in Madame
Timbal s picture and in the other finished copies  An old copy of
the last named drawing by a pupil of Leonardo is in MS  C  A  187b 
561b  See Saggio  Tav  XXII   Leonardo used to make such finished
studies of heads as those  drawn on detached sheets  before
beginning his pictures from his drawings  compare the preparatory
studies for the fresco of the Last Supper  given on Pl  XLVII and
Pl  L  Other drawings of heads  all characterised by the expression
of vehement excitement that is appropriate to men fighting  are to
be seen at Windsor  No  44  and at the Accademia at Venice  IV  13  
at the back of one of the drawings at Buda Pesth there is the bust
of a warrior carrying a spear on his left shoulder  holding up the
left arm  See Csatakepek a XVI  lk Szazadbol osszeallitotta Pvlszky
Karoly   These drawings may have been made for other portions of the
cartoon  of which no copies exist  and thus we are unable to
identify these preparatory drawings  Finally I may add that a sketch
of fighting horse and foot soldiers  formerly in the possession of
M  Thiers and published by Charles Blanc in his  Vies des Peintres 
can hardly be accepted as genuine  It is not to be found  as I am
informed  among the late President s property  and no one appears to
know where it now is  

 An attempted reconstruction of the Cartoon  which is not only
unsuccessful but perfectly unfounded  is to be seen in the
lithograph by Bergeret  published in Charles Blanc s  Vies des
peintres  and reprinted in  The great Artists  L  da Vinci   p  80 
This misleading pasticcio may now be rejected without hesitation  

 There are yet a few original drawings by Leonardo which might be
mentioned here as possibly belonging to the cartoon of the Battle 
such as the pen and ink sketches on Pl  XXI and on Pl  XXXVIII  No 
3  but we should risk too wide a departure from the domain of
ascertained fact  

 With regard to the colours and other materials used by Leonardo the
reader may be referred to the quotations from the accounts for the
picture in question given by Milanesi in his edition of Vasari  Vol 
IV  p  44  note  where we find entries of a similar character to
those in Leonardo s note books for the year 1505  S  K  M  12  see
No  636   

 That Leonardo was employed in designing decorations and other
preparations for high festivals  particularly for the court of
Milan  we learn not only from the writings of his contemporaries but
from his own incidental allusions  for instance in MS  C  l5b  1  
l  9  In the arrangement of the texts referring to this I have
placed those first  in which historical personages are named  Nos 
670 674  Among the descriptions of Allegorical subjects two texts
lately found at Oxford have been included  Nos  676 and 677  They
are particularly interesting because they are accompanied by large
sketches which render the meaning of the texts perfectly clear  It
is very intelligible that in other cases  where there are no
illustrative sketches  the notes must necessarily remain obscure or
admit of various interpretations  The literature of the time affords
ample evidence of the use of such allegorical representations 
particularly during the Carnival and in Leonardo s notes we find the
Carnival expressly mentioned  Nos  685 and 704  Vasari in his Life
of Pontormo  particularly describes that artist s various
undertakings for Carnival festivities  These very graphic
descriptions appear to me to throw great light in more ways than one
on the meaning of Leonardo s various notes as to allegorical
representations and also on mottoes and emblems  Nos  681 702  In
passing judgment on the allegorical sketches and emblems it must not
be overlooked that even as pictures they were always accompanied by
explanations in words  Several finished drawings of allegorical
compositions or figures have been preserved  but as they have no
corresponding explanation in the MSS  they had no claim to be
reproduced here  The female figure on Pl  XXVI may perhaps be
regarded as a study for such an allegorical painting  of which the
purport would have been explained by an inscription  

On Madonna pictures 

663 

 In the autumn of  1478 I began the two Madonna  pictures  

 Footnote  Photographs of this page have been published by BRAUN 
No  439  and PHILPOT  No  718 

1   Incominciai   We have no other information as to the two
pictures of the Madonna here spoken of  As Leonardo here tells us
that he had begun two Madonnas at the same time  the word
  incominciai   may be understood to mean that he had begun at the
same time preparatory studies for two pictures to be painted later 
If this is so  the non existence of the pictures may be explained by
supposing that they were only planned and never executed  I may here
mention a few studies for pictures of the Madonna which probably
belong to this early time  particularly a drawing in silver point on
bluish tinted paper at Windsor  see Pl  XL  No  3    a drawing of
which the details have almost disappeared in the original but have
been rendered quite distinct in the reproduction  secondly a slight
pen and ink sketch in  the Codex VALLARDI  in the Louvre  fol  64 
No  2316  again a silver point drawing of a Virgin and child drawn
over again with the pen in the His de la Salle collection also in
the Louvre  No  101   See Vicomte BOTH DE TAUZIA   Notice des
dessins de la collection His de la Salle  exposes au Louvre   Paris
1881  pp  80  81   This drawing is  it is true  traditionally
ascribed to Raphael  but the author of the catalogue very justly
points out its great resemblance with the sketches for Madonnas in
the British Museum which are indisputably Leonardo s  Some of these
have been published by Mr  HENRY WALLIS in the Art Journal  New Ser 
No  14  Feb  1882  If the non existence of the two pictures here
alluded to justifies my hypothesis that only studies for such
pictures are meant by the text  it may also be supposed that the
drawings were made for some comrade in VERROCCHIO S atelier   See
VASARI  Sansoni s ed  Florence 1880  Vol  IV  p  564     E perche a
Lerenzo piaceva fuor di modo la maniera di Lionardo  la seppe cosi
bene imitare  che niuno fu che nella pulitezza e nel finir l opere
con diligenza l imitasse piu di lui    Leonardo s notes give me no
opportunity of discussing the pictures executed by him in Florence 
before he moved to Milan  So the studies for the unfinished picture
of the Adoration of the Magi  in the Uffizi  Florence  cannot be
described here  nor would any discussion about the picture in the
Louvre   La Vierge aux Rochers   be appropriate in the absence of
all allusion to it in the MSS  Therefore  when I presently add a few
remarks on this painting in explanation of the Master s drawings for
it  it will be not merely with a view to facilitate critical
researches about the picture now in the National Gallery  London 
which by some critics has been pronounced to be a replica of the
Louvre picture  but also because I take this opportunity of
publishing several finished studies of the Master s which  even if
they were not made in Florence but later in Milan  must have been
prior to the painting of the Last Supper  The original picture in
Paris is at present so disfigured by dust and varnish that the
current reproductions in photography actually give evidence more of
the injuries to which the picture has been exposed than of the
original work itself  The wood cut given on p  344  is only intended
to give a general notion of the composition  It must be understood
that the outline and expression of the heads  which in the picture
is obscured but not destroyed  is here altogether missed  The
facsimiles which follow are from drawings which appear to me to be
studies for   La Vierge aux Rochers   

1  A drawing in silver point on brown toned paper of a woman s head
looking to the left  In the Royal Library at Turin  apparently a
study from nature for the Angel s head  Pl  XLII  

2  A study of drapery for the left leg of the same figure  done with
the brush  Indian ink on greenish paper  the lights heightened with
white 

The original is at Windsor  No  223  The reproduction Pl  XLIII is
defective in the shadow on the upper part of the thigh  which is not
so deep as in the original  it should also be observed that the
folds of the drapery near the hips are somewhat altered in the
finished work in the Louvre  while the London copy shows a greater
resemblance to this study in that particular 

3  A study in red chalk for the bust of the Infant Christ  No  3 in
the Windsor collection  Pl  XLIV   The well known silver point
drawing on pale green paper  in the Louvre  of a boy s head  No  363
in REISET   Notice des dessins  Ecoles d Italie   seems to me to be
a slightly altered copy  either from the original picture or from
this red chalk study 

4  A silver point study on greenish paper  for the head of John the
Baptist  reproduced on p  342  This was formerly in the Codex
Vallardi and is now exhibited among the drawings in the Louvre  The
lights are  in the original  heightened with white  the outlines 
particularly round the head and ear  are visibly restored 

There is a study of an outstretched hand  No  288 in the Windsor
collection  which was published in the Grosvenor Gallery
Publication  1878  simply under the title of   No  72 Study of a
hand  pointing  which  on the other hand  I regard as a copy by a
pupil  The action occurs in the kneeling angel of the Paris picture
and not in the London copy 

These four genuine studies form  I believe  a valuable substitute in
the absence of any MS  notes referring to the celebrated Paris
picture  

Bernardo di Bandino s Portrait 

664 

A tan coloured small cap  A doublet of black serge  A black jerkin
lined A blue coat lined  with fur of foxes  breasts  and the collar
of the jerkin covered with black and white stippled velvet Bernardo
di Bandino Baroncelli  black hose 

 Footnote  These eleven lines of text are by the side of the pen and
ink drawing of a man hanged  Pl  LXII  No  1  This drawing was
exhibited in 1879 at the  Ecole des Beaux Arts  in Paris and the
compilers of the catalogue amused themselves by giving the victim s
name as follows    Un pendu  vetu d une longue robe  les mains liees
sur le dos     Bernardo di Bendino Barontigni  marchand de
pantalons    see  Catalogue descriptif des Dessins de Mailres
anciens exposes a l Ecole des Beaux Arts   Paris 1879  No  83  pp 
9 10   Now  the criminal represented here  is none other than
Bernardino di Bandino Baroncelli the murderer of Giuliano de Medici 
whose name as a coadjutor in the conspiracy of the Pazzi has gained
a melancholy notoriety by the tragedy of the 26th April 1478 
Bernardo was descended from an ancient family and the son of the man
who  under King Ferrante  was President of the High Court of Justice
in Naples  His ruined fortunes  it would seem  induced him to join
the Pazzi  he and Francesco Pazzi were entrusted with the task of
murdering Giuliano de Medici on the fixed day  Their victim not
appearing in the cathedral at the hour when they expected him  the
two conspirators ran to the palace of the Medici and induced him to
accompany them  Giuliano then took his place in the chancel of the
Cathedral  and as the officiating priest raised the Host  the sign
agreed upon  Bernardo stabbed the unsuspecting Giuliano in the
breast with a short sword  Giuliano stepped backwards and fell dead 
The attempt on Lorenzo s life however  by the other conspirators at
the same moment  failed of success  Bernardo no sooner saw that
Lorenzo tried to make his escape towards the sacristy  than he
rushed upon him  and struck down Francesco Nori who endeavoured to
protect Lorenzo  How Lorenzo then took refuge behind the brazen
doors of the sacristy  and how  as soon as Giuliano s death was made
known  the further plans of the conspirators were defeated  while a
terrible vengeance overtook all the perpetrators and accomplices 
this is no place to tell  Bernardo Bandini alone seemed to be
favoured by fortune  he hid first in the tower of the Cathedral  and
then escaped undiscovered from Florence  Poliziano  who was with
Lorenzo in the Cathedral  says in his  Conjurationis Pactianae
Commentarium     Bandinus fugitans in Tiphernatem incidit  a quo in
aciem receptus Senas pervenit    And Gino Capponi in summing up the
reports of the numerous contemporary narrators of the event  says 
  Bernardo Bandini ricoverato in Costantinopoli  fu per ordine del
Sultano preso e consegnato a un Antonio di Bernardino dei Medici 
che Lorenzo aveva mandato apposta in Turchia  cosi era grande la
potenza di quest  uomo e grande la voglia di farne mostra e che non
restasse in vita chi aveagli ucciso il fratello  fu egli applicato
appena giunto     Storia della Republica di Firenze II   377  378  
Details about the dates may be found in the  Chronichetta di
Belfredello Strinati Alfieri     Bernardo di Bandino Bandini
sopradetto ne venne preso da Gostantinopoti a di 14  Dicembre 1479 e
disaminato  che fu al Bargello  fu impiccato alle finestre di detto
Bargello allato alla Doana a di 29  Dicembre MCCCCLXXIX che pochi di
stette    It may however be mentioned with reference to the mode of
writing the name of the assassin that  though most of his
contemporaries wrote Bernardo Bandini  in the  Breve Chronicon
Caroli Petri de Joanninis  he is called Bernardo di Bandini
Baroncelli  and  in the  Sententiae Domini Matthaei de Toscana  
Bernardus Joannis Bandini de Baroncellis  as is written on
Leonardo s drawing of him when hanged  Now VASARI  in the life of
 Andrea del Castagno   Vol  II  680  ed  Milanesi 1878   tells us
that in 1478 this painter was commissioned by order of the Signoria
to represent the members of the Pazzi conspiracy as traitors  on the
facade of the Palazzo del Podesta  the Bargello  This statement is
obviously founded on a mistake  for Andrea del Castagno was already
dead in 1457  He had however been commissioned to paint Rinaldo
degli Albizzi  when declared a rebel and exiled in 1434  and his
adherents  as hanging head downwards  and in consequence he had
acquired the nickname of Andrea degl  Impiccati  On the 21st July
1478 the Council of Eight came to the following resolution    item
servatis etc  deliberaverunt et santiaverunt Sandro Botticelli pro
ejus labore in pingendo proditores flor  quadraginta largos    see
G  MILANESI   Arch  star  VI   1862  p  5 note  

As has been told  Giuliano de  Medici was murdered on the 26th April
1478  and we see by this that only three months later Botticelli was
paid for his painting of the   proditores    We can however hardly
suppose that all the members of the conspiracy were depicted by him
in fresco on the facade of the palace  since no fewer than eighty
had been condemned to death  We have no means of knowing whether 
besides Botticelli  any other painters  perhaps Leonardo  was
commissioned  when the criminals had been hanged in person out of
the windows of the Palazzo del Podesta to represent them there
afterwards in effigy in memory of their disgrace  Nor do we know
whether the assassin who had escaped may at first not have been
provisionally represented as hanged in effigy  Now  when we try to
connect the historical facts with this drawing by Leonardo
reproduced on Pl  LXII  No  I  and the full description of the
conspirator s dress and its colour on the same sheet  there seems to
be no reasonable doubt that Bernardo Bandini is here represented as
he was actually hanged on December 29th  1479  after his capture at
Constantinople  The dress is certainly not that in which he
committed the murder  A long furred coat might very well be worn at
Constantinople or at Florence in December  but hardly in April  The
doubt remains whether Leonardo described Bernardo s dress so fully
because it struck him as remarkable  or whether we may not rather
suppose that this sketch was actually made from nature with the
intention of using it as a study for a wall painting to be executed 
It cannot be denied that the drawing has all the appearance of
having been made for this purpose  Be this as it may  the sketch
under discussion proves  at any rate  that Leonardo was in Florence
in December 1479  and the note that accompanies it is valuable as
adding one more characteristic specimen to the very small number of
his MSS  that can be proved to have been written between 1470 and
1480  

Notes on the Last Supper  665 668  

665 

One who was drinking and has left the glass in its position and
turned his head towards the speaker 

Another  twisting the fingers of his hands together turns with stern
brows to his companion  6   Another with his hands spread open shows
the palms  and shrugs his shoulders up his ears making a mouth of
astonishment  8  

 9  Another speaks into his neighbour s ear and he  as he listens to
him  turns towards him to lend an ear  10   while he holds a knife
in one hand  and in the other the loaf half cut through by the
knife   13  Another who has turned  holding a knife in his hand 
upsets with his hand a glass on the table  14  

 Footnote 665  666  In the original MS  there is no sketch to
accompany these passages  and if we compare them with those drawings
made by Leonardo in preparation for the composition of the
picture  Pl  XLV  XLVI     compare also Pl  LII  1 and the drawings
on p  297  it is impossible to recognise in them a faithful
interpretation of the whole of this text  but  if we compare these
passages with the finished picture  see p  334  we shall see that in
many places they coincide  For instance  compare No  665  1  6  8 
with the fourth figure on the right hand of Christ  The various
actions described in lines 9  10  13  14 are to be seen in the group
of Peter  John and Judas  in the finished picture however it is not
a glass but a salt cellar that Judas is upsetting  

666 

Another lays his hand on the table and is looking  Another blows his
mouthful   3  Another leans forward to see the speaker shading his
eyes with his hand   5  Another draws back behind the one who leans
forward  and sees the speaker between the wall and the man who is
leaning  Footnote  6   chinato   I have to express my regret for
having misread this word  written  cinato  in the original  and
having altered it to   ciclo   when I first published this text  in
 The Academy  for Nov  8  1879 immediately after I had discovered
it  and subsequently in the small biography of Leonardo da Vinci
 Great Artists  p  29   

 Footnote  In No  666  Line I must refer to the furthest figure on
the left  3  5 and 6 describe actions which are given to the group
of disciples on the left hand of Christ  

667 

CHRIST 

Count Giovanni  the one with the Cardinal of Mortaro 

 Footnote  As this note is in the same small Manuscript as the
passage here immediately preceding it  I may be justified in
assuming that Leonardo meant to use the features of the person here
named as a suitable model for the figure of Christ  The celebrated
drawing of the head of Christ  now hanging in the Brera Gallery at
Milan  has obviously been so much restored that it is now impossible
to say  whether it was ever genuine  We have only to compare it with
the undoubtedly genuine drawings of heads of the disciples in PI 
XLVII  XLVIII and L  to admit that not a single line of the Milan
drawing in its present state can be by the same hand  

668 

Philip  Simon  Matthew  Thomas  James the Greater  Peter  Philip 
Andrew  Bartholomew 

 Footnote  See PI  XLVI  The names of the disciples are given in the
order in which they are written in the original  from right to left 
above each head  The original drawing is here slightly reduced in
scale  it measures 39 centimetres in length by 26 in breadth  

669 

  On the battle of Anghiari 
  Florentine
  Neri di Gino Capponi
  Bernardetto de  Medici
  Micheletto 
  Niccolo da Pisa
  Conte Francesco
                         Pietro Gian Paolo
                         Guelfo Orsino 
                         Messer  Rinaldo   degli
                                      Albizzi

Begin with the address of Niccolo Piccinino to the soldiers and the
banished Florentines among whom are Messer Rinaldo degli Albizzi and
other Florentines  Then let it be shown how he first mounted on
horseback in armour  and the whole army came after him  40 squadrons
of cavalry  and 2000 foot soldiers went with him  Very early in the
morning the Patriarch went up a hill to reconnoitre the country 
that is the hills  fields and the valley watered by a river  and
from thence he beheld Niccolo Picinino coming from Borgo San
Sepolcro with his people  and with a great dust  and perceiving them
he returned to the camp of his own people and addressed them  Having
spoken he prayed to God with clasped hands  when there appeared a
cloud in which Saint Peter appeared and spoke to the Patriarch   500
cavalry were sent forward by the Patriarch to hinder or check the
rush of the enemy  In the foremost troop Francesco the son of
Niccolo Piccinino  24  was the first to attack the bridge which was
held by the Patriarch and the Florentines  Beyond the bridge to his
left he sent forward some infantry to engage ours  who drove them
back  among whom was their captain Micheletto  29  whose lot it was
to be that day at the head of the army  Here  at this bridge there
is a severe struggle  our men conquer and the enemy is repulsed 
Here Guido and Astorre  his brother  the Lord of Faenza with a great
number of men  re formed and renewed the fight  and rushed upon the
Florentines with such force that they recovered the bridge and
pushed forward as far as the tents  But Simonetto advanced with 600
horse  and fell upon the enemy and drove them back once more from
the place  and recaptured the bridge  and behind him came more men
with 2000 horse soldiers  And thus for a long time they fought with
varying fortune  But then the Patriarch  in order to divert the
enemy  sent forward Niccolo da Pisa  44  and Napoleone Orsino  a
beardless lad  followed by a great multitude of men  and then was
done another great feat of arms  At the same time Niccolo Piccinino
urged forward the remnant of his men  who once more made ours give
way  and if it had not been that the Patriarch set himself at their
head and  by his words and deeds controlled the captains  our
soldiers would have taken to flight  The Patriarch had some
artillery placed on the hill and with these he dispersed the enemy s
infantry  and the disorder was so complete that Niccolo began to
call back his son and all his men  and they took to flight towards
Borgo  And then began a great slaughter of men  none escaped but the
foremost of those who had fled or who hid themselves  The battle
continued until sunset  when the Patriarch gave his mind to
recalling his men and burying the dead  and afterwards a trophy was
erected 

 Footnote  669  This passage does not seem to me to be in Leonardo s
hand  though it has hitherto been generally accepted as genuine  Not
only is the writing unlike his  but the spelling also is quite
different  I would suggest that this passage is a description of the
events of the battle drawn up for the Painter by order of the
Signoria  perhaps by some historian commissioned by them  to serve
as a scheme or programme of the work  The whole tenor of the style
seems to me to argue in favour of this theory  and besides  it would
be in no way surprising that such a document should have been
preserved among Leonardo s autographs  

Allegorical representations referring to the duke of Milan
 670 673  

670 

Ermine with blood Galeazzo  between calm weather and a
representation of a tempest 

 Footnote  670  Only the beginning of this text is legible  the
writing is much effaced and the sense is consequently obscure  It
seems to refer like the following passage to an allegorical
picture  

671 

Il Moro with spectacles  and Envy depicted with False Report and
Justice black for il Moro 

Labour as having a branch of vine   or  a screw  in her hand 

672 

Il Moro as representing Good Fortune  with hair  and robes  and his
hands in front  and Messer Gualtieri taking him by the robes with a
respectful air from below  having come in from the front  5  

Again  Poverty in a hideous form running behind a youth  Il Moro
covers him with the skirt of his robe  and with his gilt sceptre he
threatens the monster 

A plant with its roots in the air to represent one who is at his
last   a robe and Favour 

Of tricks   or  of magpies  and of burlesque poems   or  of
starlings  

Those who trust themselves to live near him  and who will be a large
crowd  these shall all die cruel deaths  and fathers and mothers
together with their families will be devoured and killed by cruel
creatures 

 Footnote  1  10 have already been published by  Amoretti  in
 Memorie Storiche  cap  XII  He adds this note with regard to
Gualtieri    A questo M  Gualtieri come ad uomo generoso e benefico
scrive il Bellincioni un Sonetto  pag  174  per chiedergli un
piacere  e  l Tantio rendendo ragione a Lodovico il Moro  perche
pubblicasse le Rime del Bellincioni  cio hammi imposto  gli dice 
l humano fidele  prudente e sollicito executore delli tuoi
comandamenti Gualtero  che fa in tutte le cose ove tu possi far
utile  ogni studio vi metti    A somewhat mysterious and evidently
allegorical composition  a pen and ink drawing  at Windsor  see PL
LVIII  contains a group of figures in which perhaps the idea is
worked out which is spoken of in the text  lines 1 5  

673 

He was blacker than a hornet  his eyes were as red as a burning fire
and he rode on a tall horse six spans across and more than 20 long
with six giants tied up to his saddle bow and one in his hand which
he gnawed with his teeth  And behind him came boars with tusks
sticking out of their mouths  perhaps ten spans 

Allegorical representations  674  678  

674 

Above the helmet place a half globe  which is to signify our
hemisphere  in the form of a world  on which let there be a peacock 
richly decorated  and with his tail spread over the group  and every
ornament belonging to the horse should be of peacock s feathers on a
gold ground  to signify the beauty which comes of the grace bestowed
on him who is a good servant 

On the shield a large mirror to signify that he who truly desires
favour must be mirrored in his virtues 

On the opposite side will be represented Fortitude  in like manner
in her place with her pillar in her hand  robed in white  to signify
    And all crowned  and Prudence with 3 eyes  The housing of the
horse should be of plain cloth of gold closely sprinkled with
peacock s eyes  and this holds good for all the housings of the
horse  and the man s dress  And the man s crest and his neck chain
are of peacock s feathers on golden ground 

On the left side will be a wheel  the centre of which should be
attached to the centre of the horse s hinder thigh piece  and in the
centre Prudence is seen robed in red  Charity sitting in a fiery
chariot and with a branch of laurel in her hand  to signify the hope
which comes of good service 

 21  Messer Antonio Grimani of Venice companion of Antonio Maria
 23  

 Footnote   Messer Antonio Gri   His name thus abbreviated is  there
can be no doubt  Grimani  Antonio Grimani was the famous Doge who in
1499 commanded the Venetian fleet in battle against the Turks  But
after the abortive conclusion of the expedition  Ludovico being the
ally of the Turks who took possession of Friuli    Grimani was driven
into exile  he went to live at Rome with his son Cardinal Domenico
Grimani  On being recalled to Venice he filled the office of Doge
from 1521 to 1523   Antonio Maria  probably means Antonio Maria
Grimani  the Patriarch of Aquileia  

675 

Fame should be depicted as covered all over with tongues instead of
feathers  and in the figure of a bird 

676 

Pleasure and Pain represent as twins  since there never is one
without the other  and as if they were united back to back  since
they are contrary to each other 

 6  Clay  gold 

 Footnote  7   oro  fango   gold  clay  These words stand below the
allegorical figure  

If you take Pleasure know that he has behind him one who will deal
you Tribulation and Repentance 

 9  This represents Pleasure together with Pain  and show them as
twins because one is never apart from the other  They are back to
back because they are opposed to each other  and they exist as
contraries in the same body  because they have the same basis 
inasmuch as the origin of pleasure is labour and pain  and the
various forms of evil pleasure are the origin of pain  Therefore it
is here represented with a reed in his right hand which is useless
and without strength  and the wounds it inflicts are poisoned  In
Tuscany they are put to support beds  to signify that it is here
that vain dreams come  and here a great part of life is consumed  It
is here that much precious time is wasted  that is  in the morning 
when the mind is composed and rested  and the body is made fit to
begin new labours  there again many vain pleasures are enjoyed  both
by the mind in imagining impossible things  and by the body in
taking those pleasures that are often the cause of the failing of
life  And for these reasons the reed is held as their support 

 Footnote  676  The pen and ink drawing on PI  LIX belongs to this
passage  

 Footnote  8   tribolatione   In the drawing caltrops may be seen
lying in the old man s right hand  others are falling and others
again are shewn on the ground  Similar caltrops are drawn in MS 
Tri  p  98 and underneath them  as well as on page 96 the words
 triboli di ferro  are written  From the accompanying text it
appears that they were intended to be scattered on the ground at the
bottom of ditches to hinder the advance of the enemy  Count Giulio
Porro who published a short account of the Trivulzio MS  in the
  Archivio Storico Lombardo    Anno VIII part IV  Dec  31  1881  has
this note on the passages treating of   triboli      E qui
aggiungero che anni sono quando venne fabbricata la nuova
cavallerizza presso il castello di Milano  ne furono trovati due che
io ho veduto ed erano precisamente quali si trovano descritti e
disegnati da Leonardo in questo codice   

There can therefore be no doubt that this means of defence was in
general use  whether it were originally Leonardo s invention or not 
The play on the word   tribolatione    as it occurs in the drawing
at Oxford  must then have been quite intelligible  

 Footnote  9  22  These lines  in the original  are written on the
left side of the page and refer to the figure shown on PI  LXI  Next
to it is placed the group of three figures given in PI  LX No  I 
Lines 21 and 22  which are written under it  are the only
explanation given  

Evil thinking is either Envy or Ingratitude 

677 

Envy must be represented with a contemptuous motion of the hand
towards heaven  because if she could she would use her strength
against God  make her with her face covered by a mask of fair
seeming  show her as wounded in the eye by a palm branch and by an
olive branch  and wounded in the ear by laurel and myrtle  to
signify that victory and truth are odious to her  Many thunderbolts
should proceed from her to signify her evil speaking  Let her be
lean and haggard because she is in perpetual torment  Make her heart
gnawed by a swelling serpent  and make her with a quiver with
tongues serving as arrows  because she often offends with it  Give
her a leopard s skin  because this creature kills the lion out of
envy and by deceit  Give her too a vase in her hand full of flowers
and scorpions and toads and other venomous creatures  make her ride
upon death  because Envy  never dying  never tires of ruling  Make
her bridle  and load her with divers kinds of arms because all her
weapons are deadly 

Toleration 

Intolerable 

No sooner is Virtue born than Envy comes into the world to attack
it  and sooner will there be a body without a shadow than Virtue
without Envy 

 Footnote  The larger of the two drawings on PI  LXI is explained by
the first 21 lines of this passage  L  22 and 23  which are written
above the space between the two drawings  do not seem to have any
reference to either  L  24 27 are below the allegorical twin figure
which they serve to explain  

678 

When Pluto s Paradise is opened  then there may be devils placed in
twelve pots like openings into hell  Here will be Death  the Furies 
ashes  many naked children weeping  living fires made of various
colours    

679 

  John the Baptist
  Saint Augustin
  Saint Peter
  Paul
  Elisabeth
  Saint Clara 
  Bernardino
  Our Lady  Louis
  Bonaventura
  Anthony of Padua 
  Saint Francis 
  Francis 
  Anthony  a lily and book 
  Bernardino with the  monogram of  Jesus 
  Louis with 3 fleur de lys on his breast and
              the crown at his feet 
  Bonaventura with Seraphim 
  Saint Clara with the tabernacle 
  Elisabeth with a Queen s crown 

 Footnote  679  The text of the first six lines is written within a
square space of the same size as the copy here given  The names are
written in the margin following the order in which they are here
printed  In lines 7  12 the names of those saints are repeated of
whom it seemed necessary to point out the emblems  

List of drawings 

680 

  A head  full face  of a young man
  with fine flowing hair 
  Many flowers drawn from nature 
  A head  full face  with curly hair 
  Certain figures of Saint Jerome 
   6  The measurements of a figure 
  Drawings of furnaces 
  A head of the Duke 
   9  many designs for knots 
  4 studies for the panel of Saint Angelo
  A small composition of Girolamo da Fegline 
  A head of Christ done with the pen 
   13  8 Saint Sebastians 
  Several compositions of Angels 
  A chalcedony 
  A head in profile with fine hair 
  Some pitchers seen in    perspective 
  Some machines for ships 
  Some machines for waterworks 
  A head  a portrait of Atalanta raising her
  face 
  The head of Geronimo da Fegline 
  The head of Gian Francisco Borso 
  Several throats of old women 
  Several heads of old men 
  Several nude figures  complete 
  Several arms  eyes  feet  and positions 
  A Madonna  finished 
  Another  nearly in profile 
  Head of Our Lady ascending into Heaven 
  A head of an old man with long chin 
  A head of a gypsy girl 
  A head with a hat on 
  A representation of the Passion  a cast 
  A head of a girl with her hair gathered in a knot 
  A head  with the brown hair dressed 

 Footnote  680  This has already been published by AMORETTI  Memorie
storiche  cap  XVI  His reading varies somewhat from that here
given   e  g   l  5 and 6   Certi Sangirolami in su d una figura  
and instead of I  13   Un San Bastiano   

 Footnote  680  9   Molti disegni di gruppi   VASARI in his life of
Leonardo  IV  21  ed  MILANESI 1880  says    Oltreche perse tempo
fino a disegnare  gruppi  di corde fatti con ordine  e che da un
capo seguissi tutto il resto fino all  altro  tanto che s empiessi
un tondo  che se ne vede in istampa uno difficilissimo e molto
bello  e nel mezzo vi sono queste parole  Leonardus Vinci
Accademia     Gruppi  must here be understood as a technical
expression for those twisted ornaments which are well known through
wood cuts  AMORETTI mentions six different ones in the Ambrosian
Library  I am indebted to M  DELABORDE for kindly informing me that
the original blocks of these are preserved in his department in the
Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris  On the cover of these volumes is a
copy from one of them  The size of the original is 23 1 2
centimetres by 26 1 4  The centre portion of another is given on p 
361  G  Govi remarks on these ornaments   Saggio  p  22     Codesti
gruppi eran probabilmente destinati a servir di modello a ferri da
rilegatori per adornar le cartelle degli scolari      Fregi
somigliantissimi a questi troviamo infatti impressi in oro sui
cartoni di vari volumi contemporanei  e li vediam pur figurare nelle
lettere iniziali di alcune edizioni del tempo   

Durer who copied them  omitting the inscription  added to the second
impressions his own monogram  In his diary he designates them simply
as   Die sechs Knoten    see THAUSING  Life of A  Durer I  362 
363   In Leonardo s MSS  we find here and there little sketches or
suggestions for similar ornaments  Compare too G  MONGERI   L Arte
in Milano   p  315 where an ornament of the same character is given
from the old decorations of the vaulted ceiling of the Sacristy of
S  Maria delle Grazie  

 Footnote  680  17  The meaning in which the word  coppi   literally
pitchers  is here used I am unable to determine  but a change to
 copie  seems to me too doubtful to be risked  

681 

  Stubborn rigour 
  Doomed rigour 

 Footnote  See PI  LXII  No  2  the two upper pen and ink drawings 
The originals  in the Windsor collection are slightly washed with
colour  The background is blue sky  the plough and the instrument
with the compass are reddish brown  the sun is tinted yellow  

682 

  Obstacles cannot crush me
  Every obstacle yields to stern resolve
  He who is fixed to a star does not change
  his mind 

 Footnote  This text is written to elucidate two sketches which were
obviously the first sketches for the drawings reproduced on PL LXII 
No  2  

683 

Ivy is  a type  of longevity 

 Footnote  In the original there is  near this text  a sketch of a
coat wreathed above the waist with ivy  

684 

  Truth      the sun 
  falsehood   a mask 
  innocence 
  malignity 

  Fire destroys falsehood 
  that is sophistry  and
  restores truth  driving out
  darkness 

  Fire may be represented as the destroy of
  all sophistry  and as the
  image and demonstration of truth 
  because it is light and drives
  out darkness which conceals
  all essences  or subtle things  

 Footnote  See PI  LXIII  L  1 8 are in the middle of the page  1 
9 14 to the right below  1  15 22 below in the middle column  The
rest of the text is below the sketches on the left  There are some
other passages on this page relating to geometry  

TRUTH 

  Fire destroys all sophistry  that is deceit 
  and maintains truth alone  that is gold 

  Truth at last cannot be hidden 
  Dissimulation  is of no avail  Dissimulation is
  to no purpose before
  so great a judge 
  Falsehood puts on a mask 
  Nothing is hidden under the sun 

  Fire is to represent truth because it
  destroys all sophistry and lies  and the
  mask is for lying and falsehood
  which conceal truth 

685 

  Movement will cease before we are
  weary
  of being useful 

  Movement will fail sooner than usefulness 
  Death sooner than        I am never weary   of
  weariness                being useful 
  In serving others I      is a motto for carnval 
  cannot do enough         Without fatigue 

  No labour is
  sufficient to tire me 

  Hands into which
  ducats and precious
  stones fall like snow  they
  never become tired by serving 
  but this  service is only for its
  utility and not for our      I am never weary
  own benefit                  of being useful 

  Naturally
  nature has so disposed me 

686 

  This shall be placed in the
  hand of Ingratitude 
  Wood nourishes the fire that
  consumes it 

687 

TO REPRESENT INGRATITUDE 

  When the sun appears
  which dispels darkness in
  general  you put out the
  light which dispelled it
  for you in particular
  for your need and convenience 

688 

  On this side Adam and Eve on the other 
  O misery of mankind  of how many things do
  you make yourself the slave for money 

 Footnote  See PI  LXIV  The figures of Adam and Eve in the clouds
here alluded to would seem to symbolise their superiority to all
earthly needs  

689 

Thus are base unions sundered 

 Footnote  A much blurred sketch is on the page by this text  It
seems to represent an unravelled plait or tissue  

690 

  Constancy does not begin  but is that
  which perseveres 

 Footnote  A drawing in red chalk  also rubbed  which stands in the
original in the middle of this text  seems to me to be intended for
a sword hilt  held in a fist  

691 

  Love  Fear  and Esteem   
  Write these on three stones  Of servants 

692 

Prudence Strength 

693 

  Fame alone raises herself to Heaven 
  because virtuous things are in favour with God 

  Disgrace should be represented upside
  down  because all her deeds are contrary to
  God and tend to hell 

694 

Short liberty 

695 

  Nothing is so much to be feared as Evil
  Report 
  This Evil Report is born of life 

696 

Not to disobey 

697 

  A felled tree which is shooting
  again 

  I am still hopeful 
  A falcon 
  Time 

 Footnote  I   Albero tagliato   This emblem was displayed during
the Carnival at Florence in 1513  See VASARI VI  251  ed  MILANESI
1881  But the coincidence is probably accidental  

698 

  Truth here makes Falsehood torment
  lying tongues 

699 

  Such as harm is when it hurts me not 
  is good which avails me not 

 Footnote  See PI  LX  No  2  Compare this sketch with that on PI 
LXII  No  2  Below the two lines of the text there are two more
lines   li guchi  giunchi  che ritego le paglucole  pagliucole 
chelli  che li  anniegano   

700 

He who offends others  does not secure himself 

 Footnote  See PI  LX  No  3  

701 

Ingratitude 

 Footnote  See PI  LX  No  4  Below the bottom sketches are the
unintelligible words   sta stilli    For   Ingratitudo   compare
also Nos  686 and 687  

702 

One s thoughts turn towards Hope 

 Footnote  702  By the side of this passage is a sketch of
a cage with a bird sitting in it  

Ornaments and Decorations for feasts  703 705  

703 

A bird  for a comedy 

 Footnote  The biographies say so much  and the author s notes say
so little of the invention attributed to Leonardo of making
artificial birds fly through the air  that the text here given is of
exceptional interest from being accompanied by a sketch  It is a
very slight drawing of a bird with outspread wings  which appears to
be sliding down a stretched string  Leonardo s flying machines and
his studies of the flight of birds will be referred to later  

704 

A DRESS FOR THE CARNIVAL 

To make a beautiful dress cut it in thin cloth and give it an
odoriferous varnish  made of oil of turpentine and of varnish in
grain  with a pierced stencil  which must be wetted  that it may not
stick to the cloth  and this stencil may be made in a pattern of
knots which afterwards may be filled up with black and the ground
with white millet  Footnote 7  The grains of black and white millet
would stick to the varnish and look like embroidery  

 Footnote  Ser Giuliano  da Vinci the painter s brother  had been
commissioned  with some others  to order and to execute the garments
of the Allegorical figures for the Carnival at Florence in 1515  16 
VASARI however is incorrect in saying of the Florentine Carnival of
1513    equelli che feciono ed ordinarono gli abiti delle figure
furono Ser Piero da Vinci  padre di Lonardo  e Bernardino di
Giordano  bellissimi ingegni    See MILANESI S ed  Voi  VI  pg 
251   

705 

Snow taken from the high peaks of mountains might be carried to hot
places and let to fall at festivals in open places at summer time 



    End of Volume 1


The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci

Volume 2

Translated by Jean Paul Richter

1888







XI 

The notes on Sculpture 

Compared with the mass of manuscript treating of Painting  a very
small number of passages bearing on the practice and methods of
Sculpture are to be found scattered through the note books  these
are here given at the beginning of this section  Nos  706 709  
There is less cause for surprise at finding that the equestrian
statue of Francesco Sforza is only incidentally spoken of  for 
although Leonardo must have worked at it for a long succession of
years  it is not in the nature of the case that it could have given
rise to much writing  We may therefore regard it as particularly
fortunate that no fewer than thirteen notes in the master s
handwriting can be brought together  which seem to throw light on
the mysterious history of this famous work  Until now writers on
Leonardo were acquainted only with the passages numbered 712  719 
720  722 and 723 

In arranging these notes on sculpture I have given the precedence to
those which treat of the casting of the monument  not merely because
they are the fullest  but more especially with a view to
reconstructing the monument  an achievement which really almost lies
within our reach by combining and comparing the whole of the
materials now brought to light  alike in notes and in sketches 

A good deal of the first two passages  Nos  710 and 711  which refer
to this subject seems obscure and incomprehensible  still  they
supplement each other and one contributes in no small degree to the
comprehension of the other  A very interesting and instructive
commentary on these passages may be found in the fourth chapter of
Vasari s Introduzione della Scultura under the title  Come si fanno
i modelli per fare di bronzo le figure grandi e picciole  e come le
forme per buttarle  come si armino di ferri  e come si gettino di
metallo    c  Among the drawings of models of the moulds for casting
we find only one which seems to represent the horse in the act of
galloping  No  713  All the other designs show the horse as pacing
quietly and as these studies of the horse are accompanied by copious
notes as to the method of casting  the question as to the position
of the horse in the model finally selected  seems to be decided by
preponderating evidence   Il cavallo dello Sforza   C  Boito remarks
very appositely in the Saggio on page 26   doveva sembrare fratello
al cavallo del Colleoni  E si direbbe che questo fosse figlio del
cavallo del Gattamelata  il quale pare figlio di uno dei quattro
cavalli che stavano forse sull  Arco di Nerone in Roma   now at
Venice   The publication of the Saggio also contains the
reproduction of a drawing in red chalk  representing a horse walking
to the left and supported by a scaffolding  given here on Pl  LXXVI 
No  1  It must remain uncertain whether this represents the model as
it stood during the preparations for casting it  or whether  as
seems to me highly improbable  this sketch shows the model as it was
exhibited in 1493 on the Piazza del Castello in Milan under a
triumphal arch  on the occasion of the marriage of the Emperor
Maximilian to Bianca Maria Sforza  The only important point here is
to prove that strong evidence seems to show that  of the numerous
studies for the equestrian statue  only those which represent the
horse pacing agree with the schemes of the final plans 

The second group of preparatory sketches  representing the horse as
galloping  must therefore be considered separately  a distinction
which  in recapitulating the history of the origin of the monument
seems justified by the note given under No  720 

Galeazza Maria Sforza was assassinated in 1476 before his scheme for
erecting a monument to his father Francesco Sforza could be carried
into effect  In the following year Ludovico il Moro the young
aspirant to the throne was exiled to Pisa  and only returned to
Milan in 1479 when he was Lord  Governatore  of the State of Milan 
in 1480 after the minister Cecco Simonetta had been murdered  It may
have been soon after this that Ludovico il Moro announced a
competition for an equestrian statue  and it is tolerably certain
that Antonio del Pollajuolo took part in it  from this passage in
Vasari s Life of this artist   E si trovo  dopo la morte sua  il
disegno e modello che a Lodovico Sforza egli aveva fatto per la
statua a cavallo di Francesco Sforza  duca di Milano  il quale
disegno e nel nostro Libro  in due modi  in uno egli ha sotto
Verona  nell altro  egli tutto armato  e sopra un basamento pieno di
battaglie  fa saltare il cavallo addosso a un armato  ma la cagione
perche non mettesse questi disegni in opera  non ho gia potuto
sapere   One of Pollajuolo s drawings  as here described  has lately
been discovered by Senatore Giovanni Morelli in the Munich
Pinacothek  Here the profile of the horseman is a portrait of
Francesco Duke of Milan  and under the horse  who is galloping to
the left  we see a warrior thrown and lying on the ground  precisely
the same idea as we find in some of Leonardo s designs for the
monument  as on Pl  LXVI  LXVII  LXVIII  LXIX and LXXII No  1  and 
as it is impossible to explain this remarkable coincidence by
supposing that either artist borrowed it from the other  we can only
conclude that in the terms of the competition the subject proposed
was the Duke on a horse in full gallop  with a fallen foe under its
hoofs 

Leonardo may have been in the competition there and then  but the
means for executing the monument do not seem to have been at once
forthcoming  It was not perhaps until some years later that Leonardo
in a letter to the Duke  No  719  reminded him of the project for
the monument  Then  after he had obeyed a summons to Milan  the plan
seems to have been so far modified  perhaps in consequence of a
remonstrance on the part of the artist  that a pacing horse was
substituted for one galloping  and it may have been at the same time
that the colossal dimensions of the statue were first decided on 
The designs given on Pl  LXX  LXXI  LXXII  2 and 3  LXXIII and LXXIV
and on pp  4 and 24  as well as three sketches on Pl  LXIX may be
studied with reference to the project in its new form  though it is
hardly possible to believe that in either of these we see the design
as it was actually carried out  It is probable that in Milan
Leonardo worked less on drawings  than in making small models of wax
and clay as preparatory to his larger model  Among the drawings
enumerated above  one in black chalk  Pl  LXXIII  the upper sketch
on the right hand side  reminds us strongly of the antique statue of
Marcus Aurelius  If  as it would seem  Leonardo had not until then
visited Rome  he might easily have known this statue from drawings
by his former master and friend Verrocchio  for Verrocchio had been
in Rome for a long time between 1470 and 1480  In 1473 Pope Sixtus
IV had this antique equestrian statue restored and placed on a new
pedestal in front of the church of San Giovanni in Luterano 
Leonardo  although he was painting independently as early as in 1472
is still spoken of as working in Verrocchio s studio in 1477  Two
years later the Venetian senate decided on erecting an equestrian
statue to Colleoni  and as Verrocchio  to whom the work was
entrusted  did not at once move from Florence to Venice  where he
died in 1488 before the casting was completed  but on the contrary
remained in Florence for some years  perhaps even till 1485 
Leonardo probably had the opportunity of seeing all his designs for
the equestrian statue at Venice and the red chalk drawing on Pl 
LXXIV may be a reminiscence of it 

The pen and ink drawing on Pl  LXXII  No  3  reminds us of
Donatello s statue of Gattamelata at Padua  However it does not
appear that Leonardo was ever at Padua before 1499  but we may
conclude that he took a special interest in this early bronze statue
and the reports he could procure of it  form an incidental remark
which is to be found in C  A  145a  432a  and which will be given in
Vol  II under Ricordi or Memoranda  Among the studies  in the widest
sense of the word  made in preparation statue we may include the
Anatomy of the Horse which Lomazzo and Vas mention  the most
important parts of this work still exist in the Queen s Li Windsor 
It was beyond a doubt compiled by Leonardo when at Milan  only
interesting records to be found among these designs are reproduced
in Nos  716a but it must be pointed out that out of 40 sheets of
studies of the movements of the belonging to that treatise  a horse
in full gallop occurs but once 

If we may trust the account given by Paulus Jovius  about l527  
Leonardo s horse was represented as  vehementer incitatus et
anhelatus   Jovius had probably seen the model exhibited at Milan 
but  need we  in fact  infer from this description that the horse
was galloping  Compare Vasari s description of the Gattamelata
monument at Padua   Egli  Donatello  vi ando ben volentieri  e fece
il cavallo di bronzo  che e in sulla piazza di Sant Antonio  nel
quale si dimostra lo sbuffamento ed il fremito del cavallo  ed il
grande animo e la fierezza vivacissimamente espressa dall arte nella
figura che lo cavalca  

These descriptions  it seems to me  would only serve to mark the
difference between the work of the middle ages and that of the
renaissance 

We learn from a statement of Sabba da Castiglione that  when Milan
was taken by the French in 1499  the model sustained some injury 
and this informant  who  however is not invariably trustworthy  adds
that Leonardo had devoted fully sixteen years to this work  la forma
del cavallo  intorno a cui Leonardo avea sedici anni continui
consumati   This often quoted passage has given ground for an
assumption  which has no other evidence to support it  that Leonardo
had lived in Milan ever since 1483  But I believe it is nearer the
truth to suppose that this author s statement alludes to the fact
that about sixteen years must have past since the competition in
which Leonardo had taken part 

I must in these remarks confine myself strictly to the task in hand
and give no more of the history of the Sforza monument than is
needed to explain the texts and drawings I have been able to
reproduce  In the first place  with regard to the drawings  I may
observe that they are all  with the following two exceptions  in the
Queen s Library at Windsor Castle  the red chalk drawing on Pl 
LXXVI No  1 is in the MS  C  A   see No  7l2  and the fragmentary
pen and ink drawing on page 4 is in the Ambrosian Library  The
drawings from Windsor on Pl  LXVI have undergone a trifling
reduction from the size of the originals 

There can no longer be the slightest doubt that the well known
engraving of several horsemen  Passavant  Le Peintre Graveur  Vol 
V  p  181  No  3  is only a copy after original drawings by
Leonardo  executed by some unknown engraver  we have only to compare
the engraving with the facsimiles of drawings on Pl  LXV  No  2  Pl 
LXVII  LXVIII and LXIX which  it is quite evident  have served as
models for the engraver 

On Pl  LXV No  1  in the larger sketch to the right hand  only the
base is distinctly visible  the figure of the horseman is effaced 
Leonardo evidently found it unsatisfactory and therefore rubbed it
out 

The base of the monument  the pedestal for the equestrian statue  is
repeatedly sketched on a magnificent plan  In the sketch just
mentioned it has the character of a shrine or aedicula to contain a
sarcophagus  Captives in chains are here represented on the
entablature with their backs turned to that portion of the monument
which more

strictly constitutes the pedestal of the horse  The lower portion of
the aedicula is surrounded by columns  In the pen and ink drawing
Pl  LXVI  the lower drawing on the right hand side  the sarcophagus
is shown between the columns  and above the entablature is a plinth
on which the horse stands  But this arrangement perhaps seemed to
Leonardo to lack solidity  and in the little sketch on the left
hand  below  the sarcophagus is shown as lying under an arched
canopy  In this the trophies and the captive warriors are detached
from the angles  In the first of these two sketches the place for
the trophies is merely indicated by a few strokes  in the third
sketch on the left the base is altogether broader  buttresses and
pinnacles having been added so as to form three niches  The black
chalk drawing on Pl  LXVIII shows a base in which the angles are
formed by niches with pilasters  In the little sketch to the extreme
left on Pl  LXV  No  1  the equestrian statue serves to crown a
circular temple somewhat resembling Bramante s tempietto of San
Pietro in Montario at Rome  while the sketch above to the right
displays an arrangement faintly reminding us of the tomb of the
Scaligers in Verona  The base is thus constructed of two platforms
or slabs  the upper one considerably smaller than the lower one
which is supported on flying buttresses with pinnacles 

On looking over the numerous studies in which the horse is not
galloping but merely walking forward  we find only one drawing for
the pedestal  and this  to accord with the altered character of the
statue  is quieter and simpler in style  Pl  LXXIV   It rises almost
vertically from the ground and is exactly as long as the pacing
horse  The whole base is here arranged either as an independent
baldaquin or else as a projecting canopy over a recess in which the
figure of the deceased Duke is seen lying on his sarcophagus  in the
latter case it was probably intended as a tomb inside a church 
Here  too  it was intended to fill the angles with trophies or
captive warriors  Probably only No  724 in the text refers to the
work for the base of the monument 

If we compare the last mentioned sketch with the description of a
plan for an equestrian monument to Gian Giacomo Trivulzio  No  725 
it seems by no means impossible that this drawing is a preparatory
study for the very monument concerning which the manuscript gives us
detailed information  We have no historical record regarding this
sketch nor do the archives in the Trivulzio Palace give us any
information  The simple monument to the great general in San Nazaro
Maggiore in Milan consists merely of a sarcophagus placed in recess
high on the wall of an octagonal chapel  The figure of the warrior
is lying on the sarcophagus  on which his name is inscribed  a piece
of sculpture which is certainly not Leonardo s work  Gian Giacomo
Trivulzio died at Chartres in 1518  only five months before
Leonardo  and it seems to me highly improbable that this should have
been the date of this sketch  under these circumstances it would
have been done under the auspices of Francis I  but the Italian
general was certainly not in favour with the French monarch at the
time  Gian Giacomo Trivulzio was a sworn foe to Ludovico il Moro 
whom he strove for years to overthrow  On the 6th September 1499 he
marched victorious into Milan at the head of a French army  In a
short time  however  he was forced to quit Milan again when Ludovico
il Moro bore down upon the city with a force of Swiss troops  On the
15th of April following  after defeating Lodovico at Novara 
Trivulzio once more entered Milan as a Conqueror  but his hopes of
becoming  Governatore  of the place were soon wrecked by intrigue 
This victory and triumph  historians tell us  were signalised by
acts of vengeance against the dethroned Sforza  and it might have
been particularly flattering to him that the casting and
construction of the Sforza monument were suspended for the time 

It must have been at this moment  as it seems to me  that he
commissioned the artist to prepare designs for his own monument 
which he probably intended should find a place in the Cathedral or
in some other church  He  the husband of Margherita di Nicolino
Colleoni  would have thought that he had a claim to the same
distinction and public homage as his less illustrious connection had
received at the hands of the Venetian republic  It was at this very
time that Trivulzio had a medal struck with a bust portrait of
himself and the following remarkable inscription on the reverse  
DEO FAVENTE  1499  DICTVS  10  IA  EXPVLIT  LVDOVICV  SF  
 Sfortiam  DVC    ducem  MLI  Mediolani   NOIE
 nomine   REGIS  FRANCORVM  EODEM  ANN    anno  RED T  redit   LVS
 Ludovicus   SVPERATVS ET CAPTVS  EST  AB  EO   In the Library of
the Palazzo Trivulzio there is a MS  of Callimachus Siculus written
at the end of the XVth or beginning of the XVIth century  At the
beginning of this MS  there is an exquisite illuminated miniature of
an equestrian statue with the name of the general on the base  it is
however very doubtful whether this has any connection with
Leonardo s design 

Nos  731 740  which treat of casting bronze  have probably a very
indirect bearing on the arrangements made for casting the equestrian
statue of Francesco Sforza  Some portions evidently relate to the
casting of cannon  Still  in our researches about Leonardo s work on
the monument  we may refer to them as giving us some clue to the
process of bronze casting at that period 

Some practical hints  706 709  

7O6 

OF A STATUE 

If you wish to make a figure in marble  first make one of clay  and
when you have finished it  let it dry and place it in a case which
should be large enough  after the figure is taken out of it  to
receive also the marble  from which you intend to reveal the figure
in imitation of the one in clay  After you have put the clay figure
into this said case  have little rods which will exactly slip in to
the holes in it  and thrust them so far in at each hole that each
white rod may touch the figure in different parts of it  And colour
the portion of the rod that remains outside black  and mark each rod
and each hole with a countersign so that each may fit into its
place  Then take the clay figure out of this case and put in your
piece of marble  taking off so much of the marble that all your rods
may be hidden in the holes as far as their marks  and to be the
better able to do this  make the case so that it can be lifted up 
but the bottom of it will always remain under the marble and in this
way it can be lifted with tools with great ease 

707 

Some have erred in teaching sculptors to measure the limbs of their
figures with threads as if they thought that these limbs were
equally round in every part where these threads were wound about
them 

708 

MEASUREMENT AND DIVISION OF A STATUE 

Divide the head into 12 degrees  and each degree divide into 12
points  and each point into 12 minutes  and the minutes into minims
and the minims into semi minims 

Degree  point  minute  minim 

709 

Sculptured figures which appear in motion  will  in their standing
position  actually look as if they were falling forward 

 Footnote   figure di rilievo   Leonardo applies this term
exclusively to wholly detached figures  especially to those standing
free  This note apparently refers to some particular case  though we
have no knowledge of what that may have been  If we suppose it to
refer to the first model of the equestrian statue of Francesco
Sforza  see the introduction to the notes on Sculpture  this
observation may be regarded as one of his arguments for abandoning
the first scheme of the Sforza Monument  in which the horse was to
be galloping  see page 2   It is also in favour of this theory that
the note is written in a manuscript volume already completed in
1492  Leonardo s opinions as to the shortcomings of plastic works
when compared with paintings are given under No  655 and 656  

Notes on the casting of the Sforza monument  710 715  

710 

Three braces which bind the mould 

 If you want to make simple casts quickly  make them in a box of
river sand wetted with vinegar  

 When you shall have made the mould upon the horse you must make the
thickness of the metal in clay  

Observe in alloying how many hours are wanted for each
hundredweight   In casting each one keep the furnace and its fire
well stopped up    Let the inside of all the moulds be wetted with
linseed oil or oil of turpentine  and then take a handful of
powdered borax and Greek pitch with aqua vitae  and pitch the mould
over outside so that being under ground the damp may not  damage
it  

 To manage the large mould make a model of the small mould  make a
small room in proportion  

 Make the vents in the mould while it is on the horse  

Hold the hoofs in the tongs  and cast them with fish glue  Weigh the
parts of the mould and the quantity of metal it will take to fill
them  and give so much to the furnace that it may afford to each
part its amount of metal  and this you may know by weighing the clay
of each part of the mould to which the quantity in the furnace must
correspond  And this is done in order that the furnace for the legs
when filled may not have to furnish metal from the legs to help out
the head  which would be impossible   Cast at the same casting as
the horse the little door 

 Footnote  The importance of the notes included under this number is
not diminished by the fact that they have been lightly crossed out
with red chalk  Possibly they were the first scheme for some fuller
observations which no longer exist  or perhaps they were crossed out
when Leonardo found himself obliged to give up the idea of casting
the equestrian statue  In the original the first two sketches are
above l  1  and the third below l  9  

711 

THE MOULD FOR THE HORSE 

Make the horse on legs of iron  strong and well set on a good
foundation  then grease it and cover it with a coating  leaving each
coat to dry thoroughly layer by layer  and this will thicken it by
the breadth of three fingers  Now fix and bind it with iron as may
be necessary  Moreover take off the mould and then make the
thickness  Then fill the mould by degrees and make it good
throughout  encircle and bind it with its irons and bake it inside
where it has to touch the bronze 

OF MAKING THE MOULD IN PIECES 

Draw upon the horse  when finished  all the pieces of the mould with
which you wish to cover the horse  and in laying on the clay cut it
in every piece  so that when the mould is finished you can take it
off  and then recompose it in its former position with its joins  by
the countersigns 

The square blocks  a b  will be between the cover and the core  that
is in the hollow where the melted bronze is to be  and these square
blocks of bronze will support the intervals between the mould and
the cover at an equal distance  and for this reason these squares
are of great importance 

The clay should be mixed with sand 

Take wax  to return  what is not used  and to pay for what is used 

Dry it in layers 

Make the outside mould of plaster  to save time in drying and the
expense in wood  and with this plaster enclose the irons  props 
both outside and inside to a thickness of two fingers  make terra
cotta  And this mould can be made in one day  half a boat load of
plaster will serve you 

Good 

Dam it up again with glue and clay  or white of egg  and bricks and
rubbish 

 Footnote  See Pl  LXXV  The figure  40   close to the sketch in the
middle of the page between lines 16 and 17 has been added by a
collector s hand 

In the original  below line 21  a square piece of the page has been
cut out about 9 centimetres by 7 and a blank piece has been gummed
into the place 

Lines 22 24 are written on the margin  l  27 and 28 are close to the
second marginal sketch  l  42 is a note written above the third
marginal sketch and on the back of this sheet is the text given as
No  642  Compare also No  802  

712 

All the heads of the large nails 

 Footnote  See Pl  LXXVI  No  i  This drawing has already been
published in the   Saggio delle Opere di L  da Vinci    Milano 1872 
Pl  XXIV  No  i  But  for various reasons I cannot regard the
editor s suggestions as satisfactory  He says    Veggonsi le
armature di legname colle quali forse venne sostenuto il modello 
quando per le nozze di Bianca Maria Sforza con Massimiliano
imperatore  esso fu collocato sotto un arco trionfale davanti al
Castello   

713 

These bindings go inside 

714 

Salt may be made from human excrements  burnt and calcined  made
into lees and dried slowly at a fire  and all the excrements produce
salt in a similar way and these salts when distilled  are very
strong 

 Footnote  VASARI repeatedly states  in the fourth chapter of his
 Introduzione della Scultura   that in preparing to cast bronze
statues horse dung was frequently used by sculptors  If 
notwithstanding this  it remains doubtful whether I am justified in
having introduced here this text of but little interest  no such
doubt can be attached to the sketch which accompanies it  

715 

METHOD OF FOUNDING AGAIN 

This may be done when the furnace is made  Footnote  this note is
written below the sketches   strong and bruised 

Models for the horse of the Sforza monument  716 718  

7l6 

Messer Galeazzo s big genet

717 

Messer Galeazzo s Sicilian horse 

 Footnote  These notes are by the side of a drawing of a horse with
figured measurements  

718 

Measurement of the Sicilian horse the leg from behind  seen in
front  lifted and extended 

 Footnote  There is no sketch belonging to this passage  Galeazze
here probably means Galeazze di San Severino  the famous captain who
married Bianca the daughter of Ludovico il Moro  

Occasional references to the Sforza monument  719 724  

719 

Again  the bronze horse may be taken in hand  which is to be to the
immortal glory and eternal honour of the happy memory of the prince
your father  and of the illustrious house of Sforza 

 Footnote  The letter from which this passage is here extracted will
be found complete in section XXI   see the explanation of it  on
page 2   

720 

On the 23rd of April 1490 I began this book  and recommenced the
horse 

721 

There is to be seen  in the mountains of Parma and Piacenza  a
multitude of shells and corals full of holes  still sticking to the
rocks  and when I was at work on the great horse for Milan  a large
sackful of them  which were found thereabout  was brought to me into
my workshop  by certain peasants 

722 

Believe me  Leonardo the Florentine  who has to do the equestrian
bronze statue of the Duke Francesco that he does not need to care
about it  because he has work for all his life time  and  being so
great a work  I doubt whether he can ever finish it   Footnote  This
passage is quoted from a letter to a committee at Piacenza for whom
Leonardo seems to have undertaken to execute some work  The letter
is given entire in section XXL  in it Leonardo remonstrates as to
some unreasonable demands  

723 

Of the horse I will say nothing because I know the times   Footnote 
This passage occurs in a rough copy of a letter to Ludovico il Moro 
without date  see below among the letters   

724 

During ten years the works on the marbles have been going on I will
not wait for my payment beyond the time  when my works are finished 
 Footnote  This possibly refers to the works for the pedestal of the
equestrian statue concerning which we have no farther information in
the MSS  See p  6  

The project of the Trivulzio monument 

725 

THE MONUMENT TO MESSER GIOVANNI JACOMO DA TREVULZO 

 2  Cost of the making and materials for the horse  5  

 Footnote  In the original  lines 2 5  12 14  33 35  are written on
the margin  This passage has been recently published by G  Govi in
Vol  V  Ser  3a  of  Transunti  Reale Accademia dei Linea  sed  del
5 Giugno  1881   with the following introductory note    Desidero
intanto che siano stampati questi pochi frammenti perche so che sono
stati trascritti ultimamente  e verranno messi in luce tra poco
fuori d Italia  Li ripubblichi pure chi vuole  ma si sappia almeno
che anche tra noi si conoscevano  e s eran raccolti da anni per
comporne  quando che fosse  una edizione ordinata degli scritti di
Leonardo   

The learned editor has left out line 22 and has written 3  pie  for
8  piedi  in line 25  There are other deviations of less importance
from the original  

A courser  as large as life  with the rider requires for the cost of
the metal  duc  500 

And for cost of the iron work which is inside the model  and
charcoal  and wood  and the pit to cast it in  and for binding the
mould  and including the furnace where it is to be cast     duc 
200 

To make the model in clay and then in wax          duc  432 

To the labourers for polishing it when it is cast          duc  450 

in all    duc  1582 

 12  Cost of the marble of the monument  14  

Cost of the marble according to the drawing  The piece of marble
under the horse which is 4 braccia long  2 braccia and 2 inches wide
and 9 inches thick 58 hundredweight  at 4 Lire and 10 Soldi per
hundredweight   duc  58 

And for 13 braccia and 6 inches of cornice  7 in  wide and 4 in 
thick  24 hundredweight        duc  24 

And for the frieze and architrave  which is 4 br  and 6 in  long  2
br  wide and 6 in  thick  29 hundredweight   duc  20 

And for the capitals made of metal  which are 8  5 inches in  square
and 2 in  thick  at the price of 15 ducats each  will come to      
duc  122 

And for 8 columns of 2 br  7 in   4 1 2 in  thick  20 hundredweight
duc  20 

And for 8 bases which are 5 1 2 in  square and 2 in  high 5 hund   
duc  5 

And for the slab of the tombstone 4 br  io in  long  2 br  4 1 2 in 
wide 36 hundredweight        duc  36 

And for 8 pedestal feet each 8 br  long and 6 1 2 in  wide and 6 1 2
in  thick  20 hundredweight come to    duc  20 

And for the cornice below which is 4 br  and 10 in  long  and 2 br 
and 5 in  wide  and 4 in  thick  32 hund    duc  32 

And for the stone of which the figure of the deceased is to be made
which is 3 br  and 8 in  long  and 1 br  and 6 in  wide  and 9 in 
thick  30 hund    duc  30 

And for the stone on which the figure lies which is 3 br  and 4 in 
long and 1 br  and 2 in   wide and 4 1 2 in  thick duc  16 

And for the squares of marble placed between the pedestals which are
8 and are 9 br  long and 9 in  wide  and 3 in  thick  8
hundredweight       duc  8  in all    duc  389 

 33 Cost of the work in marble 35  

Round the base on which the horse stands there are 8 figures at 25
ducats each              duc  200 

And on the same base there are 8 festoons with some other ornaments 
and of these there are 4 at the price of 15 ducats each  and 4 at
the price of 8 ducats each         duc  92 

And for squaring the stones duc  6 

Again  for the large cornice which goes below the base on which the
horse stands  which is 13 br  and 6 in   at 2 due  per br        
duc  27 

And for 12 br  of frieze at 5 due  per br              duc  60 

And for 12 br  of architrave at 1 1 2 duc  per br          duc  18 

And for 3 rosettes which will be the soffit of the monument  at 20
ducats each            duc  60 

And for 8 fluted columns at 8 ducats each           duc  64 

And for 8 bases at 1 ducat each  duc  8 

And for 8 pedestals  of which 4 are at 10 duc  each  which go above
the angles  and 4 at 6 duc  each    duc  64 

And for squaring and carving the moulding of the pedestals at 2 duc 
each  and there are 8      duc  16 

And for 6 square blocks with figures and trophies  at 25 duc  each
   duc  150 

And for carving the moulding of the stone under the figure of the
deceased            duc  40 

For the statue of the deceased  to do it well            duc  100 

For 6 harpies with candelabra  at 25 ducats each           duc  150 

For squaring the stone on which the statue lies  and carving the
moulding              duc  20 

in all    duc  1075 

The sum total of every thing added together amount to        duc 
3046 

726 

MINT AT ROME 

It can also be made without a spring  But the screw above must
always be joined to the part of the movable sheath   Margin note 
The mint of Rome    Footnote  See Pl  LXXVI  This passage is taken
from a note book which can be proved to have been used in Rome  

All coins which do not have the rim complete  are not to be accepted
as good  and to secure the perfection of their rim it is requisite
that  in the first place  all the coins should be a perfect circle 
and to do this a coin must before all be made perfect in weight  and
size  and thickness  Therefore have several plates of metal made of
the same size and thickness  all drawn through the same gauge so as
to come out in strips  And out of  24  these strips you will stamp
the coins  quite round  as sieves are made for sorting chestnuts
 27   and these coins can then be stamped in the way indicated
above   c 

 31  The hollow of the die must be uniformly wider than the lower 
but imperceptibly  35  

This cuts the coins perfectly round and of the exact thickness  and
weight  and saves the man who cuts and weighs  and the man who makes
the coins round  Hence it passes only through the hands of the
gauger and of the stamper  and the coins are very superior 
 Footnote  See Pl  LXXVI No  2  The text of lines 31 35 stands
parallel 1  24 27 

Farther evidence of Leonardo s occupations and engagements at Rome
under Pope Leo X  may be gathered from some rough copies of letters
which will be found in this volume  Hitherto nothing has been known
of his work in Rome beyond some doubtful  and perhaps mythical 
statements in Vasari  

727 

POWDER FOR MEDALS 

The incombustible growth of soot on wicks reduced to powder  burnt
tin and all the metals  alum  isinglass  smoke from a brass forge 
each ingredient to be moistened  with aqua vitae or malmsey or
strong malt vinegar  white wine or distilled extract of turpentine 
or oil  but there should be little moisture  and cast in moulds 
 Margin note  On the coining of medals  727  728     Footnote  The
meaning of  scagliuolo  in this passage is doubtful  

728 

OF TAKING CASTS OF MEDALS 

A paste of emery mixed with aqua vitae  or iron filings with
vinegar  or ashes of walnut leaves  or ashes of straw very finely
powdered 

 Footnote  The meaning of  scagliuolo  in this passage is doubtful  

The diameter is given in the lead enclosed  it is beaten with a
hammer and several times extended  the lead is folded and kept
wrapped up in parchment so that the powder may not be spilt  then
melt the lead  and the powder will be on the top of the melted lead 
which must then be rubbed between two plates of steel till it is
thoroughly pulverised  then wash it with aqua fortis  and the
blackness of the iron will be dissolved leaving the powder clean 

Emery in large grains may be broken by putting it on a cloth many
times doubled  and hit it sideways with the hammer  when it will
break up  then mix it little by little and it can be founded with
ease  but if you hold it on the anvil you will never break it  when
it is large 

Any one who grinds smalt should do it on plates of tempered steel
with a cone shaped grinder  then put it in aqua fortis  which melts
away the steel that may have been worked up and mixed with the
smalt  and which makes it black  it then remains purified and clean 
and if you grind it on porphyry the porphyry will work up and mix
with the smalt and spoil it  and aqua fortis will never remove it
because it cannot dissolve the porphyry 

If you want a fine blue colour dissolve the smalt made with tartar 
and then remove the salt 

Vitrified brass makes a fine red 

729 

STUCCO 

Place stucco over the prominence of the      which may be composed
of Venus and Mercury  and lay it well over that prominence of the
thickness of the side of a knife  made with the ruler and cover this
with the bell of a still  and you will have again the moisture with
which you applied the paste  The rest you may dry  Margin note  On
stucco  729  730     Footnote  In this passage a few words have been
written in a sort of cipher  that is to say backwards  as in l  3
 erenev  for  Venere   l  4  oirucrem  for Mercurio  l  12  il
orreve co ecarob  for  il everro     co borace   The meaning of the
word before   di giesso   in l  1 is unknown  and the sense  in
which  sagoma  is used here and in other passages is obscure   
 Venere  and  Mercurio  may mean  marble  and  lime   of which
stucco is composed 

12  The meaning of  orreve  is unknown  

well  afterwards fire it  and beat it or burnish it with a good
burnisher  and make it thick towards the side 

STUCCO 

Powder     with borax and water to a paste  and make stucco of it 
and then heat it so that it may dry  and then varnish it  with fire 
so that it shines well 

730 

STUCCO FOR MOULDING 

Take of butter 6 parts  of wax 2 parts  and as much fine flour as
when put with these 2 things melted  will make them as firm as wax
or modelling clay 

GLUE 

Take mastic  distilled turpentine and white lead 

On bronze casting generally  731 740  

731 

TO CAST 

Tartar burnt and powdered with plaster and cast cause the plaster to
hold together when it is mixed up again  and then it will dissolve
in water 

732 

TO CAST BRONZE IN PLASTER 

Take to every 2 cups of plaster 1 of ox horns burnt  mix them
together and make your cast with it 

733 

When you want to take a cast in wax  burn the scum with a candle 
and the cast will come out without bubbles 

734 

2 ounces of plaster to a pound of metal    walnut  which makes it
like the curve 

 Footnote  The second part of this is quite obscure  

735 

 Dried earth 16 pounds  100 pounds of metal wet clay 20   of wet
100  half   which increases 4 Ibs  of water   1 of wax  1 Ib  of
metal  a little less  the scrapings of linen with earth  measure for
measure    Footnote  The translation is given literally  but the
meaning is quite obscure  

736 

Such as the mould is  so will the cast be 

737 

HOW CASTS OUGHT TO BE POLISHED 

Make a bunch of iron wire as thick as thread  and scrub them with
 this and  water  hold a bowl underneath that it may not make a mud
below 

HOW TO REMOVE THE ROUGH EDGES FROM BRONZE 

Make an iron rod  after the manner of a large chisel  and with this
rub over those seams on the bronze which remain on the casts of the
guns  and which are caused by the joins in the mould  but make the
tool heavy enough  and let the strokes be long and broad 

TO FACILITATE MELTING 

First alloy part of the metal in the crucible  then put it in the
furnace  and this being in a molten state will assist in beginning
to melt the copper 

TO PREVENT THE COPPER COOLING IN THE FURNACE 

When the copper cools in the furnace  be ready  as soon as you
perceive it  to cut it with a long stick while it is still in a
paste  or if it is quite cold cut it as lead is cut with broad and
large chisels 

IF YOU HAVE TO MAKE A LARGE CAST 

If you have to make a cast of a hundred thousand pounds do it with
two furnaces and with 2000 pounds in each  or as much as 3000 pounds
at most 

738 

HOW TO PROCEED TO BREAK A LARGE MASS OF BRONZE 

If you want to break up a large mass of bronze  first suspend it 
and then make round it a wall on the four sides  like a trough of
bricks  and make a great fire therein  When it is quite red hot give
it a blow with a heavy weight raised above it  and with great force 

739 

TO COMBINE LEAD WITH OTHER METAL 

If you wish for economy in combining lead with the metal in order to
lessen the amount of tin which is necessary in the metal  first
alloy the lead with the tin and then add the molten copper 

How TO MELT  METAL  IN A FURNACE 

The furnace should be between four well founded pillars 

OF THE THICKNESS OF THE COATING 

The coating should not be more than two fingers thick  it should be
laid on in four thicknesses over fine clay and then well fixed  and
it should be fired only on the inside and then carefully covered
with ashes and cow s dung 

OF THE THICKNESS OF THE GUN 

The gun being made to carry 600 Ibs  of ball and more  by this rule
you will take the measure of the diameter of the ball and divide it
into 6 parts and one of these parts will be its thickness at the
muzzle  but at the breech it must always be half  And if the ball is
to be 700 lbs   1 7th of the diameter of the ball must be its
thickness in front  and if the ball is to be 800  the eighth of its
diameter in front  and if 900  1 8th and 1 2  3 16   and if 1000 
1 9th 

OF THE LENGTH OF THE BODY OF THE GUN 

If you want it to throw a ball of stone  make the length of the gun
to be 6  or as much as 7 diameters of the ball  and if the ball is
to be of iron make it as much as 12 balls  and if the ball is to be
of lead  make it as much as 18 balls  I mean when the gun is to have
the mouth fitted to receive 600 lbs  of stone ball  and more 

OF THE THICKNESS OF SMALL GUNS 

The thickness at the muzzle of small guns should be from a half to
one third of the diameter of the ball  and the length from 30 to 36
balls 

740 

OF LUTING THE FURNACE WITHIN 

The furnace must be luted before you put the metal in it  with earth
from Valenza  and over that with ashes 

 Footnote 1  2    Terra di Valenza    Valenza is north of
Alessandria on the Po  

OF RESTORING THE METAL WHEN IT IS BECOMING COOL 

When you see that the bronze is congealing take some willow wood cut
in small chips and make up the fire with it 

THE CAUSE OF ITS CURDLING 

I say that the cause of this congealing often proceeds from too much
fire  or from ill dried wood 

TO KNOW THE CONDITION OF THE FIRE 

You may know when the fire is good and fit for your purpose by a
clear flame  and if you see the tips of the flames dull and ending
in much smoke do not trust it  and particularly when the flux metal
is almost fluid 

OF ALLOYING THE METAL 

Metal for guns must invariably be made with 6 or even 8 per cent 
that is 6 of tin to one hundred of copper  for the less you put in 
the stronger will the gun be 

WHEN THE TIN SHOULD BE ADDED TO THE COPPER 

The tin should be put in with the copper when the copper is reduced
to a fluid 

HOW TO HASTEN THE MELTING 

You can hasten the melting when 2 3ds of the copper is fluid  you
can then  with a stick of chestnut wood  repeatedly stir what of
copper remains entire amidst what is melted 

 Introductory Observations on the Architectural Designs  XII   and
Writings on Architecture  XIII   

 Until now very little has been known regarding Leonardo s labours
in the domain of Architecture  No building is known to have been
planned and executed by him  though by some contemporary writers
incidental allusion is made to his occupying himself with
architecture  and his famous letter to Lodovico il Moro   which has
long been a well known document   in which he offers his service as
an architect to that prince  tends to confirm the belief that he was
something more than an amateur of the art  This hypothesis has
lately been confirmed by the publication of certain documents 
preserved at Milan  showing that Leonardo was not only employed in
preparing plans but that he took an active part  with much credit 
as member of a commission on public buildings  his name remains
linked with the history of the building of the Cathedral at Pavia
and that of the Cathedral at Milan  

 Leonardo s writings on Architecture are dispersed among a large
number of MSS   and it would be scarcely possible to master their
contents without the opportunity of arranging  sorting and comparing
the whole mass of materials  so as to have some comprehensive idea
of the whole  The sketches  when isolated and considered by
themselves  might appear to be of but little value  it is not till
we understand their general purport  from comparing them with each
other  that we can form any just estimate of their true worth  

 Leonardo seems to have had a project for writing a complete and
separate treatise on Architecture  such as his predecessors and
contemporaries had composed  Leon Battista Alberti  Filarete 
Francesco di Giorgio and perhaps also Bramante  But  on the other
hand  it cannot be denied that possibly no such scheme was connected
with the isolated notes and researches  treating on special
questions  which are given in this work  that he was merely working
at problems in which  for some reason or other he took a special
interest  

 A great number of important buildings were constructed in Lombardy
during the period between 1472 and 1499  and among them there are
several by unknown architects  of so high an artistic merit  that it
is certainly not improbable that either Bramante or Leonardo da
Vinci may have been  directly or indirectly  concerned in their
erection  

 Having been engaged  for now nearly twenty years  in a thorough
study of Bramante s life and labours  I have taken a particular
interest in detecting the distinguishing marks of his style as
compared with Leonardo s  In 1869 I made researches about the
architectural drawings of the latter in the Codex Atlanticus at
Milan  for the purpose of finding out  if possible the original
plans and sketches of the churches of Santa Maria delle Grazie at
Milan  and of the Cathedral at Pavia  which buildings have been
supposed to be the work both of Bramante and of Leonardo  Since 1876
I have repeatedly examined Leonardo s architectural studies in the
collection of his manuscripts in the Institut de France  and some of
these I have already given to the public in my work on   Les Projets
Primitifs pour la Basilique de St  Pierre de Rome    P1  43  In 1879
I had the opportunity of examining the manuscript in the Palazzo
Trivulzio at Milan  and in 1880 Dr Richter showed me in London the
manuscripts in the possession of Lord Ashburnham  and those in the
British Museum  I have thus had opportunities of seeing most of
Leonardo s architectural drawings in the original  but of the
manuscripts tliemselves I have deciphered only the notes which
accompany the sketches  It is to Dr Richter s exertions that we owe
the collected texts on Architecture which are now published  and
while he has undertaken to be responsible for the correct reading of
the original texts  he has also made it his task to extract the
whole of the materials from the various MSS  It has been my task to
arrange and elucidate the texts under the heads which have been
adopted in this work  MS  B  at Paris and the Codex Atlanticus at
Milan are the chief sources of our knowledge of Leonardo as an
architect  and I have recently subjected these to a thorough
re investigation expressly with a view to this work  

 A complete reproduction of all Leonardo s architectural sketches
has not  indeed  been possible  but as far as the necessarily
restricted limits of the work have allowed  the utmost completeness
has been aimed at  and no efforts have been spared to include every
thing that can contribute to a knowledge of Leonardo s style  It
would have been very interesting  if it had been possible  to give
some general account at least of Leonardo s work and studies in
engineering  fortification  canal making and the like  and it is
only on mature reflection that we have reluctantly abandoned this
idea  Leonardo s occupations in these departments have by no means
so close a relation to literary work  in the strict sense of the
word as we are fairly justified in attributing to his numerous notes
on Architecture  

 Leonardo s architectural studies fall naturally under two heads  

 I  Those drawings and sketches  often accompanied by short remarks
and explanations  which may be regarded as designs for buildings or
monuments intended to be built  With these there are occasionally
explanatory texts  

 II  Theoretical investigations and treatises  A special interest
attaches to these because they discuss a variety of questions which
are of practical importance to this day  Leonardo s theory as to the
origin and progress of cracks in buildings is perhaps to be
considered as unique in its way in the literature of Architecture  

 HENRY DE GEYMULLER 

 XII  

 Architectural Designs  

 I  Plans for towns  

 A  Sketches for laying out a new town with a double system of high 
level and low level road ways  

 Pl  LXXVII  No  1  MS  B  15b   A general view of a town  with the
roads outside it sloping up to the high level ways within  

 Pl  LXXVII  No  3  MS  B  16b  see No  741  and MS  B  15b  see No 
742  gives a partial view of the town  with its streets and houses 
with explanatory references  

 Pl  LXXVII  No  2  MS  B  15b  see No  743   View of a double
staircaise with two opposite flights of steps  

 Pl  LXXVIII  Nos  2 and 3  MS  B  37a   Sketches illustrating the
connection of the two levels of roads by means of steps  The lower
galleries are lighted by openings in the upper roadway  

 B  Notes on removing houses  MS  Br  M   270b  see No  744   

741 

The roads  m  are 6 braccia higher than the roads  p s   and each
road must be 20 braccia wide and have 1 2 braccio slope from the
sides towards the middle  and in the middle let there be at every
braccio an opening  one braccio long and one finger wide  where the
rain water may run off into hollows made on the same level as  p s  
And on each side at the extremity of the width of the said road let
there be an arcade  6 braccia broad  on columns  and understand that
he who would go through the whole place by the high level streets
can use them for this purpose  and he who would go by the low level
can do the same  By the high streets no vehicles and similar objects
should circulate  but they are exclusively for the use of gentlemen 
The carts and burdens for the use and convenience of the inhabitants
have to go by the low ones  One house must turn its back to the
other  leaving the lower streets between them  Provisions  such as
wood  wine and such things are carried in by the doors  n   and
privies  stables and other fetid matter must be emptied away
underground  From one arch to the next

742 

must be 300 braccia  each street receiving its light through the
openings of the upper streets  and at each arch must be a winding
stair on a circular plan because the corners of square ones are
always fouled  they must be wide  and at the first vault there must
be a door entering into public privies and the said stairs lead from
the upper to the lower streets and the high level streets begin
outside the city gates and slope up till at these gates they have
attained the height of 6 braccia  Let such a city be built near the
sea or a large river in order that the dirt of the city may be
carried off by the water 

743 

The construction of the stairs  The stairs  c d  go down to  f g  
and in the same way  f g  goes down to  h k  

744 

ON MOVING HOUSES 

Let the houses be moved and arranged in order  and this will be done
with facility because such houses are at first made in pieces on the
open places  and can then be fitted together with their timbers in
the site where they are to be permanent 

 9  Let the men of the country  or the village  partly inhabit the
new houses when the court is absent  12  

 Footnote  On the same page we find notes referring to Romolontino
and Villafranca with a sketch map of the course of the  Sodro  and
the   Lo cra   both are given in the text farther on   There can
hardly be a doubt that the last sentence of the passage given above 
refers to the court of Francis I  King of France   L 9 13 are
written inside the larger sketch  which  in the original  is on the
right hand side of the page by the side of lines 1 8  The three
smaller sketches are below  J  P  R  

 II  Plans for canals and streets in a town 

Pl  LXXIX  1  and 2   MS  B  37b  see No  745  and MS  B  36a  see
No  746   A Plan for streets and canals inside a town  by which the
cellars of the houses are made accessible in boats 

The third text given under No  747 refers to works executed by
Leonardo in France  

745 

The front  a m  will give light to the rooms   a e  will be 6
braccia   a b  8 braccia    b e  30 braccia  in order that the rooms
under the porticoes may be lighted   c d f  is the place where the
boats come to the houses to be unloaded  In order to render this
arrangement practicable  and in order that the inundation of the
rivers may not penetrate into the cellars  it is necessary to chose
an appropriate situation  such as a spot near a river which can be
diverted into canals in which the level of the water will not vary
either by inundations or drought  The construction is shown below 
and make choice of a fine river  which the rains do not render
muddy  such as the Ticino  the Adda and many others   Footnote 12 
 Tesino  Adda e molti altri  i e   rivers coming from the mountains
and flowing through lakes   The construction to oblige the waters to
keep constantly at the same level will be a sort of dock  as shown
below  situated at the entrance of the town  or better still  some
way within  in order that the enemy may not destroy it  14  

 Footnote  L  1 4 are on the left hand side and within the sketch
given on Pl  LXXIX  No  I  Then follows after line 14  the drawing
of a sluicegate   conca   of which the use is explained in the text
below it  On the page 38a  which comes next in the original MS  is
the sketch of an oval plan of a town over which is written   modo di
canali per la citta   and through the longer axis of it   canale
magior   is written with   Tesino   on the prolongation of the
canal  J  P  R  

746 

Let the width of the streets be equal to the average height of the
houses 

747 

The main underground channel does not receive turbid water  but that
water runs in the ditches outside the town with four mills at the
entrance and four at the outlet  and this may be done by damming the
water above Romorantin 

 11 There should be fountains made in each piazza 13  

 Footnote  In the original this text comes immediately after the
passage given as No  744  The remainder of the writing on the same
page refers to the construction of canals and is given later  in the
 Topographical Notes  

Lines 1 11 are written to the right of the plan lines 11 13
underneath it  J  P  R  

 Footnote 10   Romolontino  is Romorantin  South of Orleans in
France  

 III  Castles and Villas 

A  Castles 

Pl  LXXX  No  1  P  V  fol  39b  No  d ordre 2282   The fortified
place here represented is said by Vallardi to be the   castello   at
Milan  but without any satisfactory reason  The high tower behind
the   rivellino   ravelin  seems to be intended as a watch tower 

Pl  LXXX  No  2  MS  B  23b   A similarly constructed tower probably
intended for the same use 

Pl  LXXX  No  3  MS  B   Sketches for corner towers with steps for a
citadel 

Pl  LXXX  No  4  W  XVI   A cupola crowning a corner tower  an
interesting example of decorative fortification  In this
reproduction of the original pen and ink drawing it appears
reversed 

B  Projects for Palaces 

Pl  LXXXI  No  2  MS  C  A  75b  221a  see No  748   Project for a
royal residence at Amboise in France 

Pl  LXXXII  No  1  C  A 308a  939a   A plan for a somewhat extensive
residence  and various details  but there is no text to elucidate
it  in courts are written the three names 

Sam                   cosi                   giova
         St  Mark               Cosmo                   John   
arch                   mo                     nino

C  Plans for small castles or Villas 

The three following sketches greatly resemble each other  Pl 
LXXXII  No  2  MS  K3 36b  see No  749   

 Pl  LXXXII  No  3  MS  B 60a  See No  750  

Pl  LXXXIII  W  XVII   The text on this sheet refers to Cyprus  see
Topographical Notes No  1103   but seems to have no direct
connection with the sketches inserted between 

Pl  LXXXVIII  Nos  6 and 7  MS  B  12a  see No  751   A section of a
circular pavilion with the plan of a similar building by the side of
it  These two drawings have a special historical interest because
the text written below mentions the Duke and Duchess of Milan 

The sketch of a villa on a terrace at the end of a garden occurs in
C  A  150  and in C  A  77b  225b is another sketch of a villa
somewhat resembling the  Belvedere  of Pope Innocent VIII  at Rome 
In C  A  62b  193b there is a Loggia 

Pl  LXXXII  No  4  C  A  387a  1198a  is a tower shaped  Loggia
 above a fountain  The machinery is very ingeniously screened from
view  

748 

The Palace of the prince must have a piazza in front of it 

Houses intended for dancing or any kind of jumping or any other
movements with a multitude of people  must be on the ground  floor 
for I have already witnessed the destruction of some  causing death
to many persons  and above all let every wall  be it ever so thin 
rest on the ground or on arches with a good foundation 

Let the mezzanines of the dwellings be divided by walls made of very
thin bricks  and without wood on account of fire 

Let all the privies have ventilation  by shafts  in the thickness of
the walls  so as to exhale by the roofs 

The mezzanines should be vaulted  and the vaults will be stronger in
proportion as they are of small size 

The ties of oak must be enclosed in the walls in order to be
protected from fire 

 Footnote  The remarks accompanying the plan reproduced on Pl 
LXXXI  No  2 are as follows  Above  to the left    in  a  angholo
stia la guardia de la sstalla    in the angle  a  may be the keeper
of the stable   Below are the words   strada dabosa    road to
Amboise   parallel with this   fossa br 40    the moat 40 braccia 
fixing the width of the moat  In the large court surrounded by a
portico   in terre No   Largha br 80 e lugha br 120    To the right
of the castle is a large basin for aquatic sports with the words
  Giostre colle nave cioe li giostra li stieno sopra le na  
 Jousting in boats that is the men are to be in boats   J  P  R  

The privies must be numerous and going one into the other in order
that the stench may not penetrate into the dwellings   and all their
doors must shut off themselves with counterpoises 

The main division of the facade of this palace is into two portions 
that is to say the width of the court yard must be half the whole
facade  the 2nd    

749 

30 braccia wide on each side  the lower entrance leads into a hall
10 braccia wide and 30 braccia long with 4 recesses each with a
chimney 

 Footnote  On each side of the castle  Pl  LXXXII  No  2 there are
drawings of details  to the left   Camino   a chimney  to the right
the central lantern  sketched in red   8 lati    i e   an octagon  

750 

The firststorey  or terrace  must be entirely solid 

751 

The pavilion in the garden of the Duchess of Milan 

The plan of the pavilion which is in the middle of the labyrinth of
the Duke of Milan 

 Footnote  This passage was first published by AMORETTI in  Memorie
Storiche  Cap  X  Una sua opera da riportarsi a quest  anno fu il
bagno fatto per la duchessa Beatrice nel parco o giardino del
Castello  Lionardo non solo ne disegno il piccolo edifizio a foggia
di padiglione  nel cod  segnato Q  3  dandone anche separatamente la
pianta  ma sotto vi scrisse  Padiglione del giardino della duchessa 
e sotto la pianta  Fondamento del padiglione ch e nel mezzo del
labirinto del duca di Milano  nessuna data e presso il padiglione 
disegnato nella pagina 12  ma poco sopra fra molti circoli
intrecciati vedesi   10 Luglio 1492   e nella pagina 2 presso ad
alcuni disegni di legumi qualcheduno ha letto Settembre 1482 in vece
di 1492  come dovea scriverevi  e probabilmente scrisse Lionardo 

The original text however hardly bears the interpretation put upon
it by AMORETTI  He is mistaken as to the mark on the MS  as well as
in his statements as to the date  for the MS  in question has no
date  the date he gives occurs  on the contrary  in another
note book  Finally  it appears to me quite an open question whether
Leonardo was the architect who carried out the construction of the
dome like Pavilion here shown in section  or of the ground plan of
the Pavilion drawn by the side of it  Must we  in fact  suppose that
  il duca di Milano   here mentioned was  as has been generally
assumed  Ludovico il Moro  He did not hold this title from the
Emperor before 1494  till that date he was only called  Governatore 
and Leonardo in speaking of him  mentions him generally as   il
Moro   even after 1494  On January 18  1491  he married Beatrice
d Este the daughter of Ercole I  Duke of Ferrara  She died on the
2nd January 1497  and for the reasons I have given it seems
improbable that it should be this princess who is here spoken of as
the   Duchessa di Milano    From the style of the handwriting it
appears to me to be beyond all doubt that the MS  B  from which this
passage is taken  is older than the dated MSS  of 1492 and 1493  In
that case the Duke of Milan here mentioned would be Gian Galeazzo
 1469 1494  and the Duchess would be his wife Isabella of Aragon  to
whom he was married on the second February 1489  J  P  R  

752 

The earth that is dug out from the cellars must be raised on one
side so high as to make a terrace garden as high as the level of the
hall  but between the earth of the terrace and the wall of the
house  leave an interval in order that the damp may not spoil the
principal walls 

 IV  Ecclesiastical Architecture 

A  General Observations  

753 

A building should always be detached on all sides so that its form
may be seen 

 Footnote  The original text is reproduced on Pl  XCII  No  1 to the
left hand at the bottom  

754 

Here there cannot and ought not to be any  campanile   on the
contrary it must stand apart like that of the Cathedral and of San
Giovanni at Florence  and of the Cathedral at Pisa  where the
campanile is quite detached as well as the dome  Thus each can
display its own perfection  If however you wish to join it to the
church  make the lantern serve for the campanile as in the church at
Chiaravalle 

 Footnote  This text is written by the side of the plan given on Pl 
XCI  No  2  

 Footnote 12  The Abbey of Chiaravalle  a few miles from Milan  has
a central tower on the intersection of the cross in the style of
that of the Certosa of Pavia  but the style is mediaeval  A  D 
1330   Leonardo seems here to mean  that in a building  in which the
circular form is strongly conspicuous  the campanile must either be
separated  or rise from the centre of the building and therefore
take the form of a lantern  

755 

It never looks well to see the roofs of a church  they should rather
be flat and the water should run off by gutters made in the frieze 

 Footnote  This text is to the left of the domed church reproduced
on Pl  LXXXVII  No  2  

 B  The theory of Dome Architecture 

This subject has been more extensively treated by Leonardo in
drawings than in writing  Still we may fairly assume that it was his
purpose  ultimately to embody the results of his investigation in a 
 Trattato delle Cupole    The amount of materials is remarkably
extensive  MS  B is particularly rich in plans and elevations of
churches with one or more domes  from the simplest form to the most
complicated that can be imagined  Considering the evident connexion
between a great number of these sketches  as well as the
impossibility of seeing in them designs or preparatory sketches for
any building intended to be erected  the conclusion is obvious that
they were not designed for any particular monument  but were
theoretical and ideal researches  made in order to obtain a clear
understanding of the laws which must govern the construction of a
great central dome  with smaller ones grouped round it  and with or
without the addition of spires  so that each of these parts by
itself and in its juxtaposition to the other parts should produce
the grandest possible effect 

In these sketches Leonardo seems to have exhausted every imaginable
combination   Footnote 1  In MS  B  32b  see Pl  C III  No  2  we
find eight geometrical patterns  each drawn in a square  and in MS 
C A   fol  87 to 98 form a whole series of patterns done with the
same intention   The results of some of these problems are perhaps
not quite satisfactory  still they cannot be considered to give
evidence of a want of taste or of any other defect in Leonardo s
architectural capacity  They were no doubt intended exclusively for
his own instruction  and  before all  as it seems  to illustrate the
features or consequences resulting from a given principle  

 I have already  in another place    Footnote 1  Les Projets
Primitifs pour la Basilique de St  Pierre de Rome  par Bramante 
Raphael etc  Vol  I  p  2    pointed out the law of construction for
buildings crowned by a large dome  namely  that such a dome  to
produce the greatest effect possible  should rise either from the
centre of a Greek cross  or from the centre of a structure of which
the plan has some symmetrical affinity to a circle  this circle
being at the same time the centre of the whole plan of the building 

Leonardo s sketches show that he was fully aware  as was to be
expected  of this truth  Few of them exhibit the form of a Latin
cross  and when this is met with  it generally gives evidence of the
determination to assign as prominent a part as possible to the dome
in the general effect of the building 

While it is evident  on the one hand  that the greater number of
these domes had no particular purpose  not being designed for
execution  on the other hand several reasons may be found for
Leonardo s perseverance in his studies of the subject 

Besides the theoretical interest of the question for Leonardo and
his  Trattato  and besides the taste for domes prevailing at that
time  it seems likely that the intended erection of some building of
the first importance like the Duomos of Pavia and Como  the church
of Sta  Maria delle Grazie at Milan  and the construction of a Dome
or central Tower   Tiburio   on the cathedral of Milan  may have
stimulated Leonardo to undertake a general and thorough
investigation of the subject  whilst Leonardo s intercourse with
Bramante for ten years or more  can hardly have remained without
influence in this matter  In fact now that some of this great
Architect s studies for S  Peter s at Rome have at last become
known  he must be considered henceforth as the greatest master of
Dome Architecture that ever existed  His influence  direct or
indirect even on a genius like Leonardo seems the more likely  since
Leonardo s sketches reveal a style most similar to that of Bramante 
whose name indeed  occurs twice in Leonardo s manuscript notes  It
must not be forgotten that Leonardo was a Florentine  the
characteristic form of the two principal domes of Florence  Sta 
Maria del Fiore and the Battisterio  constantly appear as leading
features in his sketches 

The church of San Lorenzo at Milan  was at that time still intact 
The dome is to this day one of the most wonderful cupolas ever
constructed  and with its two smaller domes might well attract the
attention and study of a never resting genius such as Leonardo  A
whole class of these sketches betray in fact the direct influence of
the church of S  Lorenzo  and this also seems to have suggested the
plan of Bramante s dome of St  Peter s at Rome 

In the following pages the various sketches for the construction of
domes have been classified and discussed from a general point of
view  On two sheets  Pl  LXXXIV  C A  354b  118a  and Pl  LXXXV 
Nos  1 11  Ash  II  6b  we see various dissimilar types  grouped
together  thus these two sheets may be regarded as a sort of
nomenclature of the different types  on which we shall now have to
treat  

 1  Churches formed on the plan of a Greek cross 

Group I 

Domes rising from a circular base 

The simplest type of central building is a circular edifice 

Pl  LXXXIV  No  9  Plan of a circular building surrounded by a
colonnade 

Pl  LXXXIV  No  8  Elevation of the former  with a conical roof 

Pl  XC  No  5  A dodecagon  as most nearly approaching the circle 

Pl  LXXXVI  No  1  2  3  Four round chapels are added at the
extremities of the two principal axes   compare this plan with fig 
1 on p  44 and fig  3 on p  47  W  P  5b  where the outer wall is
octagonal 

Group II 

Domes rising from a square base 

The plan is a square surrounded by a colonnade  and the dome seems
to be octagonal 

Pl  LXXXIV  The square plan below the circular building No  8  and
its elevation to the left  above the plan  here the ground plan is
square  the upper storey octagonal  A further development of this
type is shown in two sketches C  A  3a  not reproduced here   and in

Pl  LXXXVI  No  5  which possibly belongs to No  7 on Pl  LXXXIV  

Pl  LXXXV  No  4  and p  45  Fig  3  a Greek cross  repeated p  45 
Fig  3  is another development of the square central plan 

The remainder of these studies show two different systems  in the
first the dome rises from a square plan   in the second from an
octagonal base  

 Group III 

Domes rising from a square base and four pillars   Footnote 1  The
ancient chapel San Satiro  via del Falcone  Milan  is a specimen of
this type   

a  First type   A Dome resting on four pillars in the centre of a
square edifice  with an apse in the middle  of each of the four
sides  We have eleven variations of this type 

aa  Pl  LXXXVIII  No  3 

bb  Pl  LXXX  No  5 

cc  Pl  LXXXV  Nos  2  3  5 

dd  Pl  LXXXIV  No  1 and 4 beneath 

ee  Pl  LXXXV  Nos  1  7  10  11  

b  Second type   This consists in adding aisles to the whole plan of
the first type  columns are placed between the apses and the aisles 
the plan thus obtained is very nearly identical with that of S 
Lorenzo at Milan 

Fig  1 on p  56   MS  B  75a  shows the result of this treatment
adapted to a peculiar purpose about which we shall have to say a few
words later on 

Pl  XCV  No  1  shows the same plan but with the addition of a short
nave  This plan seems to have been suggested by the general
arrangement of S  Sepolcro at Milan 

MS  B  57b  see the sketch reproduced on p 51   By adding towers in
the four outer angles to the last named plan  we obtain a plan which
bears the general features of Bramante s plans for S  Peter s at
Rome   Footnote 2  See  Les projets primitifs  etc   Pl  9 12    See
p  51 Fig  1  

Group IV 

Domes rising from an octagonal base 

This system  developed according to two different schemes  has given
rise to two classes with many varieties 

In a  On each side of the octagon chapels of equal form are added 

In b  The chapels are dissimilar  those which terminate the
principal axes being different in form from those which are added on
the diagonal sides of the octagon 

a  First Class 

The Chapel   degli Angeli    at Florence  built only to a height of
about 20 feet by Brunellesco  may be considered as the prototype of
this group  and  indeed it probably suggested it  The fact that we
see in MS  B  11b  Pl  XCIV  No  3  by the side of Brunellesco s
plan for the Basilica of Sto  Spirito at Florence  a plan almost
identical with that of the  Capella degli Angeli   confirms this
supposition  Only two small differences  or we may say improvements 
have been introduced by Leonardo  Firstly the back of the chapels
contains a third niche  and each angle of the Octagon a folded
pilaster like those in Bramante s  Sagrestia di S  M  presso San
Satiro  at Milan  instead of an interval between the two pilasters
as seen in the Battistero at Florence and in the Sacristy of Sto 
Spirito in the same town and also in the above named chapel by
Brunellesco 

The first set of sketches which come under consideration have at
first sight the appearance of mere geometrical studies  They seem to
have been suggested by the plan given on page 44 Fig  2  MS  B  55a 
in the centre of which is written   Santa Maria in perticha da
Pavia    at the place marked A on the reproduction 

a   MS  B  34b  page 44 Fig  3   In the middle of each side a column
is added  and in the axes of the intercolumnar spaces a second row
of columns forms an aisle round the octagon  These are placed at the
intersection of a system of semicircles  of which the sixteen
columns on the sides of the octagon are the centres 

b  The preceding diagram is completed and becomes more monumental in
style in the sketch next to it  MS  B  35a  see p  45 Fig  1   An
outer aisle is added by circles  having for radius the distance
between the columns in the middle sides of the octagon 

c   MS  B  96b  see p  45 Fig  2   Octagon with an aisle round it 
the angles of both are formed by columns  The outer sides are formed
by 8 niches forming chapels  The exterior is likewise octagonal 
with the angles corresponding to the centre of each of the interior
chapels 

Pl  XCII  No  2  MS  B  96b   Detail and modification of the
preceding plan  half columns against piers  an arrangement by which
the chapels of the aisle have the same width of opening as the inner
arches between the half columns  Underneath this sketch the
following note occurs   questo vole   avere 12 facce   co 12
tabernaculi   come    a     b     This will have twelve sides with
twelve tabernacles as  a b    In the remaining sketches of this
class the octagon is not formed by columns at the angles 

The simplest type shows a niche in the middle of each side and is
repeated on several sheets  viz  MS  B 3  MS  C A  354b  see Pl 
LXXXIV  No  11  and MS  Ash II 6b   see Pl  LXXXV  No  9 and the
elevations No  8  Pl  XCII  No  3  MS  B  4b  not reproduced here 
and Pl  LXXXIV  No  2   

 Pl  XCII  3  MS  B  56b  corresponds to a plan like the one in MS 
B 35a  in which the niches would be visible outside or  as in the
following sketch  with the addition of a niche in the middle of each
chapel 

Pl  XC  No  6  The niches themselves are surrounded by smaller
niches  see also No  1 on the same plate  

Octagon expanded on each side 

A  by a square chapel 

MS  B  34b  not reproduced here  

B  by a square with 3 niches 

MS  B  11b  see Pl  XCIV  No  3  

C  by octagonal chapels 

a  MS  B  21a  Pl  LXXXVIII  No  4 

b  No  2 on the same plate  Underneath there is the remark  
 quest e come le 8 cappele ano a essere facte    this is how the
eight chapels are to be executed  

c  Pl  LXXXVIII  No  5  Elevation to the plans on the same sheet  it
is accompanied by the note    ciasscuno de  9 tiburi no uole  
passare l alteza   di   2   quadri    neither of the 9 domes must
exceed the height of two squares  

d  Pl  LXXXVIII  No  1  Inside of the same octagon  MS  B  30a  and
34b  these are three repetitions of parts of the same plan with very
slight variations 

D  by a circular chapel 

MS  B  18a  see Fig  1 on page 47  gives the plan of this
arrangement in which the exterior is square on the ground floor with
only four of the chapels projecting  as is explained in the next
sketch 

Pl  LXXXIX  MS  B  17b  Elevation to the preceding plan sketched on
the opposite side of the sheet  and also marked A  It is accompanied
by the following remark  indicating the theoretical character of
these studies   questo   edifitio   anchora   starebbe   bene
affarlo dalla linja    a     b     c     d    insu     This edifice
would also produce a good effect if only the part above the lines  a
b  c d   were executed   

Pl  LXXXIV  No  11  The exterior has the form of an octagon  but the
chapels project partly beyond it  On the left side of the sketch
they appear larger than on the right side 

Pl  XC  No  1   MS  B  25b   Repetition of Pl  LXXXIV  No  11 

Pl  XC  No  2  Elevation to the plan No  1  and also to No  6 of the
same sheet  

 E  By chapels formed by four niches 

Pl  LXXXIV  No  7  the circular plan on the left below  shows this
arrangement in which the central dome has become circular inside and
might therefore be classed after this group   Footnote 1  This plan
and some others of this class remind us of the plan of the Mausoleum
of Augustus as it is represented for instance by Durand  See  Cab 
des Estampes  Bibliotheque Nationale  Paris  Topographie de Rome  V 
6  82   

The sketch on the right hand side gives most likely the elevation
for the last named plan 

F  By chapels of still richer combinations  which necessitate an
octagon of larger dimensions 

Pl  XCI  No  2  MS  Ash  11  8b   Footnote 2  The note accompanying
this plan is given under No  754    on this plan the chapels
themselves appear to be central buildings formed like the first type
of the third group  Pl  LXXXVIII  No  3 

Pl  XCI  No  2 above  the exterior of the preceding figure 
particularly interesting on account of the alternation of apses and
niches  the latter containing statues of a gigantic size  in
proportion to the dimension of the niches 

b  Second Class 

Composite plans of this class are generally obtained by combining
two types of the first class  the one worked out on the principal
axes  the other on the diagonal ones 

MS  B  22 shows an elementary combination  without any additions on
the diagonal axes  but with the dimensions of the squares on the two
principal axes exceeding those of the sides of the octagon 

In the drawing W  P  5b  see page 44 Fig  1  the exterior only of
the edifice is octagonal  the interior being formed by a circular
colonnade  round chapels are placed against the four sides of the
principal axes 

The elevation  drawn on the same sheet  see page 47 Fig  3   shows
the whole arrangement which is closely related with the one on Pl 
LXXXVI No  1  2 

MS  B  21a shows 

a  four sides with rectangular chapels crowned by pediments Pl 
LXXXVII No  3  plan and elevation  

b  four sides with square chapels crowned by octagonal domes  Pl 
LXXXVII No  4  the plan underneath 

MS  B  18a shows a variation obtained by replacing the round chapels
in the principal axes of the sketch MS  B  l8a by square ones  with
an apse  Leonardo repeated both ideas for better comparison side by
side  see page 47  Fig  2 

Pl  LXXXIX  MS  B  17b   Elevation for the preceding figure  The
comparison of the drawing marked M with the plan on page 47 Fig  2 
bearing the same mark  and of the elevation on Pl  LXXXIX below
 marked A  with the corresponding plan on page 47 is highly
instructive  as illustrating the spirit in which Leonardo pursued
these studies 

Pl  LXXXIV No  12 shows the design Pl  LXXXVII No  3 combined with
apses  with the addition of round chapels on the diagonal sides 

Pl  LXXXIV No  13 is a variation of the preceding sketch 

Pl  XC No  3  MS  B  25b  The round chapels of the preceding sketch
are replaced by octagonal chapels  above which rise campaniles 

Pl  XC No  4 is the elevation for the preceding plan 

Pl  XCII No  1   MS  B  39b    the plan below  On the principal as
well as on the diagonal axes are diagonal chapels  but the latter
are separated from the dome by semicircular recesses  The
communication between these eight chapels forms a square aisle round
the central dome 

Above this figure is the elevation  showing four campaniles on the
angles   Footnote 1  The note accompanying this drawing is
reproduced under No  753  

Pl  LXXXIV No  3  On the principal axes are square chapels with
three niches  on the diagonals octagonal chapels with niches  Cod 
Atl  340b gives a somewhat similar arrangement 

MS  B  30  The principal development is thrown on the diagonal axes
by square chapels with three niches  on the principal axes are inner
recesses communicating with outer ones 

The plan Pl  XCIII No  2  MS  B  22  differs from this only in so
far as the outer semicircles have become circular chapels 
projecting from the external square as apses  one of them serves as
the entrance by a semicircular portico 

The elevation is drawn on the left side of the plan 

MS  B  19  A further development of MS  B  18  by employing for the
four principal chapels the type Pl  LXXXVIII No  3  as we have
already seen in Pl  XCI No  2  the exterior presents two varieties 

a  The outer contour follows the inner   Footnote 2  These chapels
are here sketched in two different sizes  it is the smaller type
which is thus formed  

b  It is semicircular 

Pl  LXXXVII No  2  MS  B  18b  Elevation to the first variation MS 
B  19  If we were not certain that this sketch was by Leonardo  we
might feel tempted to take it as a study by Bramante for St  Peter s
at Rome   Footnote 3  See  Les projets primitifs Pl  43    

 MS  P  V  39b  In the principal axes the chapels of MS  B  19  and
semicircular niches on the diagonals  The exterior of the whole
edifice is also an octagon  concealing the form of the interior
chapels  but with its angles on their axes 

Group V 

Suggested by San Lorenzo at Milan 

In MS  C  A  266 IIb  8l2b there is a plan almost identical with
that of San Lorenzo  The diagonal sides of the irregular octagon are
not indicated 

If it could be proved that the arches which  in the actual church 
exist on these sides in the first story  were added in 1574 by
Martimo Bassi  then this plan and the following section would be
still nearer the original state of San Lorenzo than at present  A
reproduction of this slightly sketched plan has not been possible 
It may however be understood from Pl  LXXXVIII No  3  by suppressing
the four pillars corresponding to the apses 

Pl  LXXXVII No  1 shows the section in elevation corresponding with
the above named plan  The recessed chapels are decorated with large
shells in the halfdomes like the arrangement in San Lorenzo  but
with proportions like those of Bramante s Sacristy of Santa Maria
presso S  Satiro 

MS  C  A  266  a sheet containing three views of exteriors of Domes 
On the same sheet there is a plan similar to the one above named but
with uninterrupted aisles and with the addition of round chapels in
the axes  compare Pl  XCVII No  3 and page 44 Fig  1   perhaps a
reminiscence of the two chapels annexed to San Lorenzo   Leonardo
has here sketched the way of transforming this plan into a Latin
cross by means of a nave with side aisles 

Pl  XCI No  1  Plan showing a type deprived of aisles and comprised
in a square building which is surrounded by a portico  It is
accompanied by the following text  

756 

This edifice is inhabited  accessible  below and above  like San
Sepolcro  and it is the same above as below  except that the upper
story has the dome  c d   and the  Footnote  The church of San
Sepolcro at Milan  founded in 1030 and repeatedly rebuilt after the
middle of the XVIth century  still stands over the crypt of the
original structure   lower has the dome  a b   and when you enter
into the crypt  you descend 10 steps  and when you mount into the
upper you ascend 20 steps  which  with 1 3 braccio for each  make 10
braccia  and this is the height between one floor of the church and
the other 

 Above the plan on the same sheet is a view of the exterior  By the
aid of these two figures and the description  sections of the
edifice may easily be reconstructed  But the section drawn on the
left side of the building seems not to be in keeping with the same
plan  notwithstanding the explanatory note written underneath it 
 dentro il difitio di sopra   interior of the edifice
above  Footnote 1   The small inner dome corresponds to  a b  on the
plan  it rises from the lower church into the upper   above  and
larger  rises the dome  c d   The aisles above and below thus
correspond   e di sopra come di sotto  salvoche etc     The only
difference is  that in the section Leonardo has not taken the
trouble to make the form octagonal  but has merely sketched circular
lines in perspective   J  P  R    

 Before leaving this group  it is well to remark that the germ of it
seems already indicated by the diagonal lines in the plans Pl  LXXXV
No  11 and No  7  We shall find another application of the same type
to the Latin cross in Pl  XCVII No  3 

 2  Churches formed on the plan of a Latin cross 

We find among Leonardo s studies several sketches for churches on
the plan of the Latin cross  we shall begin by describing them  and
shall add a few observations 

A  Studies after existing Monuments 

Pl  XCIV No  2   MS  B  11b   Plan of Santo Spirito at Florence  a
basilica built after the designs of Brunellesco   Leonardo has added
the indication of a portico in front  either his own invention or
the reproduction of a now lost design 

Pl  XCV No  2  Plan accompanied by the words   A  e santo sepolcro
di milano di sopra  A  is the upper church of S  Sepolcro at Milan  
although since Leonardo s time considerably spoilt  it is still the
same in plan 

The second plan with its note   B  e la sua parte socto tera   B  is
its subterranean part  the crypt   still corresponds with the
present state of this part of the church as I have ascertained by
visiting the crypt with this plan  Excepting the addition of a few
insignificant walls  the state of this interesting part of the
church still conforms to Leonardo s sketch  but in the Vestibolo the
two columns near the entrance of the winding stairs are absent 

B  Designs or Studies 

PL  XCV No  1  Plan of a church evidently suggested by that of San
Sepolcro at Milan  The central part has been added to on the
principle of the second type of Group III  Leonardo has placed the 
 coro    choir  in the centre  

 Pl  XCVI No  2  In the plan the dome  as regards its interior 
belongs to the First Class of Group IV  and may be grouped with the
one in MS  B  35a  The nave seems to be a development of the type
represented in Pl  XCV No  2  B  by adding towers and two lateral
porticos Footnote 1  Already published in Les projets primitifs Pl 
XLIII   

On the left is a view of the exterior of the preceding plan  It is
accompanied by the following note  

757 

This building is inhabited below and above  the way up is by the
campaniles  and in going up one has to use the platform  where the
drums of the four domes are  and this platform has a parapet in
front  and none of these domes communicate with the church  but they
are quite separate 

 Pl  XCVI No  1  MS  C  A  16b  65a   Perspective view of a church
seen from behind  this recalls the Duomo at Florence  but with two
campaniles Footnote 2  Already published in the Saggio Pl  IX   

Pl  XCVII No  3  MS  B  52a   The central part is a development of
S  Lorenzo at Milan  such as was executed at the Duomo of Pavia 
There is sufficient analogy between the building actually executed
and this sketch to suggest a direct connection between them 
Leonardo accompanied Francesco di Giorgio Footnote 3  See MALASPINA 
il Duomo di Pavia  Documents   when the latter was consulted on June
21st  1490 as to this church  the fact that the only word
accompanying the plan is    sagrestia    seems to confirm our
supposition  for the sacristies were added only in 1492  i  e  four
years after the beginning of the Cathedral  which at that time was
most likely still sufficiently unfinished to be capable of receiving
the form of the present sketch 

Pl  XCVII No  2 shows the exterior of this design  Below is the
note   edifitio al proposito del fodameto figurato di socto
  edifice proper for the ground plan figured below  

Here we may also mention the plan of a Latin cross drawn in MS  C 
A  fol  266  see p  50  

Pl  XCIV No  1  MS  L  15b   External side view of Brunellesco s
Florentine basilica San Lorenzo  seen from the North 

Pl  XCIV No  4  V  A  V  1   Principal front of a nave  most likely
of a church on the plan of a Latin cross  We notice here not only
the principal features which were employed afterwards in Alberti s
front of S  Maria Novella  but even details of a more advanced
style  such as we are accustomed to meet with only after the year
1520 

In the background of Leonardo s unfinished picture of St  Jerome
 Vatican Gallery  a somewhat similar church front is indicated  see
the accompanying sketch  

 Illustration with caption  The view of the front of a temple 
apparently a dome in the centre of four corinthian porticos bearing
pediments  published by Amoretti Tav  II  B as being by Leonardo  
is taken from a drawing  now at the Ambrosian Gallery  We cannot
consider this to be by the hand of the master   

 C  Studies for a form of a Church most proper for preaching 

The problem as to what form of church might answer the requirements
of acoustics seems to have engaged Leonardo s very particular
attention  The designation of   teatro   given to some of these
sketches  clearly shows which plan seemed to him most favourable for
hearing the preacher s voice 

Pl  XCVII  No  1  MS  B  52   Rectangular edifice divided into three
naves with an apse on either side  terminated by a semicircular
theatre with rising seats  as in antique buildings  The pulpit is in
the centre  Leonardo has written on the left side of the sketch  
 teatro da predicare    Theatre for preaching  

MS  B  55a  see page 56  Fig  1   A domed church after the type of
Pl  XCV  No  1  shows four theatres occupying the apses and facing
the square   coro    choir   which is in the centre between the four
pillars of the dome  Footnote 1  The note  teatro de predicar   on
the right side is  I believe  in the handwriting of Pompeo Leoni  J 
P  R   The rising arrangement of the seats is shown in the sketch
above  At the place marked  B  Leonardo wrote  teatri per uldire
messa   rows of seats to hear mass   at  T teatri   and at  C coro
  choir  

In MS  C A  260  are slight sketches of two plans for rectangular
choirs and two elevations of the altar and pulpit which seem to be
in connection with these plans 

In MS  Ash II  8a  see p  56 and 57  Fig  2 and 3     Locho dove si
predica    Place for preaching   A most singular plan for a
building  The interior is a portion of a sphere  the centre of which
is the summit of a column destined to serve as the preacher s
pulpit  The inside is somewhat like a modern theatre  whilst the
exterior and the galleries and stairs recall the ancient
amphitheatres 

 Illustration with caption  Page 57  Fig  4  A plan accompanying the
two preceding drawings  If this gives the complete form Leonardo
intended for the edifice  it would have comprised only about two
thirds of the circle  Leonardo wrote in the centre   fondamento    a
word he often employed for plans  and on the left side of the view
of the exterior   locho dove si predicha   a place for preaching
in    

 D  Design for a Mausoleum 

Pl  XCVIII  P  V   182   No  d ordre 2386   In the midst of a hilly
landscape rises an artificial mountain in the form of a gigantic
cone  crowned by an imposing temple  At two thirds of the height a
terrace is cut out with six doorways forming entrances to galleries 
each leading to three sepulchral halls  so constructed as to contain
about five hundred funeral urns  disposed in the customary antique
style  From two opposite sides steps ascend to the terrace in a
single flight and beyond it to the temple above  A large circular
opening  like that in the Pantheon  is in the dome above what may be
the altar  or perhaps the central monument on the level of the
terrace below 

The section of a gallery given in the sketch to the right below
shows the roof to be constructed on the principle of superimposed
horizontal layers  projecting one beyond the other  and each
furnished with a sort of heel  which appears to be undercut  so as
to give the appearance of a beam from within  Granite alone would be
adequate to the dimensions here given to the key stone  as the
thickness of the layers can hardly be considered to be less than a
foot  In taking this as the basis of our calculation for the
dimensions of the whole construction  the width of the chamber would
be about 25 feet but  judging from the number of urns it
contains  and there is no reason to suppose that these urns were
larger than usual  it would seem to be no more than about 8 or 10
feet 

The construction of the vaults resembles those in the galleries of
some etruscan tumuli  for instance the Regulini Galeassi tomb at
Cervetri  lately discovered  and also that of the chamber and
passages of the pyramid of Cheops and of the treasury of Atreus at
Mycenae 

The upper cone displays not only analogies with the monuments
mentioned in the note  but also with Etruscan tumuli  such as the
Cocumella tomb at Vulci  and the Regulini Galeassi tomb  Footnote 1 
 See  FERSGUSON   Handbook of Architecture  I   291     The whole
scheme is one of the most magnificent in the history of
Architecture 

It would be difficult to decide as to whether any monument he had
seen suggested this idea to Leonardo  but it is worth while to
enquire  if any monument  or group of monuments of an earlier date
may be supposed to have done so   Footnote 2   There are  in
Algiers  two Monuments  commonly called   Le Madracen   and   Le
tombeau de la Chretienne    which somewhat resemble Leonardo s
design  They are known to have served as the Mausolea of the Kings
of Mauritania  Pomponius Mela  the geographer of the time of the
Emperor Claudius  describes them as having been   Monumentum commune
regiae gentis    See  Le Madracen  Rapport fait par M  le Grand
Rabbin AB  CAHEN  Constantine 1873  Memoire sur les fouilles
executees au Madras en    par le Colonel BRUNON  Constantine
l873   Deux Mausolees Africains  le Madracen et le tombeau de la
Chretienne par M  J  DE LAURIERE  Tours l874   Le tombeau de la
Chretienne  Mausolee des rois Mauritaniens par M  BERBRUGGER  Alger
1867    I am indebted to M  LE BLANC  of the Institut  and M  LUD 
LALANNE  Bibliothecaire of the Institut for having first pointed out
to me the resemblance between these monuments  while M  ANT  HERON
DE VlLLEFOSSE of the Louvre was kind enough to place the
abovementioned rare works at my disposal  Leonardo s observations on
the coast of Africa are given later in this work  The Herodium near
Bethlehem in Palestine   Jebel el Fureidis   the Frank Mountain 
was  according to the latest researches  constructed on a very
similar plan  See  Der Frankenberg  von Baurath C  SCHICK in
Jerusalem  Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina Vereins   Leipzag 
1880   Vol  III  pages  88 99  and Plates IV and V   J  P  R  

 E  Studies for the Central Tower  or Tiburio of Milan Cathedral 

Towards the end of the fifteenth century the Fabbricceria del Duomo
had to settle on the choice of a model for the crowning and central
part of this vast building  We learn from a notice published by G 
L  Calvi  Footnote  G  L  CALVI  Notizie sulla vita e sulle opere
dei principali architetti scultori e pittori che fiorirono in
Milano  Part III  20  See also  H  DE GEYMULLER  Les projets
primitifs etc  I  37 and 116 119   The Fabbricceria of the Duomo has
lately begun the publication of the archives  which may possibly
tell us more about the part taken by Leonardo  than has hitherto
been known   that among the artists who presented models in the year
1488 were  Bramante  Pietro da Gorgonzola  Luca Paperio  Fancelli  
and Leonardo da Vinci   

Several sketches by Leonardo refer to this important project 

Pl  XCIX  No  2  MS  S  K  III  No  36a  a small plan of the whole
edifice   The projecting chapels in the middle of the transept are
wanting here  The nave appears to be shortened and seems to be
approached by an inner  vestibolo    

Pl  C  No  2  Tr  21   Plan of the octagon tower  giving the
disposition of the buttresses  starting from the eight pillars
adjoining the four principal piers and intended to support the eight
angles of the Tiburio  These buttresses correspond exactly with
those described by Bramante as existing in the model presented by
Omodeo   Footnote  Bramante s opinion was first published by G 
MONGERl  Arch  stor  Lomb  V  fasc  3 and afterwards by me in the
publication mentioned in the preceding note  

Pl  C  3  MS  Tr  16   Two plans showing different arrangements of
the buttresses  which seem to be formed partly by the intersection
of a system of pointed arches such as that seen in   

Pl  C  No  5  MS  B  27a  destined to give a broader base to the
drum  The text underneath is given under No  788 

MS  B  3  three slight sketches of plans in connexion with the
preceding ones  

 Pl  XCIX  No 1  MS  Tr  15  contains several small sketches of
sections and exterior views of the Dome  some of them show
buttress walls shaped as inverted arches  Respecting these Leonardo
notes  

758 

L arco rivescio e migliore per fare spalla che l ordinario  perche
il rovescio trova sotto se muro resistete alla sua debolezza  e
l ordinario no trova nel suo debole se non aria

The inverted arch is better for giving a shoulder than the ordinary
one  because the former finds below it a wall resisting its
weakness  whilst the latter finds in its weak part nothing but air 

 Footnote   Three slight sketches of sections on the same
leaf  above those reproduced here  are more closely connected with
the large drawing in the centre of Pl  C  No  4  M S  Tr  41  which
shows a section of a very elevated dome  with double vaults 
connected by ribs and buttresses ingeniously disposed  so as to
bring the weight of the lantern to bear on the base of the dome 

A sketch underneath it shows a round pillar on which is indicated
which part of its summit is to bear the weight   il pilastro sara
charicho in   a   b    The column will bear the weight at a b  
Another note is above on the right side   Larcho regiera tanto sotto
asse chome di sopra se   The arch supports as much below it  i  e  a
hanging weight  as above it  

Pl  C  No  1  C  A  303a   Larger sketch of half section of the
Dome  with a very complicated system of arches  and a double vault 
Each stone is shaped so as to be knit or dovetailed to its
neighbours  Thus the inside of the Dome cannot be seen from below 

MS  C  A  303b  A repetition of the preceding sketch with very
slight modifications   

 Figs  1  and Fig  2  two sketeches of the dome 

MS  Tr  9  see Fig  1 and 2   Section of the Dome with reverted
buttresses between the windows  above which iron anchors or chains
seem to be intended  Below is the sketch of the outside  

 PI  XCIX  No  3  C  A   262a  four sketches of the exterior of the
Dome 

C  A  12  Section  showing the points of rupture of a gothic vault 
in evident connection with the sketches described above 

It deserves to be noticed how easily and apparently without effort 
Leonardo manages to combine gothic details and structure with the
more modern shape of the Dome 

The following notes are on the same leaf   oni cosa poderosa   and 
oni cosa poderosa desidera de scendere    farther below  several
multiplications most likely intended to calculate the weight of some
parts of the Dome  thus 16 x 47   720  720 x 800   176000  next to
which is written   peso del pilastro di 9 teste   weight of the
pillar 9 diameters high  

Below   176000 x 8   1408000   and below  

Semjlio e se ce 80     il peso del tiburio   six millions six
hundred     80 the weight of the Dome  

Bossi hazarded the theory that Leonardo might have been the
architect who built the church of Sta  Maria delle Grazie  but there
is no evidence to support this  either in documents or in the
materials supplied by Leonardos manuscripts and drawings  The sketch
given at the side shows the arrangement of the second and third
socle on the apses of the choir of that church  and it is remarkable
that those sketches  in MS  S  K  M  II2  2a and Ib  occur with the
passage given in Volume I as No  665 and 666 referring to the
composition of the Last Supper in the Refectory of that church   

 F  The Project for lifting up the Battistero of Florence and
setting it on a basement  

 Among the very few details Vasari gives as to the architectural
studies of Leonardo  we read   And among these models and designs
there was one by way of which he showed several times to many
ingenious citizens who then governed Florence  his readiness to lift
up without ruining it  the church of San Giovanni in Florence  the
Battistero  opposite the Duomo  in order to place under it the
missing basement with steps  he supported his assertions with
reasons so persuasive  that while he spoke the undertaking seemed
feasable  although every one of his hearers  when he had departed 
could see by himself the impossibility of so vast an undertaking   

 Footnote   This latter statement of Vasari s must be considered to
be exaggerated  I may refer here to some data given by  LIBRI 
Histoire des sciences mathematiques en Italie  II  216  217    On a
cru dans ces derniers temps faire un miracle en mecanique en
effectuant ce transport  et cependant des l annee 1455  Gaspard Nadi
et Aristote de Fioravantio avaient transporte  a une distance
considerable  la tour de la Magione de Bologne  avec ses fondements 
qui avait presque quatre vingts pieds de haut  Le continuateur de la
chronique de Pugliola dit que le trajet fut de 35 pieds et que
durant le transport auquel le chroniqueur affirme avoir assiste  il
arriva un accident grave qui fit pencher de trois pieds la tour
pendant qu elle etait suspendue  mais que cet accident fut
promptement repare  Muratori  Scriptores rer  ital  Tom  XVIII  col 
717  718   Alidosi a rapporte une note ou Nadi rend compte de ce
transport avec une rare simplicite  D apres cette note  on voit que
les operations de ce genre n etaient pas nouvelles  Celle ci ne
couta que 150 livres  monnaie d alors  y compris le cadeau que le
Legat fit aux deux mecaniciens  Dans la meme annee  Aristote
redressa le clocher de Cento  qui penchait de plus de cinq pieds
 Alidosi  instruttione p  188   Muratori  Scriptores rer  ital  
tom  XXIII  col  888   Bossii  chronica Mediol   1492  in fol  ad
ann  1455   On ne concoit pas comment les historiens des beaux arts
ont pu negliger de tels hommes   J  P  R  

 In the MS  C  A  fol  293  there are two sketches which possibly
might have a bearing on this bold enterprise  We find there a plan
of a circular or polygonal edifice surrounded by semicircular arches
in an oblique position  These may be taken for the foundation of the
steps and of the new platform  In the perspective elevation the same
edifice  forming a polygon  is shown as lifted up and resting on a
circle of inverted arches which rest on an other circle of arches in
the ordinary position  but so placed that the inverted arches above
rest on the spandrels of the lower range  

 What seems to confirm the supposition that the lifting up of a
building is here in question  is the indication of engines for
winding up  such as jacks  and a rack and wheel  As the lifting
apparatus represented on this sheet does not seem particularly
applicable to an undertaking of such magnitude  we may consider it
to be a first sketch or scheme for the engines to be used  

 G  Description of an unknown Temple  

759 

Twelve flights of steps led up to the great temple  which was eight
hundred braccia in circumference and built on an octagonal plan  At
the eight corners were eight large plinths  one braccia and a half
high  and three wide  and six long at the bottom  with an angle in
the middle  on these were eight great pillars  standing on the
plinths as a foundation  and twenty four braccia high  And on the
top of these were eight capitals three braccia long and six wide 
above which were the architrave frieze and cornice  four braccia and
a half high  and this was carried on in a straight line from one
pillar to the next and so  continuing for eight hundred braccia 
surrounded the whole temple  from pillar to pillar  To support this
entablature there were ten large columns of the same height as the
pillars  three braccia thick above their bases which were one
braccia and a half high 

The ascent to this temple was by twelve flights of steps  and the
temple was on the twelfth  of an octagonal form  and at each angle
rose a large pillar  and between the pillars were placed ten columns
of the same height as the pillars  rising at once from the pavement
to a height of twenty eight braccia and a half  and at this height
the architrave  frieze and cornice were placed which surrounded the
temple having a length of eight hundred braccia  At the same height 
and within the temple at the same level  and all round the centre of
the temple at a distance of 24 braccia farther in  are pillars
corresponding to the eight pillars in the angles  and columns
corresponding to those placed in the outer spaces  These rise to the
same height as the former ones  and over these the continuous
architrave returns towards the outer row of pillars and columns 

 Footnote  Either this description is incomplete  or  as seems to me
highly probable  it refers to some ruin  The enormous dimensions
forbid our supposing this to be any temple in Italy or Greece  Syria
was the native land of colossal octagonal buildings  in the early
centuries A  D  The Temple of Baalbek  and others are even larger
than that here described  J  P  R  

 V  Palace architecture 

But a small number of Leonardo s drawings refer to the architecture
of palaces  and our knowledge is small as to what style Leonardo
might have adopted for such buildings 

Pl  CII No  1  W  XVIII   A small portion of a facade of a palace
in two stories  somewhat resembling Alberti s Palazzo
Rucellai   Compare with this Bramante s painted front of the Casa
Silvestri  and a painting by Montorfano in San Pietro in Gessate at
Milan  third chapel on the left hand side and also with Bramante s
palaces at Rome  The pilasters with arabesques  the rustica between
them  and the figures over the window may be painted or in
sgraffito  The original is drawn in red chalk 

Pl  LXXXI No  1  MS  Tr  42   Sketch of a palace with battlements
and decorations  most likely graffiti  the details remind us of
those in the Castello at Vigevano    Footnote 1   Count GIULIO
PORRO  in his valuable contribution to the  Archivio Storico
Lombardo  Anno VIII  Fasc  IV  31 Dec  1881   Leonardo da Vinci 
Libro di Annotazioni e Memorie   refers to this in the following
note    Alla pag  41 vi e uno schizzo di volta ed accanto scrisse 
 il pilastro sara charicho in su 6  e potrebbe darsi che si
riferisse alla cupola della chiesa delle Grazie tanto piu che a
pag  42 vi e un disegno che rassomiglia assai al basamento che oggi
si vede nella parte esterna del coro di quella chiesa    This may
however be doubted  The drawing  here referred to  on page 41 of the
same manuscript  is reproduced on Pl  C No  4 and described on page
61 as being a study for the cupola of the Duomo of Milan   J  P  R  

 MS  Mz  0   contains a design for a palace or house with a loggia
in the middle of the first story  over which rises an attic with a
Pediment reproduced on page 67  The details drawn close by on the
left seem to indicate an arrangement of coupled columns against the
wall of a first story 

Pl  LXXXV No  14  MS  S  K  M  Ill 79a  contains a very slight
sketch in red chalk  which most probably is intended to represent
the facade of a palace  Inside is the short note 7 he 7  7 and 7   

 MS  J2 8a  see pages 68 Fig  1 and 2  contains a view of an unknown
palace  Its plan is indicated at the side  

 In MS  Br  M  126a see Fig  3 on page 68  there is a sketch of a
house  on which Leonardo notes  casa con tre terrazi  house with
three terraces   

 Pl  CX  No  4  MS  L  36b  represents the front of a fortified
building drawn at Cesena in 1502  see No  1040   

 Here we may also mention the singular building in the allegorical
composition represented on Pl  LVIII in Vol  I  In front of it
appears the head of a sphinx or of a dragon which seems to be
carrying the palace away  

 The following texts refer to the construction of palaces and other
buildings destined for private use  

760 

In the courtyard the walls must be half the height of its width 
that is if the court be 40 braccia  the house must be 20 high as
regards the walls of the said courtyard  and this courtyard must be
half as wide as the whole front 

 Footnote  See Pl  CI  no  1  and compare the dimensions here given 
with No  748 lines 26 29  and the drawing belonging to it Pl  LXXXI 
no  2  

On the dispositions of a stable 

761 

FOR MAKING A CLEAN STABLE 

The manner in which one must arrange a stable  You must first divide
its width in 3 parts  its depth matters not  and let these 3
divisions be equal and 6 braccia broad for each part and 10 high 
and the middle part shall be for the use of the stablemasters  the 2
side ones for the horses  each of which must be 6 braccia in width
and 6 in length  and be half a braccio higher at the head than
behind  Let the manger be at 2 braccia from the ground  to the
bottom of the rack  3 braccia  and the top of it 4 braccia  Now  in
order to attain to what I promise  that is to make this place 
contrary to the general custom  clean and neat  as to the upper part
of the stable  i  e  where the hay is  that part must have at its
outer end a window 6 braccia high and 6 broad  through which by
simple means the hay is brought up to the loft  as is shown by the
machine  E   and let this be erected in a place 6 braccia wide  and
as long as the stable  as seen at  k p   The other two parts  which
are on either side of this  are again divided  those nearest to the
hay loft are 4 braccia   p s   and only for the use and circulation
of the servants belonging to the stable  the other two which reach
to the outer walls are 2 braccia  as seen at  s k   and these are
made for the purpose of giving hay to the mangers  by means of
funnels  narrow at the top and wide over the manger  in order that
the hay should not choke them  They must be well plastered and clean
and are represented at 4  f s   As to the giving the horses water 
the troughs must be of stone and above them  cisterns of  water  The
mangers may be opened as boxes are uncovered by raising the lids 
 Footnote  See Pl  LXXVIII  No 1  

Decorations for feasts 

762 

THE WAY TO CONSTRUCT A FRAME WORK FOR DECORATING BUILDINGS 

The way in which the poles ought to be placed for tying bunches of
juniper on to them  These poles must lie close to the framework of
the vaulting and tie the bunches on with osier withes  so as to clip
them even afterwards with shears 

Let the distance from one circle to another be half a braccia  and
the juniper  sprigs  must lie top downwards  beginning from below 

Round this column tie four poles to which willows about as thick as
a finger must be nailed and then begin from the bottom and work
upwards with bunches of juniper sprigs  the tops downwards  that is
upside down   Footnote  See Pl  CII  No  3  The words here given as
the title line  lines 1  4  are the last in the original MS   Lines
5  16 are written under fig  4  

763 

The water should be allowed to fall from the whole circle  a b  
 Footnote  Other drawings of fountains are given on Pl  CI  W  XX  
the original is a pen and ink drawing on blue paper  on Pl  CIII
 MS  B   and Pl  LXXXII  

 VI  Studies of architectural details  

 Several of Leonardo s drawings of architectural details prove that 
like other great masters of that period  he had devoted his
attention to the study of the proportion of such details  As every
organic being in nature has its law of construction and growth 
these masters endeavoured  each in his way  to discover and prove a
law of proportion in architecture  The following notes in Leonardo s
manuscripts refer to this subject  

 MS  S  K  M  Ill  47b  see Fig  1   A diagram  indicating the rules
as given by Vitruvius and by Leon Battista Alberti for the
proportions of the Attic base of a column  

 MS  S  K  M  Ill 55a  see Fig  2   Diagram showing the same rules  

764 

B toro superiore                   toro superiore
2B nestroli                      astragali quadre
3B orbiculo                               troclea
4B nestroli                      astragali quadre
5B toro iferiore                    toro iferiore
6B latastro                               plintho

 Footnote  No explanation can be offered of the meaning of the
letter B  which precedes each name  It may be meant for  basa 
 base   Perhaps it refers to some author on architecture or an
architect  Bramante   who employed the designations  thus marked for
the mouldings  3   troclea   Philander   Trochlea sive trochalia aut
rechanum   6   Laterculus  or  latastrum  is the Latin name for
 Plinthus   pi lambda Xiv  but Vitruvius adopted this Greek name
and  latastro  seems to have been little in use  It is to be found
besides the text given above  as far as I am aware  only two
drawings of the Uffizi Collection  where in one instance  it
indicates the  abacus  of a Doric capital  

765 

STEPS OF URRBINO 

The plinth must be as broad as the thickness of the wall against
which the plinth is built   Footnote  See Pl  CX No  3  The hasty
sketch on the right hand side illustrates the unsatisfactory effect
produced when the plinth is narrower than the wall  

766 

The ancient architects        beginning with the Egyptians     who 
as Diodorus Siculus writes  were the first to build and construct
large cities and castles  public and private buildings of fine form 
large and well proportioned      

The column  which has its thickness at the third part      The one
which would be thinnest in the middle  would break      the one
which is of equal thickness and of equal strength  is better for the
edifice  The second best as to the usefulness will be the one whose
greatest thickness is where it joins with the base 

 Footnote  See Pl  CIII  No  3  where the sketches belonging to
lines 10  16 are reproduced  but reversed  The sketch of columns 
here reproduced by a wood cut  stands in the original close to lines
5  8  

The capital must be formed in this way  Divide its thickness at the
top into 8  at the foot make it 5 7  and let it be 5 7 high and you
will have a square  afterwards divide the height into 8 parts as you
did for the column  and then take 1 8 for the echinus and another
eighth for the thickness of the abacus on the top of the capital 
The horns of the abacus of the capital have to project beyond the
greatest width of the bell 2 7  i  e  sevenths of the top of the
bell  so 1 7 falls to the projection of each horn  The truncated
part of the horns must be as broad as it is high  I leave the rest 
that is the ornaments  to the taste of the sculptors  But to return
to the columns and in order to prove the reason of their strength or
weakness according to their shape  I say that when the lines
starting from the summit of the column and ending at its base and
their direction and length      their distance apart or width may be
equal  I say that this column    

767 

The cylinder of a body columnar in shape and its two opposite ends
are two circles enclosed between parallel lines  and through the
centre of the cylinder is a straight line  ending at the centre of
these circles  and called by the ancients the axis 

 Footnote  Leonardo wrote these lines on the margin of a page of the
Trattato di Francesco di Giorgio  where there are several drawings
of columns  as well as a head drawn in profile inside an outline
sketch of a capital  

768 

 a b  is 1 3 of  n m    m o  is 1 6 of  r o   The ovolo projects 1 6
of  r o    s  7 1 5 of  r o    a b  is divided into 9 1 2  the
abacus is 3 9 the ovolo 4 9  the bead moulding and the fillet 2 9
and 1 2 

 Footnote  See Pl  LXXXV  No  16  In the original the drawing and
writing are both in red chalk  

 Pl  LXXXV No  6  MS  Ash  II 6b  contains a small sketch of a
capital with the following note  written in three lines   I chorni
del capitelo deono essere la quarta parte d uno quadro   The horns
of a capital must measure the fourth part of a square   

 MS  S  K  M  III 72b contains two sketches of ornamentations of
windows  

 In MS  C  A  308a  938a  see Pl  LXXXII No  1  there are several
sketches of columns  One of the two columns on the right is similar
to those employed by Bramante at the Canonica di S  Ambrogio  The
same columns appear in the sketch underneath the plan of a castle 
There they appear coupled  and in two stories one above the other 
The archivolls which seem to spring out of the columns  are shaped
like twisted cords  meant perhaps to be twisted branches  The walls
between the columns seem to be formed out of blocks of wood  the
pedestals are ornamented with a reticulated pattern  From all this
we may suppose that Leonardo here had in mind either some festive
decoration  or perhaps a pavilion for some hunting place or park 
The sketch of columns marked  35  gives an example of columns shaped
like candelabra  a form often employed at that time  particularly in
Milan  and the surrounding districts for instance in the Cortile di
Casa Castiglione now Silvestre  in the cathedral of Como  at Porta
della Rana  c  

769 

CONCERNING ARCHITRAVES OF ONE OR SEVERAL PIECES 

An architrave of several pieces is stronger than that of one single
piece  if those pieces are placed with their length in the direction
of the centre of the world  This is proved because stones have their
grain or fibre generated in the contrary direction i  e  in the
direction of the opposite horizons of the hemisphere  and this is
contrary to fibres of the plants which have    

 Footnote  The text is incomplete in the original  

 The Proportions of the stories of a building are indicated by a
sketch in MS  S  K  M  II2 11b  see Pl  LXXXV No  15   The measures
are written on the left side  as follows  br 1 1 2  6 3 4  br
1 12  2 br  9 e 1 2  1 1 2  br 5  o 9  o 3  br braccia  o oncie  

Pl  LXXXV No  13  MS  B  62a  and Pl  XCIII No  1   MS  B  15a  give
a few examples of arches supported on piers  

 XIII 

Theoretical writings on Architecture 

Leonardo s original writings on the theory of Architecture have come
down to us only in a fragmentary state  still  there seems to be no
doubt that he himself did not complete them  It would seem that
Leonardo entertained the idea of writing a large and connected book
on Architecture  and it is quite evident that the materials we
possess  which can be proved to have been written at different
periods  were noted down with a more or less definite aim and
purpose  They might all be collected under the one title   Studies
on the Strength of Materials   Among them the investigations on the
subject of fissures in walls are particularly thorough  and very
fully reported  these passages are also especially interesting 
because Leonardo was certainly the first writer on architecture who
ever treated the subject at all  Here  as in all other cases
Leonardo carefully avoids all abstract argument  His data are not
derived from the principles of algebra  but from the laws of
mechanics  and his method throughout is strictly experimental 

Though the conclusions drawn from his investigations may not have
that precision which we are accustomed to find in Leonardo s
scientific labours  their interest is not lessened  They prove at
any rate his deep sagacity and wonderfully clear mind  No one
perhaps  who has studied these questions since Leonardo  has
combined with a scientific mind anything like the artistic delicacy
of perception which gives interest and lucidity to his observations 

I do not assert that the arrangement here adopted for the passages
in question is that originally intended by Leonardo  but their
distribution into five groups was suggested by the titles  or
headings  which Leonardo himself prefixed to most of these notes 
Some of the longer sections perhaps should not  to be in strict
agreement with this division  have been reproduced in their entirety
in the place where they occur  But the comparatively small amount of
the materials we possess will render them  even so  sufficiently
intelligible to the reader  it did not therefore seem necessary or
desirable to subdivide the passages merely for the sake of strict
classification  

 The small number of chapters given under the fifth class  treating
on the centre of gravity in roof beams  bears no proportion to the
number of drawings and studies which refer to the same subject  Only
a small selection of these are reproduced in this work since the
majority have no explanatory text  

I 

ON FISSURES IN WALLS 

770 

First write the treatise on the causes of the giving way of walls
and then  separately  treat of the remedies 

Parallel fissures constantly occur in buildings which are erected on
a hill side  when the hill is composed of stratified rocks with an
oblique stratification  because water and other moisture often
penetrates these oblique seams carrying in greasy and slippery soil 
and as the strata are not continuous down to the bottom of the
valley  the rocks slide in the direction of the slope  and the
motion does not cease till they have reached the bottom of the
valley  carrying with them  as though in a boat  that portion of the
building which is separated by them from the rest  The remedy for
this is always to build thick piers under the wall which is
slipping  with arches from one to another  and with a good scarp and
let the piers have a firm foundation in the strata so that they may
not break away from them 

In order to find the solid part of these strata  it is necessary to
make a shaft at the foot of the wall of great depth through the
strata  and in this shaft  on the side from which the hill slopes 
smooth and flatten a space one palm wide from the top to the bottom 
and after some time this smooth portion made on the side of the
shaft  will show plainly which part of the hill is moving 

 Footnote  See Pl  CIV  

771 

The cracks in walls will never be parallel unless the part of the
wall that separates from the remainder does not slip down 

WHAT IS THE LAW BY WHICH BUILDINGS HAVE STABILITY 

The stability of buildings is the result of the contrary law to the
two former cases  That is to say that the walls must be all built up
equally  and by degrees  to equal heights all round the building 
and the whole thickness at once  whatever kind of walls they may be 
And although a thin wall dries more quickly than a thick one it will
not necessarily give way under the added weight day by day and thus 
 16  although a thin wall dries more quickly than a thick one  it
will not give way under the weight which the latter may acquire from
day to day  Because if double the amount of it dries in one day  one
of double the thickness will dry in two days or thereabouts  thus
the small addition of weight will be balanced by the smaller
difference of time  18  

The adversary says that  a  which projects  slips down 

And here the adversary says that  r  slips and not  c  

HOW TO PROGNOSTICATE THE CAUSES OF CRACKS IN ANY SORT OF WALL 

The part of the wall which does not slip is that in which the
obliquity projects and overhangs the portion which has parted from
it and slipped down 

ON THE SITUATION OF FOUNDATIONS AND IN WHAT PLACES THEY ARE A CAUSE
OF RUIN 

When the crevice in the wall is wider at the top than at the bottom 
it is a manifest sign  that the cause of the fissure in the wall is
remote from the perpendicular line through the crevice 

 Footnote  Lines 1 5 refer to Pl  CV  No  2  Line 9  alle due
anteciedete   see on the same page 

Lines 16 18  The translation of this is doubtful  and the meaning in
any case very obscure 

Lines 19 23 are on the right hand margin close to the two sketches
on Pl  CII  No  3  

772 

OF CRACKS IN WALLS  WHICH ARE WIDE AT THE BOTTOM AND NARROW AT THE
TOP AND OF THEIR CAUSES 

That wall which does not dry uniformly in an equal time  always
cracks 

A wall though of equal thickness will not dry with equal quickness
if it is not everywhere in contact with the same medium  Thus  if
one side of a wall were in contact with a damp slope and the other
were in contact with the air  then this latter side would remain of
the same size as before  that side which dries in the air will
shrink or diminish and the side which is kept damp will not dry  And
the dry portion will break away readily from the damp portion
because the damp part not shrinking in the same proportion does not
cohere and follow the movement of the part which dries continuously 

OF ARCHED CRACKS  WIDE AT THE TOP  AND NARROW BELOW 

Arched cracks  wide at the top and narrow below are found in
walled up doors  which shrink more in their height than in their
breadth  and in proportion as their height is greater than their
width  and as the joints of the mortar are more numerous in the
height than in the width 

The crack diminishes less in  r o  than in  m n   in proportion as
there is less material between  r  and  o  than between  n  and  m  

Any crack made in a concave wall is wide below and narrow at the
top  and this originates  as is here shown at  b c d   in the side
figure 

1  That which gets wet increases in proportion to the moisture it
imbibes 

2  And a wet object shrinks  while drying  in proportion to the
amount of moisture which evaporates from it 

 Footnote  The text of this passage is reproduced in facsimile on
Pl  CVI to the left  L  36 40 are written inside the sketch No  2 
L  41 46 are partly written over the sketch No  3 to which they
refer  

773 

OF THE CAUSES OF FISSURES IN  THE WALLS OF  PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
BUILDINGS 

The walls give way in cracks  some of which are more or less
vertical and others are oblique  The cracks which are in a vertical
direction are caused by the joining of new walls  with old walls 
whether straight or with indentations fitting on to those of the old
wall  for  as these indentations cannot bear the too great weight of
the wall added on to them  it is inevitable that they should break 
and give way to the settling of the new wall  which will shrink one
braccia in every ten  more or less  according to the greater or
smaller quantity of mortar used between the stones of the masonry 
and whether this mortar is more or less liquid  And observe  that
the walls should always be built first and then faced with the
stones intended to face them  For  if you do not proceed thus  since
the wall settles more than the stone facing  the projections left on
the sides of the wall must inevitably give way  because the stones
used for facing the wall being larger than those over which they are
laid  they will necessarily have less mortar laid between the
joints  and consequently they settle less  and this cannot happen if
the facing is added after the wall is dry 

 a b  the new wall   c  the old wall  which has already settled  and
the part  a b  settles afterwards  although  a   being founded on
 c   the old wall  cannot possibly break  having a stable foundation
on the old wall  But only the remainder  b  of the new wall will
break away  because it is built from top to bottom of the building 
and the remainder of the new wall will overhang the gap above the
wall that has sunk 

774 

A new tower founded partly on old masonry 

775 

OF STONES WHICH DISJOIN THEMSELVES FROM THEIR MORTAR 

Stones laid in regular courses from bottom to top and built up with
an equal quantity of mortar settle equally throughout  when the
moisture that made the mortar soft evaporates 

By what is said above it is proved that the small extent of the new
wall between  A  and  n  will settle but little  in proportion to
the extent of the same wall between  c  and  d   The proportion will
in fact be that of the thinness of the mortar in relation to the
number of courses or to the quantity of mortar laid between the
stones above the different levels of the old wall 

 Footnote  See Pl  CV  No  1  The top of the tower is wanting in
this reproduction  and with it the letter  n  which  in the
original  stands above the letter  A  over the top of the tower 
while  c  stands perpendicularly over  d   

776 

This wall will break under the arch  e f   because the seven whole
square bricks are not sufficient to sustain the spring of the arch
placed on them  And these seven bricks will give way in their middle
exactly as appears in  a b   The reason is  that the brick  a  has
above it only the weight  a k   whilst the last brick under the arch
has above it the weight  c d x a  

 c d  seems to press on the arch towards the abutment at the point
 p  but the weight  p o  opposes resistence to it  whence the whole
pressure is transmitted to the root of the arch  Therefore the foot
of the arch acts like 7 6  which is more than double of  x z  

II 

ON FISSURES IN NICHES 

777 

ON FISSURES IN NICHES 

An arch constructed on a semicircle and bearing weights on the two
opposite thirds of its curve will give way at five points of the
curve  To prove this let the weights be at  n m  which will break
the arch  a    b    f   I say that  by the foregoing  as the
extremities  c  and  a  are equally pressed upon by the thrust  n  
it follows  by the 5th  that the arch will give way at the point
which is furthest from the two forces acting on them and that is the
middle  e   The same is to be understood of the opposite curve   d g
b   hence the weights  n m  must sink  but they cannot sink by the
7th  without coming closer together  and they cannot come together
unless the extremities of the arch between them come closer  and if
these draw together the crown of the arch must break  and thus the
arch will give way in two places as was at first said  c 

I ask  given a weight at  a  what counteracts it in the direction
 n   f  and by what weight must the weight at  f  be counteracted 

778 

ON THE SHRINKING OF DAMP BODIES OF DIFFERENT THICKNESS AND WIDTH 

The window  a  is the cause of the crack at  b   and this crack is
increased by the pressure of  n  and  m  which sink or penetrate
into the soil in which foundations are built more than the lighter
portion at  b   Besides  the old foundation under  b  has already
settled  and this the piers  n  and  m  have not yet done  Hence the
part  b  does not settle down perpendicularly  on the contrary  it
is thrown outwards obliquely  and it cannot on the contrary be
thrown inwards  because a portion like this  separated from the main
wall  is larger outside than inside and the main wall  where it is
broken  is of the same shape and is also larger outside than inside 
therefore  if this separate portion were to fall inwards the larger
would have to pass through the smaller  which is impossible  Hence
it is evident that the portion of the semicircular wall when
disunited from the main wall will be thrust outwards  and not
inwards as the adversary says 

When a dome or a half dome is crushed from above by an excess of
weight the vault will give way  forming a crack which diminishes
towards the top and is wide below  narrow on the inner side and wide
outside  as is the case with the outer husk of a pomegranate 
divided into many parts lengthwise  for the more it is pressed in
the direction of its length  that part of the joints will open most 
which is most distant from the cause of the pressure  and for that
reason the arches of the vaults of any apse should never be more
loaded than the arches of the principal building  Because that which
weighs most  presses most on the parts below  and they sink into the
foundations  but this cannot happen to lighter structures like the
said apses 

 Footnote  The figure on Pl  CV  No  4 belongs to the first
paragraph of this passage  lines 1 14  fig  5 is sketched by the
side of lines l5  and following  The sketch below of a pomegranate
refers to line 22  The drawing fig  6 is  in the original  over line
37 and fig  7 over line 54  

Which of these two cubes will shrink the more uniformly  the cube
 A  resting on the pavement  or the cube  b  suspended in the air 
when both cubes are equal in weight and bulk  and of clay mixed with
equal quantities of water 

The cube placed on the pavement diminishes more in height than in
breadth  which the cube above  hanging in the air  cannot do  Thus
it is proved  The cube shown above is better shown here below 

The final result of the two cylinders of damp clay that is  a  and
 b  will be the pyramidal figures below  c  and  d   This is proved
thus  The cylinder  a  resting on block of stone being made of clay
mixed with a great deal of water will sink by its weight  which
presses on its base  and in proportion as it settles and spreads all
the parts will be somewhat nearer to the base because that is
charged with the whole weight 

III 

ON THE NATURE OF THE ARCH 

779 

WHAT IS AN ARCH 

The arch is nothing else than a force originated by two weaknesses 
for the arch in buildings is composed of two segments of a circle 
each of which being very weak in itself tends to fall  but as each
opposes this tendency in the other  the two weaknesses combine to
form one strength 

OF THE KIND OF PRESSURE IN ARCHES 

As the arch is a composite force it remains in equilibrium because
the thrust is equal from both sides  and if one of the segments
weighs more than the other the stability is lost  because the
greater pressure will outweigh the lesser 

OF DISTRIBUTING THE PRESSURE ABOVE AN ARCH 

Next to giving the segments of the circle equal weight it is
necessary to load them equally  or you will fall into the same
defect as before 

WHERE AN ARCH BREAKS 

An arch breaks at the part which lies below half way from the
centre 

SECOND RUPTURE OF THE ARCH 

If the excess of weight be placed in the middle of the arch at the
point  a   that weight tends to fall towards  b   and the arch
breaks at 2 3 of its height at  c e   and  g e  is as many times
stronger than  e a   as  m o  goes into  m n  

ON ANOTHER CAUSE OF RUIN 

The arch will likewise give way under a transversal thrust  for when
the charge is not thrown directly on the foot of the arch  the arch
lasts but a short time 

780 

ON THE STRENGTH OF THE ARCH 

The way to give stability to the arch is to fill the spandrils with
good masonry up to the level of its summit 

ON THE LOADING OF ROUND ARCHES 

ON THE PROPER MANNER OF LOADING THE POINTED ARCH 

ON THE EVIL EFFECTS OF LOADING THE POINTED ARCH DIRECTLY ABOVE ITS
CROWN 

ON THE DAMAGE DONE TO THE POINTED ARCH BY THROWING THE PRESSURE ON
THE FLANKS 

An arch of small curve is safe in itself  but if it be heavily
charged  it is necessary to strengthen the flanks well  An arch of a
very large curve is weak in itself  and stronger if it be charged 
and will do little harm to its abutments  and its places of giving
way are  o p  

 Footnote  Inside the large figure on the righi is the note   Da
pesare la forza dell  archo   

781 

ON THE REMEDY FOR EARTHQUAKES 

The arch which throws its pressure perpendicularly on the abutments
will fulfil its function whatever be its direction  upside down 
sideways or upright 

The arch will not break if the chord of the outer arch does not
touch the inner arch  This is manifest by experience  because
whenever the chord  a o n  of the outer arch  n r a  approaches the
inner arch  x b y  the arch will be weak  and it will be weaker in
proportion as the inner arch passes beyond that chord  When an arch
is loaded only on one side the thrust will press on the top of the
other side and be transmitted to the spring of the arch on that
side  and it will break at a point half way between its two
extremes  where it is farthest from the chord 

782 

A continuous body which has been forcibly bent into an arch  thrusts
in the direction of the straight line  which it tends to recover 

783 

In an arch judiciously weighted the thrust is oblique  so that the
triangle  c n b  has no weight upon it 

784 

I here ask what weight will be needed to counterpoise and resist the
tendency of each of these arches to give way 

 Footnote  The two lower sketches are taken from the MS  S  K  M 
III  10a  they have there no explanatory text  

785 

ON THE STRENGTH OF THE ARCH IN ARCHITECTURE 

The stability of the arch built by an architect resides in the tie
and in the flanks 

ON THE POSITION OF THE TIE IN THE ABOVE NAMED ARCH 

The position of the tie is of the same importance at the beginning
of the arch and at the top of the perpendicular pier on which it
rests  This is proved by the 2nd  of supports  which says  that part
of a support has least resistance which is farthest from its solid
attachment  hence  as the top of the pier is farthest from the
middle of its true foundation and the same being the case at the
opposite extremities of the arch which are the points farthest from
the middle  which is really its  upper  attachment  we have
concluded that the tie  a b  requires to be in such a position as
that its opposite ends are between the four above mentioned
extremes 

The adversary says that this arch must be more than half a circle 
and that then it will not need a tie  because then the ends will not
thrust outwards but inwards  as is seen in the excess at  a c    b
d   To this it must be answered that this would be a very poor
device  for three reasons  The first refers to the strength of the
arch  since it is proved that the circular parallel being composed
of two semicircles will only break where these semicircles cross
each other  as is seen in the figure  n m   besides this it follows
that there is a wider space between the extremes of the semicircle
than between the plane of the walls  the third reason is that the
weight placed to counterbalance the strength of the arch diminishes
in proportion as the piers of the arch are wider than the space
between the piers  Fourthly in proportion as the parts at  c a b d 
turn outwards  the piers are weaker to support the arch above them 
The 5th is that all the material and weight of the arch which are in
excess of the semicircle are useless and indeed mischievous  and
here it is to be noted that the weight placed above the arch will be
more likely to break the arch at  a b   where the curve of the
excess begins that is added to the semicircle  than if the pier were
straight up to its junction with the semicircle  spring of the
arch  

AN ARCH LOADED OVER THE CROWN WILL GIVE WAY AT THE LEFT HAND AND
RIGHT HAND QUARTERS 

This is proved by the 7th of this which says  The opposite ends of
the support are equally pressed upon by the weight suspended to
them  hence the weight shown at  f  is felt at  b c   that is half
at each extremity  and by the third which says  in a support of
equal strength  throughout  that portion will give way soonest which
is farthest from its attachment  whence it follows that  d  being
equally distant from  f  e       

If the centering of the arch does not settle as the arch settles 
the mortar  as it dries  will shrink and detach itself from the
bricks between which it was laid to keep them together  and as it
thus leaves them disjoined the vault will remain loosely built  and
the rains will soon destroy it 

786 

ON THE STRENGTH AND NATURE OF ARCHES  AND WHERE THEY ARE STRONG OR
WEAK  AND THE SAME AS TO COLUMNS 

That part of the arch which is nearer to the horizontal offers least
resistance to the weight placed on it 

When the triangle  a z n   by settling  drives backwards the 2 3 of
each 1 2 circle that is  a s  and in the same way  z m   the reason
is that  a  is perpendicularly over  b  and so likewise  z  is above
 f  

Either half of an arch  if overweighted  will break at 2 3 of its
height  the point which corresponds to the perpendicular line above
the middle of its bases  as is seen at  a b   and this happens
because the weight tends to fall past the point  r    And if 
against its nature it should tend to fall towards the point  s  the
arch  n s  would break precisely in its middle  If the arch  n s 
were of a single piece of timber  if the weight placed at  n  should
tend to fall in the line  n m   the arch would break in the middle
of the arch  e m   otherwise it will break at one third from the top
at the point a because from  a  to  n  the arch is nearer to the
horizontal than from  a  to  o  and from  o  to  s   in proportion
as  p t  is greater than  t n    a o  will be stronger than  a n 
and likewise in proportion as  s o  is stronger than  o a    r p 
will be greater than  p t  

The arch which is doubled to four times of its thickness will bear
four times the weight that the single arch could carry  and more in
proportion as the diameter of its thickness goes a smaller number of
times into its length  That is to say that if the thickness of the
single arch goes ten times into its length  the thickness of the
doubled arch will go five times into its length  Hence as the
thickness of the double arch goes only half as many times into its
length as that of the single arch does  it is reasonable that it
should carry half as much more weight as it would have to carry if
it were in direct proportion to the single arch  Hence as this
double arch has 4 times the thickness of the single arch  it would
seem that it ought to bear 4 times the weight  but by the above rule
it is shown that it will bear exactly 8 times as much 

THAT PIER  WHICH is CHARGED MOST UNEQUALLY  WILL SOONEST GIVE WAY 

The column  c b   being charged with an equal weight   on each side 
will be most durable  and the other two outward columns require on
the part outside of their centre as much pressure as there is inside
of their centre  that is  from the centre of the column  towards the
middle of the arch 

Arches which depend on chains for their support will not be very
durable 

THAT ARCH WILL BE OF LONGER DURATION WHICH HAS A GOOD ABUTMENT
OPPOSED TO ITS THRUST 

The arch itself tends to fall  If the arch be 30 braccia and the
interval between the walls which carry it be 20  we know that 30
cannot pass through the 20 unless 20 becomes likewise 30  Hence the
arch being crushed by the excess of weight  and the walls offering
insufficient resistance  part  and afford room between them  for the
fall of the arch 

But if you do not wish to strengthen the arch with an iron tie you
must give it such abutments as can resist the thrust  and you can do
this thus  fill up the spandrels  m n  with stones  and direct the
lines of the joints between them to the centre of the circle of the
arch  and the reason why this makes the arch durable is this  We
know very well that if the arch is loaded with an excess of weight
above its quarter as  a b   the wall  f g  will be thrust outwards
because the arch would yield in that direction  if the other quarter
 b c  were loaded  the wall  f g  would be thrust inwards  if it
were not for the line of stones  x y  which resists this 

787 

PLAN 

Here it is shown how the arches made in the side of the octagon
thrust the piers of the angles outwards  as is shown by the line  h
c  and by the line  t d  which thrust out the pier  m   that is they
tend to force it away from the centre of such an octagon 

788 

An Experiment to show that a weight placed on an arch does not
discharge itself entirely on its columns  on the contrary the
greater the weight placed on the arches  the less the arch transmits
the weight to the columns  The experiment is the following  Let a
man be placed on a steel yard in the middle of the shaft of a well 
then let him spread out his hands and feet between the walls of the
well  and you will see him weigh much less on the steel yard  give
him a weight on the shoulders  you will see by experiment  that the
greater the weight you give him the greater effort he will make in
spreading his arms and legs  and in pressing against the wall and
the less weight will be thrown on the steel yard 

IV 

ON FOUNDATIONS  THE NATURE OF THE GROUND AND SUPPORTS 

789 

The first and most important thing is stability 

As to the foundations of the component parts of temples and other
public buildings  the depths of the foundations must bear the same
proportions to each other as the weight of material which is to be
placed upon them 

Every part of the depth of earth in a given space is composed of
layers  and each layer is composed of heavier or lighter materials 
the lowest being the heaviest  And this can be proved  because these
layers have been formed by the sediment from water carried down to
the sea  by the current of rivers which flow into it  The heaviest
part of this sediment was that which was first thrown down  and so
on by degrees  and this is the action of water when it becomes
stagnant  having first brought down the mud whence it first flowed 
And such layers of soil are seen in the banks of rivers  where their
constant flow has cut through them and divided one slope from the
other to a great depth  where in gravelly strata the waters have run
off  the materials have  in consequence  dried and been converted
into hard stone  and this happened most in what was the finest mud 
whence we conclude that every portion of the surface of the earth
was once at the centre of the earth  and  vice versa   c 

790 

The heaviest part of the foundations of buildings settles most  and
leaves the lighter part above it separated from it 

And the soil which is most pressed  if it be porous yields most 

You should always make the foundations project equally beyond the
weight of the walls and piers  as shown at  m a b   If you do as
many do  that is to say if you make a foundation of equal width from
the bottom up to the surface of the ground  and charge it above with
unequal weights  as shown at  b e  and at  e o   at the part of the
foundation at  b e   the pier of the angle will weigh most and
thrust its foundation downwards  which the wall at  e o  will not
do  since it does not cover the whole of its foundation  and
therefore thrusts less heavily and settles less  Hence  the pier  b
e  in settling cracks and parts from the wall  e o   This may be
seen in most buildings which are cracked round the piers 

791 

The window  a  is well placed under the window  c   and the window
 b  is badly placed under the pier  d   because this latter is
without support and foundation  mind therefore never to make a break
under the piers between the windows 

792 

OF THE SUPPORTS 

A pillar of which the thickness is increased will gain more than its
due strength  in direct proportion to what its loses in relative
height 

EXAMPLE 

If a pillar should be nine times as high as it is broad  that is to
say  if it is one braccio thick  according to rule it should be nine
braccia high  then  if you place 100 such pillars together in a mass
this will be ten braccia broad and 9 high  and if the first pillar
could carry 10000 pounds the second being only about as high as it
is wide  and thus lacking 8 parts of its proper length  it  that is
to say  each pillar thus united  will bear eight times more than
when disconnected  that is to say  that if at first it would carry
ten thousand pounds  it would now carry 90 thousand 

V 

ON THE RESISTANCE OF BEAMS 

793 

That angle will offer the greatest resistance which is most acute 
and the most obtuse will be the weakest 

 Footnote  The three smaller sketches accompany the text in the
original  but the larger one is not directly connected with it  It
is to be found on fol  89a of the same Manuscript and there we read
in a note  written underneath   coverchio della perdicha del
castello   roof of the flagstaff of the castle    Compare also Pl 
XCIII  No  1  

794 

If the beams and the weight  o  are 100 pounds  how much weight will
be wanted at  ae  to resist such a weight  that it may not fall
down 

795 

ON THE LENGTH OF BEAMS 

That beam which is more than 20 times as long as its greatest
thickness will be of brief duration and will break in half  and
remember  that the part built into the wall should be steeped in hot
pitch and filleted with oak boards likewise so steeped  Each beam
must pass through its walls and be secured beyond the walls with
sufficient chaining  because in consequence of earthquakes the beams
are often seen to come out of the walls and bring down the walls and
floors  whilst if they are chained they will hold the walls strongly
together and the walls will hold the floors  Again I remind you
never to put plaster over timber  Since by expansion and shrinking
of the timber produced by damp and dryness such floors often crack 
and once cracked their divisions gradually produce dust and an ugly
effect  Again remember not to lay a floor on beams supported on
arches  for  in time the floor which is made on beams settles
somewhat in the middle while that part of the floor which rests on
the arches remains in its place  hence  floors laid over two kinds
of supports look  in time  as if they were made in hills  Footnote 
19 M  RAVAISSON  in his edition of MS  A gives a very different
rendering of this passage translating it thus   Les planchers qui
sont soutenus par deux differentes natures de supports paraissent
avec le temps faits en voute a cholli   

Remarks on the style of Leonardo s architecture 

A few remarks may here be added on the style of Leonardo s
architectural studies  However incomplete  however small in scale 
they allow us to establish a certain number of facts and
probabilities  well worthy of consideration 

When Leonardo began his studies the great name of Brunellesco was
still the inspiration of all Florence  and we cannot doubt that
Leonardo was open to it  since we find among his sketches the plan
of the church of Santo Spirito Footnote 1  See Pl  XCIV  No  2  Then
only in course of erection after the designs of Brunellesco  though
he was already dead  finished in 1481   and a lateral view of San
Lorenzo  Pl  XCIV No  1   a plan almost identical with the chapel
Degli Angeli  only begun by him  Pl  XCIV  No  3  while among
Leonardo s designs for domes several clearly betray the influence of
Brunellesco s Cupola and the lantern of Santa Maria del
Fiore Footnote 2  A small sketch of the tower of the Palazzo della
Signoria  MS  C A  309  proves that he also studied mediaeval
monuments  

The beginning of the second period of modern Italian architecture
falls during the first twenty years of Leonardo s life  However the
new impetus given by Leon Battista Alberti either was not generally
understood by his contemporaries  or those who appreciated it  had
no opportunity of showing that they did so  It was only when taken
up by Bramante and developed by him to the highest rank of modern
architecture that this new influence was generally felt  Now the
peculiar feature of Leonardo s sketches is that  like the works of
Bramante  they appear to be the development and continuation of
Alberti s 

 But a question here occurs which is difficult to answer  Did
Leonardo  till he quitted Florence  follow the direction given by
the dominant school of Brunellesco  which would then have given rise
to his  First manner   or had he  even before he left Florence  felt
Alberti s influence  either through his works  Palazzo Ruccellai 
and the front of Santa Maria Novella  or through personal
intercourse  Or was it not till he went to Milan that Alberti s work
began to impress him through Bramante  who probably had known
Alberti at Mantua about 1470 and who not only carried out Alberti s
views and ideas  but  by his designs for St  Peter s at Rome  proved
himself the greatest of modern architects  When Leonardo went to
Milan Bramante had already been living there for many years  One of
his earliest works in Milan was the church of Santa Maria presso San
Satiro  Via del Falcone Footnote 1  Evidence of this I intend to
give later on in a Life of Bramante  which I have in preparation   

Now we find among Leonardos studies of Cupolas on Plates LXXXIV and
LXXXV and in Pl  LXXX several sketches which seem to me to have been
suggested by Bramante s dome of this church 

The MSS  B and Ash  II contain the plans of S  Sepolcro  the
pavilion in the garden of the duke of Milan  and two churches 
evidently inspired by the church of San Lorenzo at Milan 

MS  B  contains besides two notes relating to Pavia  one of them a
design for the sacristy of the Cathedral at Pavia  which cannot be
supposed to be dated later than 1492  and it has probably some
relation to Leonardo s call to Pavia June 21  1490 Footnote 2  The
sketch of the plan of Brunellesco s church of Santo Spirito at
Florence  which occurs in the same Manuscript  may have been done
from memory    These and other considerations justify us in
concluding  that Leonardo made his studies of cupolas at Milan 
probably between the years 1487 and 1492 in anticipation of the
erection of one of the grandest churches of Italy  the Cathedral of
Pavia  This may explain the decidedly Lombardo Bramantesque tendency
in the style of these studies  among which only a few remind us of
the forms of the cupolas of S  Maria del Fiore and of the Baptistery
of Florence  Thus  although when compared with Bramante s work 
several of these sketches plainly reveal that master s influence  we
find  among the sketches of domes  some  which show already
Bramante s classic style  of which the Tempietto of San Pietro in
Montorio  his first building executed at Rome  is the foremost
example Footnote 3  It may be mentioned here  that in 1494 Bramante
made a similar design for the lantern of the Cupola of the Church of
Santa Maria delle Grazie   

On Plate LXXXIV is a sketch of the plan of a similar circular
building  and the Mausoleum on Pl  XCVIII  no less than one of the
pedestals for the statue of Francesco Sforza  Pl  LXV   is of the
same type 

The drawings Pl  LXXXIV No  2  Pl  LXXXVI No  1 and 2 and the ground
flour   flour  sic but should be  floor     of the building in the
drawing Pl  XCI No  2  with the interesting decoration by gigantic
statues in large niches  are also  I believe  more in the style
Bramante adopted at Rome  than in the Lombard style  Are we to
conclude from this that Leonardo on his part influenced Bramante in
the sense of simplifying his style and rendering it more congenial
to antique art  The answer to this important question seems at first
difficult to give  for we are here in presence of Bramante  the
greatest of modern architects  and with Leonardo  the man comparable
with no other  We have no knowledge of any buildings erected by
Leonardo  and unless we admit personal intercourse  which seems
probable  but of which there is no proof    it would be difficult to
understand how Leonardo could have affected Bramante s style  The
converse is more easily to be admitted  since Bramante  as we have
proved elsewhere  drew and built simultaneously in different
manners  and though in Lombardy there is no building by him in his
classic style  the use of brick for building  in that part of Italy 
may easily account for it  

 Bramante s name is incidentally mentioned in Leonardo s manuscripts
in two passages  Nos  1414 and 1448   On each occasion it is only a
slight passing allusion  and the nature of the context gives us no
due information as to any close connection between the two artists  

 It might be supposed  on the ground of Leonardo s relations with
the East given in sections XVII and XXI of this volume  that some
evidence of oriental influence might be detected in his
architectural drawings  I do not however think that any such traces
can be pointed out with certainty unless perhaps the drawing for a
Mausoleum  Pl  XC VIII  

 Among several studies for the construction of cupolas above a Greek
cross there are some in which the forms are decidedly monotonous 
These  it is clear  were not designed as models of taste  they must
be regarded as the results of certain investigations into the laws
of proportion  harmony and contrast  

 The designs for churches  on the plan of a Latin cross are
evidently intended to depart as little as possible from the form of
a Greek cross  and they also show a preference for a nave surrounded
with outer porticos  

 The architectural forms preferred by Leonardo are pilasters coupled
 Pl  LXXXII No  1  or grouped  Pl  LXXX No  5 and XCIV No  4   often
combined with niches  We often meet with orders superposed  one in
each story  or two small orders on one story  in combination with
one great order  Pl  XCVI No  2   

The drum  tamburo  of these cupolas is generally octagonal  as in
the cathedral of Florence  and with similar round windows in its
sides  In Pl  LXXXVII No  2 it is circular like the model actually
carried out by Michael Angelo at St  Peter s 

The cupola itself is either hidden under a pyramidal roof  as in the
Baptistery of Florence  San Lorenzo of Milan and most of the Lombard
churches  Pl  XCI No  1 and Pl  XCII No  1   but it more generally
suggests the curve of Sta Maria del Fiore  Pl  LXXXVIII No  5  Pl 
XC No  2  Pl  LXXXIX  M  Pl XC No  4  Pl  XCVI No  2   In other
cases  Pl  LXXX No  4  Pl  LXXXIX  Pl  XC No  2  it shows the sides
of the octagon crowned by semicircular pediments  as in
Brunellesco s lantern of the Cathedral and in the model for the
Cathedral of Pavia 

Finally  in some sketches the cupola is either semicircular  or as
in Pl  LXXXVII No  2  shows the beautiful line  adopted sixty years
later by Michael Angelo for the existing dome of St  Peter s 

It is worth noticing that for all these domes Leonardo is not
satisfied to decorate the exterior merely with ascending ribs or
mouldings  but employs also a system of horizontal parallels to
complete the architectural system  Not the least interesting are the
designs for the tiburio  cupola  of the Milan Cathedral  They show
some of the forms  just mentioned  adapted to the peculiar gothic
style of that monument 

The few examples of interiors of churches recall the style employed
in Lombardy by Bramante  for instance in S  Maria di Canepanuova at
Pavia  or by Dolcebuono in the Monastero Maggiore at Milan  see Pl 
CI No  1  C  A  181b  546b   Pl  LXXXIV No  10  

The few indications concerning palaces seem to prove that Leonardo
followed Alberti s example of decorating the walls with pilasters
and a flat rustica  either in stone or by graffitti  Pl  CII No  1
and Pl  LXXXV No  14  

By pointing out the analogies between Leonardo s architecture and
that of other masters we in no way pretend to depreciate his
individual and original inventive power  These are at all events
beyond dispute  The project for the Mausoleum  Pl  XCVIII  would
alone suffice to rank him among the greatest architects who ever
lived  The peculiar shape of the tower  Pl  LXXX   of the churches
for preaching  Pl  XCVII No  1 and pages 56 and 57  Fig  1 4   his
curious plan for a city with high and low level streets  Pl  LXXVII
and LXXVIII No  2 and No  3   his Loggia with fountains  Pl  LXXXII
No  4  reveal an originality  a power and facility of invention for
almost any given problem  which are quite wonderful 

 In addition to all these qualities he propably stood alone in his
day in one department of architectural study   his investigations 
namely  as to the resistance of vaults  foundations  walls and
arches  

 As an application of these studies the plan of a semicircular vault
 Pl  CIII No  2  may be mentioned here  disposed so as to produce no
thrust on the columns on which it rests   volta i botte e non
ispignie ifori le colone   Above the geometrical patterns on the
same sheet  close to a circle inscribed in a square is the note   la
ragio d una volta cioe il terzo del diamitro della sua     del
tedesco in domo 

 There are few data by which to judge of Leonardo s style in the
treatment of detail  On Pl  LXXXV No  10 and Pl  CIII No  3  we find
some details of pillars  on Pl  CI No  3 slender pillars designed
for a fountain and on Pl  CIII No  1 MS  B  is a pen and ink drawing
of a vase which also seems intended for a fountain  Three handles
seem to have been intended to connect the upper parts with the base 
There can be no doubt that Leonardo  like Bramante  but unlike
Michael Angelo  brought infinite delicacy of motive and execution to
bear on the details of his work  

 XIV  

 Anatomy  Zoology and Physiology  

 Leonardo s eminent place in the history of medicine  as a pioneer
in the sciences of Anatomy and Physiology  will never be appreciated
till it is possible to publish the mass of manuscripts in which he
largely treated of these two branches of learning  In the present
work I must necessarily limit myself to giving the reader a general
view of these labours  by publishing his introductory notes to the
various books on anatomical subjects  I have added some extracts 
and such observations as are scattered incidentally through these
treatises  as serving to throw a light on Leonardo s scientific
attitude  besides having an interest for a wider circle than that of
specialists only  

 VASARI expressly mentions Leonardo s anatomical studies  having had
occasion to examine the manuscript books which refer to them 
According to him Leonardo studied Anatomy in the companionship of
Marc Antonio della Torre   aiutato e scambievolmente
aiutando     This learned Anatomist taught the science in the
universities first of Padua and then of Pavia  and at Pavia he and
Leonardo may have worked and studied together  We have no clue to
any exact dates  but in the year 1506 Marc Antonio della Torre seems
to have not yet left Padua  He was scarcely thirty years old when he
died in 1512  and his writings on anatomy have not only never been
published  but no manuscript copy of them is known to exist  

 This is not the place to enlarge on the connection between Leonardo
and Marc Antonio della Torre  I may however observe that I have not
been able to discover in Leonardo s manuscripts on anatomy any
mention of his younger contemporary  The few quotations which occur
from writers on medicine  either of antiquity or of the middle ages
are printed in Section XXII  Here and there in the manuscripts
mention is made of an anonymous  adversary    avversario   whose
views are opposed and refuted by Leonardo  but there is no ground
for supposing that Marc Antonio della Torre should have been this
 adversary   

 Only a very small selection from the mass of anatomical drawings
left by Leonardo have been published here in facsimile  but to form
any adequate idea of their scientific merit they should be compared
with the coarse and inadequate figures given in the published books
of the early part of the XVI  century 

William Hunter  the great surgeon  a competent judge  who had an
opportunity in the time of George III  of seeing the originals in
the King s Library  has thus recorded his opinion   I expected to
see little more than such designs in Anatomy as might be useful to a
painter in his own profession  But I saw  and indeed with
astonishment  that Leonardo had been a general and deep student 
When I consider what pains he has taken upon every part of the body 
the superiority of his universal genius  his particular excellence
in mechanics and hydraulics  and the attention with which such a man
would examine and see objects which he has to draw  I am fully
persuaded that Leonardo was the best Anatomist  at that time  in the
world     Leonardo was certainly the first man  we know of  who
introduced the practice of making anatomical drawings   Two
introductory letters  London 1784  pages 37 and 39  

The illustrious German Naturalist Johan Friedrich Blumenback
esteemed them no less highly  he was one of the privileged few who 
after Hunter  had the chance of seeing these Manuscripts  He writes 
 Der Scharfblick dieses grossen Forschers und Darstellers der Natur
hat schon auf Dinge geachtet  die noch Jahrhunderte nachher
unbemerkt geblieben sind    see  Blumenbach s medicinische
Bibliothek   Vol  3  St  4  1795  page 728  

These opinions were founded on the drawings alone  Up to the present
day hardly anything has been made known of the text  and  for the
reasons I have given  it is my intention to reproduce here no more
than a selection of extracts which I have made from the originals at
Windsor Castle and elsewhere  In the Bibliography of the
Manuscripts  at the end of this volume a short review is given of
the valuable contents of these Anatomical note books which are at
present almost all in the possession of her Majesty the Queen of
England  It is  I believe  possible to assign the date with
approximate accuracy to almost all the fragments  and I am thus led
to conclude that the greater part of Leonardo s anatomical
investigations were carried out after the death of della Torre 

Merely in reading the introductory notes to his various books on
Anatomy which are here printed it is impossible to resist the
impression that the Master s anatomical studies bear to a very great
extent the stamp of originality and independent thought 

I 

ANATOMY 

796 

A general introduction

I wish to work miracles   it may be that I shall possess less than
other men of more peaceful lives  or than those who want to grow
rich in a day  I may live for a long time in great poverty  as
always happens  and to all eternity will happen  to alchemists  the
would be creators of gold and silver  and to engineers who would
have dead water stir itself into life and perpetual motion  and to
those supreme fools  the necromancer and the enchanter 

 Footnote 23  The following seems to be directed against students of
painting and young artists rather than against medical men and
anatomists  

And you  who say that it would be better to watch an anatomist at
work than to see these drawings  you would be right  if it were
possible to observe all the things which are demonstrated in such
drawings in a single figure  in which you  with all your cleverness 
will not see nor obtain knowledge of more than some few veins  to
obtain a true and perfect knowledge of which I have dissected more
than ten human bodies  destroying all the other members  and
removing the very minutest particles of the flesh by which these
veins are surrounded  without causing them to bleed  excepting the
insensible bleeding of the capillary veins  and as one single body
would not last so long  since it was necessary to proceed with
several bodies by degrees  until I came to an end and had a complete
knowledge  this I repeated twice  to learn the differences  59  

 Footnote  Lines 1 59 and 60 89 are written in two parallel columns 
When we here find Leonardo putting himself in the same category as
the Alchemists and Necromancers  whom he elsewhere mocks at so
bitterly  it is evidently meant ironically  In the same way
Leonardo  in the introduction to the Books on Perspective sets
himself with transparent satire on a level with other writers on the
subject  

And if you should have a love for such things you might be prevented
by loathing  and if that did not prevent you  you might be deterred
by the fear of living in the night hours in the company of those
corpses  quartered and flayed and horrible to see  And if this did
not prevent you  perhaps you might not be able to draw so well as is
necessary for such a demonstration  or  if you had the skill in
drawing  it might not be combined with knowledge of perspective  and
if it were so  you might not understand the methods of geometrical
demonstration and the method of the calculation of forces and of the
strength of the muscles  patience also may be wanting  so that you
lack perseverance  As to whether all these things were found in me
or not  Footnote 84  Leonardo frequently  and perhaps habitually 
wrote in note books of a very small size and only moderately thick 
in most of those which have been preserved undivided  each contains
less than fifty leaves  Thus a considerable number of such volumes
must have gone to make up a volume of the bulk of the   Codex
Atlanticus   which now contains nearly 1200 detached leaves  In the
passage under consideration  which was evidently written at a late
period of his life  Leonardo speaks of his Manuscript note books as
numbering 12O  but we should hardly be justified in concluding from
this passage that the greater part of his Manuscripts were now
missing  see  Prolegomena   Vol  I  pp  5 7     the hundred and
twenty books composed by me will give verdict Yes or No  In these I
have been hindered neither by avarice nor negligence  but simply by
want of time  Farewell  89  

Plans and suggestions for the arrangement of materials  797 802  

797 

OF THE ORDER OF THE BOOK 

This work must begin with the conception of man  and describe the
nature of the womb and how the foetus lives in it  up to what stage
it resides there  and in what way it quickens into life and feeds 
Also its growth and what interval there is between one stage of
growth and another  What it is that forces it out from the body of
the mother  and for what reasons it sometimes comes out of the
mother s womb before the due time 

Then I will describe which are the members  which  after the boy is
born  grow more than the others  and determine the proportions of a
boy of one year 

Then describe the fully grown man and woman  with their proportions 
and the nature of their complexions  colour  and physiognomy 

Then how they are composed of veins  tendons  muscles and bones 
This I shall do at the end of the book  Then  in four drawings 
represent four universal conditions of men  That is  Mirth  with
various acts of laughter  and describe the cause of laughter 
Weeping in various aspects with its causes  Contention  with various
acts of killing  flight  fear  ferocity  boldness  murder and every
thing pertaining to such cases  Then represent Labour  with pulling 
thrusting  carrying  stopping  supporting and such like things 

Further I would describe attitudes and movements  Then perspective 
concerning the functions and effects of the eye  and of
hearing  here I will speak of music    and treat of the other
senses 

And then describe the nature of the senses 

This mechanism of man we will demonstrate in     figures  of which
the three first will show the ramification of the bones  that is 
first one to show their height and position and shape  the second
will be seen in profile and will show the depth of the whole and of
the parts  and their position  The third figure will be a
demonstration of the bones of the backparts  Then I will make three
other figures from the same point of view  with the bones sawn
across  in which will be shown their thickness and hollowness  Three
other figures of the bones complete  and of the nerves which rise
from the nape of the neck  and in what limbs they ramify  And three
others of the bones and veins  and where they ramify  Then three
figures with the muscles and three with the skin  and their proper
proportions  and three of woman  to illustrate the womb and the
menstrual veins which go to the breasts 

 Footnote  The meaning of the word  nervo  varies in different
passages  being sometimes used for  muscolo   muscle   

798 

THE ORDER OF THE BOOK 

This depicting of mine of the human body will be as clear to you as
if you had the natural man before you  and the reason is that if you
wish thoroughly to know the parts of man  anatomically  you  or your
eye  require to see it from different aspects  considering it from
below and from above and from its sides  turning it about and
seeking the origin of each member  and in this way the natural
anatomy is sufficient for your comprehension  But you must
understand that this amount of knowledge will not continue to
satisfy you  seeing the very great confusion that must result from
the combination of tissues  with veins  arteries  nerves  sinews 
muscles  bones  and blood which  of itself  tinges every part the
same colour  And the veins  which discharge this blood  are not
discerned by reason of their smallness  Moreover integrity of the
tissues  in the process of the investigating the parts within them 
is inevitably destroyed  and their transparent substance being
tinged with blood does not allow you to recognise the parts covered
by them  from the similarity of their blood stained hue  and you
cannot know everything of the one without confusing and destroying
the other  Hence  some further anatomy drawings become necessary  Of
which you want three to give full knowledge of the veins and
arteries  everything else being destroyed with the greatest care 
And three others to display the tissues  and three for the sinews
and muscles and ligaments  and three for the bones and cartilages 
and three for the anatomy of the bones  which have to be sawn to
show which are hollow and which are not  which have marrow and which
are spongy  and which are thick from the outside inwards  and which
are thin  And some are extremely thin in some parts and thick in
others  and in some parts hollow or filled up with bone  or full of
marrow  or spongy  And all these conditions are sometimes found in
one and the same bone  and in some bones none of them  And three you
must have for the woman  in which there is much that is mysterious
by reason of the womb and the foetus  Therefore by my drawings every
part will be known to you  and all by means of demonstrations from
three different points of view of each part  for when you have seen
a limb from the front  with any muscles  sinews  or veins which take
their rise from the opposite side  the same limb will be shown to
you in a side view or from behind  exactly as if you had that same
limb in your hand and were turning it from side to side until you
had acquired a full comprehension of all you wished to know  In the
same way there will be put before you three or four demonstrations
of each limb  from various points of view  so that you will be left
with a true and complete knowledge of all you wish to learn of the
human figure Footnote 35  Compare Pl  CVII  The original drawing at
Windsor is 28 1 2 X 19 1 2 centimetres  The upper figures are
slightly washed with Indian ink  On the back of this drawing is the
text No  1140   

Thus  in twelve entire figures  you will have set before you the
cosmography of this lesser world on the same plan as  before me  was
adopted by Ptolemy in his cosmography  and so I will afterwards
divide them into limbs as he divided the whole world into provinces 
then I will speak of the function of each part in every direction 
putting before your eyes a description of the whole form and
substance of man  as regards his movements from place to place  by
means of his different parts  And thus  if it please our great
Author  I may demonstrate the nature of men  and their customs in
the way I describe his figure 

And remember that the anatomy of the nerves will not give the
position of their ramifications  nor show you which muscles they
branch into  by means of bodies dissected in running water or in
lime water  though indeed their origin and starting point may be
seen without such water as well as with it  But their ramifications 
when under running water  cling and unite  just like flat or hemp
carded for spinning  all into a skein  in a way which makes it
impossible to trace in which muscles or by what ramification the
nerves are distributed among those muscles 

799 

THE ARRANGEMENT OF ANATOMY

First draw the bones  let us say  of the arm  and put in the motor
muscle from the shoulder to the elbow with all its lines  Then
proceed in the same way from the elbow to the wrist  Then from the
wrist to the hand and from the hand to the fingers 

And in the arm you will put the motors of the fingers which open 
and these you will show separately in their demonstration  In the
second demonstration you will clothe these muscles with the
secondary motors of the fingers and so proceed by degrees to avoid
confusion  But first lay on the bones those muscles which lie close
to the said bones  without confusion of other muscles  and with
these you may put the nerves and veins which supply their
nourishment  after having first drawn the tree of veins and nerves
over the simple bones 

800 

Begin the anatomy at the head and finish at the sole of the foot 

801 

3 men complete  3 with bones and nerves  3 with the bones only  Here
we have 12 demonstrations of entire figures 

802 

When you have finished building up the man  you will make the statue
with all its superficial measurements 

 Footnote   Cresciere l omo   The meaning of this expression appears
to be different here and in the passage C A  157a  468a  see No 
526  Note 1  2   Here it can hardly mean anything else than
modelling  since the sculptor forms the figure by degrees  by adding
wet clay and the figure consequently increases or grows   Tu farai
la statua  would then mean  you must work out the figure in marble 
If this interpretation is the correct one  this passage would have
no right to find a place in the series on anatomical studies  I may
say that it was originally inserted in this connection under the
impression that  di cresciere  should be read  descrivere   

Plans for the representation of muscles by drawings  803 809  

803 

You must show all the motions of the bones with their joints to
follow the demonstration of the first three figures of the bones 
and this should be done in the first book 

804 

Remember that to be certain of the point of origin of any muscle 
you must pull the sinew from which the muscle springs in such a way
as to see that muscle move  and where it is attached to the
ligaments of the bones 

NOTE 

You will never get any thing but confusion in demonstrating the
muscles and their positions  origin  and termination  unless you
first make a demonstration of thin muscles after the manner of linen
threads  and thus you can represent them  one over another as nature
has placed them  and thus  too  you can name them according to the
limb they serve  for instance the motor of the point of the great
toe  of its middle bone  of its first bone   c  And when you have
the knowledge you will draw  by the side of this  the true form and
size and position of each muscle  But remember to give the threads
which explain the situation of the muscles in the position which
corresponds to the central line of each muscle  and so these threads
will demonstrate the form of the leg and their distance in a plain
and clear manner 

I have removed the skin from a man who was so shrunk by illness that
the muscles were worn down and remained in a state like thin
membrane  in such a way that the sinews instead of merging in
muscles ended in wide membrane  and where the bones were covered by
the skin they had very little over their natural size 

 Footnote  The photograph No  41 of Grosvenor Gallery Publications 
a drawing of the muscles of the foot  includes a complete facsimile
of the text of this passage  

805 

Which nerve causes the motion of the eye so that the motion of one
eye moves the other 

Of frowning the brows  of raising the brows  of lowering the
brows   of closing the eyes  of opening the eyes   of raising the
nostrils  of opening the lips  with the teeth shut  of pouting with
the lips  of smiling  of astonishment   

Describe the beginning of man when it is caused in the womb and why
an eight months child does not live  What sneezing is  What yawning
is  Falling sickness  spasms  paralysis  shivering with cold 
sweating  fatigue  hunger  sleepiness  thirst  lust 

Of the nerve which is the cause of movement from the shoulder to the
elbow  of the movement from the elbow to the hand  from the joint of
the hand to the springing of the fingers  From the springing of the
fingers to the middle joints  and from the middle joints to the
last 

Of the nerve which causes the movement of the thigh  and from the
knee to the foot  and from the joint of the foot to the toes  and
then to the middle of the toes and of the rotary motion of the leg 

806 

ANATOMY 

Which nerves or sinews of the hand are those which close and part
the fingers and toes latteraly 

807 

Remove by degrees all the parts of the front of a man in making your
dissection  till you come to the bones  Description of the parts of
the bust and of their motions 

808 

Give the anatomy of the leg up to the hip  in all views and in every
action and in every state  veins  arteries  nerves  sinews and
muscles  skin and bones  then the bones in sections to show the
thickness of the bones 

 Footnote  A straightened leg in profile is sketched by the side of
this text  

On corpulency and leanness  809 811  

809 

Make the rule and give the measurement of each muscle  and give the
reasons of all their functions  and in which way they work and what
makes them work  c 

 4  First draw the spine of the back  then clothe it by degrees  one
after the other  with each of its muscles and put in the nerves and
arteries and veins to each muscle by itself  and besides these note
the vertebrae to which they are attached  which of the intestines
come in contact with them  and which bones and other organs  c 

The most prominent parts of lean people are most prominent in the
muscular  and equally so in fat persons  But concerning the
difference in the forms of the muscles in fat persons as compared
with muscular persons  it shall be described below 

 Footnote  The two drawings given on Pl  CVIII no  1 come between
lines 3 and 4  A good and very early copy of this drawing without
the written text exists in the collection of drawings belonging to
Christ s College Oxford  where it is attributed to Leonardo  

810 

Describe which muscles disappear in growing fat  and which become
visible in growing lean 

And observe that that part which on the surface of a fat person is
most concave  when he grows lean becomes more prominent 

Where the muscles separate one from another you must give profiles
and where they coalesce    

811 

OF THE HUMAN FIGURE 

Which is the part in man  which  as he grows fatter  never gains
flesh 

Or what part which as a man grows lean never falls away with a too
perceptible diminution  And among the parts which grow fat which is
that which grows fattest 

Among those which grow lean which is that which grows leanest 

In very strong men which are the muscles which are thickest and most
prominent 

In your anatomy you must represent all the stages of the limbs from
man s creation to his death  and then till the death of the bone 
and which part of him is first decayed and which is preserved the
longest 

And in the same way of extreme leanness and extreme fatness 

The divisions of the head  812  813  

812 

ANATOMY 

There are eleven elementary tissues    Cartilage  bones  nerves 
veins  arteries  fascia  ligament and sinews  skin  muscle and fat 

OF THE HEAD 

The divisions of the head are 10  viz  5 external and 5 internal 
the external are the hair  skin  muscle  fascia and the skull  the
internal are the dura mater  the pia mater   which enclose  the
brain  The pia mater and the dura mater come again underneath and
enclose the brain  then the rete mirabile  and the occipital bone 
which supports the brain from which the nerves spring 

813 

 a   hair

 n   skin

 c   muscle

 m   fascia

 o   skull  i e   bone

 b   dura mater

 d   pia mater

 f   brain

 r   pia mater  below

 t   dura mater

 l   rete mirablile

 s   the occipitul bone 

 Footnote  See Pl  CVIII  No  3  

Physiological problems  814  815  

814 

Of the cause of breathing  of the cause of the motion of the heart 
of the cause of vomiting  of the cause of the descent of food from
the stomach  of the cause of emptying the intestines 

Of the cause of the movement of the superfluous matter through the
intestines 

Of the cause of swallowing  of the cause of coughing  of the cause
of yawning  of the cause of sneezing  of the cause of limbs getting
asleep 

Of the cause of losing sensibility in any limb 

Of the cause of tickling 

Of the cause of lust and other appetites of the body  of the cause
of urine and also of all the natural excretions of the body 

 Footnote  By the side of this text stands the pen and ink drawing
reproduced on Pl  CVIII  No  4  a skull with indications of the
veins in the fleshy covering  

815 

The tears come from the heart and not from the brain 

Define all the parts  of which the body is composed  beginning with
the skin with its outer cuticle which is often chapped by the
influence of the sun 

II 

ZOOLOGY AND COMPARATIVE ANATOMY 

The divisions of the animal kingdom  816  817  

816 

 Man   The description of man  which includes that of such creatures
as are of almost the same species  as Apes  Monkeys and the like 
which are many 

 The Lion  and its kindred  as Panthers   Footnote 3   Leonza   wild
cat    Secondo alcuni  lo stesso che Leonessa  e secondo altri con
piu certezza  lo stesso che Pantera   FANFANI   Vocabolario  page
858   Wildcats     Tigers  Leopards  Wolfs  Lynxes  Spanish cats 
common cats and the like 

 The Horse  and its kindred  as Mule  Ass and the like  with incisor
teeth above and below 

 The Bull  and its allies with horns and without upper incisors as
the Buffalo  Stag Fallow Deer  Wild Goat  Swine  Goat  wild Goats
Muskdeers  Chamois  Giraffe 

817 

Describe the various forms of the intestines of the human species 
of apes and such like  Then  in what way the leonine species differ 
and then the bovine  and finally birds  and arrange this description
after the manner of a disquisition 

Miscellaneous notes on the study of Zoology  818 821  

818 

Procure the placenta of a calf when it is born and observe the form
of the cotyledons  if their cotyledons are male or female 

819 

Describe the tongue of the woodpecker and the jaw of the crocodile 

820 

Of the flight of the 4th kind of butterflies that consume winged
ants  Of the three principal positions of the wings of birds in
downward flight 

 Footnote  A passing allusion is all I can here permit myself to
Leonardo s elaborate researches into the flight of birds  Compare
the observations on this subject in the Introduction to section
XVIII and in the Bibliography of Manuscripts at the end of the
work  

821 

Of the way in which the tail of a fish acts in propelling the fish 
as in the eel  snake and leech 

 Footnote  A sketch of a fish  swimming upwards is in the original 
inserted above this text   Compare No  1114  

Comparative study of the structure of bones and of the action of
muscles  822 826  

822 

OF THE PALM OF THE HAND 

Then I will discourse of the hands of each animal to show in what
they vary  as in the bear  which has the ligatures of the sinews of
the toes joined above the instep 

823 

A second demonstration inserted between anatomy and  the treatise
on  the living being 

You will represent here for a comparison  the legs of a frog  which
have a great resemblance to the legs of man  both in the bones and
in the muscles  Then  in continuation  the hind legs of the hare 
which are very muscular  with strong active muscles  because they
are not encumbered with fat 

 Footnote  This text is written by the side of a drawing in black
chalk of a nude male figure  but there is no connection between the
sketch and the text  

824 

Here I make a note to demonstrate the difference there is between
man and the horse and in the same way with other animals  And first
I will begin with the bones  and then will go on to all the muscles
which spring from the bones without tendons and end in them in the
same way  and then go on to those which start with a single tendon
at one end 

 Footnote  See Pl  CVIII  No  2  

825 

Note on the bendings of joints and in what way the flesh grows upon
them in their flexions or extensions  and of this most important
study write a separate treatise  in the description of the movements
of animals with four feet  among which is man  who likewise in his
infancy crawls on all fours 

826 

OF THE WAY OF WALKING IN MAN 

The walking of man is always after the universal manner of walking
in animals with 4 legs  inasmuch as just as they move their feet
crosswise after the manner of a horse in trotting  so man moves his
4 limbs crosswise  that is  if he puts forward his right foot in
walking he puts forward  with it  his left arm and vice versa 
invariably 

III 

PHYSIOLOGY 

Comparative study of the organs of sense in men and animals 

827 

I have found that in the composition of the human body as compared
with the bodies of animals the organs of sense are duller and
coarser  Thus it is composed of less ingenious instruments  and of
spaces less capacious for receiving the faculties of sense  I have
seen in the Lion tribe that the sense of smell is connected with
part of the substance of the brain which comes down the nostrils 
which form a spacious receptacle for the sense of smell  which
enters by a great number of cartilaginous vesicles with several
passages leading up to where the brain  as before said  comes down 

The eyes in the Lion tribe have a large part of the head for their
sockets and the optic nerves communicate at once with the brain  but
the contrary is to be seen in man  for the sockets of the eyes are
but a small part of the head  and the optic nerves are very fine and
long and weak  and by the weakness of their action we see by day but
badly at night  while these animals can see as well at night as by
day  The proof that they can see is that they prowl for prey at
night and sleep by day  as nocturnal birds do also 

Advantages in the structure of the eye in certain animals  828 831  

828 

Every object we see will appear larger at midnight than at midday 
and larger in the morning than at midday 

This happens because the pupil of the eye is much smaller at midday
than at any other time 

In proportion as the eye or the pupil of the owl is larger in
proportion to the animal than that of man  so much the more light
can it see at night than man can  hence at midday it can see nothing
if its pupil does not diminish  and  in the same way  at night
things look larger to it than by day 

829 

OF THE EYES IN ANIMALS 

The eyes of all animals have their pupils adapted to dilate and
diminish of their own accord in proportion to the greater or less
light of the sun or other luminary  But in birds the variation is
much greater  and particularly in nocturnal birds  such as horned
owls  and in the eyes of one species of owl  in these the pupil
dilates in such away as to occupy nearly the whole eye  or
diminishes to the size of a grain of millet  and always preserves
the circular form  But in the Lion tribe  as panthers  pards 
ounces  tigers  lynxes  Spanish cats and other similar animals the
pupil diminishes from the perfect circle to the figure of a pointed
oval such as is shown in the margin  But man having a weaker sight
than any other animal is less hurt by a very strong light and his
pupil increases but little in dark places  but in the eyes of these
nocturnal animals  the horned owl  a bird which is the largest of
all nocturnal birds  the power of vision increases so much that in
the faintest nocturnal light  which we call darkness  it sees with
much more distinctness than we do in the splendour of noon day  at
which time these birds remain hidden in dark holes  or if indeed
they are compelled to come out into the open air lighted up by the
sun  they contract their pupils so much that their power of sight
diminishes together with the quantity of light admitted 

Study the anatomy of various eyes and see which are the muscles
which open and close the said pupils of the eyes of animals 

 Footnote  Compare No  24  lines 8 and fol  

830 

 a b n  is the membrane which closes the eye from below  upwards 
with an opaque film   c n b  encloses the eye in front and behind
with a transparent membrane 

It closes from below  upwards  because it  the eye  comes downwards 

When the eye of a bird closes with its two lids  the first to close
is the nictitating membrane which closes from the lacrymal duct over
to the outer corner of the eye  and the outer lid closes from below
upwards  and these two intersecting motions begin first from the
lacrymatory duct  because we have already seen that in front and
below birds are protected and use only the upper portion of the eye
from fear of birds of prey which come down from above and behind 
and they uncover first the membrane from the outer corner  because
if the enemy comes from behind  they have the power of escaping to
the front  and again the muscle called the nictitating membrane is
transparent  because  if the eye had not such a screen  they could
not keep it open against the wind which strikes against the eye in
the rush of their rapid flight  And the pupil of the eye dilates and
contracts as it sees a less or greater light  that is to say intense
brilliancy 

831 

If at night your eye is placed between the light and the eye of a
cat  it will see the eye look like fire 

Remarks on the organs of speech

 832  833  

832 

 a  e  i  o  u
ba be bi bo bu
ca ce ci co cu
da de di do du
fa fe fi fo fu
ga ge gi go gu
la le li lo lu
ma me mi mo mu
na ne ni no nu
pa pe pi po pu
qa qe qi qo qu
ra re ri ro ru
sa se si so su
ta te ti to tu 

The tongue is found to have 24 muscles which correspond to the six
muscles which compose the portion of the tongue which moves in the
mouth 

And when  a o u  are spoken with a clear and rapid pronunciation  it
is necessary  in order to pronounce continuously  without any pause
between  that the opening of the lips should close by degrees  that
is  they are wide apart in saying  a   closer in saying  o   and
much closer still to pronounce  u  

It may be shown how all the vowels are pronounced with the farthest
portion of the false palate which is above the epiglottis 

833 

If you draw in breath by the nose and send it out by the mouth you
will hear the sound made by the division that is the membrane in
 Footnote 5  The text here breaks off     

On the conditions of sight  834  835  

834 

OF THE NATURE OF SIGHT 

I say that sight is exercised by all animals  by the medium of
light  and if any one adduces  as against this  the sight of
nocturnal animals  I must say that this in the same way is subject
to the very same natural laws  For it will easily be understood that
the senses which receive the images of things do not project from
themselves any visual virtue  Footnote 4  Compare No  68    On the
contrary the atmospheric medium which exists between the object and
the sense incorporates in itself the figure of things  and by its
contact with the sense transmits the object to it  If the
object  whether by sound or by odour  presents its spiritual force
to the ear or the nose  then light is not required and does not act 
The forms of objects do not send their images into the air if they
are not illuminated  8   and the eye being thus constituted cannot
receive that from the air  which the air does not possess  although
it touches its surface  If you choose to say that there are many
animals that prey at night  I answer that when the little light
which suffices the nature of their eyes is wanting  they direct
themselves by their strong sense of hearing and of smell  which are
not impeded by the darkness  and in which they are very far superior
to man  If you make a cat leap  by daylight  among a quantity of
jars and crocks you will see them remain unbroken  but if you do the
same at night  many will be broken  Night birds do not fly about
unless the moon shines full or in part  rather do they feed between
sun down and the total darkness of the night 

 Footnote 8  See No  58 67  

No body can be apprehended without light and shade  and light and
shade are caused by light 

835 

WHY MEN ADVANCED IN AGE SEE BETTER AT A DISTANCE 

Sight is better from a distance than near in those men who are
advancing in age  because the same object transmits a smaller
impression of itself to the eye when it is distant than when it is
near 

The seat of the common sense 

836 

The Common Sense  is that which judges of things offered to it by
the other senses  The ancient speculators have concluded that that
part of man which constitutes his judgment is caused by a central
organ to which the other five senses refer everything by means of
impressibility  and to this centre they have given the name Common
Sense  And they say that this Sense is situated in the centre of the
head between Sensation and Memory  And this name of Common Sense is
given to it solely because it is the common judge of all the other
five senses  i e   Seeing  Hearing  Touch  Taste and Smell  This
Common Sense is acted upon by means of Sensation which is placed as
a medium between it and the senses  Sensation is acted upon by means
of the images of things presented to it by the external instruments 
that is to say the senses which are the medium between external
things and Sensation  In the same way the senses are acted upon by
objects  Surrounding things transmit their images to the senses and
the senses transfer them to the Sensation  Sensation sends them to
the Common Sense  and by it they are stamped upon the memory and are
there more or less retained according to the importance or force of
the impression  That sense is most rapid in its function which is
nearest to the sensitive medium and the eye  being the highest is
the chief of the others  Of this then only we will speak  and the
others we will leave in order not to make our matter too long 
Experience tells us that the eye apprehends ten different natures of
things  that is  Light and Darkness  one being the cause of the
perception of the nine others  and the other its absence    Colour
and substance  form and place  distance and nearness  motion and
stillness  Footnote 15  Compare No  23   

On the origin of the soul 

837 

Though human ingenuity may make various inventions which  by the
help of various machines answering the same end  it will never
devise any inventions more beautiful  nor more simple  nor more to
the purpose than Nature does  because in her inventions nothing is
wanting  and nothing is superfluous  and she needs no counterpoise
when she makes limbs proper for motion in the bodies of animals  But
she puts into them the soul of the body  which forms them that is
the soul of the mother which first constructs in the womb the form
of the man and in due time awakens the soul that is to inhabit it 
And this at first lies dormant and under the tutelage of the soul of
the mother  who nourishes and vivifies it by the umbilical vein 
with all its spiritual parts  and this happens because this
umbilicus is joined to the placenta and the cotyledons  by which the
child is attached to the mother  And these are the reason why a
wish  a strong craving or a fright or any other mental suffering in
the mother  has more influence on the child than on the mother  for
there are many cases when the child loses its life from them   c 

This discourse is not in its place here  but will be wanted for the
one on the composition of animated bodies  and the rest of the
definition of the soul I leave to the imaginations of friars  those
fathers of the people who know all secrets by inspiration 

 Footnote 57   lettere incoronate   By this term Leonardo probably
understands not the Bible only  but the works of the early Fathers 
and all the books recognised as sacred by the Roman Church   I leave
alone the sacred books  for they are supreme truth 

On the relations of the soul to the organs of sense 

838 

HOW THE FIVE SENSES ARE THE MINISTERS OF THE SOUL 

The soul seems to reside in the judgment  and the judgment would
seem to be seated in that part where all the senses meet  and this
is called the Common Sense and is not all pervading throughout the
body  as many have thought  Rather is it entirely in one part 
Because  if it were all pervading and the same in every part  there
would have been no need to make the instruments of the senses meet
in one centre and in one single spot  on the contrary it would have
sufficed that the eye should fulfil the function of its sensation on
its surface only  and not transmit the image of the things seen  to
the sense  by means of the optic nerves  so that the soul  for the
reason given above   may perceive it in the surface of the eye  In
the same way as to the sense of hearing  it would have sufficed if
the voice had merely sounded in the porous cavity of the indurated
portion of the temporal bone which lies within the ear  without
making any farther transit from this bone to the common sense  where
the voice confers with and discourses to the common judgment  The
sense of smell  again  is compelled by necessity to refer itself to
that same judgment  Feeling passes through the perforated cords and
is conveyed to this common sense  These cords diverge with infinite
ramifications into the skin which encloses the members of the body
and the viscera  The perforated cords convey volition and sensation
to the subordinate limbs  These cords and the nerves direct the
motions of the muscles and sinews  between which they are placed 
these obey  and this obedience takes effect by reducing their
thickness  for in swelling  their length is reduced  and the nerves
shrink which are interwoven among the particles of the limbs  being
extended to the tips of the fingers  they transmit to the sense the
object which they touch 

The nerves with their muscles obey the tendons as soldiers obey the
officers  and the tendons obey the Common  central  Sense as the
officers obey the general   27  Thus the joint of the bones obeys
the nerve  and the nerve the muscle  and the muscle the tendon and
the tendon the Common Sense  And the Common Sense is the seat of the
soul  28   and memory is its ammunition  and the impressibility is
its referendary since the sense waits on the soul and not the soul
on the sense  And where the sense that ministers to the soul is not
at the service of the soul  all the functions of that sense are also
wanting in that man s life  as is seen in those born mute and blind 

 Footnote  The peculiar use of the words  nervo    muscolo  
 corda    senso comune   which are here literally rendered by nerve 
muscle cord or tendon and Common Sense may be understood from lines
27 and 28  

On involuntary muscular action 

839 

HOW THE NERVES SOMETIMES ACT OF THEMSELVES WITHOUT ANY COMMANDS FROM
THE OTHER FUNCTIONS OF THE SOUL 

This is most plainly seen  for you will see palsied and shivering
persons move  and their trembling limbs  as their head and hands 
quake without leave from their soul and their soul with all its
power cannot prevent their members from trembling  The same thing
happens in falling sickness  or in parts that have been cut off  as
in the tails of lizards  The idea or imagination is the helm and
guiding rein of the senses  because the thing conceived of moves the
sense  Pre imagining  is imagining the things that are to be 
Post imagining  is imagining the things that are past 

Miscellaneous physiological observations  840 842  

840 

There are four Powers  memory and intellect  desire and
covetousness  The two first are mental and the others sensual  The
three senses  sight  hearing and smell cannot well be prevented 
touch and taste not at all  Smell is connected with taste in dogs
and other gluttonous animals 

841 

I reveal to men the origin of the first  or perhaps second cause of
their existence 

842 

Lust is the cause of generation 

Appetite is the support of life  Fear or timidity is the
prolongation of life and preservation of its instruments 

The laws of nutrition and the support of life  843 848  

843 

HOW THE BODY OF ANIMALS IS CONSTANTLY DYING AND BEING RENEWED 

The body of any thing whatever that takes nourishment constantly
dies and is constantly renewed  because nourishment can only enter
into places where the former nourishment has expired  and if it has
expired it no longer has life  And if you do not supply nourishment
equal to the nourishment which is gone  life will fail in vigour 
and if you take away this nourishment  the life is entirely
destroyed  But if you restore as much is destroyed day by day  then
as much of the life is renewed as is consumed  just as the flame of
the candle is fed by the nourishment afforded by the liquid of this
candle  which flame continually with a rapid supply restores to it
from below as much as is consumed in dying above  and from a
brilliant light is converted in dying into murky smoke  and this
death is continuous  as the smoke is continuous  and the continuance
of the smoke is equal to the continuance of the nourishment  and in
the same instant all the flame is dead and all regenerated 
simultaneously with the movement of its own nourishment 

844 

King of the animals  as thou hast described him  I should rather say
king of the beasts  thou being the greatest  because thou hast
spared slaying them  in order that they may give thee their children
for the benefit of the gullet  of which thou hast attempted to make
a sepulchre for all animals  and I would say still more  if it were
allowed me to speak the entire truth  5   But we do not go outside
human matters in telling of one supreme wickedness  which does not
happen among the animals of the earth  inasmuch as among them are
found none who eat their own kind  unless through want of sense  few
indeed among them  and those being mothers  as with men  albeit they
be not many in number   and this happens only among the rapacious
animals  as with the leonine species  and leopards  panthers lynxes 
cats and the like  who sometimes eat their children  but thou 
besides thy children devourest father  mother  brothers and friends 
nor is this enough for thee  but thou goest to the chase on the
islands of others  taking other men and these half naked  the    
and the     thou fattenest  and chasest them down thy own
throat 18   now does not nature produce enough simples  for thee to
satisfy thyself  and if thou art not content with simples  canst
thou not by the mixture of them make infinite compounds  as Platina
wrote Footnote 21   Come scrisse il Platina   Bartolomeo Sacchi  a
famous humanist   The Italian edition of his treatise  De arte
coquinaria   was published under the title  De la honestra
voluptate  e valetudine  Venezia  1487    and other authors on
feeding 

 Footnote  We are led to believe that Leonardo himself was a
vegetarian from the following interesting passage in the first of
Andrea Corsali s letters to Giuliano de Medici   Alcuni gentili
chiamati Guzzarati non si cibano di cosa  alcuna che tenga sangue 
ne fra essi loro consentono che si noccia ad alcuna cosa animata 
come il nostro Leonardo da Vinci  

5 18  Amerigo Vespucci  with whom Leonardo was personally
acquainted  writes in his second letter to Pietro Soderini  about
the inhabitants of the Canary Islands after having stayed there in
1503    Hanno una scelerata liberta di viuere      si cibano di
carne humana  di maniera che il padre magia il figliuolo  et
all incontro il figliuolo il padre secondo che a caso e per sorte
auiene  Io viddi un certo huomo sceleratissimo che si vantaua  et si
teneua a non piccola gloria di hauer mangiato piu di trecento
huomini  Viddi anche vna certa citta  nella quale io dimorai forse
ventisette giorni  doue le carni humane  hauendole salate  eran
appicate alli traui  si come noi alli traui di cucina   appicchiamo
le carni di cinghali secche al sole o al fumo  et massimamente
salsiccie  et altre simil cose  anzi si marauigliauano gradem ete
che noi non magiaissimo della carne de nemici  le quali dicono
muouere appetito  et essere di marauiglioso sapore  et le lodano
come cibi soaui et delicati  Lettere due di Amerigo Vespucci
Fiorentino drizzate al magnifico Pietro Soderini  Gonfaloniere della
eccelsa Republica di Firenze   various editions   

845 

Our life is made by the death of others 

In dead matter insensible life remains  which  reunited to the
stomachs of living beings  resumes life  both sensual and
intellectual 

846 

Here nature appears with many animals to have been rather a cruel
stepmother than a mother  and with others not a stepmother  but a
most tender mother 

847 

Man and animals are really the passage and the conduit of food  the
sepulchre of animals and resting place of the dead  one causing the
death of the other  making themselves the covering for the
corruption of other dead  bodies  

On the circulation of the blood  848 850  

848 

Death in old men  when not from fever  is caused by the veins which
go from the spleen to the valve of the liver  and which thicken so
much in the walls that they become closed up and leave no passage
for the blood that nourishes it 

 6 The incessant current of the blood through the veins makes these
veins thicken and become callous  so that at last they close up and
prevent the passage of the blood 

849 

The waters return with constant motion from the lowest depths of the
sea to the utmost height of the mountains  not obeying the nature of
heavier bodies  and in this they resemble the blood of animated
beings which always moves from the sea of the heart and flows
towards the top of the head  and here it may burst a vein  as may be
seen when a vein bursts in the nose  all the blood rises from below
to the level of the burst vein  When the water rushes out from the
burst vein in the earth  it obeys the law of other bodies that are
heavier than the air since it always seeks low places 

 Footnote  From this passage it is quite plain that Leonardo had not
merely a general suspicion of the circulation of the blood but a
very clear conception of it  Leonardo s studies on the muscles of
the heart are to be found in the MS  W  An  III  but no information
about them has hitherto been made public  The limits of my plan in
this work exclude all purely anatomical writings  therefore only a
very brief excerpt from this note book can be given here  WILLIAM
HARVEY  born 1578 and Professor of Anatomy at Cambridge from 1615 
is always considered to have been the discoverer of the circulation
of the blood  He studied medicine at Padua in 1598  and in 1628
brought out his memorable and important work   De motu cordis et
sanguinis   

850 

That the blood which returns when the heart opens again is not the
same as that which closes the valves of the heart 

Some notes on medicine  851 855  

851 

Make them give you the definition and remedies for the case     and
you will see that men are selected to be doctors for diseases they
do not know 

852 

A remedy for scratches taught me by the Herald to the King of
France  4 ounces of virgin wax  4 ounces of colophony  2 ounces of
incense  Keep each thing separate  and melt the wax  and then put in
the incense and then the colophony  make a mixture of it and put it
on the sore place 

853 

Medicine is the restoration of discordant elements  sickness is the
discord of the elements infused into the living body 

854 

Those who are annoyed by sickness at sea should drink extract of
wormwood 

855 

To keep in health  this rule is wise  Eat only when you want and
relish food  Chew thoroughly that it may do you good  Have it well
cooked  unspiced and undisguised  He who takes medicine is ill
advised 

 Footnote  This appears to be a sketch for a poem  

856 

I teach you to preserve your health  and in this you will succed
better in proportion as you shun physicians  because their medicines
are the work of alchemists 

 Footnote  This passage is written on the back of the drawing Pl 
CVIII  Compare also No  1184  

 XV  

 Astronomy  

 Ever since the publication by Venturi in  1797  and Libri in  1840
 of some few passages of Leonardo s astronomical notes  scientific
astronomers have frequently expressed the opinion  that they must
have been based on very important discoveries  and that the great
painter also deserved a conspicuous place in the history of this
science  In the passages here printed  a connected view is given of
his astronomical studies as they lie scattered through the
manuscripts  which have come down to us  Unlike his other purely
scientific labours  Leonardo devotes here a good deal of attention
to the opinions of the ancients  though he does not follow the
practice universal in his day of relying on them as authorities  he
only quotes them  as we shall see  in order to refute their
arguments  His researches throughout have the stamp of independent
thought  There is nothing in these writings to lead us to suppose
that they were merely an epitome of the general learning common to
the astronomers of the period  As early as in the XIVth century
there were chairs of astronomy in the universities of Padua and
Bologna  but so late as during the entire XVIth century Astronomy
and Astrology were still closely allied  

 It is impossible now to decide whether Leonardo  when living in
Florence  became acquainted in his youth with the doctrines of Paolo
Toscanelli the great astronomer and mathematician  died  1482    of
whose influence and teaching but little is now known  beyond the
fact that he advised and encouraged Columbus to carry out his
project of sailing round the world  His name is nowhere mentioned by
Leonardo  and from the dates of the manuscripts from which the texts
on astronomy are taken  it seems highly probable that Leonardo
devoted his attention to astronomical studies less in his youth than
in his later years  It was evidently his purpose to treat of
Astronomy in a connected form and in a separate work  see the
beginning of Nos   866  and  892   compare also No   1167    It is
quite in accordance with his general scientific thoroughness that he
should propose to write a special treatise on Optics as an
introduction to Astronomy  see Nos   867  and  877    Some of the
chapters belonging to this Section bear the title  Prospettiva 
  see Nos   869  and  870    this being the term universally applied
at the time to Optics as well as Perspective  see Vol  I  p   10 
 note to No   13   l   10    

 At the beginning of the XVIth century the Ptolemaic theory of the
universe was still universally accepted as the true one  and
Leonardo conceives of the earth as fixed  with the moon and sun
revolving round it  as they are represented in the diagram to No  
897   He does not go into any theory of the motions of the planets 
with regard to these and the fixed stars he only investigates the
phenomena of their luminosity  The spherical form of the earth he
takes for granted as an axiom from the first  and he anticipates
Newton by pointing out the universality of Gravitation not merely in
the earth  but even in the moon  Although his acute research into
the nature of the moon s light and the spots on the moon did not
bring to light many results of lasting importance beyond making it
evident that they were a refutation of the errors of his
contemporaries  they contain various explanations of facts which
modern science need not modify in any essential point  and
discoveries which history has hitherto assigned to a very much later
date  

 The ingenious theory by which he tries to explain the nature of
what is known as earth shine  the reflection of the sun s rays by
the earth towards the moon  saying that it is a peculiar refraction 
originating in the innumerable curved surfaces of the waves of the
sea may be regarded as absurd  but it must not be forgotten that he
had no means of detecting the fundamental error on which he based
it  namely  the assumption that the moon was at a relatively short
distance from the earth  So long as the motion of the earth round
the sun remained unknown  it was of course impossible to form any
estimate of the moon s distance from the earth by a calculation of
its parallax  

 Before the discovery of the telescope accurate astronomical
observations were only possible to a very limited extent  It would
appear however from certain passages in the notes here printed for
the first time  that Leonardo was in a position to study the spots
in the moon more closely than he could have done with the unaided
eye  So far as can be gathered from the mysterious language in which
the description of his instrument is wrapped  he made use of
magnifying glasses  these do not however seem to have been
constructed like a telescope  telescopes were first made about 
1600   As LIBRI pointed out   Histoire des Sciences mathematiques
III  101   Fracastoro of Verona   1473 1553   succeeded in
magnifying the moon s face by an arrangement of lenses  compare No  
910   note   and this gives probability to Leonardo s invention at a
not much earlier date  

I 

THE EARTH AS A PLANET 

The earth s place in the universe  857  858  

857 

The equator  the line of the horizon  the ecliptic  the meridian 

These lines are those which in all their parts are equidistant from
the centre of the globe 

858 

The earth is not in the centre of the Sun s orbit nor at the centre
of the universe  but in the centre of its companion elements  and
united with them  And any one standing on the moon  when it and the
sun are both beneath us  would see this our earth and the element of
water upon it just as we see the moon  and the earth would light it
as it lights us 

The fundamental laws of the solar system  859 864  

859 

Force arises from dearth or abundance  it is the child of physical
motion  and the grand child of spiritual motion  and the mother and
origin of gravity  Gravity is limited to the elements of water and
earth  but this force is unlimited  and by it infinite worlds might
be moved if instruments could be made by which the force could be
generated 

Force  with physical motion  and gravity  with resistance are the
four external powers on which all actions of mortals depend 

Force has its origin in spiritual motion  and this motion  flowing
through the limbs of sentient animals  enlarges their muscles  Being
enlarged by this current the muscles are shrunk in length and
contract the tendons which are connected with them  and this is the
cause of the force of the limbs in man 

The quality and quantity of the force of a man are able to give
birth to other forces  which will be proportionally greater as the
motions produced by them last longer 

 Footnote  Only part of this passage belongs  strictly speaking  to
this section  The principle laid down in the second paragraph is
more directly connected with the notes given in the preceding
section on Physiology  

860 

Why does not the weight  o  remain in its place  It does not remain
because it has no resistance  Where will it move to  It will move
towards the centre  of gravity   And why by no other line  Because a
weight which has no support falls by the shortest road to the lowest
point which is the centre of the world  And why does the weight know
how to find it by so short a line  Because it is not independant and
does not move about in various directions 

 Footnote  This text and the sketch belonging to it  are reproduced
on Pl  CXXI  

861 

Let the earth turn on which side it may the surface of the waters
will never move from its spherical form  but will always remain
equidistant from the centre of the globe 

Granting that the earth might be removed from the centre of the
globe  what would happen to the water 

It would remain in a sphere round that centre equally thick  but the
sphere would have a smaller diameter than when it enclosed the
earth 

 Footnote  Compare No  896  lines 48 64  and No  936  

862 

Supposing the earth at our antipodes which supports the ocean were
to rise and stand uncovered  far out of the sea  but remaining
almost level  by what means afterwards  in the course of time  would
mountains and vallies be formed 

And the rocks with their various strata 

863 

Each man is always in the middle of the surface of the earth and
under the zenith of his own hemisphere  and over the centre of the
earth 

864 

Mem   That I must first show the distance of the sun from the earth 
and  by means of a ray passing through a small hole into a dark
chamber  detect its real size  and besides this  by means of the
aqueous sphere calculate the size of the globe    

Here it will be shown  that when the sun is in the meridian of our
hemisphere  Footnote 10   Antipodi orientali cogli occidentali   The
word  Antipodes  does not here bear its literal sense  but  as we
may infer from the simultaneous reference to inhabitants of the
North and South   is used as meaning men living at a distance of 90
degrees from the zenith of the rational horizon of each observer   
the antipodes to the East and to the West  alike  and at the same
time  see the sun mirrored in their waters  and the same is equally
true of the arctic and antarctic poles  if indeed they are
inhabited 

How to prove that the earth is a planet  865 867  

865 

That the earth is a star 

866 

In your discourse you must prove that the earth is a star much like
the moon  and the glory of our universe  and then you must treat of
the size of various stars  according to the authors 

867 

THE METHOD OF PROVING THAT THE EARTH IS A STAR 

First describe the eye  then show how the twinkling of a star is
really in the eye and why one star should twinkle more than another 
and how the rays from the stars originate in the eye  and add  that
if the twinkling of the stars were really in the stars   as it seems
to be  that this twinkling appears to be an extension as great as
the diameter of the body of the star  therefore  the star being
larger than the earth  this motion effected in an instant would be a
rapid doubling of the size of the star  Then prove that the surface
of the air where it lies contiguous to fire  and the surface of the
fire where it ends are those into which the solar rays penetrate 
and transmit the images of the heavenly bodies  large when they
rise  and small  when they are on the meridian  Let  a  be the earth
and  n d m  the surface of the air in contact with the sphere of
fire   h f g  is the orbit of the moon or  if you please  of the
sun  then I say that when the sun appears on the horizon  g   its
rays are seen passing through the surface of the air at a slanting
angle  that is  o m   this is not the case at  d k   And so it
passes through a greater mass of air  all of  e m  is a denser
atmosphere 

868 

Beyond the sun and us there is darkness and so the air appears blue 

 Footnote  Compare Vol  I  No  301  

869 

PERSPECTIVE 

It is possible to find means by which the eye shall not see remote
objects as much diminished as in natural perspective  which
diminishes them by reason of the convexity of the eye which
necessarily intersects  at its surface  the pyramid of every image
conveyed to the eye at a right angle on its spherical surface  But
by the method I here teach in the margin  9  these pyramids are
intersected at right angles close to the surface of the pupil  The
convex pupil of the eye can take in the whole of our hemisphere 
while this will show only a single star  but where many small stars
transmit their images to the surface of the pupil those stars are
extremely small  here only one star is seen but it will be large 
And so the moon will be seen larger and its spots of a more defined
form  Footnote 20 and fol   Telescopes were not in use till a century
later  Compare No  910 and page 136    You must place close to the
eye a glass filled with the water of which mention is made in number
4 of Book 113  On natural substances   Footnote 23   libro  113 
This is perhaps the number of a book in some library catalogue  But
it may refer  on the other hand  to one of the 120 Books mentioned
in No  796  l  84    for this water makes objects which are enclosed
in balls of crystalline glass appear free from the glass 

OF THE EYE 

Among the smaller objects presented to the pupil of the eye  that
which is closest to it  will be least appreciable to the eye  And at
the same time  the experiments here made with the power of sight 
show that it is not reduced to speck if the  c   32  Footnote 32 
Compare with this the passage in Vol  I  No  52  written about
twenty years earlier   

Read in the margin 

 34 Those objects are seen largest which come to the eye at the
largest angles 

But the images of the objects conveyed to the pupil of the eye are
distributed to the pupil exactly as they are distributed in the air 
and the proof of this is in what follows  that when we look at the
starry sky  without gazing more fixedly at one star than another 
the sky appears all strewn with stars  and their proportions to the
eye are the same as in the sky and likewise the spaces between them
 61  

 Footnote  9  32   in margine   lines 34 61 are  in the original 
written on the margin and above them is the diagram to which
Leonardo seems to refer here  

870 

PERSPECTIVE 

Among objects moved from the eye at equal distance  that undergoes
least diminution which at first was most remote 

When various objects are removed at equal distances farther from
their original position  that which was at first the farthest from
the eye will diminish least  And the proportion of the diminution
will be in proportion to the relative distance of the objects from
the eye before they were removed 

That is to say in the object  t  and the object  e  the proportion
of their distances from the eye  a  is quintuple  I remove each from
its place and set it farther from the eye by one of the 5 parts into
which the proposition is divided  Hence it happens that the nearest
to the eye has doubled the distance and according to the last
proposition but one of this  is diminished by the half of its whole
size  and the body  e   by the same motion  is diminished 1 5 of its
whole size  Therefore  by that same last proposition but one  that
which is said in this last proposition is true  and this I say of
the motions of the celestial bodies which are more distant by 3500
miles when setting than when overhead  and yet do not increase or
diminish in any sensible degree 

871 

 a b  is the aperture through which the sun passes  and if you could
measure the size of the solar rays at  n m   you could accurately
trace the real lines of the convergence of the solar rays  the
mirror being at  a b   and then show the reflected rays at equal
angles to  n m   but  as you want to have them at  n m   take them
at the  inner side of the aperture at cd  where they maybe measured
at the spot where the solar rays fall  Then place your mirror at the
distance  a b   making the rays  d b    c a  fall and then be
reflected at equal angles towards  c d   and this is the best
method  but you must use this mirror always in the same month  and
the same day  and hour and instant  and this will be better than at
no fixed time because when the sun is at a certain distance it
produces a certain pyramid of rays 

872 

 a   the side of the body in light and shade  b   faces the whole
portion of the hemisphere bed  e f   and does not face any part of
the darkness of the earth  And the same occurs at the point  o  
therefore the space a  o  is throughout of one and the same
brightness  and s faces only four degrees of the hemisphere  d e f g
h   and also the whole of the earth  s h   which will render it
darker  and how much must be demonstrated by calculation   Footnote 
This passage  which has perhaps a doubtful right to its place in
this connection  stands in the Manuscript between those given in
Vol  I as No  117 and No  427  

873 

THE REASON OF THE INCREASED SIZE OF THE SUN IN THE WEST 

Some mathematicians explain that the sun looks larger as it sets 
because the eye always sees it through a denser atmosphere  alleging
that objects seen through mist or through water appear larger  To
these I reply  No  because objects seen through a mist are similar
in colour to those at a distance  but not being similarly diminished
they appear larger  Again  nothing increases in size in smooth
water  and the proof of this may be seen by throwing a light on a
board placed half under water  But the reason why the sun looks
larger is that every luminous body appears larger in proportion as
it is more remote   Footnote  Lines 5 and 6 are thus rendered by M 
RAVAISSON in his edition of MS  A    De meme  aucune chose ne croit
dans l eau plane  et tu en feras l experience  en calquant un ais
sous l eau    Compare the diagrams in Vol  I  p  114  

On the luminosity of the Earth in the universal space  874 878  

874 

In my book I propose to show  how the ocean and the other seas must 
by means of the sun  make our world shine with the appearance of a
moon  and to the remoter worlds it looks like a star  and this I
shall prove 

Show  first that every light at a distance from the eye throws out
rays which appear to increase the size of the luminous body  and
from this it follows that 2     Footnote 10  Here the text breaks
off  lines 11 and fol  are written in the margin   

 11 The moon is cold and moist  Water is cold and moist  Thus our
seas must appear to the moon as the moon does to us 

875 

The waves in water magnify the image of an object reflected in it 

Let  a  be the sun  and  n m  the ruffled water   b  the image of
the sun when the water is smooth  Let  f  be the eye which sees the
image in all the waves included within the base of the triangle  c e
f   Now the sun reflected in the unruffled surface occupied the
space  c d   while in the ruffled surface it covers all the watery
space  c e   as is proved in the 4th of my  Perspective    Footnote
9   Nel quarto della mia prospettiva   If this reference is to the
diagrams accompanying the text  as is usual with Leonardo  and not
to some particular work  the largest of the diagrams here given must
be meant  It is the lowest and actually the fifth  but he would have
called it the fourth  for the text here given is preceded on the
same page of the manuscript by a passage on whirlpools  with the
diagram belonging to it also reproduced here  The words  della mia
prospettiva  may therefore indicate that the diagram to the
preceding chapter treating on a heterogeneal subject is to be
excluded  It is a further difficulty that this diagram belongs
properly to lines 9 10 and not to the preceding sentence  The
reflection of the sun in water is also discussed in the Theoretical
part of the Book on Painting  see Vol  I  No  206  207   and it will
cover more of the water in proportion as the reflected image is
remote from the eye  10  

 Footnote  In the original sketch  inside the circle in the first
diagram  is written  Sole   sun   and to the right of it  luna 
 moon   Thus either of these heavenly bodies may be supposed to fill
that space  Within the lower circle is written  simulacro   image  
In the two next diagrams at the spot here marked  L  the word  Luna 
is written  and in the last  sole  is written in the top circle at
 a   

The image of the sun will be more brightly shown in small waves than
in large ones  and this is because the reflections or images of the
sun are more numerous in the small waves than in large ones  and the
more numerous reflections of its radiance give a larger light than
the fewer 

Waves which intersect like the scales of a fir cone reflect the
image of the sun with the greatest splendour  and this is the case
because the images are as many as the ridges of the waves on which
the sun shines  and the shadows between these waves are small and
not very dark  and the radiance of so many reflections together
becomes united in the image which is transmitted to the eye  so that
these shadows are imperceptible 

That reflection of the sun will cover most space on the surface of
the water which is most remote from the eye which sees it 

Let  a  be the sun   p q  the reflection of the sun   a b  is the
surface of the water  in which the sun is mirrored  and  r  the eye
which sees this reflection on the surface of the water occupying the
space  o m    c  is the eye at a greater distance from the surface
of the water and also from the reflection  hence this reflection
covers a larger space of water  by the distance between  n  and  o  

876 

It is impossible that the side of a spherical mirror  illuminated by
the sun  should reflect its radiance unless this mirror were
undulating or filled with bubbles 

You see here the sun which lights up the moon  a spherical mirror 
and all of its surface  which faces the sun is rendered radiant 

Whence it may be concluded that what shines in the moon is water
like that of our seas  and in waves as that is  and that portion
which does not shine consists of islands and terra firma 

This diagram  of several spherical bodies interposed between the eye
and the sun  is given to show that  just as the reflection of the
sun is seen in each of these bodies  in the same way that image may
be seen in each curve of the waves of the sea  and as in these many
spheres many reflections of the sun are seen  so in many waves there
are many images  each of which at a great distance is much magnified
to the eye  And  as this happens with each wave  the spaces
interposed between the waves are concealed  and  for this reason  it
looks as though the many suns mirrored in the many waves were but
one continuous sun  and the shadows   mixed up with the luminous
images  render this radiance less brilliant than that of the sun
mirrored in these waves 

 Footnote  In the original  at letter  A  in the diagram   Sole  
 the sun  is written  and at  o    occhio    the eye   

877 

This will have before it the treatise on light and shade 

The edges in the moon will be most strongly lighted and reflect most
light  because  there  nothing will be visible but the tops of the
waves of the water  Footnote 5  I have thought it unnecessary to
reproduce the detailed explanation of the theory of reflection on
waves contained in the passage which follows this   

878 

The sun will appear larger in moving water or on waves than in still
water  an example is the light reflected on the strings of a
monochord 

II 

THE SUN 

The question of the true and of the apparent size of the sun
 879 884  

879 

IN PRAISE OF THE SUN 

If you look at the stars  cutting off the rays  as may be done by
looking through a very small hole made with the extreme point of a
very fine needle  placed so as almost to touch the eye   you will
see those stars so minute that it would seem as though nothing could
be smaller  it is in fact their great distance which is the reason
of their diminution  for many of them are very many times larger
than the star which is the earth with water  Now reflect what this
our star must look like at such a distance  and then consider how
many stars might be added  both in longitude and latitude  between
those stars which are scattered over the darkened sky  But I cannot
forbear to condemn many of the ancients  who said that the sun was
no larger than it appears  among these was Epicurus  and I believe
that he founded his reason on the effects of a light placed in our
atmosphere equidistant from the centre of the earth  Any one looking
at it never sees it diminished in size at whatever distance  and the
rea 

 Footnote 879 882  What Leonardo says of Epicurus   who according to
LEWIS   The Astronomy of the ancients   and MADLER   Geschichte der
Himmelskunde   did not devote much attention to the study of
celestial phenomena    he probably derived from Book X of Diogenes
Laertius  whose  Vitae Philosophorum  was not printed in Greek till
1533  but the Latin translation appeared in 1475  

880 

sons of its size and power I shall reserve for Book 4  But I wonder
greatly that Socrates

 Footnote 2   Socrates   I have little light to throw on this
reference  Plato s Socrates himself declares on more than one
occasion that in his youth he had turned his mind to the study of
celestial phenomena  METEWPA  but not in his later years  see G  C 
LEWIS   The Astronomy of the ancients   page 109  MADLER 
 Geschichte der Himmelskunde   page 41   Here and there in Plato s
writings we find incidental notes on the sun and other heavenly
bodies  Leonardo may very well have known of these  since the Latin
version by Ficinus was printed as early as 1491  indeed an undated
edition exists which may very likely have appeared between 1480  90 

There is but one passage in Plato  Epinomis  p  983  where he speaks
of the physical properties of the sun and says that it is larger
than the earth 

Aristotle who goes very fully into the subject says the same  A
complete edition of Aristotele s works was first printed in Venice
1495 98  but a Latin version of the Books  De Coelo et Mundo  and
 De Physica  had been printed in Venice as early as in 1483  H 
MULLER STRUBING   

should have depreciated that solar body  saying that it was of the
nature of incandescent stone  and the one who opposed him as to that
error was not far wrong  But I only wish I had words to serve me to
blame those who are fain to extol the worship of men more than that
of the sun  for in the whole universe there is nowhere to be seen a
body of greater magnitude and power than the sun  Its light gives
light to all the celestial bodies which are distributed throughout
the universe  and from it descends all vital force  for the heat
that is in living beings comes from the soul  vital spark   and
there is no other centre of heat and light in the universe as will
be shown in Book 4  and certainly those who have chosen to worship
men as gods  as Jove  Saturn  Mars and the like  have fallen into
the gravest error  seeing that even if a man were as large as our
earth  he would look no bigger than a little star which appears but
as a speck in the universe  and seeing again that these men are
mortal  and putrid and corrupt in their sepulchres 

Marcellus  Footnote 23  I have no means of identifying  Marcello 
who is named in the margin  It may be Nonius Marcellus  an obscure
Roman Grammarian of uncertain date  between the IInd and Vth
centuries A  C   the author of the treatise  De compendiosa doctrina
per litteras ad filium  in which he treats  de rebus omnibus et
quibusdam aliis   This was much read in the middle ages  The  editto
princeps  is dated 1470  H  MULLER STRUBING    and many others
praise the sun 

881 

Epicurus perhaps saw the shadows cast by columns on the walls in
front of them equal in diameter to the columns from which the
shadows were cast  and the breadth of the shadows being parallel
from beginning to end  he thought he might infer that the sun also
was directly opposite to this parallel and that consequently its
breadth was not greater than that of the column  not perceiving that
the diminution in the shadow was insensibly slight by reason of the
remoteness of the sun  If the sun were smaller than the earth  the
stars on a great portion of our hemisphere would have no light 
which is evidence against Epicurus who says the sun is only as large
as it appears 

 Footnote  In the original the writing is across the diagram  

882 

Epicurus says the sun is the size it looks  Hence as it looks about
a foot across we must consider that to be its size  it would follow
that when the moon eclipses the sun  the sun ought not to appear the
larger  as it does  Then  the moon being smaller than the sun  the
moon must be less than a foot  and consequently when our world
eclipses the moon  it must be less than a foot by a finger s
breadth  inasmuch as if the sun is a foot across  and our earth
casts a conical shadow on the moon  it is inevitable that the
luminous cause of the cone of shadow must be larger than the opaque
body which casts the cone of shadow 

883 

To measure how many times the diameter of the sun will go into its
course in 24 hours 

Make a circle and place it to face the south  after the manner of a
sundial  and place a rod in the middle in such a way as that its
length points to the centre of this circle  and mark the shadow cast
in the sunshine by this rod on the circumference of the circle  and
this shadow will be  let us say   as broad as from  a  to  n   Now
measure how many times this shadow will go into this circumference
of a circle  and that will give you the number of times that the
solar body will go into its orbit in 24 hours  Thus you may see
whether Epicurus was  right in  saying that the sun was only as
large as it looked  for  as the apparent diameter of the sun is
about a foot  and as that sun would go a thousand times into the
length of its course in 24 hours  it would have gone a thousand
feet  that is 300 braccia  which is the sixth of a mile  Whence it
would follow that the course of the sun during the day would be the
sixth part of a mile and that this venerable snail  the sun will
have travelled 25 braccia an hour 

884 

Posidonius composed books on the size of the sun   Footnote 
Poseidonius of Apamea  commonly called the Rhodian  because he
taught in Rhodes  was a Stoic philosopher  a contemporary and friend
of Cicero s  and the author of numerous works on natural science 
among them 

Strabo quotes no doubt from one of his works  when he says that
Poseidonius explained how it was that the sun looked larger when it
was rising or setting than during the rest of its course  III  p 
135   Kleomedes  a later Greek Naturalist also mentions this
observation of Poseidonius  without naming the title of his work 
however  as Kleomedes  Cyclia Theorica was not printed till 1535 
Leonardo must have derived his quotation from Strabo  He probably
wrote this note in 1508  and as the original Greek was first printed
in Venice in 1516  we must suppose him to quote here from the
translation by Guarinus Veronensis  which was printed as early as
1471  also at Venice  H  MULLER STRUBING   

Of the nature of Sunlight 

885 

OF THE PROOF THAT THE SUN IS HOT BY NATURE AND NOT BY VIRTUE 

Of the nature of Sunlight 

That the heat of the sun resides in its nature and not in its virtue
 or mode of action  is abundantly proved by the radiance of the
solar body on which the human eye cannot dwell and besides this no
less manifestly by the rays reflected from a concave mirror 
which  when they strike the eye with such splendour that the eye
cannot bear them  have a brilliancy equal to the sun in its own
place  And that this is true I prove by the fact that if the mirror
has its concavity formed exactly as is requisite for the collecting
and reflecting of these rays  no created being could endure the
heat that strikes from the reflected rays of such a mirror  And if
you argue that the mirror itself is cold and yet send forth hot
rays  I should reply that those rays come really from the sun and
that it is the ray of the concave mirror after having passed through
the window 

Considerations as to the size of the sun  886 891  

886 

The sun does not move   Footnote  This sentence occurs incidentally
among mathematical notes  and is written in unusually large
letters  

887 

PROOF THAT THE NEARER YOU ARE TO THE SOURCE OF THE SOLAR RAYS  THE
LARGER WILL THE REFLECTION OF THE SUN FROM THE SEA APPEAR TO YOU 

 Footnote  Lines 4 and fol  Compare Vol  I  Nos  130  131   If it is
from the centre that the sun employs its radiance to intensify the
power of its whole mass  it is evident that the farther its rays
extend  the more widely they will be divided  and this being so 
you  whose eye is near the water that mirrors the sun  see but a
small portion of the rays of the sun strike the surface of the
water  and reflecting the form of the sun  But if you were near to
the sun  as would be the case when the sun is on the meridian and
the sea to the westward  you would see the sun  mirrored in the sea 
of a very great size  because  as you are nearer to the sun  your
eye taking in the rays nearer to the point of radiation takes more
of them in  and a great splendour is the result  And in this way it
can be proved that the moon must have seas which reflect the sun 
and that the parts which do not shine are land 

888 

Take the measure of the sun at the solstice in mid June 

889 

WHY THE SUN APPEARS LARGER WHEN SETTING THAN AT NOON  WHEN IT IS
NEAR TO US 

Every object seen through a curved medium seems to be of larger size
than it is 

 Footnote  At A is written  sole   the sun   at B  terra   the
earth   

890 

Because the eye is small it can only see the image of the sun as of
a small size  If the eye were as large as the sun it would see the
image of the sun in water of the same size as the real body of the
sun  so long as the water is smooth 

891 

A METHOD OF SEEING THE SUN ECLIPSED WITHOUT PAIN TO THE EYE 

Take a piece of paper and pierce holes in it with a needle  and look
at the sun through these holes 

III 

THE MOON 

On the luminousity of the moon  892 901  

892 

OF THE MOON 

As I propose to treat of the nature of the moon  it is necessary
that first I should describe the perspective of mirrors  whether
plane  concave or convex  and first what is meant by a luminous ray 
and how it is refracted by various kinds of media  then  when a
reflected ray is most powerful  whether when the angle of incidence
is acute  right  or obtuse  or from a convex  a plane  or a concave
surface  or from an opaque or a transparent body  Besides this  how
it is that the solar rays which fall on the waves of the sea  are
seen by the eye of the same width at the angle nearest to the eye 
as at the highest line of the waves on the horizon  but
notwithstanding this the solar rays reflected from the waves of the
sea assume the pyramidal form and consequently  at each degree of
distance increase proportionally in size  although to our sight 
they appear as parallel 

1st  Nothing that has very little weight is opaque 

2dly  Nothing that is excessively weighty can remain beneath that
which is heavier 

3dly  As to whether the moon is situated in the centre of its
elements or not 

And  if it has no proper place of its own  like the earth  in the
midst of its elements  why does it not fall to the centre of our
elements   Footnote 26  The problem here propounded by Leonardo was
not satisfactorily answered till Newton in 1682 formulated the law
of universal attraction and gravitation  Compare No  902  lines
5 15  

And  if the moon is not in the centre of its own elements and yet
does not fall  it must then be lighter than any other element 

And  if the moon is lighter than the other elements why is it opaque
and not transparent 

When objects of various sizes  being placed at various distances 
look of equal size  there must be the same relative proportion in
the distances as in the magnitudes of the objects 

 Footnote  In the diagram Leonardo wrote  sole  at the place marked
 A   

893 

OF THE MOON AND WHETHER IT IS POLISHED AND SPHERICAL 

The image of the sun in the moon is powerfully luminous  and is only
on a small portion of its surface  And the proof may be seen by
taking a ball of burnished gold and placing it in the dark with a
light at some distance from it  and then  although it will
illuminate about half of the ball  the eye will perceive its
reflection only in a small part of its surface  and all the rest of
the surface reflects the darkness which surrounds it  so that it is
only in that spot that the image of the light is seen  and all the
rest remains invisible  the eye being at a distance from the ball 
The same thing would happen on the surface of the moon if it were
polished  lustrous and opaque  like all bodies with a reflecting
surface 

Show how  if you were standing on the moon or on a star  our earth
would seem to reflect the sun as the moon does 

And show that the image of the sun in the sea cannot appear one and
undivided  as it appears in a perfectly plane mirror 

894 

How shadows are lost at great distances  as is shown by the shadow
side of the moon which is never seen   Footnote  Compare also Vol 
I  Nos  175 179  

895 

Either the moon has intrinsic luminosity or not  If it has  why does
it not shine without the aid of the sun  But if it has not any light
in itself it must of necessity be a spherical mirror  and if it is a
mirror  is it not proved in Perspective that the image of a luminous
object will never be equal to the extent of surface of the
reflecting body that it illuminates  And if it be thus  Footnote 13 
At A  in the diagram  Leonardo wrote   sole    the sun   and at B
  luna o noi terra    the moon or our earth   Compare also the text
of No  876    as is here shown at  r s  in the figure  whence comes
so great an extent of radiance as that of the full moon as we see
it  at the fifteenth day of the moon 

896 

OF THE MOON 

The moon has no light in itself  but so much of it as faces the sun
is illuminated  and of that illumined portion we see so much as
faces the earth  And the moon s night receives just as much light as
is lent it by our waters as they reflect the image of the sun  which
is mirrored in all those waters which are on the side towards the
sun  The outside or surface of the waters forming the seas of the
moon and of the seas of our globe is always ruffled little or much 
or more or less  and this roughness causes an extension of the
numberless images of the sun which are repeated in the ridges and
hollows  the sides and fronts of the innumerable waves  that is to
say in as many different spots on each wave as our eyes find
different positions to view them from  This could not happen  if the
aqueous sphere which covers a great part of the moon were uniformly
spherical  for then the images of the sun would be one to each
spectator  and its reflections would be separate and independent and
its radiance would always appear circular  as is plainly to be seen
in the gilt balls placed on the tops of high buildings  But if those
gilt balls were rugged or composed of several little balls  like
mulberries  which are a black fruit composed of minute round
globules  then each portion of these little balls  when seen in the
sun  would display to the eye the lustre resulting from the
reflection of the sun  and thus  in one and the same body many tiny
suns would be seen  and these often combine at a long distance and
appear as one  The lustre of the new moon is brighter and stronger 
than when the moon is full  and the reason of this is that the angle
of incidence is more obtuse in the new than in the full moon  in
which the angles  of incidence and reflection  are highly acute  The
waves of the moon therefore mirror the sun in the hollows of the
waves as well as on the ridges  and the sides remain in shadow  But
at the sides of the moon the hollows of the waves do not catch the
sunlight  but only their crests  and thus the images are fewer and
more mixed up with the shadows in the hollows  and this
intermingling of the shaded and illuminated spots comes to the eye
with a mitigated splendour  so that the edges will be darker 
because the curves of the sides of the waves are insufficient to
reflect to the eye the rays that fall upon them  Now the new moon
naturally reflects the solar rays more directly towards the eye from
the crests of the waves than from any other part  as is shown by the
form of the moon  whose rays a strike the waves  b  and are
reflected in the line  b d   the eye being situated at  d   This
cannot happen at the full moon  when the solar rays  being in the
west  fall on the extreme waters of the moon to the East from  n  to
 m   and are not reflected to the eye in the West  but are thrown
back eastwards  with but slight deflection from the straight course
of the solar ray  and thus the angle of incidence is very wide
indeed 

The moon is an opaque and solid body and if  on the contrary  it
were transparent  it would not receive the light of the sun 

The yellow or yolk of an egg remains in the middle of the albumen 
without moving on either side  now it is either lighter or heavier
than this albumen  or equal to it  if it is lighter  it ought to
rise above all the albumen and stop in contact with the shell of the
egg  and if it is heavier  it ought to sink  and if it is equal  it
might just as well be at one of the ends  as in the middle or below
 54  

 Footnote 48 64  Compare No  861  

The innumerable images of the solar rays reflected from the
innumerable waves of the sea  as they fall upon those waves  are
what cause us to see the very broad and continuous radiance on the
surface of the sea 

897 

That the sun could not be mirrored in the body of the moon  which is
a convex mirror  in such a way as that so much of its surface as is
illuminated by the sun  should reflect the sun unless the moon had a
surface adapted to reflect it  in waves and ridges  like the surface
of the sea when its surface is moved by the wind 

 Footnote  In the original diagrams  sole  is written at the place
marked  A  luna  at  C   and  terra  at the two spots marked  B   

The waves in water multiply the image of the object reflected in it 

These waves reflect light  each by its own line  as the surface of
the fir cone does  Footnote 14  See the diagram p  145  

These are 2 figures one different from the other  one with
undulating water and the other with smooth water 

It is impossible that at any distance the image of the sun cast on
the surface of a spherical body should occupy the half of the
sphere 

Here you must prove that the earth produces all the same effects
with regard to the moon  as the moon with regard to the earth 

The moon  with its reflected light  does not shine like the sun 
because the light of the moon is not a continuous reflection of that
of the sun on its whole surface  but only on the crests and hollows
of the waves of its waters  and thus the sun being confusedly
reflected  from the admixture of the shadows that lie between the
lustrous waves  its light is not pure and clear as the sun is 

 Footnote 38  This refers to the small diagram placed between  B 
and  B       The earth between the moon on the fifteenth day and the
sun   Footnote 39  See the diagram below the one referred to in the
preceding note   Here the sun is in the East and the moon on the
fifteenth day in the West   Footnote 40 41  Refers to the diagram
below the others   The moon on the fifteenth  day  between the earth
and the sun   41 Here it is the moon which has the sun to the West
and the earth to the East 

898 

WHAT SORT OF THING THE MOON IS 

The moon is not of itself luminous  but is highly fitted to
assimilate the character of light after the manner of a mirror  or
of water  or of any other reflecting body  and it grows larger in
the East and in the West  like the sun and the other planets  And
the reason is that every luminous body looks larger in proportion as
it is remote  It is easy to understand that every planet and star is
farther from us when in the West than when it is overhead  by about
3500 miles  as is proved on the margin  Footnote 7  refers to the
first diagram   A    sole   the sun   B    terra   the earth   C  
 luna   the moon     and if you see the sun or moon mirrored in the
water near to you  it looks to you of the same size in the water as
in the sky  But if you recede to the distance of a mile  it will
look 100 times larger  and if you see the sun reflected in the sea
at sunset  its image would look to you more than 10 miles long 
because that reflected image extends over more than 10 miles of sea 
And if you could stand where the moon is  the sun would look to you 
as if it were reflected from all the sea that it illuminates by day 
and the land amid the water would appear just like the dark spots
that are on the moon  which  when looked at from our earth  appears
to men the same as our earth would appear to any men who might dwell
in the moon 

 Footnote  This text has already been published by LIBRI   Histoire
des Sciences   III  pp  224  225  

OF THE NATURE OF THE MOON 

When the moon is entirely lighted up to our sight  we see its full
daylight  and at that time  owing to the reflection of the solar
rays which fall on it and are thrown off towards us  its ocean casts
off less moisture towards us  and the less light it gives the more
injurious it is 

899 

OF THE MOON 

I say that as the moon has no light in itself and yet is luminous 
it is inevitable but that its light is caused by some other body 

900 

OF THE MOON 

All my opponent s arguments to say that there is no water in the
moon   Footnote  The objections are very minutely noted down in the
manuscript  but they hardly seem to have a place here  

901 

Answer to Maestro Andrea da Imola  who said that the solar rays
reflected from a convex mirror are mingled and lost at a short
distance  whereby it is altogether denied that the luminous side of
the moon is of the nature of a mirror  and that consequently the
light is not produced by the innumerable multitude of the waves of
that sea  which I declared to be the portion of the moon which is
illuminated by the solar rays 

Let  o p  be the body of the sun   c n s  the moon  and  b  the eye
which  above the base  c n  of the cathetus  c n m   sees the body
of the sun reflected at equal angles  c n   and the same again on
moving the eye from  b  to  a    Footnote  The large diagram on the
margin of page 161 belongs to this chapter  

Explanation of the lumen cinereum in the moon 

902 

OF THE MOON 

No solid body is less heavy than the atmosphere 

 Footnote  1  On the margin are the words  tola romantina 
tola  ferro stagnato   tinned iron    romantina  is some special
kind of sheet iron no longer known by that name  

Having proved that the part of the moon that shines consists of
water  which mirrors the body of the sun and reflects the radiance
it receives from it  and that  if these waters were devoid of waves 
it would appear small  but of a radiance almost like the sun     5 
It must now be shown whether the moon is a heavy or a light body 
for  if it were a heavy body  admitting that at every grade of
distance from the earth greater levity must prevail  so that water
is lighter than the earth  and air than water  and fire than air and
so on successively  it would seem that if the moon had density as it
really has  it would have weight  and having weight  that it could
not be sustained in the space where it is  and consequently that it
would fall towards the centre of the universe and become united to
the earth  or if not the moon itself  at least its waters would fall
away and be lost from it  and descend towards the centre  leaving
the moon without any and so devoid of lustre  But as this does not
happen  as might in reason be expected  it is a manifest sign that
the moon is surrounded by its own elements  that is to say water 
air and fire  and thus is  of itself and by itself  suspended in
that part of space  as our earth with its element is in this part of
space  and that heavy bodies act in the midst of its elements just
as other heavy bodies do in ours  Footnote 15  This passage would
certainly seem to establish Leonardo s claim to be regarded as the
original discoverer of the cause of the ashy colour of the new moon
  lumen cinereum    His observations however  having hitherto
remained unknown to astronomers  Moestlin and Kepler have been
credited with the discoveries which they made independently a
century later 

Some disconnected notes treat of the same subject in MS  C  A  239b 
718b and 719b    Perche la luna cinta della parte alluminata dal
sole in ponente  tra maggior splendore in mezzo a tal cerchio  che
quando essa eclissava il sole  Questo accade perche nell  eclissare
il sole ella ombrava il nostro oceano  il qual caso non accade
essendo in ponente  quando il sole alluma esso oceano    The editors
of the   Saggio   who first published this passage  page 12  add
another short one about the seasons in the moon which I confess not
to have seen in the original manuscript    La luna ha ogni mese un
verno e una state  e ha maggiori freddi e maggiori caldi  e i suoi
equinozii son piu freddi de  nostri    

When the eye is in the East and sees the moon in the West near to
the setting sun  it sees it with its shaded portion surrounded by
luminous portions  and the lateral and upper portion of this light
is derived from the sun  and the lower portion from the ocean in the
West  which receives the solar rays and reflects them on the lower
waters of the moon  and indeed affords the part of the moon that is
in shadow as much radiance as the moon gives the earth at midnight 
Therefore it is not totally dark  and hence some have believed that
the moon must in parts have a light of its own besides that which is
given it by the sun  and this light is due  as has been said  to the
above  mentioned cause   that our seas are illuminated by the sun 

Again  it might be said that the circle of radiance shown by the
moon when it and the sun are both in the West is wholly borrowed
from the sun  when it  and the sun  and the eye are situated as is
shown above 

 Footnote 23  24  The larger of the two diagrams reproduced above
stands between these two lines  and the smaller one is sketched in
the margin  At the spot marked  A  Leonardo wrote  corpo solare 
 solar body  in the larger diagram and  Sole   sun  in the smaller
one  At  C luna   moon  is written and at  B terra   the earth   

Some might say that the air surrounding the moon as an element 
catches the light of the sun as our atmosphere does  and that it is
this which completes the luminous circle on the body of the moon 

Some have thought that the moon has a light of its own  but this
opinion is false  because they have founded it on that dim light
seen between the hornes of the new moon  which looks dark where it
is close to the bright part  while against the darkness of the
background it looks so light that many have taken it to be a ring of
new radiance completing the circle where the tips of the horns
illuminated by the sun cease to shine  Footnote 34  See Pl  CVIII 
No  5    And this difference of background arises from the fact that
the portion of that background which is conterminous with the bright
part of the moon  by comparison with that brightness looks darker
than it is  while at the upper part  where a portion of the luminous
circle is to be seen of uniform width  the result is that the moon 
being brighter there than the medium or background on which it is
seen by comparison with that darkness it looks more luminous at that
edge than it is  And that brightness at such a time itself is
derived from our ocean and other inland seas  These are  at that
time  illuminated by the sun which is already setting in such a way
as that the sea then fulfils the same function to the dark side of
the moon as the moon at its fifteenth day does to us when the sun is
set  And the small amount of light which the dark side of the moon
receives bears the same proportion to the light of that side which
is illuminated  as that     Footnote 42  Here the text breaks off 
lines 43 52 are written on the margin   

If you want to see how much brighter the shaded portion of the moon
is than the background on which it is seen  conceal the luminous
portion of the moon with your hand or with some other more distant
object 

On the spots in the moon  903 907  

903 

THE SPOTS ON THE MOON 

Some have said that vapours rise from the moon  after the manner of
clouds and are interposed between the moon and our eyes  But  if
this were the case  these spots would never be permanent  either as
to position or form  and  seeing the moon from various aspects  even
if these spots did not move they would change in form  as objects do
which are seen from different sides 

904 

OF THE SPOTS ON THE MOON 

Others say that the moon is composed of more or less transparent
parts  as though one part were something like alabaster and others
like crystal or glass  It would follow from this that the sun
casting its rays on the less transparent portions  the light would
remain on the surface  and so the denser part would be illuminated 
and the transparent portions would display the shadow of their
darker depths  and this is their account of the structure and nature
of the moon  And this opinion has found favour with many
philosophers  and particularly with Aristotle  and yet it is a false
view  for  in the various phases and frequent changes of the moon
and sun to our eyes  we should see these spots vary  at one time
looking dark and at another light  they would be dark when the sun
is in the West and the moon in the middle of the sky  for then the
transparent hollows would be in shadow as far as the tops of the
edges of those transparent hollows  because the sun could not then
fling his rays into the mouth of the hollows  which however  at full
moon  would be seen in bright light  at which time the moon is in
the East and faces the sun in the West  then the sun would
illuminate even the lowest depths of these transparent places and
thus  as there would be no shadows cast  the moon at these times
would not show us the spots in question  and so it would be  now
more and now less  according to the changes in the position of the
sun to the moon  and of the moon to our eyes  as I have said above 

905 

OF THE SPOTS ON THE MOON 

It has been asserted  that the spots on the moon result from the
moon being of varying thinness or density  but if this were so  when
there is an eclipse of the moon the solar rays would pierce through
the portions which were thin as is alleged  Footnote 3 5   Eclissi  
This word  as it seems to me  here means eclipses of the sun  and
the sense of the passage  as I understand it  is that by the
foregoing hypothesis the moon  when it comes between the sun and the
earth must appear as if pierced   we may say like a sieve    But as
we do not see this effect the opinion must be false 

Others say that the surface of the moon is smooth and polished and
that  like a mirror  it reflects in itself the image of our earth 
This view is also false  inasmuch as the land  where it is not
covered with water  presents various aspects and forms  Hence when
the moon is in the East it would reflect different spots from those
it would show when it is above us or in the West  now the spots on
the moon  as they are seen at full moon  never vary in the course of
its motion over our hemisphere  A second reason is that an object
reflected in a convex body takes up but a small portion of that
body  as is proved in perspective  Footnote 18   come e provato  
This alludes to the accompanying diagram    The third reason is that
when the moon is full  it only faces half the hemisphere of the
illuminated earth  on which only the ocean and other waters reflect
bright light  while the land makes spots on that brightness  thus
half of our earth would be seen girt round with the brightness of
the sea lighted up by the sun  and in the moon this reflection would
be the smallest part of that moon  Fourthly  a radiant body cannot
be reflected from another equally radiant  therefore the sea  since
it borrows its brightness from the sun   as the moon does    could
not cause the earth to be reflected in it  nor indeed could the body
of the sun be seen reflected in it  nor indeed any star opposite to
it 

906 

If you keep the details of the spots of the moon under observation
you will often find great variation in them  and this I myself have
proved by drawing them  And this is caused by the clouds that rise
from the waters in the moon  which come between the sun and those
waters  and by their shadow deprive these waters of the sun s rays 
Thus those waters remain dark  not being able to reflect the solar
body 

907 

How the spots on the moon must have varied from what they formerly
were  by reason of the course of its waters 

On the moon s halo 

908 

OF HALOS ROUND THE MOON 

I have found  that the circles which at night seem to surround the
moon  of various sizes  and degrees of density are caused by various
gradations in the densities of the vapours which exist at different
altitudes between the moon and our eyes  And of these halos the
largest and least red is caused by the lowest of these vapours  the
second  smaller one  is higher up  and looks redder because it is
seen through two vapours  And so on  as they are higher they will
appear smaller and redder  because  between the eye and them  there
is thicker vapour  Whence it is proved that where they are seen to
be reddest  the vapours are most dense 

On instruments for observing the moon  909  910  

909 

If you want to prove why the moon appears larger than it is  when it
reaches the horizon  take a lens which is highly convex on one
surface and concave on the opposite  and place the concave side next
the eye  and look at the object beyond the convex surface  by this
means you will have produced an exact imitation of the atmosphere
included beneath the sphere of fire and outside that of water  for
this atmosphere is concave on the side next the earth  and convex
towards the fire 

910 

Construct glasses to see the moon magnified 

 Footnote  See the Introduction  p  136  Fracastoro says in his work
Homocentres    Per dua specilla ocularla si quis perspiciat  alteri
altero superposito  majora multo et propinquiora videbit
omnia   Quin imo quaedam specilla ocularia fiunt tantae densitatis 
ut si per ea quis aut lunam  aut aliud siderum spectet  adeo
propinqua illa iudicet  ut ne turres ipsas excedant    sect  II c  8
and sect  III  c  23   

I 
THE STARS 
On the light of the stars  911 913  
911 
The stars are visible by night and not by day  because we are
beneath the dense atmosphere  which is full of innumerable
articles of moisture  each of which independently  when the
rays of the sun fall upon it  reflects a radiance  and so these
numberless bright particles conceal the stars  and if it were not
for this atmosphere the sky would always display the stars against
its darkness 
 Footnote  See No  296  which also refers to starlight  
912 
Whether the stars have their light from the sun or in themselves 
Some say that they shine of themselves  alledging that if Venus
and Mercury had not a light of their own  when they come between
our eye and the sun they would darken so much of the sun as they
could cover from our eye  But this is false  for it is proved that
a dark object against a luminous body is enveloped and entirely
concealed by the lateral rays of the rest of that luminous body
and so remains invisible  As may be seen when the sun is seen
through the boughs of trees bare of their leaves  at some distance
the branches do not conceal any portion of the sun from our eye 
The same thing happens with the above mentioned planets which 
though they have no light of their own  do not  as has been said  
conceal any part of the sun from our eye
 18  

SECOND ARGUMENT 

Some say that the stars appear most brilliant at night in proportion
as they are higher up  and that if they had no light of their own 
the shadow of the earth which comes between them and the sun  would
darken them  since they would not face nor be faced by the solar
body  But those persons have not considered that the conical shadow
of the earth cannot reach many of the stars  and even as to those it
does reach  the cone is so much diminished that it covers very
little of the star s mass  and all the rest is illuminated by the
sun 

Footnote  From this and other remarks  see No  902  it is clear
hat Leonardo was familiar with the phenomena of Irradiation  

13 

Why the planets appear larger in the East than they do overhead 
whereas the contrary should be the case  as they are 3500 miles
nearer to us when in mid sky than when on the horizon 

All the degrees of the elements  through which the images of the
celestial bodies pass to reach the eye  are equal curves and the
angles by which the central line of those images passes through
them  are unequal angles  Footnote 13   inequali   here and
elsewhere does not mean unequal in the sense of not being equal to
each other  but angles which are not right angles    and the
distance is greater  as is shown by the excess of  a b  beyond  a
d   and the enlargement of these celestial bodies on the horizon is
shown by the 9th of the 7th 

Observations on the stars 

914 

To see the real nature of the planets open the covering and note at
the base  Footnote 4   basa   This probably alludes to some
instrument  perhaps the Camera obscura   one single planet  and the
reflected movement of this base will show the nature of the said
planet  but arrange that the base may face only one at the time 

On history of astronomy 

915 

Cicero says in  his book  De Divinatione that Astrology has been
practised five hundred seventy thousand years before the Trojan war 

57000 

 Footnote  The statement that CICERO   De Divin   ascribes the
discovery of astrology to a period 57000 years before the Trojan war
I believe to be quite erroneous  According to ERNESTI   Clavis
Ciceroniana   CH  G  SCHULZ   Lexic  Cicer    and the edition of  De
Divin   by GIESE the word Astrologia occurs only twice in CICERO 
 De Divin  II   42   Ad Chaldaeorum monstra veniamus  de quibus
Eudoxus  Platonis auditor  in astrologia judicio doctissimorum
hominum facile princeps  sic opinatur  id quod scriptum reliquit  
Chaldaeis in praedictione et in notatione cujusque vitae ex natali
die minime esse credendum    He then quotes the condemnatory verdict
of other philosophers as to the teaching of the Chaldaeans but says
nothing as to the antiquity and origin of astronomy  CICERO further
notes  De oratore  I  16 that Aratus was   ignarus astrologiae   but
that is all  So far as I know the word occurs nowhere else in
CICERO  and the word  Astronomia  he does not seem to have used at
all   H  MULLER STRUBING   

Of time and its divisions  916 918  

916 

Although time is included in the class of Continuous Quantities 
being indivisible and immaterial  it does not come entirely under
the head of Geometry  which represents its divisions by means of
figures and bodies of infinite variety  such as are seen to be
continuous in their visible and material properties  But only with
its first principles does it agree  that is with the Point and the
Line  the point may be compared to an instant of time  and the line
may be likened to the length of a certain quantity of time  and just
as a line begins and terminates in a point  so such a space of time 
begins and terminates in an instant  And whereas a line is
infinitely divisible  the divisibility of a space of time is of the
same nature  and as the divisions of the line may bear a certain
proportion to each other  so may the divisions of time 

 Footnote  This passage is repeated word for word on page 190b of
the same manuscript and this is accounted for by the text in Vol  I 
No  4  Compare also No  1216  

917 

Describe the nature of Time as distinguished from the Geometrical
definitions 

918 

Divide an hour into 3000 parts  and this you can do with a clock by
making the pendulum lighter or heavier 

 XVI 

Physical Geography 

Leonardo s researches as to the structure of the earth and sea were
made at a time  when the extended voyages of the Spaniards and
Portuguese had also excited a special interest in geographical
questions in Italy  and particularly in Tuscany  Still  it need
scarcely surprise us to find that in deeper questions  as to the
structure of the globe  the primitive state of the earth s surface 
and the like  he was far in advance of his time 

The number of passages which treat of such matters is relatively
considerable  like almost all Leonardo s scientific notes they deal
partly with theoretical and partly with practical questions  Some of
his theoretical views of the motion of water were collected in a
copied manuscript volume by an early transcriber  but without any
acknowledgment of the source whence they were derived  This copy is
now in the Library of the Barberini palace at Rome and was published
under the title   De moto e misura dell acqua   by FRANCESCO
CARDINALI  Bologna  1828   In this work the texts are arranged under
the following titles   Libr  I  Della spera dell acqua  Libr  II 
Del moto dell acqua  Libr  III  Dell onda dell acqua  Libr  IV  Dei
retrosi d acqua  Libr  V  Dell acqua cadente  Libr  VI  Delle
rotture fatte dall acqua  Libr  VII Delle cose portate dall acqua 
Libr  VIII  Dell oncia dell acqua e delle canne  Libr  IX  De molini
e d altri ordigni d acqua 

 The large number of isolated observations scattered through the
manuscripts  accounts for our so frequently finding notes of new
schemes for the arrangement of those relating to water and its
motions  particularly in the Codex Atlanticus  I have printed
several of these plans as an introduction to the Physical Geography 
and I have actually arranged the texts in accordance with the clue
afforded by one of them which is undoubtedly one of the latest notes
referring to the subject  No   920    The text given as No   930
 which is also taken from a late note book of Leonardo s  served as
a basis for the arrangement of the first of the seven books  or
sections    bearing the title  Of the Nature of Water   Dell acque
in se  

 As I have not made it any part of this undertaking to print the
passages which refer to purely physical principles  it has also been
necessary to exclude those practical researches which  in accordance
with indications given in  920   ought to come in as Books  13  14
 and  15   I can only incidentally mention here that Leonardo  as it
seems to me  especially in his youth  devoted a great deal of
attention to the construction of mills  This is proved by a number
of drawings of very careful and minute execution  which are to be
found in the Codex Atlanticus  Nor was it possible to include his
considerations on the regulation of rivers  the making of canals and
so forth  No   920   Books  10  11  and  12    but those passages in
which the structure of a canal is directly connected with notices of
particular places will be found duly inserted under section XVII
 Topographical notes   In Vol  I  No   5  the text refers to
canal making in general  

 On one point only can the collection of passages included under the
general heading of Physical Geography claim to be complete  When
comparing and sorting the materials for this work I took particular
care not to exclude or omit any text in which a geographical name
was mentioned even incidentally  since in all such researches the
chief interest  as it appeared to me  attached to the question
whether these acute observations on the various local
characteristics of mountains  rivers or seas  had been made by
Leonardo himself  and on the spot  It is self evident that the few
general and somewhat superficial observations on the Rhine and the
Danube  on England and Flanders  must have been obtained from maps
or from some informants  and in the case of Flanders Leonardo
himself acknowledges this  see No   1008    But that most of the
other and more exact observations were made  on the spot  by
Leonardo himself  may be safely assumed from their method and the
style in which he writes of them  and we should bear it in mind that
in all investigations  of whatever kind  experience is always spoken
of as the only basis on which he relies  Incidentally  as in No  
984   he thinks it necessary to allude to the total absence of all
recorded observations  

I 

INTRODUCTION 

Schemes for the arrangement of the materials  919 928  

919 

These books contain in the beginning  Of the nature of water itself
in its motions  the others treat of the effects of its currents 
which change the world in its centre and its shape 

920 

DIVISIONS OF THE BOOK 

Book 1 of water in itself 

Book 2 of the sea 

Book 3 of subterranean rivers 

Book 4 of rivers 

Book 5 of the nature of the abyss 

Book 6 of the obstacles 

Book 7 of gravels 

Book 8 of the surface of water 

Book 9 of the things placed therein 

Book 10 of the repairing of rivers 

Book 11 of conduits 

Book 12 of canals 

Book 13 of machines turned by water 

Book 14 of raising water 

Book 15 of matters worn away by water 

921 

First you shall make a book treating of places occupied by fresh
waters  and the second by salt waters  and the third  how by the
disappearance of these  our parts of the world were made lighter and
in consequence more remote from the centre of the world 

922 

First write of all water  in each of its motions  then describe all
its bottoms and their various materials  always referring to the
propositions concerning the said waters  and let the order be good 
for otherwise the work will be confused 

Describe all the forms taken by water from its greatest to its
smallest wave  and their causes 

923 

Book 9  of accidental risings of water 

924 

THE ORDER OF THE BOOK 

Place at the beginning what a river can effect 

925 

A book of driving back armies by the force of a flood made by
releasing waters 

A book showing how the waters safely bring down timber cut in the
mountains 

A book of boats driven against the impetus of rivers 

A book of raising large bridges higher  Simply by the swelling of
the waters 

A book of guarding against the impetus of rivers so that towns may
not be damaged by them 

926 

A book of the ordering of rivers so as to preserve their banks 

A book of the mountains  which would stand forth and become land  if
our hemisphere were to be uncovered by the water 

A book of the earth carried down by the waters to fill up the great
abyss of the seas 

A book of the ways in which a tempest may of itself clear out filled
up sea ports 

A book of the shores of rivers and of their permanency 

A book of how to deal with rivers  so that they may keep their
bottom scoured by their own flow near the cities they pass 

A book of how to make or to repair the foundations for bridges over
the rivers 

A book of the repairs which ought to be made in walls and banks of
rivers where the water strikes them 

A book of the formation of hills of sand or gravel at great depths
in water 

927 

Water gives the first impetus to its motion 

A book of the levelling of waters by various means 

A book of diverting rivers from places where they do mischief 

A book of guiding rivers which occupy too much ground 

A book of parting rivers into several branches and making them
fordable 

A book of the waters which with various currents pass through seas 

A book of deepening the beds of rivers by means of currents of
water 

A book of controlling rivers so that the little beginnings of
mischief  caused by them  may not increase 

A book of the various movements of waters passing through channels
of different forms 

A book of preventing small rivers from diverting the larger one into
which their waters run 

A book of the lowest level which can be found in the current of the
surface of rivers 

A book of the origin of rivers which flow from the high tops of
mountains 

A book of the various motions of waters in their rivers 

928 

 1  Of inequality in the concavity of a ship   Footnote 1  The first
line of this passage was added subsequently  evidently as a
correction of the following line  

 1  A book of the inequality in the curve of the sides of ships 

 1  A book of the inequality in the position of the tiller 

 1  A book of the inequality in the keel of ships 

 2  A book of various forms of apertures by which water flows out 

 3  A book of water contained in vessels with air  and of its
movements 

 4  A book of the motion of water through a syphon   Footnote 7 
 cicognole   see No  966  11  17  

 5  A book of the meetings and union of waters coming from different
directions 

 6  A book of the various forms of the banks through which rivers
pass 

 7  A book of the various forms of shoals formed under the sluices
of rivers 

 8  A book of the windings and meanderings of the currents of
rivers 

 9  A book of the various places whence the waters of rivers are
derived 

 10  A book of the configuration of the shores of rivers and of
their permanency 

 11  A book of the perpendicular fall of water on various objects 

 12  Abook of the course of water when it is impeded in various
places 

 12  A book of the various forms of the obstacles which impede the
course of waters 

 13  A book of the concavity and globosity formed round various
objects at the bottom 

 14  Abook of conducting navigable canals above or beneath the
rivers which intersect them 

 15  A book of the soils which absorb water in canals and of
repairing them 

 16  Abook of creating currents for rivers  which quit their beds 
 and  for rivers choked with soil 

General introduction 

929 

THE BEGINNING OF THE TREATISE ON WATER 

By the ancients man has been called the world in miniature  and
certainly this name is well bestowed  because  inasmuch as man is
composed of earth  water  air and fire  his body resembles that of
the earth  and as man has in him bones the supports and framework of
his flesh  the world has its rocks the supports of the earth  as man
has in him a pool of blood in which the lungs rise and fall in
breathing  so the body of the earth has its ocean tide which
likewise rises and falls every six hours  as if the world breathed 
as in that pool of blood veins have their origin  which ramify all
over the human body  so likewise the ocean sea fills the body of the
earth with infinite springs of water  The body of the earth lacks
sinews and this is  because the sinews are made expressely for
movements and  the world being perpetually stable  no movement takes
place  and no movement taking place  muscles are not necessary 
  But in all other points they are much alike 

I 

OF THE NATURE OF WATER 

The arrangement of Book I 

930 

THE ORDER OF THE FIRST BOOK ON WATER 

Define first what is meant by height and depth  also how the
elements are situated one inside another  Then  what is meant by
solid weight and by liquid weight  but first what weight and
lightness are in themselves  Then describe why water moves  and why
its motion ceases  then why it becomes slower or more rapid  besides
this  how it always falls  being in contact with the air but lower
than the air  And how water rises in the air by means of the heat of
the sun  and then falls again in rain  again  why water springs
forth from the tops of mountains  and if the water of any spring
higher than the ocean can pour forth water higher than the surface
of that ocean  And how all the water that returns to the ocean is
higher than the sphere of waters  And how the waters of the
equatorial seas are higher than the waters of the North  and higher
beneath the body of the sun than in any part of the equatorial
circle  for experiment shows that under the heat of a burning brand
the water near the brand boils  and the water surrounding this
ebullition always sinks with a circular eddy  And how the waters of
the North are lower than the other seas  and more so as they become
colder  until they are converted into ice 

Definitions  931  932  

931 

OF WHAT IS WATER 

Among the four elements water is the second both in weight and in
instability 

932 

THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK ON WATER 

Sea is the name given to that water which is wide and deep  in which
the waters have not much motion 

 Footnote  Only the beginning of this passage is here given  the
remainder consists of definitions which have no direct bearing on
the subject  

Of the surface of the water in relation to the globe  933 936  

933 

The centres of the sphere of water are two  one universal and common
to all water  the other particular  The universal one is that which
is common to all waters not in motion  which exist in great
quantities  As canals  ditches  ponds  fountains  wells  dead
rivers  lakes  stagnant pools and seas  which  although they are at
various levels  have each in itself the limits of their superficies
equally distant from the centre of the earth  such as lakes placed
at the tops of high mountains  as the lake near Pietra Pana and the
lake of the Sybil near Norcia  and all the lakes that give rise to
great rivers  as the Ticino from Lago Maggiore  the Adda from the
lake of Como  the Mincio from the lake of Garda  the Rhine from the
lakes of Constance and of Chur  and from the lake of Lucerne  like
the Tigris which passes through Asia Minor carrying with it the
waters of three lakes  one above the other at different heights of
which the highest is Munace  the middle one Pallas  and the lowest
Triton  the Nile again flows from three very high lakes in Ethiopia 

 Footnote 5   Pietra Pana   a mountain near Florence  If for Norcia 
we may read Norchia  the remains of the Etruscan city near Viterbo 
there can be no doubt that by   Lago della Sibilla    a name not
known elsewhere  so far as I can learn  Leonardo meant  Lago di
Vico   Lacus Ciminus  Aen  7   

934 

OF THE CENTRE OF THE OCEAN 

The centre of the sphere of waters is the true centre of the globe
of our world  which is composed of water and earth  having the shape
of a sphere  But  if you want to find the centre of the element of
the earth  this is placed at a point equidistant from the surface of
the ocean  and not equidistant from the surface of the earth  for it
is evident that this globe of earth has nowhere any perfect
rotundity  excepting in places where the sea is  or marshes or other
still waters  And every part of the earth that rises above the water
is farther from the centre 

935 

OF THE SEA WHICH CHANGES THE WEIGHT OF THE EARTH 

The shells  oysters  and other similar animals  which originate in
sea mud  bear witness to the changes of the earth round the centre
of our elements  This is proved thus  Great rivers always run
turbid  being coloured by the earth  which is stirred by the
friction of their waters at the bottom and on their shores  and this
wearing disturbs the face of the strata made by the layers of
shells  which lie on the surface of the marine mud  and which were
produced there when the salt waters covered them  and these strata
were covered over again from time to time  with mud of various
thickness  or carried down to the sea by the rivers and floods of
more or less extent  and thus these layers of mud became raised to
such a height  that they came up from the bottom to the air  At the
present time these bottoms are so high that they form hills or high
mountains  and the rivers  which wear away the sides of these
mountains  uncover the strata of these shells  and thus the softened
side of the earth continually rises and the antipodes sink closer to
the centre of the earth  and the ancient bottoms of the seas have
become mountain ridges 

936 

Let the earth make whatever changes it may in its weight  the
surface of the sphere of waters can never vary in its equal distance
from the centre of the world 

Of the proportion of the mass of water to that of the earth  937 
938  

937 

WHETHER THE EARTH IS LESS THAN THE WATER 

Some assert that it is true that the earth  which is not covered by
water is much less than that covered by water  But considering the
size of 7000 miles in diameter which is that of this earth  we may
conclude the water to be of small depth 

938 

OF THE EARTH 

The great elevations of the peaks of the mountains above the sphere
of the water may have resulted from this that  a very large portion
of the earth which was filled with water that is to say the vast
cavern inside the earth may have fallen in a vast part of its vault
towards the centre of the earth  being pierced by means of the
course of the springs which continually wear away the place where
they pass 

Sinking in of countries like the Dead Sea in Syria  that is Sodom
and Gomorrah 

It is of necessity that there should be more water than land  and
the visible portion of the sea does not show this  so that there
must be a great deal of water inside the earth  besides that which
rises into the lower air and which flows through rivers and springs 

 Footnote  The small sketch below on the left  is placed in the
original close to the text referring to the Dead Sea  

The theory of Plato 

939 

THE FIGURES OF THE ELEMENTS 

Of the figures of the elements  and first as against those who deny
the opinions of Plato  and who say that if the elements include one
another in the forms attributed to them by Plato they would cause a
vacuum one within the other  I say it is not true  and I here prove
it  but first I desire to propound some conclusions  It is not
necessary that the elements which include each other should be of
corresponding magnitude in all the parts  of that which includes and
of that which is included  We see that the sphere of the waters
varies conspicuously in mass from the surface to the bottom  and
that  far from investing the earth when that was in the form of a
cube that is of 8 angles as Plato will have it  that it invests the
earth which has innumerable angles of rock covered by the water and
various prominences and concavities  and yet no vacuum is generated
between the earth and water  again  the air invests the sphere of
waters together with the mountains and valleys  which rise above
that sphere  and no vacuum remains between the earth and the air  so
that any one who says a vacuum is generated  speaks foolishly 

But to Plato I would reply that the surface of the figures which
according to him the elements would have  could not exist 

That the flow of rivers proves the slope of the land 

940 

PROVES HOW THE EARTH IS NOT GLOBULAR AND NOT BEING GLOBULAR CANNOT
HAVE A COMMON CENTRE 

We see the Nile come from Southern regions and traverse various
provinces  running towards the North for a distance of 3000 miles
and flow into the Mediterranean by the shores of Egypt  and if we
will give to this a fall of ten braccia a mile  as is usually
allowed to the course of rivers in general  we shall find that the
Nile must have its mouth ten miles lower than its source  Again  we
see the Rhine  the Rhone and the Danube starting from the German
parts  almost the centre of Europe  and having a course one to the
East  the other to the North  and the last to Southern seas  And if
you consider all this you will see that the plains of Europe in
their aggregate are much higher than the high peaks of the maritime
mountains  think then how much their tops must be above the sea
shores 

Theory of the elevation of water within the mountains 

941 

OF THE HEAT THAT IS IN THE WORLD 

Where there is life there is heat  and where vital heat is  there is
movement of vapour  This is proved  inasmuch as we see that the
element of fire by its heat always draws to itself damp vapours and
thick mists as opaque clouds  which it raises from seas as well as
lakes and rivers and damp valleys  and these being drawn by degrees
as far as the cold region  the first portion stops  because heat and
moisture cannot exist with cold and dryness  and where the first
portion stops the rest settle  and thus one portion after another
being added  thick and dark clouds are formed  They are often wafted
about and borne by the winds from one region to another  where by
their density they become so heavy that they fall in thick rain  and
if the heat of the sun is added to the power of the element of fire 
the clouds are drawn up higher still and find a greater degree of
cold  in which they form ice and fall in storms of hail  Now the
same heat which holds up so great a weight of water as is seen to
rain from the clouds  draws them from below upwards  from the foot
of the mountains  and leads and holds them within the summits of the
mountains  and these  finding some fissure  issue continuously and
cause rivers 

The relative height of the surface of the sea to that of the land
 942 945  

942 

OF THE SEA  WHICH TO MANY FOOLS APPEARS TO BE HIGHER THAN THE EARTH
WHICH FORMS ITS SHORE 

 b d  is a plain through which a river flows to the sea  this plain
ends at the sea  and since in fact the dry land that is uncovered is
not perfectly level  for  if it were  the river would have no
motion  as the river does move  this place is a slope rather than a
plain  hence this plain  d b  so ends where the sphere of water
begins that if it were extended in a continuous line to  b a  it
would go down beneath the sea  whence it follows that the sea  a c
b  looks higher than the dry land 

Obviously no portions of dry land left uncovered by water can ever
be lower than the surface of the watery sphere 

943 

OF CERTAIN PERSONS WHO SAY THE WATERS WERE HIGHER THAN THE DRY LAND 

Certainly I wonder not a little at the common opinion which is
contrary to truth  but held by the universal consent of the judgment
of men  And this is that all are agreed that the surface of the sea
is higher than the highest peaks of the mountains  and they allege
many vain and childish reasons  against which I will allege only one
simple and short reason  We see plainly that if we could remove the
shores of the sea  it would invest the whole earth and make it a
perfect sphere  Now  consider how much earth would be carried away
to enable the waves of the sea to cover the world  therefore that
which would be carried away must be higher than the sea shore 

944 

THE OPINION OF SOME PERSONS WHO SAY THAT THE WATER OF SOME SEAS IS
HIGHER THAN THE HIGHEST SUMMITS OF MOUNTAINS  AND NEVERTHELESS THE
WATER WAS FORCED UP TO THESE SUMMITS 

Water would not move from place to place if it were not that it
seeks the lowest level and by a natural consequence it never can
return to a height like that of the place where it first on issuing
from the mountain came to light  And that portion of the sea which 
in your vain imagining  you say was so high that it flowed over the
summits of the high mountains  for so many centuries would be
swallowed up and poured out again through the issue from these
mountains  You can well imagine that all the time that Tigris and
Euphrates

945 

have flowed from the summits of the mountains of Armenia  it must be
believed that all the water of the ocean has passed very many times
through these mouths  And do you not believe that the Nile must have
sent more water into the sea than at present exists of all the
element of water  Undoubtedly  yes  And if all this water had fallen
away from this body of the earth  this terrestrial machine would
long since have been without water  Whence we may conclude that the
water goes from the rivers to the sea  and from the sea to the
rivers  thus constantly circulating and returning  and that all the
sea and the rivers have passed through the mouth of the Nile an
infinite number of times  Footnote   Moti Armeni  Ermini  in the
original  in M  RAVAISSON S transcript   monti ernini  le loro
ruine      He renders this   Le Tigre et l Euphrate se sont deverses
par les sommets des montagnes  avec leurs eaux destructives   on
pent cro re   c  Leonardo always writes  Ermini  Erminia   for
 Armeni  Armenia   Arabic   Irminiah    M  RAVAISSON also deviates
from the original in his translation of the following passage    Or
tu ne crois pas que le Nil ait mis plus d eau dans la mer qu il n y
en a a present dans tout l element de l eau  Il est certain que si
cette eau etait tombee    c  

II 

ON THE OCEAN 

Refutation of Pliny s theory as to the saltness of the sea  946 
947  

946 

WHY WATER IS SALT 

Pliny says in his second book  chapter 103  that the water of the
sea is salt because the heat of the sun dries up the moisture and
drinks it up  and this gives to the wide stretching sea the savour
of salt  But this cannot be admitted  because if the saltness of the
sea were caused by the heat of the sun  there can be no doubt that
lakes  pools and marshes would be so much the more salt  as their
waters have less motion and are of less depth  but experience shows
us  on the contrary  that these lakes have their waters quite free
from salt  Again it is stated by Pliny in the same chapter that this
saltness might originate  because all the sweet and subtle portions
which the heat attracts easily being taken away  the more bitter and
coarser part will remain  and thus the water on the surface is
fresher than at the bottom  Footnote 22  Compare No  948    but this
is contradicted by the same reason given above  which is  that the
same thing would happen in marshes and other waters  which are dried
up by the heat  Again  it has been said that the saltness of the sea
is the sweat of the earth  to this it may be answered that all the
springs of water which penetrate through the earth  would then be
salt  But the conclusion is  that the saltness of the sea must
proceed from the many springs of water which  as they penetrate into
the earth  find mines of salt and these they dissolve in part  and
carry with them to the ocean and the other seas  whence the clouds 
the begetters of rivers  never carry it up  And the sea would be
salter in our times than ever it was at any time  and if the
adversary were to say that in infinite time the sea would dry up or
congeal into salt  to this I answer that this salt is restored to
the earth by the setting free of that part of the earth which rises
out of the sea with the salt it has acquired  and the rivers return
it to the earth under the sea 

 Footnote  See PLINY  Hist  Nat  II  CIII  C    Itaque Solis ardore
siccatur liquor  et hoc esse masculum sidus accepimus  torrens
cuncta sorbensque    cp  CIV    Sic mari late patenti saporem
incoqui salis  aut quia exhausto inde dulci tenuique  quod facillime
trahat vis ignea  omne asperius crassiusque linquatur  ideo summa
aequorum aqua dulciorem profundam  hanc esse veriorem causam  quam
quod mare terrae sudor sit aeternus  aut quia plurimum ex arido
misceatur illi vapore  aut quia terrae natura sicut medicatas aquas
inficiat       cp  CV    altissimum mare XV  stadiorum Fabianus
tradit  Alii n Ponto coadverso Coraxorum gentis  vocant B Ponti 
trecentis fere a continenti stadiis immensam altitudinem maris
tradunt  vadis nunquam repertis    cp  CVI  CIII    Mirabilius id
faciunt aquae dulces  juxta mare  ut fistulis emicantes  Nam nec
aquarum natura a miraculis cessat  Dulces mari invehuntur  leviores
haud dubie  Ideo et marinae  quarum natura gravior  magis invecta
sustinent  Quaedam vero et dulces inter se supermeant alias   

947 

For the third and last reason we will say that salt is in all
created things  and this we learn from water passed over the ashes
and cinders of burnt things  and the urine of every animal  and the
superfluities issuing from their bodies  and the earth into which
all things are converted by corruption 

But   to put it better   given that the world is everlasting  it
must be admitted that its population will also be eternal  hence the
human species has eternally been and would be consumers of salt  and
if all the mass of the earth were to be turned into salt  it would
not suffice for all human food  Footnote 27  That is  on the
supposition that salt  once consumed  disappears for ever    whence
we are forced to admit  either that the species of salt must be
everlasting like the world  or that it dies and is born again like
the men who devour it  But as experience teaches us that it does not
die  as is evident by fire  which does not consume it  and by water
which becomes salt in proportion to the quantity dissolved in
it   and when it is evaporated the salt always remains in the
original quantity  it must pass through the bodies of men either in
the urine or the sweat or other excretions where it is found again 
and as much salt is thus got rid of as is carried every year into
towns  therefore salt is dug in places where there is urine    Sea
hogs and sea winds are salt 

We will say that the rains which penetrate the earth are what is
under the foundations of cities with their inhabitants  and are what
restore through the internal passages of the earth the saltness
taken from the sea  and that the change in the place of the sea 
which has been over all the mountains  caused it to be left there in
the mines found in those mountains   c 

The characteristics of sea water  948  949  

948 

The waters of the salt sea are fresh at the greatest depths 

949 

THAT THE OCEAN DOES NOT PENETRATE UNDER THE EARTH 

The ocean does not penetrate under the earth  and this we learn from
the many and various springs of fresh water which  in many parts of
the ocean make their way up from the bottom to the surface  The same
thing is farther proved by wells dug beyond the distance of a mile
from the said ocean  which fill with fresh water  and this happens
because the fresh water is lighter than salt water and consequently
more penetrating 

Which weighs most  water when frozen or when not frozen 

FRESH WATER PENETRATES MORE AGAINST SALT WATER THAN SALT WATER
AGAINST FRESH WATER 

That fresh water penetrates more against salt water  than salt water
against fresh is proved by a thin cloth dry and old  hanging with
the two opposite ends equally low in the two different waters  the
surfaces of which are at an equal level  and it will then be seen
how much higher the fresh water will rise in this piece of linen
than the salt  by so much is the fresh lighter than the salt 

On the formation of Gulfs  950  951  

950 

All inland seas and the gulfs of those seas  are made by rivers
which flow into the sea 

951 

HERE THE REASON IS GIVEN OF THE EFFECTS PRODUCED BY THE WATERS IN
THE ABOVE MENTIONED PLACE 

All the lakes and all the gulfs of the sea and all inland seas are
due to rivers which distribute their waters into them  and from
impediments in their downfall into the Mediterranean   which divides
Africa from Europe and Europe from Asia by means of the Nile and the
Don which pour their waters into it  It is asked what impediment is
great enough to stop the course of the waters which do not reach the
ocean 

On the encroachments of the sea on the land and vice versa
 952 954  

952 

OF WAVES 

A wave of the sea always breaks in front of its base  and that
portion of the crest will then be lowest which before was highest 

 Footnote  The page of FRANCESCO DI GIORGIO S  Trattato   on which
Leonardo has written this remark  contains some notes on the
construction of dams  harbours  c  

953 

That the shores of the sea constantly acquire more soil towards the
middle of the sea  that the rocks and promontories of the sea are
constantly being ruined and worn away  that the Mediterranean seas
will in time discover their bottom to the air  and all that will be
left will be the channel of the greatest river that enters it  and
this will run to the ocean and pour its waters into that with those
of all the rivers that are its tributaries 

954 

How the river Po  in a short time might dry up the Adriatic sea in
the same way as it has dried up a large part of Lombardy 

The ebb and flow of the tide  955 960  

955 

Where there is a larger quantity of water  there is a greater flow
and ebb  but the contrary in narrow waters 

Look whether the sea is at its greatest flow when the moon is half
way over our hemisphere  on the meridian  

956 

Whether the flow and ebb are caused by the moon or the sun  or are
the breathing of this terrestrial machine  That the flow and ebb are
different in different countries and seas 

 Footnote  1  Allusion may here be made to the mythological
explanation of the ebb and flow given in the Edda  Utgardloki says
to Thor  Gylfaginning 48    When thou wert drinking out of the horn 
and it seemed to thee that it was slow in emptying a wonder befell 
which I should not have believed possible  the other end of the horn
lay in the sea  which thou sawest not  but when thou shalt go to the
sea  thou shalt see how much thou hast drunk out of it  And that men
now call the ebb tide  

Several passages in various manuscripts treat of the ebb and flow 
In collecting them I have been guided by the rule only to transcribe
those which named some particular spot  

957 

Book 9 of the meeting of rivers and their flow and ebb  The cause is
the same in the sea  where it is caused by the straits of Gibraltar 
And again it is caused by whirlpools 

958 

OF THE FLOW AND EBB 

All seas have their flow and ebb in the same period  but they seem
to vary because the days do not begin at the same time throughout
the universe  in such wise as that when it is midday in our
hemisphere  it is midnight in the opposite hemisphere  and at the
Eastern boundary of the two hemispheres the night begins which
follows on the day  and at the Western boundary of these hemispheres
begins the day  which follows the night from the opposite side 
Hence it is to be inferred that the above mentioned swelling and
diminution in the height of the seas  although they take place in
one and the same space of time  are seen to vary from the above
mentioned causes  The waters are then withdrawn into the fissures
which start from the depths of the sea and which ramify inside the
body of the earth  corresponding to the sources of rivers  which are
constantly taking from the bottom of the sea the water which has
flowed into it  A sea of water is incessantly being drawn off from
the surface of the sea  And if you should think that the moon 
rising at the Eastern end of the Mediterranean sea must there begin
to attract to herself the waters of the sea  it would follow that we
must at once see the effect of it at the Eastern end of that sea 
Again  as the Mediterranean sea is about the eighth part of the
circumference of the aqueous sphere  being 3000 miles long  while
the flow and ebb only occur 4 times in 24 hours  these results would
not agree with the time of 24 hours  unless this Mediterranean sea
were six thousand miles in length  because if such a superabundance
of water had to pass through the straits of Gibraltar in running
behind the moon  the rush of the water through that strait would be
so great  and would rise to such a height  that beyond the straits
it would for many miles rush so violently into the ocean as to cause
floods and tremendous seething  so that it would be impossible to
pass through  This agitated ocean would afterwards return the waters
it had received with equal fury to the place they had come from  so
that no one ever could pass through those straits  Now experience
shows that at every hour they are passed in safety  but when the
wind sets in the same direction as the current  the strong ebb
increases  Footnote 23  In attempting to get out of the
Mediterranean  vessels are sometimes detained for a considerable
time  not merely by the causes mentioned by Leonardo but by the
constant current flowing eastwards through the middle of the straits
of Gibraltar    The sea does not raise the water that has issued
from the straits  but it checks them and this retards the tide  then
it makes up with furious haste for the time it has lost until the
end of the ebb movement 

959 

That the flow and ebb are not general  for on the shore at Genoa
there is none  at Venice two braccia  between England and Flanders
18 braccia  That in the straits of Sicily the current is very strong
because all the waters from the rivers that flow into the Adriatic
pass there 

 Footnote  A few more recent data may be given here to facilitate
comparison  In the Adriatic the tide rises 2 and 1 2 feet  at
Terracina 1 1 4  In the English channel between Calais and Kent it
rises from 18 to 20 feet  In the straits of Messina it rises no more
than 2 1 2 feet  and that only in stormy weather  but the current is
all the stronger  When Leonardo accounts for this by the southward
flow of all the Italian rivers along the coasts  the explanation is
at least based on a correct observation  namely that a steady
current flows southwards along the coast of Calabria and another
northwards  along the shores of Sicily  he seems to infer  from the
direction of the fust  that the tide in the Adriatic is caused by
it  

960 

In the West  near to Flanders  the sea rises and decreases every 6
hours about 20 braccia  and 22 when the moon is in its favour  but
20 braccia is the general rule  and this rule  as it is evident 
cannot have the moon for its cause  This variation in the increase
and decrease of the sea every 6 hours may arise from the damming up
of the waters  which are poured into the Mediterranean by the
quantity of rivers from Africa  Asia and Europe  which flow into
that sea  and the waters which are given to it by those rivers  it
pours them to the ocean through the straits of Gibraltar  between
Abila and Calpe  Footnote 5   Abila   Lat   Abyla   Gr    now
Sierra  Ximiera  near Ceuta   Calpe   Lat   Calpe   Gr   now
Gibraltar  Leonardo here uses the ancient names of the rocks  which
were known as the Pillars of Hercules    That ocean extends to the
island of England and others farther North  and it becomes dammed up
and kept high in various gulfs  These  being seas of which the
surface is remote from the centre of the earth  have acquired a
weight  which as it is greater than the force of the incoming waters
which cause it  gives this water an impetus in the contrary
direction to that in which it came and it is borne back to meet the
waters coming out of the straits  and this it does most against the
straits of Gibraltar  these  so long as this goes on  remain dammed
up and all the water which is poured out meanwhile by the
aforementioned rivers  is pent up  in the Mediterranean   and this
might be assigned as the cause of its flow and ebb  as is shown in
the 21st of the 4th of my theory 

III 

SUBTERRANEAN WATER COURSES 

Theory of the circulation of the waters  961  962  

961 

Very large rivers flow under ground 

962 

This is meant to represent the earth cut through in the middle 
showing the depths of the sea and of the earth  the waters start
from the bottom of the seas  and ramifying through the earth they
rise to the summits of the mountains  flowing back by the rivers and
returning to the sea 

Observations in support of the hypothesis  963 969  

963 

The waters circulate with constant motion from the utmost depths of
the sea to the highest summits of the mountains  not obeying the
nature of heavy matter  and in this case it acts as does the blood
of animals which is always moving from the sea of the heart and
flows to the top of their heads  and here it is that veins burst  as
one may see when a vein bursts in the nose  that all the blood from
below rises to the level of the burst vein  When the water rushes
out of a burst vein in the earth it obeys the nature of other things
heavier than the air  whence it always seeks the lowest places   7 
These waters traverse the body of the earth with infinite
ramifications 

 Footnote  The greater part of this passage has been given as No 
849 in the section on Anatomy  

964 

The same cause which stirs the humours in every species of animal
body and by which every injury is repaired  also moves the waters
from the utmost depth of the sea to the greatest heights 

965 

It is the property of water that it constitutes the vital human of
this arid earth  and the cause which moves it through its ramified
veins  against the natural course of heavy matters  is the same
property which moves the humours in every species of animal body 
But that which crowns our wonder in contemplating it is  that it
rises from the utmost depths of the sea to the highest tops of the
mountains  and flowing from the opened veins returns to the low
seas  then once more  and with extreme swiftness  it mounts again
and returns by the same descent  thus rising from the inside to the
outside  and going round from the lowest to the highest  from whence
it rushes down in a natural course  Thus by these two movements
combined in a constant circulation  it travels through the veins of
the earth 

966 

WHETHER WATER RISES FROM THE SEA TO THE TOPS OF MOUNTAINS 

The water of the ocean cannot make its way from the bases to the
tops of the mountains which bound it  but only so much rises as the
dryness of the mountain attracts  And if  on the contrary  the rain 
which penetrates from the summit of the mountain to the base  which
is the boundary of the sea  descends and softens the slope opposite
to the said mountain and constantly draws the water  like a syphon
 Footnote 11  Cicognola  Syphon  See Vol  I  Pl  XXIV  No  1   which
pours through its longest side  it must be this which draws up the
water of the sea  thus if  s n  were the surface of the sea  and the
rain descends from the top of the mountain  a  to  n  on one side 
and on the other sides it descends from  a  to  m   without a doubt
this would occur after the manner of distilling through felt  or as
happens through the tubes called syphons  Footnote 17  Cicognola 
Syphon  See Vol  I  Pl  XXIV  No  1    And at all times the water
which has softened the mountain  by the great rain which runs down
the two opposite sides  would constantly attract the rain  a n   on
its longest side together with the water from the sea  if that side
of the mountain  a m  were longer than the other  a n   but this
cannot be  because no part of the earth which is not submerged by
the ocean can be lower than that ocean 

967 

OF SPRINGS OF WATER ON THE TOPS OF MOUNTAINS 

It is quite evident that the whole surface of the ocean  when there
is no storm  is at an equal distance from the centre of the earth 
and that the tops of the mountains are farther from this centre in
proportion as they rise above the surface of that sea  therefore if
the body of the earth were not like that of man  it would be
impossible that the waters of the sea  being so much lower than the
mountains  could by their nature rise up to the summits of these
mountains  Hence it is to be believed that the same cause which
keeps the blood at the top of the head in man keeps the water at the
summits of the mountains 

 Footnote  This conception of the rising of the blood  which has
given rise to the comparison  was recognised as erroneous by
Leonardo himself at a later period  It must be remembered that the
MS  A  from which these passages are taken  was written about twenty
years earlier than the MS  Leic   Nos  963 and 849  and twenty five
years before the MS  W  An  IV 

There is  in the original a sketch with No  968 which is not
reproduced  It represents a hill of the same shape as that shown at
No  982  There are veins  or branched streams  on the side of the
hill  like those on the skull Pl  CVIII  No  4 

968 

IN CONFIRMATION OF WHY THE WATER GOES TO THE TOPS OF MOUNTAINS 

I say that just as the natural heat of the blood in the veins keeps
it in the head of man   for when the man is dead the cold blood
sinks to the lower parts  and when the sun is hot on the head of a
man the blood increases and rises so much  with other humours  that
by pressure in the veins pains in the head are often caused  in the
same way veins ramify through the body of the earth  and by the
natural heat which is distributed throughout the containing body 
the water is raised through the veins to the tops of mountains  And
this water  which passes through a closed conduit inside the body of
the mountain like a dead thing  cannot come forth from its low place
unless it is warmed by the vital heat of the spring time  Again  the
heat of the element of fire and  by day  the heat of the sun  have
power to draw forth the moisture of the low parts of the mountains
and to draw them up  in the same way as it draws the clouds and
collects their moisture from the bed of the sea 

969 

That many springs of salt water are found at great distances from
the sea  this might happen because such springs pass through some
mine of salt  like that in Hungary where salt is hewn out of vast
caverns  just as stone is hewn 

 Footnote  The great mine of Wieliczka in Galicia  out of which a
million cwt  of rock salt are annually dug out  extends for 3000
metres from West to East  and 1150 metres from North to South  

IV 

OF RIVERS 

On the way in which the sources of rivers are fed 

970 

OF THE ORIGIN OF RIVERS 

The body of the earth  like the bodies of animals  is intersected
with ramifications of waters which are all in connection and are
constituted to give nutriment and life to the earth and to its
creatures  These come from the depth of the sea and  after many
revolutions  have to return to it by the rivers created by the
bursting of these springs  and if you chose to say that the rains of
the winter or the melting of the snows in summer were the cause of
the birth of rivers  I could mention the rivers which originate in
the torrid countries of Africa  where it never rains  and still less
snows  because the intense heat always melts into air all the clouds
which are borne thither by the winds  And if you chose to say that
such rivers  as increase in July and August  come from the snows
which melt in May and June from the sun s approach to the snows on
the mountains of Scythia  Footnote 9  Scythia means here  as in
Ancient Geography  the whole of the Northern part of Asia as far as
India    and that such meltings come down into certain valleys and
form lakes  into which they enter by springs and subterranean caves
to issue forth again at the sources of the Nile  this is false 
because Scythia is lower than the sources of the Nile  and  besides 
Scythia is only 400 miles from the Black sea and the sources of the
Nile are 3000 miles distant from the sea of Egypt into which its
waters flow 

The tide in estuaries 

971 

Book 9  of the meeting of rivers and of their ebb and flow  The
cause is the same in the sea  where it is caused by the straits of
Gibraltar  and again it is caused by whirlpools 

 3  If two rivers meet together to form a straight line  and then
below two right angles take their course together  the flow and ebb
will happen now in one river and now in the other above their
confluence  and principally if the outlet for their united volume is
no swifter than when they were separate  Here occur 4 instances 

 Footnote  The first two lines of this passage have already been
given as No  957  In the margin  near line 3 of this passage  the
text given as No  919 is written  

On the alterations  caused in the courses of rivers by their
confluence  972 974  

972 

When a smaller river pours its waters into a larger one  and that
larger one flows from the opposite direction  the course of the
smaller river will bend up against the approach of the larger river 
and this happens because  when the larger river fills up all its bed
with water  it makes an eddy in front of the mouth of the other
river  and so carries the water poured in by the smaller river with
its own  When the smaller river pours its waters into the larger
one  which runs across the current at the mouth of the smaller
river  its waters will bend with the downward movement of the larger
river   Footnote  In the original sketches the word  Arno  is
written at the spot here marked  A   at  R  Rifredi   and at  M 
Mugnone   

973 

When the fulness of rivers is diminished  then the acute angles
formed at the junction of their branches become shorter at the sides
and wider at the point  like the current  a n  and the current  d
n   which unite in  n  when the river is at its greatest fulness  I
say  that when it is in this condition if  before the fullest time 
 d n  was lower than  a n   at the time of fulness  d n  will be
full of sand and mud  When the water  d n  falls  it will carry away
the mud and remain with a lower bottom  and the channel  a n 
finding itself the higher  will fling its waters into the lower   d
n   and will wash away all the point of the sand spit  b n c   and
thus the angle  a c d  will remain larger than the angle  a n d  and
the sides shorter  as I said before 

 Footnote  Above the first sketch we find  in the original  this
note    Sopra il pote rubaconte alla torricella    and by the
second  which represents a pier of a bridge    Sotto l ospedal del
ceppo    

974 

WATER 

OF THE MOVEMENT OF A SUDDEN RUSH MADE BY A RIVER IN ITS BED
PREVIOUSLY DRY 

In proportion as the current of the water given forth by the
draining of the lake is slow or rapid in the dry river bed  so will
this river be wider or narrower  or shallower or deeper in one place
than another  according to this proposition  the flow and ebb of the
sea which enters the Mediterranean from the ocean  and of the rivers
which meet and struggle with it  will raise their waters more or
less in proportion as the sea is wider or narrower 

 Footnote  In the margin is a sketch of a river which winds so as to
form islands  

Whirlpools 

975 

Whirlpools  that is to say caverns  that is to say places left by
precipitated waters 

On the alterations in the channels of rivers 

976 

OF THE VIBRATION OF THE EARTH 

The subterranean channels of waters  like those which exist between
the air and the earth  are those which unceasingly wear away and
deepen the beds of their currents 

The origin of the sand in rivers  977  978  

977 

A river that flows from mountains deposits a great quantity of large
stones in its bed  which still have some of their angles and sides 
and in the course of its flow it carries down smaller stones with
the angles more worn  that is to say the large stones become
smaller  And farther on it deposits coarse gravel and then smaller 
and as it proceeds this becomes coarse sand and then finer  and
going on thus the water  turbid with sand and gravel  joins the sea 
and the sand settles on the sea shores  being cast up by the salt
waves  and there results the sand of so fine a nature as to seem
almost like water  and it will not stop on the shores of the sea but
returns by reason of its lightness  because it was originally formed
of rotten leaves and other very light things  Still  being
almost  as was said  of the nature of water itself  it afterwards 
when the weather is calm  settles and becomes solid at the bottom of
the sea  where by its fineness it becomes compact and by its
smoothness resists the waves which glide over it  and in this shells
are found  and this is white earth  fit for pottery 

978 

All the torrents of water flowing from the mountains to the sea
carry with them the stones from the hills to the sea  and by the
influx of the sea water towards the mountains  these stones were
thrown back towards the mountains  and as the waters rose and
retired  the stones were tossed about by it and in rolling  their
angles hit together  then as the parts  which least resisted the
blows  were worn off  the stones ceased to be angular and became
round in form  as may be seen on the banks of the Elsa  And those
remained larger which were less removed from their native spot  and
they became smaller  the farther they were carried from that place 
so that in the process they were converted into small pebbles and
then into sand and at last into mud  After the sea had receded from
the mountains the brine left by the sea with other humours of the
earth made a concretion of these pebbles and this sand  so that the
pebbles were converted into rock and the sand into tufa  And of this
we see an example in the Adda where it issues from the mountains of
Como and in the Ticino  the Adige and the Oglio coming from the
German Alps  and in the Arno at Monte Albano  Footnote 13  At the
foot of  Monte Albano  lies Vinci  the birth place of Leonardo 
Opposite  on the other bank of the Arno  is  Monte Lupo     near
Monte Lupo and Capraia where the rocks  which are very large  are
all of conglomerated pebbles of various kinds and colours 

V 

ON MOUNTAINS 

The formation of mountains  979 983  

979 

Mountains are made by the currents of rivers 

Mountains are destroyed by the currents of rivers 

 Footnote  Compare 789  

980 

That the Northern bases of some Alps are not yet petrified  And this
is plainly to be seen where the rivers  which cut through them  flow
towards the North  where they cut through the strata in the living
stone in the higher parts of the mountains  and  where they join the
plains  these strata are all of potter s clay  as is to be seen in
the valley of Lamona where the river Lamona  as it issues from the
Appenines  does these things on its banks 

That the rivers have all cut and divided the mountains of the great
Alps one from the other  This is visible in the order of the
stratified rocks  because from the summits of the banks  down to the
river the correspondence of the strata in the rocks is visible on
either side of the river  That the stratified stones of the
mountains are all layers of clay  deposited one above the other by
the various floods of the rivers  That the different size of the
strata is caused by the difference in the floods  that is to say
greater or lesser floods 

981 

The summits of mountains for a long time rise constantly 

The opposite sides of the mountains always approach each other
below  the depths of the valleys which are above the sphere of the
waters are in the course of time constantly getting nearer to the
centre of the world 

In an equal period  the valleys sink much more than the mountains
rise 

The bases of the mountains always come closer together 

In proportion as the valleys become deeper  the more quickly are
their sides worn away 

982 

In every concavity at the summit of the mountains we shall always
find the divisions of the strata in the rocks 

983 

OF THE SEA WHICH ENCIRCLES THE EARTH 

I find that of old  the state of the earth was that its plains were
all covered up and hidden by salt water   Footnote  This passage has
already been published by Dr  M  JORDAN   Das Malerbuch des L  da
Vinci  Leipzig  1873  p  86  However  his reading of the text
differs from mine  

The authorities for the study of the structure of the earth 

984 

Since things are much more ancient than letters  it is no marvel if 
in our day  no records exist of these seas having covered so many
countries  and if  moreover  some records had existed  war and
conflagrations  the deluge of waters  the changes of languages and
of laws have consumed every thing ancient  But sufficient for us is
the testimony of things created in the salt waters  and found again
in high mountains far from the seas 

VI 

GEOLOGICAL PROBLEMS 

985 

In this work you have first to prove that the shells at a thousand
braccia of elevation were not carried there by the deluge  because
they are seen to be all at one level  and many mountains are seen to
be above that level  and to inquire whether the deluge was caused by
rain or by the swelling of the sea  and then you must show how 
neither by rain nor by swelling of the rivers  nor by the overflow
of this sea  could the shells  being heavy objects  be floated up
the mountains by the sea  nor have carried there by the rivers
against the course of their waters 

Doubts about the deluge 

986 

A DOUBTFUL POINT 

Here a doubt arises  and that is  whether the deluge  which happened
at the time of Noah  was universal or not  And it would seem not 
for the reasons now to be given  We have it in the Bible that this
deluge lasted 40 days and 40 nights of incessant and universal rain 
and that this rain rose to ten cubits above the highest mountains in
the world  And if it had been that the rain was universal  it would
have covered our globe which is spherical in form  And this
spherical surface is equally distant in every part  from the centre
of its sphere  hence the sphere of the waters being under the same
conditions  it is impossible that the water upon it should move 
because water  in itself  does not move unless it falls  therefore
how could the waters of such a deluge depart  if it is proved that
it has no motion  and if it departed how could it move unless it
went upwards  Here  then  natural reasons are wanting  hence to
remove this doubt it is necessary to call in a miracle to aid us  or
else to say that all this water was evaporated by the heat of the
sun 

 Footnote  The passages  here given from the MS  Leic   have
hitherto remained unknown  Some preliminary notes on the subject are
to be found in MS  F 8oa and 8ob  but as compared with the fuller
treatment here given  they are  it seems to me  of secondary
interest  They contain nothing that is not repeated here more
clearly and fully  LIBRI   Histoire des Sciences mathematiques III  
pages 218  221  has printed the text of F 80a and 80b  therefore it
seemed desirable to give my reasons for not inserting it in this
work  

That marine shells could not go up the mountains 

987 

OF THE DELUGE AND OF MARINE SHELLS 

If you were to say that the shells which are to be seen within the
confines of Italy now  in our days  far from the sea and at such
heights  had been brought there by the deluge which left them there 
I should answer that if you believe that this deluge rose 7 cubits
above the highest mountains   as he who measured it has
written  these shells  which always live near the sea shore  should
have been left on the mountains  and not such a little way from the
foot of the mountains  nor all at one level  nor in layers upon
layers  And if you were to say that these shells are desirous of
remaining near to the margin of the sea  and that  as it rose in
height  the shells quitted their first home  and followed the
increase of the waters up to their highest level  to this I answer 
that the cockle is an animal of not more rapid movement than the
snail is out of water  or even somewhat slower  because it does not
swim  on the contrary it makes a furrow in the sand by means of its
sides  and in this furrow it will travel each day from 3 to 4
braccia  therefore this creature  with so slow a motion  could not
have travelled from the Adriatic sea as far as Monferrato in
Lombardy  Footnote   Monferrato di Lombardia   The range of hills of
Monferrato is in Piedmont  and Casale di Monferrato belonged  in
Leonardo s time  to the Marchese di Mantova    which is 250 miles
distance  in 40 days  which he has said who took account of the
time  And if you say that the waves carried them there  by their
gravity they could not move  excepting at the bottom  And if you
will not grant me this  confess at least that they would have to
stay at the summits of the highest mountains  in the lakes which are
enclosed among the mountains  like the lakes of Lario  or of Como
and il Maggiore  Footnote   Lago di Lario   Lacus Larius was the
name given by the Romans to the lake of Como  It is evident that it
is here a slip of the pen since the the words in the MS  are    Come
Lago di Lario o l Magare e di Como    In the MS  after line 16 we
come upon a digression treating of the weight of water  this has
here been omitted  It is 11 lines long   and of Fiesole  and of
Perugia  and others 

And if you should say that the shells were carried by the waves 
being empty and dead  I say that where the dead went they were not
far removed from the living  for in these mountains living ones are
found  which are recognisable by the shells being in pairs  and they
are in a layer where there are no dead ones  and a little higher up
they are found  where they were thrown by the waves  all the dead
ones with their shells separated  near to where the rivers fell into
the sea  to a great depth  like the Arno which fell from the
Gonfolina near to Monte Lupo  Footnote   Monte Lupo   compare 970 
13  it is between Empoli and Florence    where it left a deposit of
gravel which may still be seen  and which has agglomerated  and of
stones of various districts  natures  and colours and hardness 
making one single conglomerate  And a little beyond the sandstone
conglomerate a tufa has been formed  where it turned towards Castel
Florentino  farther on  the mud was deposited in which the shells
lived  and which rose in layers according to the levels at which the
turbid Arno flowed into that sea  And from time to time the bottom
of the sea was raised  depositing these shells in layers  as may be
seen in the cutting at Colle Gonzoli  laid open by the Arno which is
wearing away the base of it  in which cutting the said layers of
shells are very plainly to be seen in clay of a bluish colour  and
various marine objects are found there  And if the earth of our
hemisphere is indeed raised by so much higher than it used to be  it
must have become by so much lighter by the waters which it lost
through the rift between Gibraltar and Ceuta  and all the more the
higher it rose  because the weight of the waters which were thus
lost would be added to the earth in the other hemisphere  And if the
shells had been carried by the muddy deluge they would have been
mixed up  and separated from each other amidst the mud  and not in
regular steps and layers   as we see them now in our time 

The marine shells were not produced away from the sea 

988 

As to those who say that shells existed for a long time and were
born at a distance from the sea  from the nature of the place and of
the cycles  which can influence a place to produce such
creatures  to them it may be answered  such an influence could not
place the animals all on one line  except those of the same sort and
age  and not the old with the young  nor some with an operculum and
others without their operculum  nor some broken and others whole 
nor some filled with sea sand and large and small fragments of other
shells inside the whole shells which remained open  nor the claws of
crabs without the rest of their bodies  nor the shells of other
species stuck on to them like animals which have moved about on
them  since the traces of their track still remain  on the outside 
after the manner of worms in the wood which they ate into  Nor would
there be found among them the bones and teeth of fish which some
call arrows and others serpents  tongues  nor would so many
 Footnote  I  Scilla argued against this hypothesis  which was still
accepted in his days  see   La vana Speculazione  Napoli  1670  
portions of various animals be found all together if they had not
been thrown on the sea shore  And the deluge cannot have carried
them there  because things that are heavier than water do not float
on the water  But these things could not be at so great a height if
they had not been carried there by the water  such a thing being
impossible from their weight  In places where the valleys have not
been filled with salt sea water shells are never to be seen  as is
plainly visible in the great valley of the Arno above Gonfolina  a
rock formerly united to Monte Albano  in the form of a very high
bank which kept the river pent up  in such a way that before it
could flow into the sea  which was afterwards at its foot  it formed
two great lakes  of which the first was where we now see the city of
Florence together with Prato and Pistoia  and Monte Albano  It
followed the rest of its bank as far as where Serravalle now stands 
 From the Val d Arno upwards  as far as Arezzo  another lake was
formed  which discharged its waters into the former lake  It was
closed at about the spot where now we see Girone  and occupied the
whole of that valley above for a distance of 40 miles in length 
This valley received on its bottom all the soil brought down by the
turbid waters  And this is still to be seen at the foot of Prato
Magno  it there lies very high where the rivers have not worn it
away  Across this land are to be seen the deep cuts of the rivers
that have passed there  falling from the great mountain of Prato
Magno  in these cuts there are no vestiges of any shells or of
marine soil  This lake was joined with that of Perugia  Footnote 
See PI  CXIII  

A great quantity of shells are to be seen where the rivers flow into
the sea  because on such shores the waters are not so salt owing to
the admixture of the fresh water  which is poured into it  Evidence
of this is to be seen where  of old  the Appenines poured their
rivers into the Adriatic sea  for there in most places great
quantities of shells are to be found  among the mountains  together
with bluish marine clay  and all the rocks which are torn off in
such places are full of shells  The same may be observed to have
been done by the Arno when it fell from the rock of Gonfolina into
the sea  which was not so very far below  for at that time it was
higher than the top of San Miniato al Tedesco  since at the highest
summit of this the shores may be seen full of shells and oysters
within its flanks  The shells did not extend towards Val di Nievole 
because the fresh waters of the Arno did not extend so far 

That the shells were not carried away from the sea by the deluge 
because the waters which came from the earth although they drew the
sea towards the earth  were those which struck its depths  because
the water which goes down from the earth  has a stronger current
than that of the sea  and in consequence is more powerful  and it
enters beneath the sea water and stirs the depths and carries with
it all sorts of movable objects which are to be found in the earth 
such as the above mentioned shells and other similar things  And in
proportion as the water which comes from the land is muddier than
sea water it is stronger and heavier than this  therefore I see no
way of getting the said shells so far in land  unless they had been
born there  If you were to tell me that the river Loire  Footnote 
Leonardo has written Era instead of Loera or Loira  perhaps under
the mistaken idea that  Lo  was an article   which traverses France
covers when the sea rises more than eighty miles of country  because
it is a district of vast plains  and the sea rises about 20 braccia 
and shells are found in this plain at the distance of 80 miles from
the sea  here I answer that the flow and ebb in our Mediterranean
Sea does not vary so much  for at Genoa it does not rise at all  and
at Venice but little  and very little in Africa  and where it varies
little it covers but little of the country 

The course of the water of a river always rises higher in a place
where the current is impeded  it behaves as it does where it is
reduced in width to pass under the arches of a bridge 

Further researches  989 991  

989 

A CONFUTATION OF THOSE WHO SAY THAT SHELLS MAY HAVE BEEN CARRIED TO
A DISTANCE OF MANY DAYS  JOURNEY FROM THE SEA BY THE DELUGE  WHICH
WAS SO HIGH AS TO BE ABOVE THOSE HEIGHTS 

I say that the deluge could not carry objects  native to the sea  up
to the mountains  unless the sea had already increased so as to
create inundations as high up as those places  and this increase
could not have occurred because it would cause a vacuum  and if you
were to say that the air would rush in there  we have already
concluded that what is heavy cannot remain above what is light 
whence of necessity we must conclude that this deluge was caused by
rain water  so that all these waters ran to the sea  and the sea did
not run up the mountains  and as they ran to the sea  they thrust
the shells from the shore of the sea and did not draw them to wards
themselves  And if you were then to say that the sea  raised by the
rain water  had carried these shells to such a height  we have
already said that things heavier than water cannot rise upon it  but
remain at the bottom of it  and do not move unless by the impact of
the waves  And if you were to say that the waves had carried them to
such high spots  we have proved that the waves in a great depth move
in a contrary direction at the bottom to the motion at the top  and
this is shown by the turbidity of the sea from the earth washed down
near its shores  Anything which is lighter than the water moves with
the waves  and is left on the highest level of the highest margin of
the waves  Anything which is heavier than the water moves  suspended
in it  between the surface and the bottom  and from these two
conclusions  which will be amply proved in their place  we infer
that the waves of the surface cannot convey shells  since they are
heavier than water 

If the deluge had to carry shells three hundred and four hundred
miles from the sea  it would have carried them mixed with various
other natural objects heaped together  and we see at such distances
oysters all together  and sea snails  and cuttlefish  and all the
other shells which congregate together  all to be found together and
dead  and the solitary shells are found wide apart from each other 
as we may see them on sea shores every day  And if we find oysters
of very large shells joined together and among them very many which
still have the covering attached  indicating that they were left
here by the sea  and still living when the strait of Gibraltar was
cut through  there are to be seen  in the mountains of Parma and
Piacenza  a multitude of shells and corals  full of holes  and still
sticking to the rocks there  When I was making the great horse for
Milan  a large sack full was brought to me in my workshop by certain
peasants  these were found in that place and among them were many
preserved in their first freshness 

Under ground  and under the foundations of buildings  timbers are
found of wrought beams and already black  Such were found in my time
in those diggings at Castel Fiorentino  And these had been in that
deep place before the sand carried by the Arno into the sea  then
covering the plain  had heen raised to such a height  and before the
plains of Casentino had been so much lowered  by the earth being
constantly carried down from them 

 Footnote  These lines are written in the margin  

And if you were to say that these shells were created  and were
continually being created in such places by the nature of the spot 
and of the heavens which might have some influence there  such an
opinion cannot exist in a brain of much reason  because here are the
years of their growth  numbered on their shells  and there are large
and small ones to be seen which could not have grown without food 
and could not have fed without motion  and here they could not move
 Footnote  These lines are written in the margin  

990 

That in the drifts  among one and another  there are still to be
found the traces of the worms which crawled upon them when they were
not yet dry  And all marine clays still contain shells  and the
shells are petrified together with the clay  From their firmness and
unity some persons will have it that these animals were carried up
to places remote from the sea by the deluge  Another sect of
ignorant persons declare that Nature or Heaven created them in these
places by celestial influences  as if in these places we did not
also find the bones of fishes which have taken a long time to grow 
and as if  we could not count  in the shells of cockles and snails 
the years and months of their life  as we do in the horns of bulls
and oxen  and in the branches of plants that have never been cut in
any part  Besides  having proved by these signs the length of their
lives  it is evident  and it must be admitted  that these animals
could not live without moving to fetch their food  and we find in
them no instrument for penetrating the earth or the rock where we
find them enclosed  But how could we find in a large snail shell the
fragments and portions of many other sorts of shells  of various
sorts  if they had not been thrown there  when dead  by the waves of
the sea like the other light objects which it throws on the earth 
Why do we find so many fragments and whole shells between layer and
layer of stone  if this had not formerly been covered on the shore
by a layer of earth thrown up by the sea  and which was afterwards
petrified  And if the deluge before mentioned had carried them to
these parts of the sea  you might find these shells at the boundary
of one drift but not at the boundary between many drifts  We must
also account for the winters of the years during which the sea
multiplied the drifts of sand and mud brought down by the
neighbouring rivers  by washing down the shores  and if you chose to
say that there were several deluges to produce these rifts and the
shells among them  you would also have to affirm that such a deluge
took place every year  Again  among the fragments of these shells 
it must be presumed that in those places there were sea coasts 
where all the shells were thrown up  broken  and divided  and never
in pairs  since they are found alive in the sea  with two valves 
each serving as a lid to the other  and in the drifts of rivers and
on the shores of the sea they are found in fragments  And within the
limits of the separate strata of rocks they are found  few in number
and in pairs like those which were left by the sea  buried alive in
the mud  which subsequently dried up and  in time  was petrified 

991 

And if you choose to say that it was the deluge which carried these
shells away from the sea for hundreds of miles  this cannot have
happened  since that deluge was caused by rain  because rain
naturally forces the rivers to rush towards the sea with all the
things they carry with them  and not to bear the dead things of the
sea shores to the mountains  And if you choose to say that the
deluge afterwards rose with its waters above the mountains  the
movement of the sea must have been so sluggish in its rise against
the currents of the rivers  that it could not have carried  floating
upon it  things heavier than itself  and even if it had supported
them  in its receding it would have left them strewn about  in
various spots  But how are we to account for the corals which are
found every day towards Monte Ferrato in Lombardy  with the holes of
the worms in them  sticking to rocks left uncovered by the currents
of rivers  These rocks are all covered with stocks and families of
oysters  which as we know  never move  but always remain with one of
their halves stuck to a rock  and the other they open to feed
themselves on the animalcules that swim in the water  which  hoping
to find good feeding ground  become the food of these shells  We do
not find that the sand mixed with seaweed has been petrified 
because the weed which was mingled with it has shrunk away  and this
the Po shows us every day in the debris of its banks 

Other problems  992 994  

992 

Why do we find the bones of great fishes and oysters and corals and
various other shells and sea snails on the high summits of mountains
by the sea  just as we find them in low seas 

993 

You now have to prove that the shells cannot have originated if not
in salt water  almost all being of that sort  and that the shells in
Lombardy are at four levels  and thus it is everywhere  having been
made at various times  And they all occur in valleys that open
towards the seas 

994 

 From the two lines of shells we are forced to say that the earth
indignantly submerged under the sea and so the first layer was made 
and then the deluge made the second 

 Footnote  This note is in the early writing of about 1470  1480  On
the same sheet are the passages No  1217 and 1219  Compare also No 
1339  All the foregoing chapters are from Manuscripts of about 1510 
This explains the want of connection and the contradiction between
this and the foregoing texts  

VII 

ON THE ATMOSPHERE 

Constituents of the atmosphere 

995 

That the brightness of the air is occasioned by the water which has
dissolved itself in it into imperceptible molecules  These  being
lighted by the sun from the opposite side  reflect the brightness
which is visible in the air  and the azure which is seen in it is
caused by the darkness that is hidden beyond the air   Footnote 
Compare Vol  I  No  300  

On the motion of air  996  999  

996 

That the return eddies of wind at the mouth of certain valleys
strike upon the waters and scoop them out in a great hollow  whirl
the water into the air in the form of a column  and of the colour of
a cloud  And I saw this thing happen on a sand bank in the Arno 
where the sand was hollowed out to a greater depth than the stature
of a man  and with it the gravel was whirled round and flung about
for a great space  it appeared in the air in the form of a great
bell tower  and the top spread like the branches of a pine tree  and
then it bent at the contact of the direct wind  which passed over
from the mountains 

997 

The element of fire acts upon a wave of air in the same way as the
air does on water  or as water does on a mass of sand   that is
earth  and their motions are in the same proportions as those of the
motors acting upon them 

998 

OF MOTION 

I ask whether the true motion of the clouds can be known by the
motion of their shadows  and in like manner of the motion of the
sun 

999 

To know better the direction of the winds   Footnote  In connection
with this text I may here mention a hygrometer  drawn and probably
invented by Leonardo  A facsimile of this is given in Vol  I  p  297
with the note    Modi di pesare l arie eddi sapere quando s a
arrompere il tepo    Mode of weighing the air and of knowing when
the weather will change   by the sponge   Spugnea   is written  

The globe an organism 

1000 

Nothing originates in a spot where there is no sentient  vegetable
and rational life  feathers grow upon birds and are changed every
year  hairs grow upon animals and are changed every year  excepting
some parts  like the hairs of the beard in lions  cats and their
like  The grass grows in the fields  and the leaves on the trees 
and every year they are  in great part  renewed  So that we might
say that the earth has a spirit of growth  that its flesh is the
soil  its bones the arrangement and connection of the rocks of which
the mountains are composed  its cartilage the tufa  and its blood
the springs of water  The pool of blood which lies round the heart
is the ocean  and its breathing  and the increase and decrease of
the blood in the pulses  is represented in the earth by the flow and
ebb of the sea  and the heat of the spirit of the world is the fire
which pervades the earth  and the seat of the vegetative soul is in
the fires  which in many parts of the earth find vent in baths and
mines of sulphur  and in volcanoes  as at Mount Aetna in Sicily  and
in many other places 

 Footnote  Compare No  929  

 XVII  

 Topographical Notes  

 A large part of the texts published in this section might perhaps
have found their proper place in connection with the foregoing
chapters on Physical Geography  But these observations on Physical
Geography  of whatever kind they may be  as soon as they are
localised acquire a special interest and importance and particularly
as bearing on the question whether Leonardo himself made the
observations recorded at the places mentioned or merely noted the
statements from hearsay  In a few instances he himself tells us that
he writes at second hand  In some cases again  although the style
and expressions used make it seem highly probable that he has
derived his information from others   though  as it seems to me 
these cases are not very numerous  we find  on the other hand  among
these topographical notes a great number of observations  about
which it is extremely difficult to form a decided opinion  Of what
the Master s life and travels may have been throughout his
sixty seven years of life we know comparatively little  for a long
course of time  and particularly from about 1482 to 1486  we do not
even know with certainty that he was living in Italy  Thus  from a
biographical point of view a very great interest attaches to some of
the topographical notes  and for this reason it seemed that it would
add to their value to arrange them in a group by themselves 
Leonardo s intimate knowledge with places  some of which were
certainly remote from his native home  are of importance as
contributing to decide the still open question as to the extent of
Leonardo s travels  We shall find in these notes a confirmation of
the view  that the MSS  in which the Topographical Notes occur are
in only a very few instances such diaries as may have been in use
during a journey  These notes are mostly found in the MSS  books of
his later and quieter years  and it is certainly remarkable that
Leonardo is very reticent as to the authorities from whom he quotes
his facts and observations  For instance  as to the Straits of
Gibraltar  the Nile  the Taurus Mountains and the Tigris and
Euphrates  Is it likely that he  who declared that in all scientific
research  his own experience should be the foundation of his
statements  see XIX Philosophy No  987  991   should here have made
an exception to this rule without mentioning it  

 As for instance in the discussion as to the equilibrium of the mass
of water in the Mediterranean Sea  a subject which  it may be
observed  had at that time attracted the interest and study of
hardly any other observer  The acute remarks  in Nos  985  993  on
the presence of shells at the tops of mountains  suffice to
prove  as it seems to me  that it was not in his nature to allow
himself to be betrayed into wide generalisations  extending beyond
the limits of his own investigations  even by such brilliant results
of personal study  

 Most of these Topographical Notes  though suggesting very careful
and thorough research  do not however  as has been said  afford
necessarily indisputable evidence that that research was Leonardo s
own  But it must be granted that in more than one instance
probability is in favour of this idea  

 Among the passages which treat somewhat fully of the topography of
Eastern places by far the most interesting is a description of the
Taurus Mountains  but as this text is written in the style of a
formal report and  in the original  is associated with certain
letters which give us the history of its origin  I have thought it
best not to sever it from that connection  It will be found under
No  XXI  Letters   

 That Florence  and its neighbourhood  where Leonardo spent his
early years  should be nowhere mentioned except in connection with
the projects for canals  which occupied his attention for some short
time during the first ten years of the XVIth century  need not
surprise us  The various passages relating to the construction of
canals in Tuscany  which are put together at the beginning  are
immediately followed by those which deal with schemes for canals in
Lombardy  and after these come notes on the city and vicinity of
Milan as well as on the lakes of North Italy  

 The notes on some towns of Central Italy which Leonardo visited in
1502  when in the service of Cesare Borgia  are reproduced here in
the same order as in the note book used during these travels  MS 
L   Institut de France   These notes have but little interest in
themselves excepting as suggesting his itinerary  The maps of the
districts drawn by Leonardo at the time are more valuable  see No 
1054 note   The names on these maps are not written from right to
left  but in the usual manner  and we are permitted to infer that
they were made in obedience to some command  possibly for the use of
Cesare Borgia himself  the fact that they remained nevertheless in
Leonardo s hands is not surprising when we remember the sudden
political changes and warlike events of the period  There can be no
doubt that these maps  which are here published for the first time 
are original in the strictest sense of the word  that is to say
drawn from observations of the places themselves  this is proved by
the fact  among others  that we find among his manuscripts not only
the finished maps themselves but the rough sketches and studies for
them  And it would perhaps be difficult to point out among the
abundant contributions to geographical knowledge published during
the XVIth century  any maps at all approaching these in accuracy and
finish  

 The interesting map of the world  so far as it was then known 
which is among the Leonardo MSS  at Windsor  published in the 
 Archaeologia   Vol  XI  cannot be attributed to the Master  as the
Marchese Girolamo d Adda has sufficiently proved  it has not
therefore been reproduced here  

 Such of Leonardo s observations on places in Italy as were made
before or after his official travels as military engineer to Cesare
Borgia  have been arranged in alphabetical order  under Nos 
1034 1054  The most interesting are those which relate to the Alps
and the Appenines  Nos  1057 1068  

 Most of the passages in which France is mentioned have hitherto
remained unknown  as well as those which treat of the countries
bordering on the Mediterranean  which come at the end of this
section  Though these may be regarded as of a more questionable
importance in their bearing on the biography of the Master than
those which mention places in France  it must be allowed that they
are interesting as showing the prominent place which the countries
of the East held in his geographical studies  He never once alludes
to the discovery of America  

I 

ITALY 

Canals in connection with the Arno  1001 1008  

1001 

CANAL OF FLORENCE 

Sluices should be made in the valley of la Chiana at Arezzo  so that
when  in the summer  the Arno lacks water  the canal may not remain
dry  and let this canal be 20 braccia wide at the bottom  and at the
top 30  and 2 braccia deep  or 4  so that two of these braccia may
flow to the mills and the meadows  which will benefit the country 
and Prato  Pistoia and Pisa  as well as Florence  will gain two
hundred thousand ducats a year  and will lend a hand and money to
this useful work  and the Lucchese the same  for the lake of Sesto
will be navigable  I shall direct it to Prato and Pistoia  and cut
through Serravalle and make an issue into the lake  for there will
be no need of locks or supports  which are not lasting and so will
always be giving trouble in working at them and keeping them up 

And know that in digging this canal where it is 4 braccia deep  it
will cost 4 dinari the square braccio  for twice the depth 6 dinari 
if you are making 4 braccia  Footnote  This passage is illustrated
by a slightly sketched map  on which these places are indicated from
West to East  Pisa  Luccha  Lago  Seravalle  Pistoja  Prato 
Firenze   and there are but 2 banks  that is to say one from the
bottom of the trench to the surface of the edges of it  and the
other from these edges to the top of the ridge of earth which will
be raised on the margin of the bank  And if this bank were of double
the depth only the first bank will be increased  that is 4 braccia
increased by half the first cost  that is to say that if at first 4
dinari were paid for 2 banks  for 3 it would come to 6  at 2 dinari
the bank  if the trench measured 16 braccia at the bottom  again  if
the trench were 16 braccia wide and 4 deep  coming to 4 lire for the
work  4 Milan dinari the square braccio  a trench which was 32
braccia at the bottom would come to 8 dinari the square braccio 

1002 

 From the wall of the Arno at  the gate of  la Giustizia to the bank
of the Arno at Sardigna where the walls are  to the mills  is 7400
braccia  that is 2 miles and 1400 braccia and beyond the Arno is
5500 braccia 

 Footnote  2   Giustizia   By this the Porta della Giustizia seems
to be meant  from the XVth to the XVIth centuries it was also
commonly known as Porta Guelfa  Porta San Francesco del Renaio 
Porta Nuova  and Porta Reale  It was close to the Arno opposite to
the Porta San Niccolo  which still exists  

1003 

By guiding the Arno above and below a treasure will be found in each
acre of ground by whomsoever will 

1004 

The wall of the old houses runs towards the gate of San Nicolo 

 Footnote  By the side of this text there is an indistinct sketch 
resembling that given under No 973  On the bank is written the word
 Casace   There then follows in the original a passage of 12 lines
in which the consequences of the windings of the river are
discussed  A larger but equally hasty diagram on the same page
represents the shores of the Arno inside Florence as in two parallel
lines  Four horizontal lines indicate the bridges  By the side these
measures are stated in figures  I   at the Ponte alla Carraja  
 230  largho br  12 e 2 di spoda e 14 di pile e a 4 pilastri   2 
 at the Ponte S  Trinita    l88  largho br  15 e 2 di spode he 28
di pilastri for delle spode e pilastri so 2   3   at the Ponte
vecchio    pote lung br  152 e largo   4   at the Ponte alle
Grazie    290 ellargo 12 e 2 di spode e 6 di pili  

There is  in MS  W  L  2l2b  a sketched plan of Florence  with the
following names of gates 
 Nicholo  Saminiato  Giorgo  Ghanolini  Porta San Fredian
  Prato  Faenza  Ghallo  Pinti  Giustitia   

1005 

The ruined wall is 640 braccia  130 is the wall remaining with the
mill  300 braccia were broken in 4 years by Bisarno 

1006 

They do not know why the Arno will never remain in a channel  It is
because the rivers which flow into it deposit earth where they
enter  and wear it away on the opposite side  bending the river in
that direction  The Arno flows for 6 miles between la Caprona and
Leghorn  and for 12 through the marshes  which extend 32 miles  and
16 from La Caprona up the river  which makes 48  by the Arno from
Florence beyond 16 miles  to Vico 16 miles  and the canal is 5  from
Florence to Fucechio it is 40 miles by the river Arno 

56 miles by the Arno from Florence to Vico  by the Pistoia canal it
is 44 miles  Thus it is 12 miles shorter by the canal than by the
Arno 

 Footnote  This passage is written by the side of a map washed in
Indian ink  of the course of the Arno  it is evidently a sketch for
a completer map 

These investigations may possibly be connected with the following
documents   Francesco Guiducci alla Balia di Firenze  Dal Campo
contro Pisa  24  Luglio  1503   Archivio di Stato  Firenze  Lettere
alla Balia   published by J  GAYE   Carteggio inedito d Artisti 
Firenze  1840   Tom  II   p  62    Ex Castris  Franciscus
Ghuiduccius   24   Jul   1503   Appresso fu qui hieri con una di V 
Signoria Alexandro degli Albizi insieme con Leonardo da Vinci et
certi altri  et veduto el disegno insieme con el ghovernatore  doppo
molte discussioni et dubii conclusesi che l opera fussi molto al
proposito  o si veramente Arno volgersi qui  o restarvi con un
canale  che almeno vieterebbe che le colline da nemici non
potrebbono essere offese  come tucto referiranno loro a bocha V  S  

And   Archivio di Stato  Firenze  Libro d Entrata e Uscita di cassa
de  Magnifici Signori di luglio e agosto 

1503  a  51  T   Andata di Leonardo al Campo sotto Pisa  Spese
extraordinarie dieno dare a di XXVI di luglio L  LVI sol  XII per
loro a Giovanni Piffero  e sono per tanti  asegnia avere spexi in
vetture di sei chavalli a spese di vitto per andare chon Lionardo da
Vinci a livellare Arno in quello di Pisa per levallo del lilo suo  
 Published by MILANESI   Archivio Storico Italiano  Serie III  Tom 
XVI    VASARI asserts    Leonardo  fu il primo ancora  che
giovanetto discorresse sopra il fiume d Arno per metterlo in canale
da Pisa a Fiorenza   ed  SANSONI  IV  20  

The passage above is in some degree illustrated by the map on Pl 
CXII  where the course of the Arno westward from Empoli is shown  

1007 

The eddy made by the Mensola  when the Arno is low and the Mensola
full 

 Footnote   Mensola  is a mountain stream which falls into the Arno
about a mile and a half above Florence 

A Arno  I Isola  M Mvgone  P Pesa  N Mesola  

1008 

That the river which is to be turned from one place to another must
be coaxed and not treated roughly or with violence  and to do this a
sort of floodgate should be made in the river  and then lower down
one in front of it and in like manner a third  fourth and fifth  so
that the river may discharge itself into the channel given to it  or
that by this means it may be diverted from the place it has damaged 
as was done in Flanders  as I was told by Niccolo di Forsore 

How to protect and repair the banks washed by the water  as below
the island of Cocomeri 

Ponte Rubaconte  Fig  1   below  the palaces  Bisticci and Canigiani
 Fig  2   Above the flood gate of la Giustizia  Fig  3    a b  is a
sand bank opposite the end of the island of the Cocomeri in the
middle of the Arno  Fig  4    Footnote  The course of the river Arno
is also discussed in Nos  987 and 988  

Canals in the Milanese  1009 1013  

1009 

The canal of San Cristofano at Milan made May 3rd 1509   Footnote 
This observation is written above a washed pen and ink drawing which
has been published as Tav  VI in the    Saggio    The editors of
that work explain the drawing as   uno Studio di bocche per
estrazione d acqua    

1010 

OF THE CANAL OF MARTESANA 

By making the canal of Martesana the water of the Adda is greatly
diminished by its distribution over many districts for the
irrigation of the fields  A remedy for this would be to make several
little channels  since the water drunk up by the earth is of no more
use to any one  nor mischief neither  because it is taken from no
one  and by making these channels the water which before was lost
returns again and is once more serviceable and useful to men 

 Footnote    el navilio di Martagano   is also mentioned in a note
written in red chalk  MS  H2 17a Leonardo has  as it seems  little
to do with Lodovico il Moro s scheme to render this canal navigable 
The canal had been made in 1460 by Bertonino da Novara  Il Moro
issued his degree in 1493  but Leonardo s notes about this canal
were  with the exception of one  No  1343   written about sixteen
years later  

1011 

No canal which is fed by a river can be permanent if the river
whence it originates is not wholly closed up  like the canal of
Martesana which is fed by the Ticino 

1012 

 From the beginning of the canal to the mill 

 From the beginning of the canal of Brivio to the mill of Travaglia
is 2794 trabochi  that is 11176 braccia  which is more than 3 miles
and two thirds  and here the canal is 57 braccia higher than the
surface of the water of the Adda  giving a fall of two inches in
every hundred trabochi  and at that spot we propose to take the
opening of our canal 

 Footnote  The following are written on the sketches  At the place
marked  N  navilio da dacquiue   canal of running water   at  M 
molin del Travaglia   Mill of Travaglia   at  R  rochetta ssanta
maria   small rock of Santa Maria   at  A  Adda   at  L  Lagho di
Lecho ringorgato alli 3 corni in Adda   Concha perpetua   lake of
Lecco overflowing at Tre Corni  in Adda    a permanent sluice   Near
the second sketch  referring to the sluice near  Q  qui la chatena
ttalie d u peso   here the chain is in one piece   At  M  in the
lower sketch   mol del travaglia  nel cavare la concha il tereno
ara chotrapero co cassa d acqua    Mill of Travaglia  in digging
out the sluice the soil will have as a counterpoise a vessel of
water   

1013 

If it be not reported there that this is to be a public canal  it
will be necessary to pay for the land   Footnote 3   il re   Louis
XII or Francis I of France  It is hardly possible to doubt that the
canals here spoken of were intended to be in the Milanese  Compare
with this passage the rough copy of a letter by Leonardo  to the
  Presidente dell  Ufficio regolatore dell  acqua   on No  1350  See
also the note to No  745  1  12   and the king will pay it by
remitting the taxes for a year 

Estimates and preparatory studies for canals  1014  1015  

1014 

CANAL 

The canal which may be 16 braccia wide at the bottom and 20 at the
top  we may say is on the average 18 braccia wide  and if it is 4
braccia deep  at 4 dinari the square braccia  it will only cost 900
ducats  to excavate by the mile  if the square braccio is calculated
in ordinary braccia  but if the braccia are those used in measuring
land  of which every 4 are equal to 4 1 2 and if by the mile we
understand three thousand ordinary braccia  turned into land
braccia  these 3000 braccia will lack 1 4  there remain 2250
braccia  which at 4 dinari the braccio will amount to 675 ducats a
mile  At 3 dinari the square braccio  the mile will amount to 506
1 4 ducats so that the excavation of 30 miles of the canal will
amount to 15187 1 2 ducats 

1015 

To make the great canal  first make the smaller one and conduct into
it the waters which by a wheel will help to fill the great one 

Notes on buildings in Milan  1016 1019 

1016 

Indicate the centre of Milan 

Moforte  porta resa  porta nova  strada nova  navilio  porta
cumana  barco  porta giovia  porta vercellina  porta sco
Anbrogio  porta Tesinese  torre dell  Imperatore   porta
Lodovica  acqua 

 Footnote  See Pl  CIX  The original sketch is here reduced to about
half its size  The gates of the town are here named  beginning at
the right hand and following the curved line  In the bird s eye view
of Milan below  the cathedral is plainly recognisable in the middle 
to the right is the tower of San Gottardo  The square  above the
number 9147  is the Lazzaretto  which was begun in 1488  On the left
the group of buildings of the   Castello   will be noticed  On the
sketched Plan of Florence  see No  1004 note  Leonardo has written
on the margin the following names of gates of Milan  Vercellina
  Ticinese  Ludovica  Romana  Orientale  
Nova  Beatrice  Cumana  Compare too No  1448  11  5  12  

1017 

The moat of Milan 

Canal 2 braccia wide 

The castle with the moats full 

The filling of the moats of the Castle of Milan 

1018 

THE BATH 

To heat the water for the stove of the Duchess take four parts of
cold water to three parts of hot water 

 Footnote   Duchessa di Milano   Beatrice d Este  wife of Ludovico
il Moro to whom she was married  in 1491  She died in June 1497  

1019 

In the Cathedral at the pulley of the nail of the cross 

Item 

To place the mass  v r  in the   

 Footnote  On this passage AMORETTI remarks   Memorie Storiche 
chap  IX    Nell anno stesso lo veggiamo formare un congegno di
carucole e di corde  con cui trasportare in piu venerabile e piu
sicuro luogo  cioe nell ultima arcata della nave di mezzo della
metropolitana  la sacra reliquia del Santo Chiodo  che ivi ancor si
venera  Al fol  15 del codice segnato Q  R  in 16  egli ci ha
lasciata di tal congegno una doppia figura  cioe una di quattro
carucole  e una di tre colle rispettive corde  soggiugnandovi  in
Domo alla carucola del Chiodo della Croce  

AMORETTI S views as to the mark on the MS  and the date when it was
written are  it may be observed  wholly unfounded  The MS  L  in
which it occurs  is of the year 1502  and it is very unlikely that
Leonardo was in Milan at that time  this however would not prevent
the remark  which is somewhat obscure  from applying to the
Cathedral at Milan  

1020 

OF THE FORCE OF THE VACUUM FORMED IN A MOMENT 

I saw  at Milan  a thunderbolt fall on the tower della Credenza on
its Northern side  and it descended with a slow motion down that
side  and then at once parted from that tower and carried with it
and tore away from that wall a space of 3 braccia wide and two deep 
and this wall was 4 braccia thick and was built of thin and small
old bricks  and this was dragged out by the vacuum which the flame
of the thunderbolt had caused   c 

 Footnote  With reference to buildings at Milan see also Nos  751
and 756  and Pl  XCV  No  2  explained on p  52   Pl  C  explained
on pages 60 62   See also pages 25  39 and 40  

Remarks on natural phenomena in and near Milan  1021  1022  

1021 

I have already been to see a great variety  of atmospheric effects  
And lately over Milan towards Lago Maggiore I saw a cloud in the
form of an immense mountain full of rifts of glowing light  because
the rays of the sun  which was already close to the horizon and red 
tinged the cloud with its own hue  And this cloud attracted to it
all the little clouds that were near while the large one did not
move from its place  thus it retained on its summit the reflection
of the sunlight till an hour and a half after sunset  so immensely
large was it  and about two hours after sunset such a violent wind
arose  that it was really tremendous and unheard of 

 Footnote   di arie  is wanting in the original but may safely be
inserted in the context  as the formation of clouds is under
discussion before this text  

1022 

On the 10th day of December at 9 o clock a  m  fire was set to the
place 

On the l8th day of December 1511 at 9 o clock a  m  this second fire
was kindled by the Swiss at Milan at the place called DCXC 
 Footnote  With these two texts   l  1  2 and l  3  5 are in the
original side by side  there are sketches of smoke wreaths in red
chalk  

Note on Pavia 

1023 

The chimneys of the castle of Pavia have 6 rows of openings and from
each to the other is one braccio 

 Footnote  Other notes relating to Pavia occur on p  43 and p  53
 Pl  XCVIII  No  3   Compare No  1448  26  

Notes on the Sforzesca near Vigevano  1024 1028  

1024 

On the 2nd day of February 1494  At Sforzesca I drew twenty five
steps  2 3 braccia to each  and 8 braccia wide 

 Footnote  See Pl  CX  No  2  The rest of the notes on this page
refer to the motion of water  On the lower sketch we read  4  br  
 four braccia  and  giara   for  ghiaja   sand  gravel   

1025 

The vineyards of Vigevano on the 20th day of March 1494 

 Footnote  On one side there is an effaced sketch in red chalk  

1026 

To lock up a butteris at Vigevano 

1027 

Again if the lowest part of the bank which lies across the current
of the waters is made in deep and wide steps  after the manner of
stairs  the waters which  in their course usually fall
perpendicularly from the top of such a place to the bottom  and wear
away the foundations of this bank can no longer descend with a blow
of too great a force  and I find the example of this in the stairs
down which the water falls in the fields at Sforzesca at Vigevano
over which the running water falls for a height of 50 braccia 

1028 

Stair of Vigevano below La Sforzesca  130 steps  1 4 braccio high
and 1 2 braccio wide  down which the water falls  so as not to wear
away anything at the end of its fall  by these steps so much soil
has come down that it has dried up a pool  that is to say it has
filled it up and a pool of great depth has been turned into meadows 

Notes on the North Italian lake   1029 1033 

1029 

In many places there are streams of water which swell for six hours
and ebb for six hours  and I  for my part  have seen one above the
lake of Como called Fonte Pliniana  which increases and ebbs  as I
have said  in such a way as to turn the stones of two mills  and
when it fails it falls so low that it is like looking at water in a
deep pit 

 Footnote  The fountain is known by this name to this day  it is
near Torno  on the Eastern shore of Como  The waters still rise and
fall with the flow and ebb of the tide as Pliny described it  Epist 
IV  30  Hist  Nat  II  206   

1030 

LAKE OF COMO  VALLEY OF CHIAVENNA 

Above the lake of Como towards Germany is the valley of Chiavenna
where the river Mera flows into this lake  Here are barren and very
high mountains  with huge rocks  Among these mountains are to be
found the water birds called gulls  Here grow fir trees  larches and
pines  Deer  wildgoats  chamois  and terrible bears  It is
impossible to climb them without using hands and feet  The peasants
go there at the time of the snows with great snares to make the
bears fall down these rocks  These mountains which very closely
approach each other are parted by the river  They are to the right
and left for the distance of 20 miles throughout of the same nature 
 From mile to mile there are good inns  Above on the said river there
are waterfalls of 400 braccia in height  which are fine to see  and
there is good living at 4 soldi the reckoning  This river brings
down a great deal of timber 

VAL SASINA 

Val Sasina runs down towards Italy  this is almost the same form and
character  There grow here many  mappello  and there are great ruins
and falls of water  Footnote 14  The meaning of  mappello  is
unknown   

VALLEY OF INTROZZO 

This valley produces a great quantity of firs  pines and larches 
and from here Ambrogio Fereri has his timber brought down  at the
head of the Valtellina are the mountains of Bormio  terrible and
always covered with snow  marmots     are found there 

BELLAGGIO 

Opposite the castle Bellaggio there is the river Latte  which falls
from a height of more than 100 braccia from the source whence it
springs  perpendicularly  into the lake with an inconceivable roar
and noise  This spring flows only in August and September 

VALTELLINA 

Valtellina  as it is called  is a valley enclosed in high and
terrible mountains  it produces much strong wine  and there is so
much cattle that the natives conclude that more milk than wine grows
there  This is the valley through which the Adda passes  which first
runs more than 40 miles through Germany  this river breeds the fish
 temolo  which live on silver  of which much is to be found in its
sands  In this country every one can sell bread and wine  and the
wine is worth at most one soldo the bottle and a pound of veal one
soldo  and salt ten dinari and butter the same and their pound is 30
ounces  and eggs are one soldo the lot 

1031 

At BORMIO 

At Bormio are the baths   About eight miles above Como is the
Pliniana  which increases and ebbs every six hours  and its swell
supplies water for two mills  and its ebbing makes the spring dry
up  two miles higher up there is Nesso  a place where a river falls
with great violence into a vast rift in the mountain  These
excursions are to be made in the month of May  And the largest bare
rocks that are to be found in this part of the country are the
mountains of Mandello near to those of Lecco  and of Gravidona
towards Bellinzona  30 miles from Lecco  and those of the valley of
Chiavenna  but the greatest of all is that of Mandello  which has at
its base an opening towards the lake  which goes down 200 steps  and
there at all times is ice and wind 

IN VAL SASINA 

In Val Sasina  between Vimognio and Introbbio  to the right hand 
going in by the road to Lecco  is the river Troggia which falls from
a very high rock  and as it falls it goes underground and the river
ends there  3 miles farther we find the buildings of the mines of
copper and silver near a place called Pra  Santo Pietro  and mines
of iron and curious things  La Grigna is the highest mountain there
is in this part  and it is quite bare 

 Footnote  1030 and 1031  From the character of the handwriting we
may conclude that these observations were made in Leonardo s youth 
and I should infer from their contents  that they were notes made in
anticipation of a visit to the places here described  and derived
from some person  unknown to us  who had given him an account of
them  

1032 

The lake of Pusiano flows into the lake of Segrino  Footnote 3  The
statement about the lake Segrino is incorrect  it is situated in the
Valle Assina  above the lake of Pusiano   and of Annone and of Sala 
The lake of Annone is 22 braccia higher at the surface of its water
than the surface of the water of the lake of Lecco  and the lake of
Pusiano is 20 braccia higher than the lake of Annone  which added to
the afore said 22 braccia make 42 braccia and this is the greatest
height of the surface of the lake of Pusiano above the surface of
the lake of Lecco 

 Footnote  This text has in the original a slight sketch to
illustrate it  

1033 

At Santa Maria in the Valley of Ravagnate  Footnote 2   Ravagnate 
 Leonardo writes  Ravagna   in the Brianza is between Oggiono and
Brivio  South of the lake of Como  M  Ravaisson avails himself of
this note to prove his hypothesis that Leonardo paid two visits to
France  See Gazette des Beaux Arts  1881 pag  528 

 Au recto du meme feuillet  on lit encore une note relative a une
vallee  nemonti brigatia   il me semble qu il s agit bien des monts
de Briancon  le Brigantio des anciens  Briancon est sur la route de
Lyon en Italie  Ce fut par le mont Viso que passerent  en aout 1515 
les troupes francaises qui allaient remporter la victoire de
Marignan 

Leonard de Vinci  ingenieur de Francois Ier  comme il l avait ete de
Louis XII  aurait il ete pour quelque chose dans le plan du celebre
passage des Alpes  qui eut lieu en aout 1515  et a la suite duquel
on le vit accompagner partout le chevaleresque vainqueur  Auraitil
ete appele par le jeune roi  de Rome ou l artiste etait alors  des
son avenement au trone    in the mountains of Brianza are the rods
of chestnuts of 9 braccia and one out of an average of 100 will be
14 braccia 

At Varallo di Ponbia near to Sesto on the Ticino the quinces are
white  large and hard 

 Footnote 5  Varallo di Ponbia  about ten miles South of Arona is
distinct from Varallo the chief town in the Val di Sesia  

Notes on places in Central Italy  visited in 1502  1034 1054  

1034 

Pigeon house at Urbino  the 30th day of July 1502   Footnote  An
indistinct sketch is introduced with this text  in the original  in
which the word  Scolatoro   conduit  is written  

1035 

Made by the sea at Piombino   Footnote  Below the sketch there are
eleven lines of text referring to the motion of waves  

1036 

Acquapendente is near Orvieto   Footnote   Acquapendente  is about
10 miles West of Orvieto  and is to the right in the map on Pl 
CXIII  near the lake of Bolsena  

1037 

The rock of Cesena   Footnote  See Pl  XCIV No  1  the lower sketch 
The explanation of the upper sketch is given on p  29  

1038 

Siena   a b  4 braccia   a c  10 braccia  Steps at  the castle of 
Urbino   Footnote  See Pl  CX No  3  compare also No  765  

1039 

The bell of Siena  that is the manner of its movement  and the place
of the attachment of the clapper   Footnote  The text is accompanied
by an indistinct sketch  

1040 

On St  Mary s day in the middle of August  at Cesena  1502 
 Footnote  See Pl  CX  No  4  

1041 

Stairs of the  palace of the  Count of Urbino   rough   Footnote 
The text is accompanied by a slight sketch  

1042 

At the fair of San Lorenzo at Cesena  1502 

1043 

Windows at Cesena   Footnote  There are four more lines of text
which refer to a slightly sketched diagram  

1044 

At Porto Cesenatico  on the 6th of September 1502 at 9 o clock a  m 

The way in which bastions ought to project beyond the walls of the
towers to defend the outer talus  so that they may not be taken by
artillery 

 Footnote  An indistinct sketch  accompanies this passage  

1045 

The rock of the harbour of Cesena is four points towards the South
West from Cesena 

1046 

In Romagna  the realm of all stupidity  vehicles with four wheels
are used  of which O the two in front are small and two high ones
are behind  an arrangement which is very unfavourable to the motion 
because on the fore wheels more weight is laid than on those behind 
as I showed in the first of the 5th on  Elements  

1047 

Thus grapes are carried at Cesena  The number of the diggers of the
ditches is  arranged  pyramidically   Footnote  A sketch 
representing a hook to which two bunches of grapes are hanging 
refers to these first two lines  Cesena is mentioned again Fol  82a 
 Carro da Cesena   a cart from Cesena   

1048 

There might be a harmony of the different falls of water as you saw
them at the fountain of Rimini on the 8th day of August  1502 

1049 

The fortress at Urbino   Footnote  1049  In the original the text is
written inside the sketch in the place here marked  n   

1050 

Imola  as regards Bologna  is five points from the West  towards the
North West  at a distance of 20 miles 

Castel San Piero is seen from Imola at four points from the West
towards the North West  at a distance of 7 miles 

Faenza stands with regard to Imola between East and South East at a
distance of ten miles  Forli stands with regard to Faenza between
South East and East at a distance of 20 miles from Imola and ten
from Faenza 

Forlimpopoli lies in the same direction at 25 miles from Imola 

Bertinoro  as regards Imola  is five points from the East to wards
the South East  at 27 miles 

1051 

Imola as regards Bologna is five points from the West towards the
North West at a distance of 20 miles 

Castel San Pietro lies exactly North West of Imola  at a distance of
7 miles 

Faenza  as regards Imola lies exactly half way between the East and
South East at a distance of 10 miles  and Forli lies in the same
direction from Imola at a distance of 20 miles  and Forlimpopolo
lies in the same direction from Forli at a distance of 25 miles 

Bertinoro is seen from Imola two points from the East towards the
South East at a distance of 27 miles 

 Footnote  Leonardo inserted this passage on the margin of the
circular plan  in water colour  of Imola  see Pl  CXI No  1   In the
original the fields surrounding the town are light green  the moat 
which surrounds the fortifications and the windings of the river
Santerno  are light blue  The parts  which have come out blackish
close to the river are yellow ochre in the original  The dark groups
of houses inside the town are red  At the four points of the compass
drawn in the middle of the town Leonardo has written  from right to
left    Mezzodi   South  at the top  to the left  Scirocho   South
east    levante   East    Greco   North East    Septantrione 
 North    Maesstro   North West    ponente   West   Libecco   South
West   The arch in which the plan is drawn is  in the original  42
centimetres across 

At the beginning of October 1502 Cesare Borgia was shut up in Imola
by a sudden revolt of the Condottieri  and it was some weeks before
he could release himself from this state of siege  see Gregorovius 
 Geschichte der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter   Vol  VII  Book XIII  5 
5  

Besides this incident Imola plays no important part in the history
of the time  I therefore think myself fully justified in connecting
this map  which is at Windsor  with the siege of 1502 and with
Leonardo s engagements in the service of Cesare Borgia  because a
comparison of these texts  Nos  1050 and 1051  raise  I believe  the
hypothesis to a certainty  

1052 

 From Bonconventi to Casa Nova are 10 miles  from Casa Nova to Chiusi
9 miles  from Chiusi to Perugia  from  Perugia to Santa Maria degli
Angeli  and then to Fuligno   Footnote  Most of the places here
described lie within the district shown in the maps on Pl  CXIII  

1053 

On the first of August 1502  the library at Pesaro 

1054 

OF PAINTING 

On the tops and sides of hills foreshorten the shape of the ground
and its divisions  but give its proper shape to what is turned
towards you   Footnote  This passage evidently refers to the making
of maps  such as Pl  CXII  CXIII  and CXIV  There is no mention of
such works  it is true  excepting in this one passage of MS  L  But
this can scarcely be taken as evidence against my view that Leonardo
busied himself very extensively at that time in the construction of
maps  and all the less since the foregoing chapters clearly prove
that at a time so full of events Leonardo would only now and then
commit his observations to paper  in the MS  L 

By the side of this text we find  in the original  a very indistinct
sketch  perhaps a plan of a position  Instead of this drawing I have
here inserted a much clearer sketch of a position from the same MS  
L  82b and 83a  They are the only drawings of landscape  it may be
noted  which occur at all in that MS  

Alessandria in Piedmont  1055  1056  

1055 

At Candia in Lombardy  near Alessandria della Paglia  in making a
well for Messer Gualtieri  Footnote 2  Messer Gualtieri  the same
probably as is mentioned in Nos  672 and 1344   of Candia  the
skeleton of a very large boat was found about 10 braccia
underground  and as the timber was black and fine  it seemed good to
the said Messer Gualtieri to have the mouth of the well lengthened
in such a way as that the ends of the boat should be uncovered 

1056 

At Alessandria della Paglia in Lombardy there are no stones for
making lime of  but such as are mixed up with an infinite variety of
things native to the sea  which is now more than 200 miles away 

The Alps  1057 1062  

1057 

At Monbracco  above Saluzzo   a mile above the Certosa  at the foot
of Monte Viso  there is a quarry of flakey stone  which is as white
as Carrara marble  without a spot  and as hard as porphyry or even
harder  of which my worthy gossip  Master Benedetto the sculptor 
has promised to give me a small slab  for the colours  the second
day of January 1511 

 Footnote  Saluzzo at the foot of the Alps South of Turin  

 Footnote 9  10    Maestro Benedetto scultore   probably some native
of Northern Italy acquainted with the place here described  Hardly
the Florentine sculptor Benedetto da Majano  Amoretti had published
this passage  and M  Ravaisson who gave a French translation of it
in the  Gazette des Beaux Arts   1881  pag  528   remarks as
follows   Le maitre sculpteur que Leonard appelle son  compare  ne
serait il pas Benedetto da Majano  un de ceux qui jugerent avec lui
de la place a donner au David de Michel Ange  et de qui le Louvre a
acquis recemment un buste d apres Philippe Strozzi   To this it may
be objected that Benedetto da Majano had already lain in his grave
fourteen years  in the year 1511  when he is supposed to have given
the promise to Leonardo  The colours may have been given to the
sculptor Benedetto and the stone may have been in payment for them 
 From the description of the stone here given we may conclude that it
is repeated from hearsay of the sculptor s account of it  I do not
understand how  from this observation  it is possible to conclude
that Leonardo was on the spot  

1058 

That there are springs which suddenly break forth in earthquakes or
other convulsions and suddenly fail  and this happened in a mountain
in Savoy where certain forests sank in and left a very deep gap  and
about four miles from here the earth opened itself like a gulf in
the mountain  and threw out a sudden and immense flood of water
which scoured the whole of a little valley of the tilled soil 
vineyards and houses  and did the greatest mischief  wherever it
overflowed 

1059 

The river Arve  a quarter of a mile from Geneva in Savoy  where the
fair is held on midsummerday in the village of Saint Gervais 

 Footnote  An indistinct sketch is to be seen by the text  

1060 

And this may be seen  as I saw it  by any one going up Monbroso
 Footnote  I have vainly enquired of every available authority for a
solution of the mystery as to what mountain is intended by the name
Monboso  Comp  Vol  I Nos  300 and 301   It seems most obvious to
refer it to Monte Rosa  ROSA derived from the Keltic ROS which
survives in Breton and in Gaelic  meaning  in its first sense  a
mountain spur  but which also  like HORN  means a very high peak 
thus Monte Rosa would mean literally the High Peak    a peak of the
Alps which divide France from Italy  The base of this mountain gives
birth to the 4 rivers which flow in four different directions
through the whole of Europe  And no mountain has its base at so
great a height as this  which lifts itself above almost all the
clouds  and snow seldom falls there  but only hail in the summer 
when the clouds are highest  And this hail lies  unmelted  there  so
that if it were not for the absorption of the rising and falling
clouds  which does not happen more than twice in an age  an enormous
mass of ice would be piled up there by the layers of hail  and in
the middle of July I found it very considerable  and I saw the sky
above me quite dark  and the sun as it fell on the mountain was far
brighter here than in the plains below  because a smaller extent of
atmosphere lay between the summit of the mountain and the sun 
 Footnote 6   in una eta   This is perhaps a slip of the pen on
Leonardo s part and should be read  estate   summer   

Leic  9b 

1061 

In the mountains of Verona the red marble is found all mixed with
cockle shells turned into stone  some of them have been filled at
the mouth with the cement which is the substance of the stone  and
in some parts they have remained separate from the mass of the rock
which enclosed them  because the outer covering of the shell had
interposed and had not allowed them to unite with it  while in other
places this cement had petrified those which were old and almost
stripped the outer skin 

1062 

Bridge of Goertz Wilbach     

 Footnote  There is a slight sketch with this text  Leonardo seems
to have intended to suggest  with a few pen strokes  the course of
the Isonzo and of the Wipbach in the vicinity of Gorizia  Goerz   He
himself says in another place that he had been in Friuli  see No 
1077 1  19   

The Appenins  1063 1068  

1063 

That part of the earth which was lightest remained farthest from the
centre of the world  and that part of the earth became the lightest
over which the greatest quantity of water flowed  And therefore that
part became lightest where the greatest number of rivers flow  like
the Alps which divide Germany and France from Italy  whence issue
the Rhone flowing Southwards  and the Rhine to the North  The Danube
or Tanoia towards the North East  and the Po to the East  with
innumerable rivers which join them  and which always run turbid with
the soil carried by them to the sea 

The shores of the sea are constantly moving towards the middle of
the sea and displace it from its original position  The lowest
portion of the Mediterranean will be reserved for the bed and
current of the Nile  the largest river that flows into that sea  And
with it are grouped all its tributaries  which at first fell into
the sea  as may be seen with the Po and its tributaries  which first
fell into that sea  which between the Appenines and the German Alps
was united to the Adriatic sea 

That the Gallic Alps are the highest part of Europe 

1064 

And of these I found some in the rocks of the high Appenines and
mostly at the rock of La Vernia   Footnote 6   Sasso della Vernia  
The frowning rock between the sources of the Arno and the Tiber  as
Dante describes this mountain  which is 1269 metres in height 

This note is written by the side of that given as No  1020  but
their connection does not make it clear what Leonardo s purpose was
in writing it  

1065 

At Parma  at  La Campana  on the twenty fifth of October 1514 
 Footnote 2   Capano   an Inn  

A note on the petrifactions  or fossils near Parma will be found
under No  989  

1066 

A method for drying the marsh of Piombino   Footnote  There is a
slight sketch with this text in the original   Piombino is also
mentioned in Nos  609  l  55 58  compare Pl  XXXV  3  below   Also
in No  1035  

1067 

The shepherds in the Romagna at the foot of the Apennines make
peculiar large cavities in the mountains in the form of a horn  and
on one side they fasten a horn  This little horn becomes one and the
same with the said cavity and thus they produce by blowing into it a
very loud noise   Footnote  As to the Romagna see also No  1046  

1068 

A spring may be seen to rise in Sicily which at certain times of the
year throws out chesnut leaves in quantities  but in Sicily chesnuts
do not grow  hence it is evident that that spring must issue from
some abyss in Italy and then flow beneath the sea to break forth in
Sicily   Footnote  The chesnut tree is very common in Sicily  In
writing  cicilia  Leonardo meant perhaps Cilicia  

II 

FRANCE 

1069 

   GERMANY                      FRANCE 

a  Austria                  a  Picardy 
b  Saxony                   b  Normandy 
c  Nuremberg                c  Dauphine 
d  Flanders 

               SPAIN 

            a  Biscay 
            b  Castille 
            c  Galicia 
            d  Portugal 
            e  Taragona 
            f  Granada 

 Footnote  Two slightly sketched maps  one of Europe the other of
Spain  are at the side of these notes  

1070 

Perpignan  Roanne  Lyons  Paris  Ghent  Bruges  Holland 

 Footnote   Roana  does not seem to mean here Rouen in Normandy  but
is probably Roanne  Rodumna  on the upper Loire  Lyonnais  Dep  du
Loire   This town is now unimportant  but in Leonardo s time was
still a place of some consequence  

1071 

At Bordeaux in Gascony the sea rises about 40 braccia before its
ebb  and the river there is filled with salt water for more than a
hundred and fifty miles  and the vessels which are repaired there
rest high and dry on a high hill above the sea at low tide 
 Footnote 2  This is obviously an exaggeration founded on inaccurate
information  Half of 150 miles would be nearer the mark  

1072 

The Rhone issues from the lake of Geneva and flows first to the West
and then to the South  with a course of 400 miles and pours its
waters into the Mediterranean 

1073 

 c d  is the garden at Blois   a b  is the conduit of Blois  made in
France by Fra Giocondo   b c  is what is wanting in the height of
that conduit   c d  is the height of the garden at Blois   e f  is
the siphon of the conduit   b c    e f    f g  is where the siphon
discharges into the river   Footnote  The tenor of this note  see
lines 2 and 3  seems to me to indicate that this passage was not
written in France  but was written from oral information  We have no
evidence as to when this note may have been written beyond the
circumstance that Fra Giocondo the Veronese Architect left France
not before the year 1505  The greater part of the magnificent
Chateau of Blois has now disappeared  Whether this note was made for
a special purpose is uncertain  The original form and extent of the
Chateau is shown in Androvet   Les plus excellents Bastiments de
France  Paris MDCVII   and it may be observed that there is in the
middle of the garden a Pavilion somewhat similar to that shown on
Pl  LXXXVIII No  7 

See S  DE LA SAUSSAYE   Histoire du Chateau de Blois 4eme edition
Blois et Paris  p  175   En mariant sa fille ainee a Francois  comte
d Angouleme  Louis XII lui avait constitue en dot les comtes de
Blois  d Asti  de Coucy  de Montfort  d Etampes et de Vertus  Une
ordonnance de Francois I  lui laissa en  1516  l administration du
comte de Blois 

Le roi fit commencer  dans la meme annee  les travaux de celle belle
partie du chateau  connue sous le nom d aile de Francois I  et dont
nous avons donne la description au commencement de ce livre  Nous
trouvons en effet  dans les archives du Baron de Foursanvault  une
piece qui en fixe parfaitement la date  On y lit   Je  Baymon
Philippeaux  commis par le Roy a tenir le compte et fair le payement
des bastiments  ediffices et reparacions que le dit seigneur fait
faire en son chastu de Blois  confesse avoir eu et receu     la
somme de trois mille livres tournois     le cinquieme jour de
juillet  l an mil cinq cent et seize   P  24   Les jardins avaient
ete decores avec beaucoup de luxe par les differents possesseurs du
chateau  Il ne reste de tous les batiments qu ils y eleverent que
ceux des officiers charges de l ad ministration et de la culture des
jardins  et un pavilion carre en pierre et en brique flanque de
terrasses a chacun de ses angles  Quoique defigure par des mesures
elevees sur les terrasses  cet edifice est tris digne d interet par
l originalite du plan  la decoration architecturale et le souvenir
d Anne de Bretagne qui le fit construire   Felibien describes the
garden as follows   Le jardin haut etait fort bien dresse par grands
compartimens de toutes sortes de figures  avec des allees de
meuriers blancs et des palissades de coudriers  Deux grands berceaux
de charpenterie separoient toute la longueur et la largeur du
jardin  et dans les quatres angles des allees  ou ces berceaux se
croissent  il y auoit 4 cabinets  de mesme charpenterie     Il y a
pas longtemps qu il y auoit dans ce mesme jardin  a l endroit ou se
croissent les allees du milieu  un edifice de figure octogone  de
plus de 7 thoises de diametre et de plus de neuf thoises de haut 
avec 4 enfoncements en forme de niches dans les 4 angles des allies 
Ce bastiment     esloit de charpente mais d un extraordinairement
bien travaille  On y voyait particulierement la cordiliere qui
regnati tout autour en forme de cordon  Car la Reyne affectait de la
mettre nonseulement a ses armes et a ses chiffres mais de la faire
representer en divers manieres dans tous les ouvrages qu on lui
faisait pour elle     le bastiment estati couvert en forme de dome
qui dans son milieu avait encore un plus petit dome  ou lanterne
vitree au dessus de laquelle estait une figure doree representant
Saint Michel  Les deux domes estoient proprement couvert d ardoise
et de plomb dore par dehors  par dedans ils esloient lambrissez
d une menuiserie tres delicate  Au milieu de ce Salon il y avait un
grand bassin octogone de marbre blanc  dont toutes les faces
estoient enrichies de differentes sculptures  avec les armes et les
chiffres du Roy Louis XII et de la Reine Anne  Dans ce bassin il y
en avait un autre pose sur un piedestal lequel auoit sept piedz de
diametre  Il estait de figure ronde a godrons  avec des masques et
d autres ornements tres scauamment taillez  Du milieu de ce
deuxiesme bassin s y levoit un autre petit piedestal qui portait un
troisiesme bassin de trois pieds de diametre  aussy parfaitement
bien taille  c estoit de ce dernier bassin que jallissoit l eau qui
se rependoit en suitte dans les deux autres bassins  Les beaux
ouvrages faits d un marbre esgalement blanc et poli  furent brisez
par la pesanteur de tout l edifice  que les injures de l air
renverserent de fond en comble  

1074 

The river Loire at Amboise 

The river is higher within the bank  b d  than outside that bank 

The island where there is a part of Amboise 

This is the river that passes through Amboise  it passes at  a b c
d   and when it has passed the bridge it turns back  against the
original current  by the channel  d e    b f  in contact with the
bank which lies between the two contrary currents of the said river 
 a b    c d   and  d e    b f   It then turns down again by the
channel  f l    g h    n m   and reunites with the river from which
it was at first separated  which passes by  k n   which makes  k m  
 r t   But when the river is very full it flows all in one channel
passing over the bank  b d    Footnote  See Pl  CXV  Lines 1 7 are
above  lines 8 10 in the middle of the large island and the word
 Isola  is written above  d  in the smaller island   a  is written
on the margin on the bank of the river above 1  I  in the
reproduction it is not visible  As may be seen from the last
sentence  the observation was made after long study of the river s
course  when Leonardo had resided for some time at  or near 
Amboise  

1075 

The water may be dammed up above the level of Romorantin to such a
height  that in its fall it may be used for numerous mills 

1075 

The river at Villefranche may be conducted to Romorantin which may
be done by the inhabitants  and the timber of which their houses are
built may be carried in boats to Romorantin  Footnote  Compare No 
744    The river may be dammed up at such a height that the waters
may be brought back to Romorantin with a convenient fall 

1076 

As to whether it is better that the water should all be raised in a
single turn or in two 

The answer is that in one single turn the wheel could not support
all the water that it can raise in two turns  because at the half
turn of the wheel it would be raising 100 pounds and no more  and if
it had to raise the whole  200 pounds in one turn  it could not
raise them unless the wheel were of double the diameter and if the
diameter were doubled  the time of its revolution would be doubled 
therefore it is better and a greater advantage in expense to make
such a wheel of half the size     the land which it would water and
would render the country fertile to supply food to the inhabitants 
and would make navigable canals for mercantile purposes 

The way in which the river in its flow should scour its own channel 

By the ninth of the third  the more rapid it is  the more it wears
away its channel  and  by the converse proposition  the slower the
water the more it deposits that which renders it turbid 

And let the sluice be movable like the one I arranged in Friuli
 Footnote 19  This passage reveals to us the fact that Leonardo had
visited the country of Friuli and that he had stayed there for some
time  Nothing whatever was known of this previously    where when
one sluice was opened the water which passed through it dug out the
bottom  Therefore when the rivers are flooded  the sluices of the
mills ought to be opened in order that the whole course of the river
may pass through falls to each mill  there should be many in order
to give a greater impetus  and so all the river will be scoured  And
below the site of each of the two mills there may be one of the said
sluice falls  one of them may be placed below each mill 

1078 

A trabocco is four braccia  and one mile is three thousand of the
said braccia  Each braccio is divided into 12 inches  and the water
in the canals has a fall in every hundred trabocchi of two of these
inches  therefore 14 inches of fall are necessary in two thousand
eight hundred braccia of flow in these canals  it follows that 15
inches of fall give the required momentum to the currents of the
waters in the said canals  that is one braccio and a half in the
mile  And from this it may be concluded that the water taken from
the river of Ville franche and lent to the river of Romorantin
will      Where one river by reason of its low level cannot flow
into the other  it will be necessary to dam it up  so that it may
acquire a fall into the other  which was previously the higher 

The eve of Saint Antony I returned from Romorantin to Amboise  and
the King went away two days before from Romorantin 

 From Romorantin as far as the bridge at Saudre it is called the
Saudre  and from that bridge as far as Tours it is called the Cher 

I would test the level of that channel which is to lead from the
Loire to Romorantin  with a channel one braccio wide and one braccio
deep 

 Footnote  Lines 6 18 are partly reproduced in the facsimile on p 
254  and the whole of lines 19 25 

The following names are written along the rivers on the larger
sketch   era f   the Loire   scier f   the Cher  three times   Pote
Sodro   bridge of the Soudre    Villa francha   Villefranche 
 banco   sandbank   Sodro   Soudre   The circle below shows the
position of Romorantin  The words   orologio del sole   written
below do not belong to the map of the rivers  The following names
are written by the side of the smaller sketch map    tors   Tours  
 Abosa   Amboise   bres   for Bles  Blois   mo rica   Montrichard  
 Lione   Lyons   This map was also published in the  Saggio 
 Milano  1872  Pl  XXII  and the editors remark   Forse la linia
retta che va da Amboise a Romorantin segna l andamento proposto d un
Canale  che poi rembra prolungarsi in giu fin dove sta scritto
Lione  

M  Ravaisson has enlarged on this idea in the Gazette des Beaux Arts
 1881 p  530    Les traces de Leonard permettent d entrevoir que le
canal commencant soit aupres de Tours  soit aupres de Blois et
passant par Romorantin  avec port d embarquement a Villefranche 
devait  au dela de Bourges  traverser l Allier au dessous des
affluents de la Dore et de la Sioule  aller par Moulins jusqu  a
Digoin  enfin  sur l autre rive de la Loire  depasser les monts du
Charolais et rejoindre la Saone aupres de Macon   It seems to me
rash  however  to found so elaborate an hypothesis on these sketches
of rivers  The slight stroke going to  Lione  is perhaps only an
indication of the direction   With regard to the Loire compare also
No  988  l  38  

1079 

THE ROAD TO ORLEANS

At 1 4 from the South to the South East  At 1 3 from the South to
the South East  At 1 4 from the South to the South East  At 1 5 from
the South to the South East  Between the South West and South  to
the East bearing to the South  from the South towards the East 1 8 
thence to the West  between the South and South West  at the South 

 Footnote  The meaning is obscure  a more important passage
referring to France is to be found under No  744 

On the Germans  1080  1081  

1080 

The way in which the Germans closing up together cross and
interweave their broad leather shields against the enemy  stooping
down and putting one of the ends on the ground while they hold the
rest in their hand   Footnote  Above the text is a sketch of a few
lines crossing each other and the words  de ponderibus   The meaning
of the passage is obscure  

1081 

The Germans are wont to annoy a garrison with the smoke of feathers 
sulphur and realgar  and they make this smoke last 7 or 8 hours 
Likewise the husks of wheat make a great and lasting smoke  and also
dry dung  but this must be mixed with olive husks  that is olives
pressed for oil and from which the oil has been extracted 
 Footnote  There is with this passage a sketch of a round tower
shrouded in smoke  

The Danube 

1082 

That the valleys were formerly in great part covered by lakes the
soil of which always forms the banks of rivers   and by seas  which
afterwards  by the persistent wearing of the rivers  cut through the
mountains and the wandering courses of the rivers carried away the
other plains enclosed by the mountains  and the cutting away of the
mountains is evident from the strata in the rocks  which correspond
in their sections as made by the courses of the rivers  Footnote 4 
 Emus   the Balkan   Dardania   now Servia    The Haemus mountains
which go along Thrace and Dardania and join the Sardonius mountains
which  going on to the westward change their name from Sardus to
Rebi  as they come near Dalmatia  then turning to the West cross
Illyria  now called Sclavonia  changing the name of Rebi to Albanus 
and going on still to the West  they change to Mount Ocra in the
North  and to the South above Istria they are named Caruancas  and
to the West above Italy they join the Adula  where the Danube rises
 8   which stretches to the East and has a course of 1500 miles  its
shortest line is about l000 miles  and the same or about the same is
that branch of the Adula mountains changed as to their name  as
before mentioned  To the North are the Carpathians  closing in the
breadth of the valley of the Danube  which  as I have said extends
eastward  a length of about 1000 miles  and is sometimes 200 and in
some places 300 miles wide  and in the midst flows the Danube  the
principal river of Europe as to size  The said Danube runs through
the middle of Austria and Albania and northwards through Bavaria 
Poland  Hungary  Wallachia and Bosnia and then the Danube or Donau
flows into the Black Sea  which formerly extended almost to Austria
and occupied the plains through which the Danube now courses  and
the evidence of this is in the oysters and cockle shells and
scollops and bones of great fishes which are still to be found in
many places on the sides of those mountains  and this sea was formed
by the filling up of the spurs of the Adula mountains which then
extended to the East joining the spurs of the Taurus which extend to
the West  And near Bithynia the waters of this Black Sea poured into
the Propontis  Marmora  falling into the Aegean Sea  that is the
Mediterranean  where  after a long course  the spurs of the Adula
mountains became separated from those of the Taurus  The Black Sea
sank lower and laid bare the valley of the Danube with the above
named countries  and the whole of Asia Minor beyond the Taurus range
to the North  and the plains from mount Caucasus to the Black Sea to
the West  and the plains of the Don this side  that is to say  at
the foot of the Ural mountains  And thus the Black Sea must have
sunk about 1000 braccia to uncover such vast plains 

 Footnote 8   Danubio   in the original  Reno   evidently a mistake
as we may infer from  come dissi  l  10  c  

III 

THE COUNTRIES OF THE WESTERN END OF THE MEDITERRANEAN 

The straits of Gibraltar  1083 1085  

1083 

WHY THE SEA MAKES A STRONGER CURRENT IN THE STRAITS OF SPAIN THAN
ELSEWHERE 

A river of equal depth runs with greater speed in a narrow space
than in a wide one  in proportion to the difference between the
wider and the narrower one 

This proposition is clearly proved by reason confirmed by
experiment  Supposing that through a channel one mile wide there
flows one mile in length of water  where the river is five miles
wide each of the 5 square miles will require 1 5 of itself to be
equal to the square mile of water required in the sea  and where the
river is 3 miles wide each of these square miles will require the
third of its volume to make up the amount of the square mile of the
narrow part  as is demonstrated in  f g h  at the mile marked  n  

 Footnote  In the place marked A in the diagram  Mare Mediterano 
 Mediterranean Sea  is written in the original  And at B   stretto
di Spugna   straits of Spain   i e   Gibraltar   Compare No  960  

1084 

WHY THE CURRENT OF GIBRALTAR IS ALWAYS GREATER TO THE WEST THAN TO
THE EAST 

The reason is that if you put together the mouths of the rivers
which discharge into the Mediterranean sea  you would find the sum
of water to be larger than that which this sea pours through the
straits into the ocean  You see Africa discharging its rivers that
run northwards into this sea  and among them the Nile which runs
through 3000 miles of Africa  there is also the Bagrada river and
the Schelif and others   Footnote 5   Bagrada   Leonardo writes
Bragada  in Tunis  now Medscherda   Mavretano   now Schelif  
Likewise Europe pours into it the Don and the Danube  the Po  the
Rhone  the Arno  and the Tiber  so that evidently these rivers  with
an infinite number of others of less fame  make its great breadth
and depth and current  and the sea is not wider than 18 miles at the
most westerly point of land where it divides Europe from Africa 

1085 

The gulf of the Mediterranean  as an inland sea  received the
principal waters of Africa  Asia and Europe that flowed towards it 
and its waters came up to the foot of the mountains that surrounded
it and made its shores  And the summits of the Apennines stood up
out of this sea like islands  surrounded by salt water  Africa
again  behind its Atlas mountains did not expose uncovered to the
sky the surface of its vast plains about 3000 miles in length  and
Memphis  Footnote 6   Mefi   Leonardo can only mean here the citadel
of Cairo on the Mokattam hills   was on the shores of this sea  and
above the plains of Italy  where now birds fly in flocks  fish were
wont to wander in large shoals 

1086 

Tunis 

The greatest ebb made anywhere by the Mediterranean is above Tunis 
being about two and a half braccia and at Venice it falls two
braccia  In all the rest of the Mediterranean sea the fall is little
or none 

1087 

Libya 

Describe the mountains of shifting deserts  that is to say the
formation of waves of sand borne by the wind  and of its mountains
and hills  such as occur in Libya  Examples may be seen on the wide
sands of the Po and the Ticino  and other large rivers 

1088 

Majorca 

Circumfulgore is a naval machine  It was an invention of the men of
Majorca   Footnote  The machine is fully described in the MS  and
shown in a sketch  

1089 

The Tyrrhene Sea 

Some at the Tyrrhene sea employ this method  that is to say they
fastened an anchor to one end of the yard  and to the other a cord 
of which the lower end was fastened to an anchor  and in battle they
flung this anchor on to the oars of the opponent s boat and by the
use of a capstan drew it to the side  and threw soft soap and tow 
daubed with pitch and set ablaze  on to that side where the anchor
hung  so that in order to escape that fire  the defenders of that
ship had to fly to the opposite side  and in doing this they aided
to the attack  because the galley was more easily drawn to the side
by reason of the counterpoise   Footnote  This text is illustrated
in the original by a pen and ink sketch  

IV 

THE LEVANT 

The Levantine Sea 

1090 

On the shores of the Mediterranean 300 rivers flow  and 40  200
ports  And this sea is 3000 miles long  Many times has the increase
of its waters  heaped up by their backward flow and the blowing of
the West winds  caused the overflow of the Nile and of the rivers
which flow out through the Black Sea  and have so much raised the
seas that they have spread with vast floods over many countries  And
these floods take place at the time when the sun melts the snows on
the high mountains of Ethiopia that rise up into the cold regions of
the air  and in the same way the approach of the sun acts on the
mountains of Sarmatia in Asia and on those in Europe  so that the
gathering together of these three things are  and always have been 
the cause of tremendous floods  that is  the return flow of the sea
with the West wind and the melting of the snows  So every river will
overflow in Syria  in Samaria  in Judea between Sinai and the
Lebanon  and in the rest of Syria between the Lebanon and the Taurus
mountains  and in Cilicia  in the Armenian mountains  and in
Pamphilia and in Lycia within the hills  and in Egypt as far as the
Atlas mountains  The gulf of Persia which was formerly a vast lake
of the Tigris and discharged into the Indian Sea  has now worn away
the mountains which formed its banks and laid them even with the
level of the Indian ocean  And if the Mediterranean had continued
its flow through the gulf of Arabia  it would have done the same 
that is to say  would have reduced the level of the Mediterranean to
that of the Indian Sea 

The Red Sea   1091  1092  

1091 

For a long time the water of the Mediterranean flowed out through
the Red Sea  which is 100 miles wide and 1500 long  and full of
reefs  and it has worn away the sides of Mount Sinai  a fact which
testifies  not to an inundation from the Indian sea beating on these
coasts  but to a deluge of water which carried with it all the
rivers which abound round the Mediterranean  and besides this there
is the reflux of the sea  and then  a cutting being made to the West
3000 miles away from this place  Gibraltar was separated from Ceuta 
which had been joined to it  And this passage was cut very low down 
in the plains between Gibraltar and the ocean at the foot of the
mountain  in the low part  aided by the hollowing out of some
valleys made by certain rivers  which might have flowed here 
Hercules  Footnote 9  Leonardo seems here to mention Hercules half
jestingly and only in order to suggest to the reader an allusion to
the legend of the pillars of Hercules   came to open the sea to the
westward and then the sea waters began to pour into the Western
Ocean  and in consequence of this great fall  the Red Sea remained
the higher  whence the water  abandoning its course here  ever after
poured away through the Straits of Spain 

1092 

The surface of the Red Sea is on a level with the ocean 

A mountain may have fallen and closed the mouth of the Red Sea and
prevented the outlet of the Mediterranean  and the Mediterranean Sea
thus overfilled had for outlet the passage below the mountains of
Gades  for  in our own times a similar thing has been seen  Footnote
6  Compare also No  1336  ll  30  35 and 36    Paolo Giovio  the
celebrated historian  born at Como in 1483  reports that in 1513 at
the foot of the Alps  above Bellinzona  on the road to Switzerland 
a mountain fell with a very great noise  in consequence of an
earthquake  and that the mass of rocks  which fell on the left
 Western  side blocked the river Breno  T  I p  218 and 345 of D 
Sauvage s French edition  quoted in ALEXIS PERCY   Memoire des
tremblements de terre de la peninsule italique  Academie Royale de
Belgique   T  XXII       a mountain fell seven miles across a valley
and closed it up and made a lake  And thus most lakes have been made
by mountains  as the lake of Garda  the lakes of Como and Lugano 
and the Lago Maggiore  The Mediterranean fell but little on the
confines of Syria  in consequence of the Gaditanean passage  but a
great deal in this passage  because before this cutting was made the
Mediterranean sea flowed to the South East  and then the fall had to
be made by its run through the Straits of Gades 

At  a  the water of the Mediterranean fell into the ocean 

All the plains which lie between the sea and mountains were formerly
covered with salt water 

Every valley has been made by its own river  and the proportion
between valleys is the same as that between river and river 

The greatest river in our world is the Mediterranean river  which
moves from the sources of the Nile to the Western ocean 

And its greatest height is in Outer Mauritania and it has a course
of ten thousand miles before it reunites with its ocean  the father
of the waters 

That is 3000 miles for the Mediterranean  3000 for the Nile  as far
as discovered and 3000 for the Nile which flows to the East   c 

 Footnote  See Pl  CXI 2  a sketch of the shores of the
Mediterranean Sea  where lines 11 to 16 may be seen  The large
figures 158 are not in Leonardo s writing  The character of the
writing leads us to conclude that this text was written later than
the foregoing  A slight sketch of the Mediterranean is also to be
found in MS  I   47a  

The Nile  1093 1098  

1093 

Therefore we must conclude those mountains to be of the greatest
height  above which the clouds falling in snow give rise to the
Nile 

1094 

The Egyptians  the Ethiopians  and the Arabs  in crossing the Nile
with camels  are accustomed to attach two bags on the sides of the
camel s bodies that is skins in the form shown underneath 

In these four meshes of the net the camels for baggage place their
feet 

 Footnote  Unfortunately both the sketches which accompany this
passage are too much effaced to be reproduced  The upper represents
the two sacks joined by ropes  as here described  the other shows
four camels with riders swimming through a river  

1095 

The Tigris passes through Asia Minor and brings with it the water of
three lakes  one after the other of various elevations  the first
being Munace and the middle Pallas and the lowest Triton  And the
Nile again springs from three very high lakes in Ethiopia  and runs
northwards towards the sea of Egypt with a course of 4000 miles  and
by the shortest and straightest line it is 3000 miles  It is said
that it issues from the Mountains of the Moon  and has various
unknown sources  The said lakes are about 4000 braccia above the
surface of the sphere of water  that is 1 mile and 1 3  giving to
the Nile a fall of 1 braccia in every mile 

 Footnote 5   Incogniti principio   The affluents of the lakes are
probably here intended  Compare  as to the Nile  Nos  970  1063 and
1084  

1096 

Very many times the Nile and other very large rivers have poured out
their whole element of water and restored it to the sea 

1097 

Why does the inundation of the Nile occur in the summer  coming from
torrid countries 

1098 

It is not denied that the Nile is constantly muddy in entering the
Egyptian sea and that its turbidity is caused by soil that this
river is continually bringing from the places it passes  which soil
never returns in the sea which receives it  unless it throws it on
its shores  You see the sandy desert beyond Mount Atlas where
formerly it was covered with salt water 

Customs of Asiatic Nations  1099  1100  

1099 

The Assyrians and the people of Euboea accustom their horses to
carry sacks which they can at pleasure fill with air  and which in
case of need they carry instead of the girth of the saddle above and
at the side  and they are well covered with plates of cuir bouilli 
in order that they may not be perforated by flights of arrows  Thus
they have not on their minds their security in flight  when the
victory is uncertain  a horse thus equipped enables four or five men
to cross over at need 

1100 

SMALL BOATS 

The small boats used by the Assyrians were made of thin laths of
willow plaited over rods also of willow  and bent into the form of a
boat  They were daubed with fine mud soaked with oil or with
turpentine  and reduced to a kind of mud which resisted the water
and because pine would split  and always remained fresh  and they
covered this sort of boats with the skins of oxen in safely crossing
the river Sicuris of Spain  as is reported by Lucant   Footnote 7 
See Lucan s Pharsalia IV  130   Utque habuit ripas Sicoris camposque
reliquit  Primum cana salix madefacto vimine parvam Texitur in
puppim  calsoque inducto juvenco Vectoris patiens tumidum supernatat
amnem  Sic Venetus stagnante Pado  fusoque Britannus Navigat oceano 
sic cum tenet omnia Nilus  Conseritur bibula Memphitis cymbo papyro 
His ratibus transjecta manus festinat utrimque Succisam cavare nemus
 

The Spaniards  the Scythians and the Arabs  when they want to make a
bridge in haste  fix hurdlework made of willows on bags of ox hide 
and so cross in safety 

Rhodes  1101  1102  

1101 

In  fourteen hundred and  eighty nine there was an earthquake in the
sea of Atalia near Rhodes  which opened the sea  that is its
bottom  and into this opening such a torrent of water poured that
for more than three hours the bottom of the sea was uncovered by
reason of the water which was lost in it  and then it closed to the
former level 

 Footnote   Nello ottanto  9  It is scarcely likely that Leonardo
should here mean 89 AD  Dr  H  MULLER  STRUBING writes to me as
follows on this subject   With reference to Rhodes Ross says   Reise
auf den Griechischen Inseln  III  70  ff   1840   that ancient
history affords instances of severe earthquakes at Rhodes  among
others one in the second year of the 138th Olympiad 270 B  C   a
remarkably violent one under Antoninus Pius  A  D  138 161  and
again under Constantine and later  But Leonardo expressly speaks of
an earthquake   nel mar di Atalia presso a Rodi    which is
singular  The town of Attalia  founded by Attalus  which is what he
no doubt means  was in Pamphylia and more than 150 English miles
East of Rhodes in a straight line  Leake and most other geographers
identify it with the present town of Adalia  Attalia is rarely
mentioned by the ancients  indeed only by Strabo and Pliny and no
earthquake is spoken of  I think therefore you are justified in
assuming that Leonardo means 1489   In the elaborate catalogue of
earthquakes in the East by Sciale Dshelal eddin Sayouthy  an
unpublished Arabic MS  in the possession of Prof  SCHEFER   Membre
de l Institut  Paris  mention is made of a terrible earthquake in
the year 867 of the Mohamedan Era corresponding to the year 1489 
and it is there stated that a hundred persons were killed by it in
the fortress of Kerak  There are three places of this name  Kerak on
the sea of Tiberias  Kerak near Tahle on the Libanon  which I
visited in the summer of l876  but neither of these is the place
alluded to  Possibly it may be the strongly fortified town of
Kerak Kir Moab  to the West of the Dead Sea  There is no notice
about this in ALEXIS PERCY   Memoire sur les tremblements de terres
ressentis dans la peninsule turco  hellenique et en Syrie  Memoires
couronnes et memoires des savants etrangers  Academie Royale de
Belgique  Tome XXIII    

1102 

Rhodes has in it 5000 houses 

Cyprus  1103  1104  

1103 

SITE FOR  A TEMPLE OF  VENUS 

You must make steps on four sides  by which to mount to a meadow
formed by nature at the top of a rock which may be hollowed out and
supported in front by pilasters and open underneath in a large
portico 

 Footnote  See Pl  LXXXIII  Compare also p  33 of this Vol  The
standing male figure at the side is evidently suggested by Michael
Angelo s David  On the same place a slight sketch of horses seems to
have been drawn first  there is no reason for assuming that the text
and this sketch  which have no connection with each other  are of
the same date 

 Sito di Venere   By this heading Leonardo appears to mean Cyprus 
which was always considered by the ancients to be the home and birth
place of Aphrodite  Kirpic in Homer   

in which the water may fall into various vases of granite 
porphyryand serpentine  within semi circular recesses  and the water
may overflow from these  And round this portico towards the North
there should be a lake with a little island in the midst of which
should be a thick and shady wood  the waters at the top of the
pilasters should pour into vases at their base  from whence they
should flow in little channels 

Starting from the shore of Cilicia towards the South you discover
the beauties of the island of Cyprus 

The Caspian Sea  1105  1106  

1104 

 From the shore of the Southern coast of Cilicia may be seen to the
South the beautiful island of Cyprus  which was the realm of the
goddess Venus  and many navigators being attracted by her beauty 
had their ships and rigging broken amidst the reefs  surrounded by
the whirling waters  Here the beauty of delightful hills tempts
wandering mariners to refresh themselves amidst their flowery
verdure  where the winds are tempered and fill the island and the
surrounding seas with fragrant odours  Ah  how many a ship has here
been sunk  Ah  how many a vessel broken on these rocks  Here might
be seen barks without number  some wrecked and half covered by the
sand  others showing the poop and another the prow  here a keel and
there the ribs  and it seems like a day of judgment when there
should be a resurrection of dead ships  so great is the number of
them covering all the Northern shore  and while the North gale makes
various and fearful noises there 

1105 

Write to Bartolomeo the Turk as to the flow and ebb of the Black
sea  and whether he is aware if there be such a flow and ebb in the
Hyrcanean or Caspian sea   Footnote  The handwriting of this note
points to a late date  

1106 

WHY WATER IS FOUND AT THE TOP OF MOUNTAINS 

 From the straits of Gibraltar to the Don is 3500 miles  that is one
mile and 1 6  giving a fall of one braccio in a mile to any water
that moves gently  The Caspian sea is a great deal higher  and none
of the mountains of Europe rise a mile above the surface of our
seas  therefore it might be said that the water which is on the
summits of our mountains might come from the height of those seas 
and of the rivers which flow into them  and which are still higher 

The sea of Azov 

1107 

Hence it follows that the sea of Azov is the highest part of the
Mediterranean sea  being at a distance of 3500 miles from the
Straits of Gibraltar  as is shown by the map for navigation  and it
has 3500 braccia of descent  that is  one mile and 1 6  therefore it
is higher than any mountains which exist in the West 

 Footnote  The passage before this  in the original  treats of the
exit of the waters from Lakes in general  

The Dardanelles 

1108 

In the Bosphorus the Black Sea flows always into the Egean sea  and
the Egean sea never flows into it  And this is because the Caspian 
which is 400 miles to the East  with the rivers which pour into it 
always flows through subterranean caves into this sea of Pontus  and
the Don does the same as well as the Danube  so that the waters of
Pontus are always higher than those of the Egean  for the higher
always fall towards the lower  and never the lower towards the
higher 

Constantinople 

1109 

The bridge of Pera at Constantinople  40 braccia wide  70 braccia
high above the water  600 braccia long  that is 400 over the sea and
200 on the land  thus making its own abutments 

 Footnote  See Pl  CX No  1  In 1453 by order of Sultan Mohamed II 
the Golden Horn was crossed by a pontoon bridge laid on barrels  see
Joh  Dukas  History of the Byzantine Empire XXXVIII p  279     The
biographers of Michelangelo  Vasari as well as Condivi  relate that
at the time when Michelangelo suddenly left Rome  in 1506  he
entertained some intention of going to Constantinople  there to
serve the Sultan  who sought to engage him  by means of certain
Franciscan Monks  for the purpose of constructing a bridge to
connect Constantinople with Pera  See VASARI   Vite   ed  Sansoni
VII  168    Michelangelo  veduto questa furia del papa  dubitando di
lui  ebbe  secondo che si dice  voglia di andarsene in
Gostantinopoli a servire il Turco  per mezzo di certi frati di San
Francesco  che desiderava averlo per fare un ponte che passassi da
Gostantinopoli a Pera   And CONDIVI   Vita di M  Buonaroti chap  
30   Michelangelo allora vedendosi condotto a questo  temendo
dell ira del papa  penso d andarsene in Levante  massimamente
essendo stato dal Turco ricercato con grandissime promesse per mezzo
di certi frati di San Francesco  per volersene servire in fare un
ponte da Costantinopoli a Pera ed in altri affari   Leonardo s plan
for this bridge was made in 1502  We may therefore conclude that at
about that time the Sultan Bajazet II  had either announced a
competition in this matter  or that through his agents Leonardo had
first been called upon to carry out the scheme  

The Euphrates 

1110 

If the river will turn to the rift farther on it will never return
to its bed  as the Euphrates does  and this may do at Bologna the
one who is disappointed for his rivers 

Centrae Asia 

1111 

Mounts Caucasus  Comedorum  and Paropemisidae are joined together
between Bactria and India  and give birth to the river Oxus which
takes its rise in these mountains and flows 500 miles towards the
North and as many towards the West  and discharges its waters into
the Caspian sea  and is accompanied by the Oxus  Dargados  Arthamis 
Xariaspes  Dargamaim  Ocus and Margus  all very large rivers  From
the opposite side towards the South rises the great river Indus
which sends its waters for 600 miles Southwards and receives as
tributaries in this course the rivers Xaradrus  Hyphasis  Vadris 
Vandabal Bislaspus to the East  Suastes and Coe to the West  uniting
with these rivers  and with their waters it flows 800 miles to the
West  then  turning back by the Arbiti mountains makes an elbow and
turns Southwards  where after a course of about 100 miles it finds
the Indian Sea  in which it pours itself by seven branches  On the
side of the same mountains rises the great Ganges  which river flows
Southwards for 500 miles and to the Southwest a thousand     and
Sarabas  Diarnuna  Soas and Scilo  Condranunda are its tributaries 
It flows into the Indian sea by many mouths 

On the natives of hot countries 

1112 

Men born in hot countries love the night because it refreshes them
and have a horror of light because it burns them  and therefore they
are of the colour of night  that is black  And in cold countries it
is just the contrary 

 Footnote  The sketch here inserted is in MS  H3 55b  

 XVIII  

 Naval Warfare   Mechanical Appliances   Music  

 Such theoretical questions  as have been laid before the reader in
Sections XVI and XVII  though they were the chief subjects of
Leonardo s studies of the sea  did not exclusively claim his
attention  A few passages have been collected at the beginning of
this section  which prove that he had turned his mind to the
practical problems of navigation  and more especially of naval
warfare  What we know for certain of his life gives us no data  it
is true  as to when or where these matters came under his
consideration  but the fact remains certain both from these notes in
his manuscripts  and from the well known letter to Ludovico il Moro
 No   1340    in which he expressly states that he is as capable as
any man  in this very department  

 The numerous notes as to the laws and rationale of the flight of
birds  are scattered through several note books  An account of these
is given in the Bibliography of the manuscripts at the end of this
work  It seems probable that the idea which led him to these
investigations was his desire to construct a flying or aerial
machine for man  At the same time it must be admitted that the notes
on the two subjects are quite unconnected in the manuscripts  and
that those on the flight of birds are by far the most numerous and
extensive  The two most important passages that treat of the
construction of a flying machine are those already published as Tav 
XVI  No   1  and Tav  XVIII in the   Saggio delle opere di Leonardo
da Vinci    Milan  1872    The passages  Nos   1120 1125   here
printed for the first time and hitherto unknown  refer to the same
subject and  with the exception of one already published in the
Saggio   No   1126   they are  so far as I know  the only notes 
among the numerous observations on the flight of birds  in which the
phenomena are incidentally and expressly connected with the idea of
a flying machine  

 The notes on machines of war  the construction of fortifications 
and similar matters which fall within the department of the
Engineer  have not been included in this work  for the reasons given
on page  26  of this Vol  An exception has been made in favour of
the passages Nos   1127  and  1128   because they have a more
general interest  as bearing on the important question  whence the
Master derived his knowledge of these matters  Though it would be
rash to assert that Leonardo was the first to introduce the science
of mining into Italy  it may be confidently said that he is one of
the earliest writers who can be proved to have known and understood
it  while  on the other hand  it is almost beyond doubt that in the
East at that time  the whole science of besieging towns and mining
in particular  was far more advanced than in Europe  This gives a
peculiar value to the expressions used in No   1127 

 I have been unable to find in the manuscripts any passage whatever
which throws any light on Leonardo s great reputation as a musician 
Nothing therein illustrates VASARPS well known statement   Avvenne
che morto Giovan Galeazze duca di Milano  e creato Lodovico Sforza
nel grado medesimo anno 1494  fu condotto a Milano con gran
riputazione Lionardo al duca  il quale molto si dilettava del suono
della lira  perche sonasse  e Lionardo porto quello strumento
ch egli aveva di sua mano fabbricato d argento gran parte  in forma
d un teschio di cavallo  cosa bizzarra e nuova  acciocche l armonia
fosse con maggior tuba e piu sonora di voce  laonde supero tutti i
musici che quivi erano concorsi a sonare 

 The only notes on musical matters are those given as Nos   1129
 and  1130   which explain certain arrangements in instruments  

The ship s logs of Vitruvius  of Alberti and of Leonardo

1113 

ON MOVEMENTS   TO KNOW HOW MUCH A SHIP ADVANCES IN AN HOUR 

The ancients used various devices to ascertain the distance gone by
a ship each hour  among which Vitruvius  Footnote 6  See VITRUVIUS 
 De Architectura lib  X   C  14  p  264 in the edition of Rose and
Muller  Strubing   The German edition published at Bale in 1543 has 
on fol  596  an illustration of the contrivance  as described by
Vitruvius   gives one in his work on Architecture which is just as
fallacious as all the others  and this is a mill wheel which touches
the waves of the sea at one end and in each complete revolution
describes a straight line which represents the circumference of the
wheel extended to a straightness  But this invention is of no worth
excepting on the smooth and motionless surface of lakes  But if the
water moves together with the ship at an equal rate  then the wheel
remains motionless  and if the motion of the water is more or less
rapid than that of the ship  then neither has the wheel the same
motion as the ship so that this invention is of but little use 
There is another method tried by experiment with a known distance
between one island and another  and this is done by a board or under
the pressure of wind which strikes on it with more or less
swiftness  This is in Battista Alberti  Footnote 25  LEON BATTISTA
ALBERTI   De Architectura lib  V    c  12 treats   de le navi e
parti loro    but there is no reference to the machine  mentioned by
Leonardo  Alberti says here   Noi abbiamo trattato lungamente in
altro luogo de  modi de le navi  ma in questo luogo ne abbiamo detto
quel tanto che si bisogna   To this the following note is added in
the most recent Italian edition   Questo libro e tuttora inedito e
porta il titolo  secondo Gesnero di    Liber navis     

Battista Alberti s method which is made by experiment on a known
distance between one island and another  But such an invention does
not succeed excepting on a ship like the one on which the experiment
was made  and it must be of the same burden and have the same sails 
and the sails in the same places  and the size of the waves must be
the same  But my method will serve for any ship  whether with oars
or sails  and whether it be small or large  broad or long  or high
or low  it always serves  Footnote 52  Leonardo does not reveal the
method invented by him   

Methods of staying and moving in water

1114 

How an army ought to cross rivers by swimming with air bags     How
fishes swim  Footnote 2  Compare No  821    of the way in which they
jump out of the water  as may be seen with dolphins  and it seems a
wonderful thing to make a leap from a thing which does not resist
but slips away  Of the swimming of animals of a long form  such as
eels and the like  Of the mode of swimming against currents and in
the rapid falls of rivers  Of the mode of swimming of fishes of a
round form  How it is that animals which have not long hind quartres
cannot swim  How it is that all other animals which have feet with
toes  know by nature how to swim  excepting man  In what way man
ought to learn to swim  Of the way in which man may rest on the
water  How man may protect himself against whirlpools or eddies in
the water  which drag him down  How a man dragged to the bottom must
seek the reflux which will throw him up from the depths  How he
ought to move his arms  How to swim on his back  How he can and how
he cannot stay under water unless he can hold his breath  13   How
by means of a certain machine many people may stay some time under
water  How and why I do not describe my method of remaining under
water  or how long I can stay without eating  and I do not publish
nor divulge these by reason of the evil nature of men who would use
them as means of destruction at the bottom of the sea  by sending
ships to the bottom  and sinking them together with the men in them 
And although I will impart others  there is no danger in them 
because the mouth of the tube  by which you breathe  is above the
water supported on bags or corks  19  

 Footnote  L  13 19 will also be found in Vol  I No  1  

On naval warfare  1115  1116  

1115 

Supposing in a battle between ships and galleys that the ships are
victorious by reason of the high of heir tops  you must haul the
yard up almost to the top of the mast  and at the extremity of the
yard  that is the end which is turned towards the enemy  have a
small cage fastened  wrapped up below and all round in a great
mattress full of cotton so that it may not be injured by the bombs 
then  with the capstan  haul down the opposite end of this yard and
the top on the opposite side will go up so high  that it will be far
above the round top of the ship  and you will easily drive out the
men that are in it  But it is necessary that the men who are in the
galley should go to the opposite side of it so as to afford a
counterpoise to the weight of the men placed inside the cage on the
yard 

1116 

If you want to build an armada for the sea employ these ships to ram
in the enemy s ships  That is  make ships 100 feet long and 8 feet
wide  but arranged so that the left hand rowers may have their oars
to the right side of the ship  and the right hand ones to the left
side  as is shown at M  so that the leverage of the oars may be
longer  And the said ship may be one foot and a half thick  that is
made with cross beams within and without  with planks in contrary
directions  And this ship must have attached to it  a foot below the
water  an iron shod spike of about the weight and size of an anvil 
and this  by force of oars may  after it has given the first blow 
be drawn back  and driven forward again with fury give a second
blow  and then a third  and so many as to destroy the other ship 

The use of swimming belts 

1117 

A METHOD OF ESCAPING IN A TEMPEST AND SHIPWRECK AT SEA 

Have a coat made of leather  which must be double across the breast 
that is having a hem on each side of about a finger breadth  Thus it
will be double from the waist to the knee  and the leather must be
quite air tight  When you want to leap into the sea  blow out the
skirt of your coat through the double hems of the breast  and jump
into the sea  and allow yourself to be carried by the waves  when
you see no shore near  give your attention to the sea you are in 
and always keep in your mouth the air tube which leads down into the
coat  and if now and again you require to take a breath of fresh
air  and the foam prevents you  you may draw a breath of the air
within the coat 

 Footnote  AMORETTI   Memorie Storiche   Tav  II  B  Fig  5  gives
the same figure  somewhat altered  6   La canna dell  aria   Compare
Vol  I  No  I  Note 

On the gravity of water 

1118 

If the weight of the sea bears on its bottom  a man  lying on that
bottom and having l000 braccia of water on his back  would have
enough to crush him 

Diving apparatus and Skating  1119 1121  

1119 

Of walking under water  Method of walking on water 

 Footnote  The two sketches belonging to this passage are given by
AMORETTI   Memorie Storiche   Tav  II  Fig  3 and 4  

1120 

Just as on a frozen river a man may run without moving his feet  so
a car might be made that would slide by itself 

 Footnote  The drawings of carts by the side of this text have no
direct connection with the problem as stated in words   Compare No 
1448  l  17  

1121 

A definition as to why a man who slides on ice does not fall 
 Footnote  An indistinct sketch accompanies the passage  in the
original  

On Flying machines  1122 1126  

1122 

Man when flying must stand free from the waist upwards so as to be
able to balance himself as he does in a boat so that the centre of
gravity in himself and in the machine may counterbalance each other 
and be shifted as necessity demands for the changes of its centre of
resistance 

1123 

Remember that your flying machine must imitate no other than the
bat  because the web is what by its union gives the armour  or
strength to the wings 

If you imitate the wings of feathered birds  you will find a much
stronger structure  because they are pervious  that is  their
feathers are separate and the air passes through them  But the bat
is aided by the web that connects the whole and is not pervious 

1124 

TO ESCAPE THE PERIL OF DESTRUCTION 

Destruction to such a machine may occur in two ways  of which the
first is the breaking of the machine  The second would be when the
machine should turn on its edge or nearly on its edge  because it
ought always to descend in a highly oblique direction  and almost
exactly balanced on its centre  As regards the first  the breaking
of the machine    that may be prevented by making it as strong as
possible  and in whichever direction it may tend to turn over  one
centre must be very far from the other  that is  in a machine 30
braccia long the centres must be 4 braccia one from the other 

 Footnote  Compare No  1428  

1125 

Bags by which a man falling from a height of 6 braccia may avoid
hurting himself  by a fall whether into water or on the ground  and
these bags  strung together like a rosary  are to be fixed on one s
back 

1126 

An object offers as much resistance to the air as the air does to
the object  You may see that the beating of its wings against the
air supports a heavy eagle in the highest and rarest atmosphere 
close to the sphere of elemental fire  Again you may see the air in
motion over the sea  fill the swelling sails and drive heavily laden
ships  From these instances  and the reasons given  a man with wings
large enough and duly connected might learn to overcome the
resistance of the air  and by conquering it  succeed in subjugating
it and rising above it   Footnote  A parachute is here sketched 
with an explanatory remark  It is reproduced on Tav  XVI in the
Saggio  and in   Leonardo da Vinci als Ingenieur etc   Ein Beitrag
zur Geschichte der Technik und der induktiven Wissenschaften  von
Dr  Hermann Grothe  Berlin  1874  p  50  

Of mining 

1127 

If you want to know where a mine runs  place a drum over all the
places where you suspect that it is being made  and upon this drum
put a couple of dice  and when you are over the spot where they are
mining  the dice will jump a little on the drum at every blow which
is given underground in the mining 

There are persons who  having the convenience of a river or a lake
in their lands  have made  close to the place where they suspect
that a mine is being made  a great reservoir of water  and have
countermined the enemy  and having found them  have turned the water
upon them and destroyed a great number in the mine 

Of Greek fire 

1128 

GREEK FIRE 

Take charcoal of willow  and saltpetre  and sulphuric acid  and
sulphur  and pitch  with frankincense and camphor  and Ethiopian
wool  and boil them all together  This fire is so ready to burn that
it clings to the timbers even under water  And add to this
composition liquid varnish  and bituminous oil  and turpentine and
strong vinegar  and mix all together and dry it in the sun  or in an
oven when the bread is taken out  and then stick it round hempen or
other tow  moulding it into a round form  and studding it all over
with very sharp nails  You must leave in this ball an opening to
serve as a fusee  and cover it with rosin and sulphur 

Again  this fire  stuck at the top of a long plank which has one
braccio length of the end pointed with iron that it may not be burnt
by the said fire  is good for avoiding and keeping off the ships  so
as not to be overwhelmed by their onset 

Again throw vessels of glass full of pitch on to the enemy s ships
when the men in them are intent on the battle  and then by throwing
similar burning balls upon them you have it in your power to burn
all their ships 

 Footnote  Venturi has given another short text about the Greek fire
in a French translation  Essai Section XIV   He adds that the
original text is to be found in MS  B  30      Libri speaks of it in
a note as follows   Histoire des sciences mathematiques en Italie
Vol  II  p  129    La composition du feu gregeois est une des chases
qui ont ete les plus cherchees et qui sont encore les plus
douteuses  On dit qu il fut invente au septieme siecle de l ere
chretienne par l architecte Callinique  Constantini Porphyrogenetae
opera  Lugd  Batav   1617     in  8vo  p  172   de admin  imper 
exp   48    et il se trouve souvent mentionne par les Historiens
Byzantins  Tantot on le langait avec des machines  comme on
lancerait une banche  tantot on le soufflait avec de longs tubes 
comme on soufflerait un gaz ou un liquide enflamme  Annae Comnenae
Alexias   p  335   lib  XI   Aeliani et Leonis  imperatoris tactica 
Lugd  Bat   1613   in  4  part  2 a  p  322   Leonis tact  cap  
l9    Joinville  histoire du Saint Louis collect  Petitot tom  II  
p  235    Les ecrivains contemporains disent que l eau ne pouvait
pas eteindre ce feu  mais qu avec du vinaigre et du sable on y
parvenait  Suivant quelques historiens le feu gregeois etait compose
de soufre et de resine  Marcus Graecus  Liber ignium  Paris   1804 
 in  40   donne plusieurs manieres de le faire qui ne sont pas tres
intelligibles  mais parmi lesquelles on trouve la composition de la
poudre a canon  Leonard de Vinci  MSS  de Leonard de Vinci  vol  B 
f  30   dit qu on le faisait avec du charbon de saule  du salpetre 
de l eau de vie  de la resine  du soufre  de la poix et du camphre 
Mais il est probable que nous ne savons pas qu elle etait sa
composition  surtout a cause du secret qu en faisaient les Grecs  En
effet  l empereur Constantin Porphyrogenete recommende a son fils de
ne jamais en donner aux Barbares  et de leur repondre  s ils en
demandaient  qu il avait ete apporti du ciel par un ange et que le
secret en avait ete confie aux Chretiens  Constantini
Porphyrogennetae opera   p  26 27   de admin  imper   cap   12     

Of Music  1129  1130  

1129 

A drum with cogs working by wheels with springs  2  

 Footnote  This chapter consists of explanations of the sketches
shown on Pl  CXXI  Lines 1 and 2 of the text are to be seen at the
top at the left hand side of the first sketch of a drum  Lines 3 5
refer to the sketch immediately below this  Line 6 is written as the
side of the seventh sketch  and lines 7 and 8 at the side of the
eighth  Lines 9 16 are at the bottom in the middle  The remainder of
the text is at the side of the drawing at the bottom  

A square drum of which the parchment may be drawn tight or slackened
by the lever  a b   5  

A drum for harmony  6  

 7  A clapper for harmony  that is  three clappers together 

 9  Just as one and the same drum makes a deep or acute sound
according as the parchments are more or less tightened  so these
parchments variously tightened on one and the same drum will make
various sounds  16  

Keys narrow and close together   bicchi  far apart  these will be
right for the trumpet shown above 

 a  must enter in the place of the ordinary keys which have the    
in the openings of a flute 

1130 

Tymbals to be played like the monochord  or the soft flute 

 6  Here there is to be a cylinder of cane after the manner of
clappers with a musical round called a Canon  which is sung in four
parts  each singer singing the whole round  Therefore I here make a
wheel with 4 teeth so that each tooth takes by itself the part of a
singer 

 Footnote  In the original there are some more sketches  to which
the text  from line 6  refers  They are studies for a contrivance
exactly like the cylinder in our musical boxes  

1131 

Of decorations 

White and sky blue cloths  woven in checks to make a decoration 

Cloths with the threads drawn at  a b c d e f g h i k   to go round
the decoration 

 XIX  

 Philosophical Maxims  Morals  Polemics and Speculations  

 Vasari indulges in severe strictures on Leonardo s religious views 
He speaks  among other things  of his   capricci nel filosofar delle
cose naturali   and says on this point    Per il che fece nell animo
un concetto si eretico che e  non si accostava a qualsi voglia
religione  stimando per avventura assai piu lo esser filosofo che
cristiano    see the first edition of   Le Vite     But this
accusation on the part of a writer in the days of the Inquisition is
not a very serious one  and the less so  since  throughout the
manuscripts  we find nothing to support it  

 Under the heading of  Philosophical Maxims  I have collected all
the passages which can give us a clear comprehension of Leonardo s
ideas of the world at large  It is scarcely necessary to observe
that there is absolutely nothing in them to lead to the inference
that he was an atheist  His views of nature and its laws are no
doubt very unlike those of his contemporaries  and have a much
closer affinity to those which find general acceptance at the
present day  On the other hand  it is obvious from Leonardo s will
 see No   1566   that  in the year before his death  he had
professed to adhere to the fundamental doctrines of the Roman
Catholic faith  and this evidently from his own personal desire and
impulse  

 The incredible and demonstrably fictitious legend of Leonardo s
death in the arms of Francis the First  is given  with others  by
Vasari and further embellished by this odious comment    Mostrava
tuttavia quanto avea offeso Dio e gli uomini del mondo  non avendo
operato nell arte come si conveniva    This last accusation  it may
be remarked  is above all evidence of the superficial character of
the information which Vasari was in a position to give about
Leonardo  It seems to imply that Leonardo was disdainful of diligent
labour  With regard to the second  referring to Leonardo s morality
and dealings with his fellow men  Vasari himself nullifies it by
asserting the very contrary in several passages  A further
refutation may be found in the following sentence from the letter in
which Melsi  the young Milanese nobleman  announces the Master s
death to Leonardo s brothers   Credo siate certificati della morte
di Maestro Lionardo fratello vostro  e mio quanto optimo padre  per
la cui morte sarebbe impossibile che io potesse esprimere il dolore
che io ho preso  e in mentre che queste mia membra si sosterranno
insieme  io possedero una perpetua infelicita  e meritamente perche
sviscerato et ardentissimo amore mi portava giornalmente  E dolto ad
ognuno la perdita di tal uomo  quale non e piu in podesta della
natura  ecc 

 It is true that  in April  1476   we find the names of Leonardo and
Verrocchio entered in the   Libro degli Uffiziali di notte e de 
Monasteri   as breaking the laws  but we immediately after find the
note   Absoluti cum condizione ut retamburentur   Tamburini  was the
name given to the warrant cases of the night police   The acquittal
therefore did not exclude the possibility of a repetition of the
charge  It was in fact repeated  two months later  and on this
occasion the Master and his pupil were again fully acquitted 
Verrocchio was at this time forty and Leonardo four and twenty  The
documents referring to this affair are in the State Archives of
Florence  they have been withheld from publication  but it seemed to
me desirable to give the reader this brief account of the leading
facts of the story  as the vague hints of it  which have recently
been made public  may have given to the incident an aspect which it
had not in reality  and which it does not deserve  

 The passages here classed under the head  Morals  reveal Leonardo
to us as a man whose life and conduct were unfailingly governed by
lofty principles and aims  He could scarcely have recorded his stern
reprobation and unmeasured contempt for men who do nothing useful
and strive only for riches  if his own life and ambitions had been
such as they have so often been misrepresented  

 At a period like that  when superstition still exercised unlimited
dominion over the minds not merely of the illiterate crowd  but of
the cultivated and learned classes  it was very natural that
Leonardo s views as to Alchemy  Ghosts  Magicians  and the like
should be met with stern reprobation whenever and wherever he may
have expressed them  this accounts for the argumentative tone of all
his utterances on such subjects which I have collected in
Subdivision III of this section  To these I have added some passages
which throw light on Leonardo s personal views on the Universe  They
are  without exception  characterised by a broad spirit of
naturalism of which the principles are more strictly applied in his
essays on Astronomy  and still more on Physical Geography  

 To avoid repetition  only such notes on Philosophy  Morals and
Polemics  have been included in this section as occur as independent
texts in the original MSS  Several moral reflections have already
been given in Vol  I  in section  Allegorical representations 
Mottoes and Emblems   Others will be found in the following section 
Nos   9  to  12   Vol  I  are also passages of an argumentative
character  It did not seem requisite to repeat here these and
similar passages  since their direct connection with the context is
far closer in places where they have appeared already  than it would
be here  

I 

PHILOSOPHICAL MAXIMS 

Prayers to God  1132  1133  

1132 

I obey Thee Lord  first for the love I ought  in all reason to bear
Thee  secondly for that Thou canst shorten or prolong the lives of
men 

1133 

A PRAYER 

Thou  O God  dost sell us all good things at the price of labour 

The powers of Nature  1134 1139  

1134 

O admirable impartiality of Thine  Thou first Mover  Thou hast not
permitted that any force should fail of the order or quality of its
necessary results 

1135 

Necessity is the mistress and guide of nature 

Necessity is the theme and the inventress  the eternal curb and law
of nature 

1136 

In many cases one and the same thing is attracted by two strong
forces  namely Necessity and Potency  Water falls in rain  the earth
absorbs it from the necessity for moisture  and the sun evaporates
it  not from necessity  but by its power 

1137 

Weight  force and casual impulse  together with resistance  are the
four external powers in which all the visible actions of mortals
have their being and their end 

1138 

Our body is dependant on heaven and heaven on the Spirit 

1139 

The motive power is the cause of all life 

Psychology  1140 1147  

1140 

And you  O Man  who will discern in this work of mine the wonderful
works of Nature  if you think it would be a criminal thing to
destroy it  reflect how much more criminal it is to take the life of
a man  and if this  his external form  appears to thee marvellously
constructed  remember that it is nothing as compared with the soul
that dwells in that structure  for that indeed  be it what it may 
is a thing divine  Leave it then to dwell in His work at His good
will and pleasure  and let not your rage or malice destroy a
life  for indeed  he who does not value it  does not himself deserve
it  Footnote 19  In MS  II 15a is the note   chi no stima la vita 
non la merita    

 Footnote  This text is on the back of the drawings reproduced on
Pl  CVII  Compare No  798  35 note on p  111  Compare also No  837
and 838  

1141 

The soul can never be corrupted with the corruption of the body  
but is in the body as it were the air which causes the sound of the
organ  where when a pipe bursts  the wind would cease to have any
good effect   Footnote  Compare No  845  

1142 

The part always has a tendency to reunite with its whole in order to
escape from its imperfection 

The spirit desires to remain with its body  because  without the
organic instruments of that body  it can neither act  nor feel
anything 

1143 

If any one wishes to see how the soul dwells in its body  let him
observe how this body uses its daily habitation  that is to say  if
this is devoid of order and confused  the body will be kept in
disorder and confusion by its soul 

1144 

Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than with the
imagination being awake 

1145 

The senses are of the earth  Reason  stands apart in contemplation 

 Footnote  Compare No  842  

1146 

Every action needs to be prompted by a motive 

To know and to will are two operations of the human mind 

Discerning  judging  deliberating are acts of the human mind 

1147 

All our knowledge has its origin in our preceptions 

Science  its principles and rules  1148  1161 

1148 

Science is the observation of things possible  whether present or
past  prescience is the knowledge of things which may come to pass 
though but slowly 

1149 

Experience  the interpreter between formative nature and the human
race  teaches how that nature acts among mortals  and being
constrained by necessity cannot act otherwise than as reason  which
is its helm  requires her to act 

1150 

Wisdom is the daughter of experience 

1151 

Nature is full of infinite causes that have never occured in
experience 

1152 

Truth was the only daughter of Time 

1153 

Experience never errs  it is only your judgments that err by
promising themselves effects such as are not caused by your
experiments 

Experience does not err  only your judgments err by expecting from
her what is not in her power  Men wrongly complain of Experience 
with great abuse they accuse her of leading them astray but they set
Experience aside  turning from it with complaints as to our
ignorance causing us to be carried away by vain and foolish desires
to promise ourselves  in her name  things that are not in her power 
saying that she is fallacious  Men are unjust in complaining of
innocent Experience  constantly accusing her of error and of false
evidence 

1154 

Instrumental or mechanical science is of all the noblest and the
most useful  seeing that by means of this all animated bodies that
have movement perform all their actions  and these movements are
based on the centre of gravity which is placed in the middle
dividing unequal weights  and it has dearth and wealth of muscles
and also lever and counterlever 

1155 

OF MECHANICS 

Mechanics are the Paradise of mathematical science  because here we
come to the fruits of mathematics   Footnote  Compare No  660  11 
19  22  Vol  I   p  332   1156 

Every instrument requires to be made by experience 

1157 

The man who blames the supreme certainty of mathematics feeds on
confusion  and can never silence the contradictions of sophistical
sciences which lead to an eternal quackery 

1158 

There is no certainty in sciences where one of the mathematical
sciences cannot be applied  or which are not in relation with these
mathematics 

1159 

Any one who in discussion relies upon authority uses  not his
understanding  but rather his memory  Good culture is born of a good
disposition  and since the cause is more to be praised than the
effect  I will rather praise a good disposition without culture 
than good culture without the disposition 

1160 

Science is the captain  and practice the soldiers 

1161 

OF THE ERRORS OF THOSE WHO DEPEND ON PRACTICE WITHOUT SCIENCE 

Those who fall in love with practice without science are like a
sailor who enters a ship without a helm or a compass  and who never
can be certain whither he is going 

II 

MORALS 

What is life   1162  1163  

1162 

Now you see that the hope and the desire of returning home and to
one s former state is like the moth to the light  and that the man
who with constant longing awaits with joy each new spring time  each
new summer  each new month and new year  deeming that the things he
longs for are ever too late in coming  does not perceive that he is
longing for his own destruction  But this desire is the very
quintessence  the spirit of the elements  which finding itself
imprisoned with the soul is ever longing to return from the human
body to its giver  And you must know that this same longing is that
quintessence  inseparable from nature  and that man is the image of
the world 

1163 

O Time  consumer of all things  O envious age  thou dost destroy all
things and devour all things with the relentless teeth of years 
little by little in a slow death  Helen  when she looked in her
mirror  seeing the withered wrinkles made in her face by old age 
wept and wondered why she had twice been carried away 

O Time  consumer of all things  and O envious age  by which all
things are all devoured 

Death 

1164 

Every evil leaves behind a grief in our memory  except the supreme
evil  that is death  which destroys this memory together with life 

How to spend life  1165 1170  

1165 

0 sleepers  what a thing is slumber  Sleep resembles death  Ah  why
then dost thou not work in such wise as that after death thou mayst
retain a resemblance to perfect life  when  during life  thou art in
sleep so like to the hapless dead   Footnote  Compare No  676  Vol 
I  p  353  

1166 

One pushes down the other 

By these square blocks are meant the life and the studies of men 

1167 

The knowledge of past times and of the places on the earth is both
an ornament and nutriment to the human mind 

1168 

To lie is so vile  that even if it were in speaking well of godly
things it would take off something from God s grace  and Truth is so
excellent  that if it praises but small things they become noble 

Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light
to darkness  and this truth is in itself so excellent that  even
when it dwells on humble and lowly matters  it is still infinitely
above uncertainty and lies  disguised in high and lofty discourses 
because in our minds  even if lying should be their fifth element 
this does not prevent that the truth of things is the chief
nutriment of superior intellects  though not of wandering wits 

But you who live in dreams are better pleased by the sophistical
reasons and frauds of wits in great and uncertain things  than by
those reasons which are certain and natural and not so far above us 

1169 

Avoid studies of which the result dies with the worker 

1170 

Men are in error when they lament the flight of time  accusing it of
being too swift  and not perceiving that it is sufficient as it
passes  but good memory  with which nature has endowed us  causes
things long past to seem present 

1171 

Learning acquired in youth arrests the evil of old age  and if you
understand that old age has wisdom for its food  you will so conduct
yourself in youth that your old age will not lack for nourishment 

1172 

The acquisition of any knowledge is always of use to the intellect 
because it may thus drive out useless things and retain the good 

For nothing can be loved or hated unless it is first known 

1173 

As a day well spent procures a happy sleep  so a life well employed
procures a happy death 

1174 

The water you touch in a river is the last of that which has passed 
and the first of that which is coming  Thus it is with time present 

Life if well spent  is long 

1175 

Just as food eaten without caring for it is turned into loathsome
nourishment  so study without a taste for it spoils memory  by
retaining nothing which it has taken in 

1176 

Just as eating against one s will is injurious to health  so study
without a liking for it spoils the memory  and it retains nothing it
takes in 

1177 

On Mount Etna the words freeze in your mouth and you may make ice of
them  Footnote 2  There is no clue to explain this strange
sentence  

Just as iron rusts unless it is used  and water putrifies or  in
cold  turns to ice  so our intellect spoils unless it is kept in
use 

You do ill if you praise  and still worse if you reprove in a matter
you do not understand 

When Fortune comes  seize her in front with a sure hand  because
behind she is bald 

1178 

It seems to me that men of coarse and clumsy habits and of small
knowledge do not deserve such fine instruments nor so great a
variety of natural mechanism as men of speculation and of great
knowledge  but merely a sack in which their food may be stowed and
whence it may issue  since they cannot be judged to be any thing
else than vehicles for food  for it seems to me they have nothing
about them of the human species but the voice and the figure  and
for all the rest are much below beasts 

1179 

Some there are who are nothing else than a passage for food and
augmentors of excrement and fillers of privies  because through them
no other things in the world  nor any good effects are produced 
since nothing but full privies results from them 

On foolishness and ignorance  1180  1182  

1180 

The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions 

1181 

Folly is the shield of shame  as unreadiness is that of poverty
glorified 

1182 

Blind ignorance misleads us thus and delights with the results of
lascivious joys 

Because it does not know the true light  Because it does not know
what is the true light 

Vain splendour takes from us the power of being      behold  for its
vain splendour we go into the fire  thus blind ignorance does
mislead us  That is  blind ignorance so misleads us that    

O  wretched mortals  open your eyes 

On riches  1183  1187  

1183 

That is not riches  which may be lost  virtue is our true good and
the true reward of its possessor  That cannot be lost  that never
deserts us  but when life leaves us  As to property and external
riches  hold them with trembling  they often leave their possessor
in contempt  and mocked at for having lost them 

1184 

Every man wishes to make money to give it to the doctors  destroyers
of life  they then ought to be rich   Footnote 2  Compare No  856  

Man has much power of discourse which for the most part is vain and
false  animals have but little  but it is useful and true  and a
small truth is better than a great lie 

1185 

He who possesses most must be most afraid of loss 

1186 

He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year 

1187 

That man is of supreme folly who always wants for fear of wanting 
and his life flies away while he is still hoping to enjoy the good
things which he has with extreme labour acquired 

Rules of Life  1188 1202  

1188 

If you governed your body by the rules of virtue you would not walk
on all fours in this world 

You grow in reputation like bread in the hands of a child 
 Footnote  The first sentence is obscure  Compare Nos  825  826  

1189 

Savage he is who saves himself 

1190 

We ought not to desire the impossible   Footnote  The writing of
this note  which is exceedingly minute  is reproduced in facsimile
on Pl  XLI No  5 above the first diagram 

1191 

Ask counsel of him who rules himself well 

Justice requires power  insight  and will  and it resembles the
queen bee 

He who does not punish evil commands it to be done 

He who takes the snake by the tail will presently be bitten by it 

The grave will fall in upon him who digs it 

1192 

The man who does not restrain wantonness  allies himself with
beasts 

You can have no dominion greater or less than that over yourself 

He who thinks little  errs much 

It is easier to contend with evil at the first than at the last 

No counsel is more loyal than that given on ships which are in
peril  He may expect loss who acts on the advice of an inexperienced
youth 

1193 

Where there is most feeling  there is the greatest martyrdom   a
great martyr 

1194 

The memory of benefits is a frail defence against ingratitude 

Reprove your friend in secret and praise him openly 

Be not false about the past 

1195 

A SIMILE FOR PATIENCE 

Patience serves us against insults precisely as clothes do against
the cold  For if you multiply your garments as the cold increases 
that cold cannot hurt you  in the same way increase your patience
under great offences  and they cannot hurt your feelings 

1196 

To speak well of a base man is much the same as speaking ill of a
good man 

1197 

Envy wounds with false accusations  that is with detraction  a thing
which scares virtue 

1198 

We are deceived by promises and time disappoints us      Footnote 2 
The rest of this passage may be rendered in various ways  but none
of them give a satisfactory meaning  

1199 

Fear arises sooner than any thing else 

1200 

Just as courage imperils life  fear protects it 

Threats alone are the weapons of the threatened man 

Wherever good fortune enters  envy lays siege to the place and
attacks it  and when it departs  sorrow and repentance remain
behind 

He who walks straight rarely falls 

It is bad if you praise  and worse if you reprove a thing  I mean 
if you do not understand the matter well 

It is ill to praise  and worse to reprimand in matters that you do
not understand 

1201 

Words which do not satisfy the ear of the hearer weary him or vex
him  and the symptoms of this you will often see in such hearers in
their frequent yawns  you therefore  who speak before men whose good
will you desire  when you see such an excess of fatigue  abridge
your speech  or change your discourse  and if you do otherwise  then
instead of the favour you desire  you will get dislike and
hostility 

And if you would see in what a man takes pleasure  without hearing
him speak  change the subject of your discourse in talking to him 
and when you presently see him intent  without yawning or wrinkling
his brow or other actions of various kinds  you may be certain that
the matter of which you are speaking is such as is agreeable to him
 c 

1202 

The lover is moved by the beloved object as the senses are by
sensible objects  and they unite and become one and the same thing 
The work is the first thing born of this union  if the thing loved
is base the lover becomes base 

When the thing taken into union is perfectly adapted to that which
receives it  the result is delight and pleasure and satisfaction 

When that which loves is united to the thing beloved it can rest
there  when the burden is laid down it finds rest there 

Politics  1203  1204  

1203 

There will be eternal fame also for the inhabitants of that town 
constructed and enlarged by him 

All communities obey and are led by their magnates  and these
magnates ally themselves with the lords and subjugate them in two
ways  either by consanguinity  or by fortune  by consanguinity  when
their children are  as it were  hostages  and a security and pledge
of their suspected fidelity  by property  when you make each of
these build a house or two inside your city which may yield some
revenue and he shall have     10 towns  five thousand houses with
thirty thousand inhabitants  and you will disperse this great
congregation of people which stand like goats one behind the other 
filling every place with fetid smells and sowing seeds of pestilence
and death 

And the city will gain beauty worthy of its name and to you it will
be useful by its revenues  and the eternal fame of its
aggrandizement 

 Footnote  These notes were possibly written in preparation for a
letter  The meaning is obscure  

1204 

To preserve Nature s chiefest boon  that is freedom  I can find
means of offence and defence  when it is assailed by ambitious
tyrants  and first I will speak of the situation of the walls  and
also I shall show how communities can maintain their good and just
Lords 

 Footnote  Compare No  1266  

III 

POLEMICS   SPECULATION 

Against Speculators  1205  1206  

1205 

Oh  speculators on things  boast not of knowing the things that
nature ordinarily brings about  but rejoice if you know the end of
those things which you yourself devise 

1206 

Oh  speculators on perpetual motion how many vain projects of the
like character you have created  Go and be the companions of the
searchers for gold   Footnote  Another short passage in MS  I 
referring also to speculators  is given by LIBRI   Hist  des
Sciences math   III  228    Sicche voi speculatori non vi fidate
delli autori che anno sol col immaginatione voluto farsi interpreti
tra la natura e l omo  ma sol di quelli che non coi cienni della
natura  ma cogli effetti delle sue esperienze anno esercitati i loro
ingegni   

Against alchemists  1207  1208  

1207 

The false interpreters of nature declare that quicksilver is the
common seed of every metal  not remembering that nature varies the
seed according to the variety of the things she desires to produce
in the world 

1208 

And many have made a trade of delusions and false miracles 
deceiving the stupid multitude 

Against friars 

1209 

Pharisees  that is to say  friars 

 Footnote  Compare No  837  11  54 57  No  1296  p  363 and 364  
and No  1305  p  370   

Against writers of epitomes 

1210 

Abbreviators do harm to knowledge and to love  seeing that the love
of any thing is the offspring of this knowledge  the love being the
more fervent in proportion as the knowledge is more certain  And
this certainty is born of a complete knowledge of all the parts 
which  when combined  compose the totality of the thing which ought
to be loved  Of what use then is he who abridges the details of
those matters of which he professes to give thorough information 
while he leaves behind the chief part of the things of which the
whole is composed  It is true that impatience  the mother of
stupidity  praises brevity  as if such persons had not life long
enough to serve them to acquire a complete knowledge of one single
subject  such as the human body  and then they want to comprehend
the mind of God in which the universe is included  weighing it
minutely and mincing it into infinite parts  as if they had to
dissect it 

Oh  human stupidity  do you not perceive that  though you have been
with yourself all your life  you are not yet aware of the thing you
possess most of  that is of your folly  and then  with the crowd of
sophists  you deceive yourselves and others  despising the
mathematical sciences  in which truth dwells and the knowledge of
the things included in them  And then you occupy yourself with
miracles  and write that you possess information of those things of
which the human mind is incapable and which cannot be proved by any
instance from nature  And you fancy you have wrought miracles when
you spoil a work of some speculative mind  and do not perceive that
you are falling into the same error as that of a man who strips a
tree of the ornament of its branches covered with leaves mingled
with the scented blossoms or fruit         Footnote 48   Givstino  
Marcus Junianus Justinus  a Roman historian of the second century 
who compiled an epitome from the general history written by Trogus
Pompeius  who lived in the time of Augustus  The work of the latter
writer no longer exist   as Justinus did  in abridging the histories
written by Trogus Pompeius  who had written in an ornate style all
the worthy deeds of his forefathers  full of the most admirable and
ornamental passages  and so composed a bald work worthy only of
those impatient spirits  who fancy they are losing as much time as
that which they employ usefully in studying the works of nature and
the deeds of men  But these may remain in company of beasts  among
their associates should be dogs and other animals full of rapine and
they may hunt with them after      and then follow helpless beasts 
which in time of great snows come near to your houses asking alms as
from their master    

On spirits  1211  1213  

1211 

O mathematicians shed light on this error 

The spirit has no voice  because where there is a voice there is a
body  and where there is a body space is occupied  and this prevents
the eye from seeing what is placed behind that space  hence the
surrounding air is filled by the body  that is by its image 

1212 

There can be no voice where there is no motion or percussion of the
air  there can be no percussion of the air where there is no
instrument  there can be no instrument without a body  and this
being so  a spirit can have neither voice  nor form  nor strength 
And if it were to assume a body it could not penetrate nor enter
where the passages are closed  And if any one should say that by
air  compressed and compacted together  a spirit may take bodies of
various forms and by this means speak and move with strength  to him
I reply that when there are neither nerves nor bones there can be no
force exercised in any kind of movement made by such imaginary
spirits 

Beware of the teaching of these speculators  because their reasoning
is not confirmed by experience 

1213 

Of all human opinions that is to be reputed the most foolish which
deals with the belief in Necromancy  the sister of Alchemy  which
gives birth to simple and natural things  But it is all the more
worthy of reprehension than alchemy  because it brings forth nothing
but what is like itself  that is  lies  this does not happen in
Alchemy which deals with simple products of nature and whose
function cannot be exercised by nature itself  because it has no
organic instruments with which it can work  as men do by means of
their hands  who have produced  for instance  glass  c  but this
Necromancy the flag and flying banner  blown by the winds  is the
guide of the stupid crowd which is constantly witness to the
dazzling and endless effects of this art  and there are books full 
declaring that enchantments and spirits can work and speak without
tongues and without organic instruments   without which it is
impossible to speak   and can carry heaviest weights and raise
storms and rain  and that men can be turned into cats and wolves and
other beasts  although indeed it is those who affirm these things
who first became beasts 

And surely if this Necromancy did exist  as is believed by small
wits  there is nothing on the earth that would be of so much
importance alike for the detriment and service of men  if it were
true that there were in such an art a power to disturb the calm
serenity of the air  converting it into darkness and making
coruscations or winds  with terrific thunder and lightnings rushing
through the darkness  and with violent storms overthrowing high
buildings and rooting up forests  and thus to oppose armies 
crushing and annihilating them  and  besides these frightful storms
may deprive the peasants of the reward of their labours   Now what
kind of warfare is there to hurt the enemy so much as to deprive him
of the harvest  What naval warfare could be compared with this  I
say  the man who has power to command the winds and to make ruinous
gales by which any fleet may be submerged    surely a man who could
command such violent forces would be lord of the nations  and no
human ingenuity could resist his crushing force  The hidden
treasures and gems reposing in the body of the earth would all be
made manifest to him  No lock nor fortress  though impregnable 
would be able to save any one against the will of the necromancer 
He would have himself carried through the air from East to West and
through all the opposite sides of the universe  But why should I
enlarge further upon this  What is there that could not be done by
such a craftsman  Almost nothing  except to escape death  Hereby I
have explained in part the mischief and the usefulness  contained in
this art  if it is real  and if it is real why has it not remained
among men who desire it so much  having nothing to do with any
deity  For I know that there are numberless people who would  to
satisfy a whim  destroy God and all the universe  and if this
necromancy  being  as it were  so necessary to men  has not been
left among them  it can never have existed  nor will it ever exist
according to the definition of the spirit  which is invisible in
substance  for within the elements there are no incorporate things 
because where there is no body  there is a vacuum  and no vacuum can
exist in the elements because it would be immediately filled up 
Turn over 

1214 

OF SPIRITS 

We have said  on the other side of this page  that the definition of
a spirit is a power conjoined to a body  because it cannot move of
its own accord  nor can it have any kind of motion in space  and if
you were to say that it moves itself  this cannot be within the
elements  For  if the spirit is an incorporeal quantity  this
quantity is called a vacuum  and a vacuum does not exist in nature 
and granting that one were formed  it would be immediately filled up
by the rushing in of the element in which the vacuum had been
generated  Therefore  from the definition of weight  which is
this  Gravity is an accidental power  created by one element being
drawn to or suspended in another  it follows that an element  not
weighing anything compared with itself  has weight in the element
above it and lighter than it  as we see that the parts of water have
no gravity or levity compared with other water  but if you draw it
up into the air  then it would acquire weight  and if you were to
draw the air beneath the water then the water which remains above
this air would acquire weight  which weight could not sustain itself
by itself  whence collapse is inevitable  And this happens in water 
wherever the vacuum may be in this water it will fall in  and this
would happen with a spirit amid the elements  where it would
continuously generate a vacuum in whatever element it might find
itself  whence it would be inevitable that it should be constantly
flying towards the sky until it had quitted these elements 

AS TO WHETHER A SPIRIT HAS A BODY AMID THE ELEMENTS 

We have proved that a spirit cannot exist of itself amid the
elements without a body  nor can it move of itself by voluntary
motion unless it be to rise upwards  But now we will say how such a
spirit taking an aerial body would be inevitably melt into air 
because if it remained united  it would be separated and fall to
form a vacuum  as is said above  therefore it is inevitable  if it
is to be able to remain suspended in the air  that it should absorb
a certain quantity of air  and if it were mingled with the air  two
difficulties arise  that is to say  It must rarefy that portion of
the air with which it mingles  and for this cause the rarefied air
must fly up of itself and will not remain among the air that is
heavier than itself  and besides this the subtle spiritual essence
disunites itself  and its nature is modified  by which that nature
loses some of its first virtue  Added to these there is a third
difficulty  and this is that such a body formed of air assumed by
the spirits is exposed to the penetrating winds  which are
incessantly sundering and dispersing the united portions of the air 
revolving and whirling amidst the rest of the atmosphere  therefore
the spirit which is infused in this

1215 

air would be dismembered or rent and broken up with the rending of
the air into which it was incorporated 

AS TO WHETHER THE SPIRIT  HAVING TAKEN THIS BODY OF AIR  CAN MOVE OF
ITSELF OR NOT 

It is impossible that the spirit infused into a certain quantity of
air  should move this air  and this is proved by the above passage
where it is said  the spirit rarefies that portion of the air in
which it incorporates itself  therefore this air will rise high
above the other air and there will be a motion of the air caused by
its lightness and not by a voluntary movement of the spirit  and if
this air is encountered by the wind  according to the 3rd of this 
the air will be moved by the wind and not by the spirit incorporated
in it 

AS TO WHETHER THE SPIRIT CAN SPEAK OR NOT 

In order to prove whether the spirit can speak or not  it is
necessary in the first place to define what a voice is and how it is
generated  and we will say that the voice is  as it were  the
movement of air in friction against a dense body  or a dense body in
friction against the air   which is the same thing  And this
friction of the dense and the rare condenses the rare and causes
resistance  again  the rare  when in swift motion  and the rare in
slow motion condense each other when they come in contact and make a
noise and very great uproar  and the sound or murmur made by the
rare moving through the rare with only moderate swiftness  like a
great flame generating noises in the air  and the tremendous uproar
made by the rare mingling with the rare  and when that air which is
both swift and rare rushes into that which is itself rare and in
motion  it is like the flame of fire which issues from a big gun and
striking against the air  and again when a flame issues from the
cloud  there is a concussion in the air as the bolt is generated 
Therefore we may say that the spirit cannot produce a voice without
movement of the air  and air in it there is none  nor can it emit
what it has not  and if desires to move that air in which it is
incorporated  it is necessary that the spirit should multiply
itself  and that cannot multiply which has no quantity  And in the
4th place it is said that no rare body can move  if it has not a
stable spot  whence it may take its motion  much more is it so when
an element has to move within its own element  which does not move
of itself  excepting by uniform evaporation at the centre of the
thing evaporated  as occurs in a sponge squeezed in the hand held
under water  the water escapes in every direction with equal
movement through the openings between the fingers of the hand in
which it is squeezed 

As to whether the spirit has an articulate voice  and whether the
spirit can be heard  and what hearing is  and seeing  the wave of
the voice passes through the air as the images of objects pass to
the eye 

Nonentity 

1216 

Every quantity is intellectually conceivable as infinitely
divisible 

 Amid the vastness of the things among which we live  the existence
of nothingness holds the first place  its function extends over all
things that have no existence  and its essence  as regards time 
lies precisely between the past and the future  and has nothing in
the present  This nothingness has the part equal to the whole  and
the whole to the part  the divisible to the indivisible  and the
product of the sum is the same whether we divide or multiply  and in
addition as in subtraction  as is proved by arithmeticians by their
tenth figure which represents zero  and its power has not extension
among the things of Nature  

 What is called Nothingness is to be found only in time and in
speech  In time it stands between the past and future and has no
existence in the present  and thus in speech it is one of the things
of which we say  They are not  or they are impossible  

With regard to time  nothingness lies between the past and the
future  and has nothing to do with the present  and as to its nature
it is to be classed among things impossible  hence  from what has
been said  it has no existence  because where there is nothing there
would necessarily be a vacuum 

 Footnote  Compare No  916  

Reflections on Nature  1217 1219  

1217 

EXAMPLE OF THE LIGHTNING IN CLOUDS 

 O mighty and once living instrument of formative nature  Incapable
of availing thyself of thy vast strength thou hast to abandon a life
of stillness and to obey the law which God and time gave to
procreative nature  

Ah  how many a time the shoals of terrified dolphins and the huge
tunny fish were seen to flee before thy cruel fury  to escape 
whilst thy fulminations raised in the sea a sudden tempest with
buffeting and submersion of ships in the great waves  and filling
the uncovered shores with the terrified and desperate fishes which
fled from thee  and left by the sea  remained in spots where they
became the abundant prey of the people in the neighbourhood 

O time  swift robber of all created things  how many kings  how many
nations hast thou undone  and how many changes of states and of
various events have happened since the wondrous forms of this fish
perished here in this cavernous and winding recess  Now destroyed by
time thou liest patiently in this confined space with bones stripped
and bare  serving as a support and prop for the superimposed
mountain 

 Footnote  The character of the handwriting points to an early
period of Leonardo s life  It has become very indistinct  and is at
present exceedingly difficult to decipher  Some passages remain
doubtful  

 Footnote  Compare No  1339  written on the same sheet  

1218 

The watery element was left enclosed between the raised banks of the
rivers  and the sea was seen between the uplifted earth and the
surrounding air which has to envelope and enclose the complicated
machine of the earth  and whose mass  standing between the water and
the element of fire  remained much restricted and deprived of its
indispensable moisture  the rivers will be deprived of their waters 
the fruitful earth will put forth no more her light verdure  the
fields will no more be decked with waving corn  all the animals 
finding no fresh grass for pasture  will die and food will then be
lacking to the lions and wolves and other beasts of prey  and to men
who after many efforts will be compelled to abandon their life  and
the human race will die out  In this way the fertile and fruitful
earth will remain deserted  arid and sterile from the water being
shut up in its interior  and from the activity of nature it will
continue a little time to increase until the cold and subtle air
being gone  it will be forced to end with the element of fire  and
then its surface will be left burnt up to cinder and this will be
the end of all terrestrial nature   Footnote  Compare No  1339 
written on the same sheet  

1219 

Why did nature not ordain that one animal should not live by the
death of another  Nature  being inconstant and taking pleasure in
creating and making constantly new lives and forms  because she
knows that her terrestrial materials become thereby augmented  is
more ready and more swift in her creating  than time in his
destruction  and so she has ordained that many animals shall be food
for others  Nay  this not satisfying her desire  to the same end she
frequently sends forth certain poisonous and pestilential vapours
upon the vast increase and congregation of animals  and most of all
upon men  who increase vastly because other animals do not feed upon
them  and  the causes being removed  the effects would not follow 
This earth therefore seeks to lose its life  desiring only continual
reproduction  and as  by the argument you bring forward and
demonstrate  like effects always follow like causes  animals are the
image of the world 

 XX  

 Humorous Writings  

 Just as Michaelangelo s occasional poems reflect his private life
as well as the general disposition of his mind  we may find in the
writings collected in this section  the transcript of Leonardo s
fanciful nature  and we should probably not be far wrong in
assuming  that he himself had recited these fables in the company of
his friends or at the court festivals of princes and patrons   Era
tanto piacevole nella conversazione    so relates Vasari   che
tirava a se gli animi delle genti   And Paulus Jovius says in his
short biography of the artist   Fuit ingenio valde comi  nitido 
liberali  vultu autem longe venustissimo  et cum elegantiae omnis
deliciarumque maxime theatralium mirificus inventor ac arbiter
esset  ad lyramque scito caneret  cunctis per omnem aetatem
principibus mire placuit   There can be no doubt that the fables are
the original offspring of Leonardo s brain  and not borrowed from
any foreign source  indeed the schemes and plans for the composition
of fables collected in division V seem to afford an external proof
of this  if the fables themselves did not render it self evident 
Several of them   for instance No   l279   are so strikingly
characteristic of Leonardo s views of natural science that we cannot
do them justice till we are acquainted with his theories on such
subjects  and this is equally true of the  Prophecies   

 I have prefixed to these quaint writings the  Studies on the life
and habits of animals  which are singular from their peculiar
aphoristic style  and I have transcribed them in exactly the order
in which they are written in MS  H  This is one of the very rare
instances in which one subject is treated in a consecutive series of
notes  all in one MS   and Leonardo has also departed from his
ordinary habits  by occasionally not completing the text on the page
it is begun  These brief notes of a somewhat mysterious bearing have
been placed here  simply because they may possibly have been
intended to serve as hints for fables or allegories  They can
scarcely be regarded as preparatory for a natural history  rather
they would seem to be extracts  On the one hand the names of some of
the animals seem to prove that Leonardo could not here be recording
observations of his own  on the other hand the notes on their habits
and life appear to me to dwell precisely on what must have
interested him most  so far as it is possible to form any complete
estimate of his nature and tastes  

 In No   1293  lines  1 10   we have a sketch of a scheme for
grouping the Prophecies  I have not however availed myself of it as
a clue to their arrangement here because  in the first place  the
texts are not so numerous as to render the suggested classification
useful to the reader  and  also  because in reading the long series 
as they occur in the original  we may follow the author s mind  and
here and there it is not difficult to see how one theme suggested
another  I have however regarded Leonardo s scheme for the
classification of the Prophecies as available for that of the Fables
and Jests  and have adhered to it as far as possible  

 Among the humourous writings I might perhaps have included the 
 Rebusses    of which there are several in the collection of
Leonardo s drawings at Windsor  it seems to me not likely that many
or all of them could be solved at the present day and the MSS  throw
no light on them  Nor should I be justified if I intended to include
in the literary works the well known caricatures of human faces
attributed to Leonardo   of which  however  it may be incidentally
observed  the greater number are in my opinion undoubtedly spurious 
Two only have necessarily been given owing to their presence in
text  which it was desired to reproduce  Vol  I page  326   and Pl 
CXXII  It can scarcely be doubted that some satirical intention is
conveyed by the drawing on Pl  LXIV  text No   688   

My reason for not presenting Leonardo to the reader as a poet is the
fact that the maxims and morals in verse which have been ascribed to
him  are not to be found in the manuscripts  and Prof  Uzielli has
already proved that they cannot be by him  Hence it would seem that
only a few short verses can be attributed to him with any
certainty  

I 

STUDIES ON THE LIFE AND HABITS OF ANIMALS 

1220 

THE LOVE OF VIRTUE 

The gold finch is a bird of which it is related that  when it is
carried into the presence of a sick person  if the sick man is going
to die  the bird turns away its head and never looks at him  but if
the sick man is to be saved the bird never loses sight of him but is
the cause of curing him of all his sickness 

Like unto this is the love of virtue  It never looks at any vile or
base thing  but rather clings always to pure and virtuous things and
takes up its abode in a noble heart  as the birds do in green woods
on flowery branches  And this Love shows itself more in adversity
than in prosperity  as light does  which shines most where the place
is darkest 

1221 

ENVY 

We read of the kite that  when it sees its young ones growing too
big in the nest  out of envy it pecks their sides  and keeps them
without food 

CHEERFULNESS 

Cheerfulness is proper to the cock  which rejoices over every little
thing  and crows with varied and lively movements 

SADNESS 

Sadness resembles the raven  which  when it sees its young ones born
white  departs in great grief  and abandons them with doleful
lamentations  and does not feed them until it sees in them some few
black feathers 

1222 

PEACE 

We read of the beaver that when it is pursued  knowing that it is
for the virtue  contained  in its medicinal testicles and not being
able to escape  it stops  and to be at peace with its pursuers  it
bites off its testicles with its sharp teeth  and leaves them to its
enemies 

RAGE 

It is said of the bear that when it goes to the haunts of bees to
take their honey  the bees having begun to sting him he leaves the
honey and rushes to revenge himself  And as he seeks to be revenged
on all those that sting him  he is revenged on none  in such wise
that his rage is turned to madness  and he flings himself on the
ground  vainly exasperating  by his hands and feet  the foes against
which he is defending himself 

1223 

GRATITUDE 

The virtue of gratitude is said to be more  developed  in the birds
called hoopoes which  knowing the benefits of life and food  they
have received from their father and their mother  when they see them
grow old  make a nest for them and brood over them and feed them 
and with their beaks pull out their old and shabby feathers  and
then  with a certain herb restore their sight so that they return to
a prosperous state 

AVARICE 

The toad feeds on earth and always remains lean  because it never
eats enough    it is so afraid lest it should want for earth 

1224 

INGRATITUDE 

Pigeons are a symbol of ingratitude  for when they are old enough no
longer to need to be fed  they begin to fight with their father  and
this struggle does not end until the young one drives the father out
and takes the hen and makes her his own 

CRUELTY 

The basilisk is so utterly cruel that when it cannot kill animals by
its baleful gaze  it turns upon herbs and plants  and fixing its
gaze on them withers them up 

1225 

GENEROSITY 

It is said of the eagle that it is never so hungry but that it will
leave a part of its prey for the birds that are round it  which 
being unable to provide their own food  are necessarily dependent on
the eagle  since it is thus that they obtain food 

DISCIPLINE 

When the wolf goes cunningly round some stable of cattle  and by
accident puts his foot in a trap  so that he makes a noise  he bites
his foot off to punish himself for his folly 

1226 

FLATTERERS OR SYRENS 

The syren sings so sweetly that she lulls the mariners to sleep 
then she climbs upon the ships and kills the sleeping mariners 

PRUDENCE 

The ant  by her natural foresight provides in the summer for the
winter  killing the seeds she harvests that they may not germinate 
and on them  in due time she feeds 

FOLLY 

The wild bull having a horror of a red colour  the hunters dress up
the trunk of a tree with red and the bull runs at this with great
frenzy  thus fixing his horns  and forthwith the hunters kill him
there 

1227 

JUSTICE 

We may liken the virtue of Justice to the king of the bees which
orders and arranges every thing with judgment  For some bees are
ordered to go to the flowers  others are ordered to labour  others
to fight with the wasps  others to clear away all dirt  others to
accompagny and escort the king  and when he is old and has no wings
they carry him  And if one of them fails in his duty  he is punished
without reprieve 

TRUTH 

Although partridges steal each other s eggs  nevertheless the young
born of these eggs always return to their true mother 

1228 

FIDELITY  OR LOYALTY 

The cranes are so faithful and loyal to their king  that at night 
when he is sleeping  some of them go round the field to keep watch
at a distance  others remain near  each holding a stone in his foot 
so that if sleep should overcome them  this stone would fall and
make so much noise that they would wake up again  And there are
others which sleep together round the king  and this they do every
night  changing in turn so that their king may never find them
wanting 

FALSEHOOD 

The fox when it sees a flock of herons or magpies or birds of that
kind  suddenly flings himself on the ground with his mouth open to
look as he were dead  and these birds want to peck at his tongue 
and he bites off their heads 

1229 

LIES 

The mole has very small eyes and it always lives under ground  and
it lives as long as it is in the dark but when it comes into the
light it dies immediately  because it becomes known   and so it is
with lies 

VALOUR 

The lion is never afraid  but rather fights with a bold spirit and
savage onslaught against a multitude of hunters  always seeking to
injure the first that injures him 

FEAR OR COWARDICE 

The hare is always frightened  and the leaves that fall from the
trees in autumn always keep him in terror and generally put him to
flight 

1230 

MAGNANIMITY 

The falcon never preys but on large birds  and it will let itself
die rather than feed on little ones  or eat stinking meat 

VAIN GLORY 

As regards this vice  we read that the peacock is more guilty of it
than any other animal  For it is always contemplating the beauty of
its tail  which it spreads in the form of a wheel  and by its cries
attracts to itself the gaze of the creatures that surround it 

And this is the last vice to be conquered 

1231 

CONSTANCY 

Constancy may be symbolised by the phoenix which  knowing that by
nature it must be resuscitated  has the constancy to endure the
burning flames which consume it  and then it rises anew 

INCONSTANCY 

The swallow may serve for Inconstancy  for it is always in movement 
since it cannot endure the smallest discomfort 

CONTINENCE 

The camel is the most lustful animal there is  and will follow the
female for a thousand miles  But if you keep it constantly with its
mother or sister it will leave them alone  so temperate is its
nature 

1232 

INCONTINENCE 

The unicorn  through its intemperance and not knowing how to control
itself  for the love it bears to fair maidens forgets its ferocity
and wildness  and laying aside all fear it will go up to a seated
damsel and go to sleep in her lap  and thus the hunters take it 

HUMILITY 

We see the most striking example of humility in the lamb which will
submit to any animal  and when they are given for food to imprisoned
lions they are as gentle to them as to their own mother  so that
very often it has been seen that the lions forbear to kill them 

1233 

PRIDE 

The falcon  by reason of its haughtiness and pride  is fain to lord
it and rule over all the other birds of prey  and longs to be sole
and supreme  and very often the falcon has been seen to assault the
eagle  the Queen of birds 

ABSTINENCE 

The wild ass  when it goes to the well to drink  and finds the water
troubled  is never so thirsty but that it will abstain from
drinking  and wait till the water is clear again 

GLUTTONY 

The vulture is so addicted to gluttony that it will go a thousand
miles to eat a carrion  carcase   therefore is it that it follows
armies 

1234 

CHASTITY 

The turtle dove is never false to its mate  and if one dies the
other preserves perpetual chastity  and never again sits on a green
bough  nor ever again drinks of clear water 

UNCHASTITY 

The bat  owing to unbridled lust  observes no universal rule in
pairing  but males with males and females with females pair
promiscuously  as it may happen 

MODERATION 

The ermine out of moderation never eats but once in the day  it will
rather let itself be taken by the hunters than take refuge in a
dirty lair  in order not to stain its purity 

1235 

THE EAGLE 

The eagle when it is old flies so high that it scorches its
feathers  and Nature allowing that it should renew its youth  it
falls into shallow water  Footnote 5  The meaning is obscure    And
if its young ones cannot bear to gaze on the sun  Footnote 6  The
meaning is obscure      it does not feed them with any bird  that
does not wish to die  Animals which much fear it do not approach its
nest  although it does not hurt them  It always leaves part of its
prey uneaten 

LUMERPA   FAME 

This is found in Asia Major  and shines so brightly that it absorbs
its own shadow  and when it dies it does not lose this light  and
its feathers never fall out  but a feather pulled out shines no
longer 

1236 

THE PELICAN 

This bird has a great love for its young  and when it finds them in
its nest dead from a serpent s bite  it pierces itself to the heart 
and with its blood it bathes them till they return to life 

THE SALAMANDER 

This has no digestive organs  and gets no food but from the fire  in
which it constantly renews its scaly skin 

The salamander  which renews its scaly skin in the fire   for
virtue 

THE CAMELEON 

This lives on air  and there it is the prey of all the birds  so in
order to be safer it flies above the clouds and finds an air so
rarefied that it cannot support the bird that follows it 

At that height nothing can go unless it has a gift from Heaven  and
that is where the chameleon flies 

1237 

THE ALEPO  A FISH 

The fish  alepo  does not live out of water 

THE OSTRICH 

This bird converts iron into nourishment  and hatches its eggs by
its gaze   Armies under commanders 

THE SWAN 

The swan is white without any spot  and it sings sweetly as it dies 
its life ending with that song 

THE STORK 

This bird  by drinking saltwater purges itself of distempers  If the
male finds his mate unfaithful  he abandons her  and when it grows
old its young ones brood over it  and feed it till it dies 

1238 

THE GRASSHOPPER 

This silences the cuckoo with its song  It dies in oil and revives
in vinegar  It sings in the greatest heats

THE BAT 

The more light there is the blinder this creature becomes  as those
who gaze most at the sun become most dazzled   For Vice  that cannot
remain where Virtue appears 

THE PARTRIDGE 

This bird changes from the female into the male and forgets its
former sex  and out of envy it steals the eggs from others and
hatches them  but the young ones follow the true mother 

THE SWALLOW 

This bird gives sight to its blind young ones by means of celandine 

1239 

THE OYSTER   FOR TREACHERY 

This creature  when the moon is full opens itself wide  and when the
crab looks in he throws in a piece of rock or seaweed and the oyster
cannot close again  whereby it serves for food to that crab  This is
what happens to him who opens his mouth to tell his secret  He
becomes the prey of the treacherous hearer 

THE BASILISK   CRUELTY 

All snakes flie from this creature  but the weasel attacks it by
means of rue and kills it 

THE ASP 

This carries instantaneous death in its fangs  and  that it may not
hear the charmer it stops its ears with its tail 

1240 

THE DRAGON 

This creature entangles itself in the legs of the elephant which
falls upon it  and so both die  and in its death it is avenged 

THE VIPER 

She  in pairing opens her mouth and at last clenches her teeth and
kills her husband  Then the young ones  growing within her body rend
her open and kill their mother 

THE SCORPION 

Saliva  spit out when fasting will kill a scorpion  This may be
likened to abstinence from greediness  which removes and heals the
ills which result from that gluttony  and opens the path of virtue 

1241 

THE CROCODILE  HYPOCRISY 

This animal catches a man and straightway kills him  after he is
dead  it weeps for him with a lamentable voice and many tears  Then 
having done lamenting  it cruelly devours him  It is thus with the
hypocrite  who  for the smallest matter  has his face bathed with
tears  but shows the heart of a tiger and rejoices in his heart at
the woes of others  while wearing a pitiful face 

THE TOAD 

The toad flies from the light of the sun  and if it is held there by
force it puffs itself out so much as to hide its head below and
shield itself from the rays  Thus does the foe of clear and radiant
virtue  who can only be constrainedly brought to face it with puffed
up courage 

1242 

THE CATERPILLAR   FOR VIRTUE IN GENERAL 

The caterpillar  which by means of assiduous care is able to weave
round itself a new dwelling place with marvellous artifice and fine
workmanship  comes out of it afterwards with painted and lovely
wings  with which it rises towards Heaven 

THE SPIDER 

The spider brings forth out of herself the delicate and ingenious
web  which makes her a return by the prey it takes 

 Footnote  Two notes are underneath this text  The first    nessuna
chosa e da ttemere piu che lla sozza fama   is a repetition of the
first line of the text given in Vol  I No  695 

The second   faticha fugga cholla fama in braccio quasi ochultata c 
is written in red chalk and is evidently an incomplete sentence  

1243 

THE LION 

This animal  with his thundering roar  rouses his young the third
day after they are born  teaching them the use of all their dormant
senses and all the wild things which are in the wood flee away 

This may be compared to the children of Virtue who are roused by the
sound of praise and grow up in honourable studies  by which they are
more and more elevated  while all that is base flies at the sound 
shunning those who are virtuous 

Again  the lion covers over its foot tracks  so that the way it has
gone may not be known to its enemies  Thus it beseems a captain to
conceal the secrets of his mind so that the enemy may not know his
purpose 

1244 

THE TARANTULA 

The bite of the tarantula fixes a man s mind on one idea  that is on
the thing he was thinking of when he was bitten 

THE SCREECH OWL AND THE OWL 

These punish those who are scoffing at them by pecking out their
eyes  for nature has so ordered it  that they may thus be fed 

1245 

THE ELEPHANT 

The huge elephant has by nature what is rarely found in man  that is
Honesty  Prudence  Justice  and the Observance of Religion  inasmuch
as when the moon is new  these beasts go down to the rivers  and
there  solemnly cleansing themselves  they bathe  and so  having
saluted the planet  return to the woods  And when they are ill 
being laid down  they fling up plants towards Heaven as though they
would offer sacrifice    They bury their tusks when they fall out
from old age   Of these two tusks they use one to dig up roots for
food  but they save the point of the other for fighting with  when
they are taken by hunters and when worn out by fatigue  they dig up
these buried tusks and ransom themselves 

1246 

They are merciful  and know the dangers  and if one finds a man
alone and lost  he kindly puts him back in the road he has missed 
if he finds the footprints of the man before the man himself  It
dreads betrayal  so it stops and blows  pointing it out to the other
elephants who form in a troop and go warily 

These beasts always go in troops  and the oldest goes in front and
the second in age remains the last  and thus they enclose the troop 
Out of shame they pair only at night and secretly  nor do they then
rejoin the herd but first bathe in the river  The females do not
fight as with other animals  and it is so merciful that it is most
unwilling by nature ever to hurt those weaker than itself  And if it
meets in the middle of its way a flock of sheep

1247 

it puts them aside with its trunk  so as not to trample them under
foot  and it never hurts any thing unless when provoked  When one
has fallen into a pit the others fill up the pit with branches 
earth and stones  thus raising the bottom that he may easily get
out  They greatly dread the noise of swine and fly in confusion 
doing no less harm then  with their feet  to their own kind than to
the enemy  They delight in rivers and are always wandering about
near them  though on account of their great weight they cannot swim 
They devour stones  and the trunks of trees are their favourite
food  They have a horror of rats  Flies delight in their smell and
settle on their back  and the beast scrapes its skin making its
folds even and kills them 

1248 

When they cross rivers they send their young ones up against the
stream of the water  thus  being set towards the fall  they break
the united current of the water so that the current does not carry
them away  The dragon flings itself under the elephant s body  and
with its tail it ties its legs  with its wings and with its arms it
also clings round its ribs and cuts its throat with its teeth  and
the elephant falls upon it and the dragon is burst  Thus  in its
death it is revenged on its foe 

THE DRAGON 

These go in companies together  and they twine themselves after the
manner of roots  and with their heads raised they cross lakes  and
swim to where they find better pasture  and if they did not thus
combine

1249 

they would be drowned  therefore they combine 

THE SERPENT 

The serpent is a very large animal  When it sees a bird in the air
it draws in its breath so strongly that it draws the birds into its
mouth too  Marcus Regulus  the consul of the Roman army was
attacked  with his army  by such an animal and almost defeated  And
this animal  being killed by a catapult  measured 123 feet  that is
64 1 2 braccia and its head was high above all the trees in a wood 

THE BOA   

This is a very large snake which entangles itself round the legs of
the cow so that it cannot move and then sucks it  in such wise that
it almost dries it up  In the time of Claudius the Emperor  there
was killed  on the Vatican Hill 

1250 

one which had inside it a boy  entire  that it had swallowed 

THE MACLI   CAUGHT WHEN ASLEEP 

This beast is born in Scandinavia  It has the shape of a great
horse  excepting that the great length of its neck and of its ears
make a difference  It feeds on grass  going backwards  for it has so
long an upper lip that if it went forwards it would cover up the
grass  Its legs are all in one piece  for this reason when it wants
to sleep it leans against a tree  and the hunters  spying out the
place where it is wont to sleep  saw the tree almost through  and
then  when it leans against it to sleep  in its sleep it falls  and
thus the hunters take it  And every other mode of taking it is in
vain  because it is incredibly swift in running 

1251 

THE BISON WHICH DOES INJURY IN ITS FLIGHT 

This beast is a native of Paeonia and has a neck with a mane like a
horse  In all its other parts it is like a bull  excepting that its
horns are in a way bent inwards so that it cannot butt  hence it has
no safety but in flight  in which it flings out its excrement to a
distance of 400 braccia in its course  and this burns like fire
wherever it touches 

LIONS  PARDS  PANTHERS  TIGERS 

These keep their claws in the sheath  and never put them out unless
they are on the back of their prey or their enemy 

THE LIONESS 

When the lioness defends her young from the hand of the hunter  in
order not to be frightened by the spears she keeps her eyes on the
ground  to the end that she may not by her flight leave her young
ones prisoners 

1252 

THE LION 

This animal  which is so terrible  fears nothing more than the noise
of empty carts  and likewise the crowing of cocks  And it is much
terrified at the sight of one  and looks at its comb with a
frightened aspect  and is strangely alarmed when its face is
covered 

THE PANTHER IN AFRICA 

This has the form of the lioness but it is taller on its legs and
slimmer and long bodied  and it is all white and marked with black
spots after the manner of rosettes  and all animals delight to look
upon these rosettes  and they would always be standing round it if
it were not for the terror of its face 

1253 

therefore knowing this  it hides its face  and the surrounding
animals grow bold and come close  the better to enjoy the sight of
so much beauty  when suddenly it seizes the nearest and at once
devours it 

CAMELS 

The Bactrian have two humps  the Arabian one only  They are swift in
battle and most useful to carry burdens  This animal is extremely
observant of rule and measure  for it will not move if it has a
greater weight than it is used to  and if it is taken too far it
does the same  and suddenly stops and so the merchants are obliged
to lodge there 

1254 

THE TIGER 

This beast is a native of Hyrcania  and it is something like the
panther from the various spots on its skin  It is an animal of
terrible swiftness  the hunter when he finds its young ones carries
them off hastily  placing mirrors in the place whence he takes them 
and at once escapes on a swift horse  The panther returning finds
the mirrors fixed on the ground and looking into them believes it
sees its young  then scratching with its paws it discovers the
cheat  Forthwith  by means of the scent of its young  it follows the
hunter  and when this hunter sees the tigress he drops one of the
young ones and she takes it  and having carried it to the den she
immediately returns to the hunter and does

1255 

the same till he gets into his boat 

CATOBLEPAS 

It is found in Ethiopia near to the source Nigricapo  It is not a
very large animal  is sluggish in all its parts  and its head is so
large that it carries it with difficulty  in such wise that it
always droops towards the ground  otherwise it would be a great pest
to man  for any one on whom it fixes its eyes dies immediately 
 Footnote  Leonardo undoubtedly derived these remarks as to the
Catoblepas from Pliny  Hist  Nat  VIII  21  al  32    Apud Hesperios
Aethiopas fons est Nigris   different readings    ut plerique
existimavere  Nili caput      Juxta hunc fera appellatur catoblepas 
modica alioquin  ceterisque membris iners  caput tantum praegrave
aegre ferens  alias internecio humani generis  omnibus qui oculos
ejus videre  confestim morientibus   Aelian   Hist  An   gives a far
more minute description of the creature  but he says that it poisons
beasts not by its gaze  but by its venomous breath  Athenaeus 221 B 
mentions both  If Leonardo had known of these two passages  he would
scarcely have omitted the poisonous breath   H  MULLER STRUBING   

THE BASILISK 

This is found in the province of Cyrenaica and is not more than 12
fingers long  It has on its head a white spot after the fashion of a
diadem  It scares all serpents with its whistling  It resembles a
snake  but does not move by wriggling but from the centre forwards
to the right  It is said that one

1256 

of these  being killed with a spear by one who was on horse back 
and its venom flowing on the spear  not only the man but the horse
also died  It spoils the wheat and not only that which it touches 
but where it breathes the grass dries and the stones are split 

THE WEASEL 

This beast finding the lair of the basilisk kills it with the smell
of its urine  and this smell  indeed  often kills the weasel itself 

THE CERASTES 

This has four movable little horns  so  when it wants to feed  it
hides under leaves all of its body except these little horns which 
as they move  seem to the birds to be some small worms at play  Then
they immediately swoop down to pick them and the Cerastes suddenly
twines round them and encircles and devours them 

1257 

THE AMPHISBOENA 

This has two heads  one in its proper place the other at the tail 
as if one place were not enough from which to fling its venom 

THE IACULUS 

This lies on trees  and flings itself down like a dart  and pierces
through the wild beast and kills them 

THE ASP 

The bite of this animal cannot be cured unless by immediately
cutting out the bitten part  This pestilential animal has such a
love for its mate that they always go in company  And if  by mishap 
one of them is killed the other  with incredible swiftness  follows
him who has killed it  and it is so determined and eager for
vengeance that it overcomes every difficulty  and passing by every
troop it seeks to hurt none but its enemy  And it will travel any
distance  and it is impossible to avoid it unless by crossing water
and by very swift flight  It has its eyes turned inwards  and large
ears and it hears better than it sees 

1258 

THE ICHNEUMON 

This animal is the mortal enemy of the asp  It is a native of Egypt
and when it sees an asp near its place  it runs at once to the bed
or mud of the Nile and with this makes itself muddy all over  then
it dries itself in the sun  smears itself again with mud  and thus 
drying one after the other  it makes itself three or four coatings
like a coat of mail  Then it attacks the asp  and fights well with
him  so that  taking its time it catches him in the throat and
destroys him 

THE CROCODILE 

This is found in the Nile  it has four feet and lives on land and in
water  No other terrestrial creature but this is found to have no
tongue  and it only bites by moving its upper jaw  It grows to a
length of forty feet and has claws and is armed with a hide that
will take any blow  By day it is on land and at night in the water 
It feeds on fishes  and going to sleep on the bank of the Nile with
its mouth open  a bird called

1259 

trochilus  a very small bird  runs at once to its mouth and hops
among its teeth and goes pecking out the remains of the food  and so
inciting it with voluptuous delight tempts it to open the whole of
its mouth  and so it sleeps  This being observed by the ichneumon it
flings itself into its mouth and perforates its stomach and bowels 
and finally kills it 

THE DOLPHIN 

Nature has given such knowledge to animals  that besides the
consciousness of their own advantages they know the disadvantages of
their foes  Thus the dolphin understands what strength lies in a cut
from the fins placed on his chine  and how tender is the belly of
the crocodile  hence in fighting with him it thrusts at him from
beneath and rips up his belly and so kills him 

The crocodile is a terror to those that flee  and a base coward to
those that pursue him 

1260 

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 

This beast when it feels itself over full goes about seeking thorns 
or where there may be the remains of canes that have been split  and
it rubs against them till a vein is opened  then when the blood has
flowed as much as he needs  he plasters himself with mud and heals
the wound  In form he is something like a horse with long haunches 
a twisted tail and the teeth of a wild boar  his neck has a mane 
the skin cannot be pierced  unless when he is bathing  he feeds on
plants in the fields and goes into them backwards so that it may
seem  as though he had come out 

THE IBIS 

This bird resembles a crane  and when it feels itself ill it fills
its craw with water  and with its beak makes an injection of it 

THE STAG 

These creatures when they feel themselves bitten by the spider
called father long legs  eat crabs and free themselves of the venom 

1261 

THE LIZARD 

This  when fighting with serpents eats the sow thistle and is free 

THE SWALLOW 

This  bird  gives sight to its blind young ones  with the juice of
the celandine 

THE WEASEL 

This  when chasing rats first eats of rue 

THE WILD BOAR 

This beast cures its sickness by eating of ivy 

THE SNAKE 

This creature when it wants to renew itself casts its old skin 
beginning with the head  and changing in one day and one night 

THE PANTHER 

This beast after its bowels have fallen out will still fight with
the dogs and hunters 

1262 

THE CHAMELEON 

This creature always takes the colour of the thing on which it is
resting  whence it is often devoured together with the leaves on
which the elephant feeds 

THE RAVEN 

When it has killed the Chameleon it takes laurel as a purge 

1263 

Moderation checks all the vices  The ermine will die rather than
besmirch itself 

OF FORESIGHT 

The cock does not crow till it has thrice flapped its wings  the
parrot in moving among boughs never puts its feet excepting where it
has first put its beak  Vows are not made till Hope is dead 

Motion tends towards the centre of gravity 

1264 

MAGNANIMITY 

The falcon never seizes any but large birds and will sooner die than
eat  tainted  meat of bad savour 

II 

FABLES 

Fables on animals  1265 1270  

1265 

A FABLE 

An oyster being turned out together with other fish in the house of
a fisherman near the sea  he entreated a rat to take him to the sea 
The rat purposing to eat him bid him open  but as he bit him the
oyster squeezed his head and closed  and the cat came and killed
him 

1266 

A FABLE 

The thrushes rejoiced greatly at seeing a man take the owl and
deprive her of liberty  tying her feet with strong bonds  But this
owl was afterwards by means of bird lime the cause of the thrushes
losing not only their liberty  but their life  This is said for
those countries which rejoice in seeing their governors lose their
liberty  when by that means they themselves lose all succour  and
remain in bondage in the power of their enemies  losing their
liberty and often their life 

1267 

A FABLE 

A dog  lying asleep on the fur of a sheep  one of his fleas 
perceiving the odour of the greasy wool  judged that this must be a
land of better living  and also more secure from the teeth and nails
of the dog than where he fed on the dog  and without farther
reflection he left the dog and went into the thick wool  There he
began with great labour to try to pass among the roots of the hairs 
but after much sweating had to give up the task as vain  because
these hairs were so close that they almost touched each other  and
there was no space where fleas could taste the skin  Hence  after
much labour and fatigue  he began to wish to return to his dog  who
however had already departed  so he was constrained after long
repentance and bitter tears  to die of hunger 

1268 

A FABLE 

The vain and wandering butterfly  not content with being able to fly
at its ease through the air  overcome by the tempting flame of the
candle  decided to fly into it  but its sportive impulse was the
cause of a sudden fall  for its delicate wings were burnt in the
flame  And the hapless butterfly having dropped  all scorched  at
the foot of the candlestick  after much lamentation and repentance 
dried the tears from its swimming eyes  and raising its face
exclaimed  O false light  how many must thou have miserably deceived
in the past  like me  or if I must indeed see light so near  ought I
not to have known the sun from the false glare of dirty tallow 

A FABLE 

The monkey  finding a nest of small birds  went up to it greatly
delighted  But they  being already fledged  he could only succeed in
taking the smallest  greatly delighted he took it in his hand and
went to his abode  and having begun to look at the little bird he
took to kissing it  and from excess of love he kissed it so much and
turned it about and squeezed it till he killed it  This is said for
those who by not punishing their children let them come to mischief 

1269 

A FABLE 

A rat was besieged in his little dwelling by a weasel  which with
unwearied vigilance awaited his surrender  while watching his
imminent peril through a little hole  Meanwhile the cat came by and
suddenly seized the weasel and forthwith devoured it  Then the rat
offered up a sacrifice to Jove of some of his store of nuts  humbly
thanking His providence  and came out of his hole to enjoy his
lately lost liberty  But he was instantly deprived of it  together
with his life  by the cruel claws and teeth of the lurking cat 

1270 

A FABLE 

The ant found a grain of millet  The seed feeling itself taken
prisoner cried out to her   If you will do me the kindness to allow
me accomplish my function of reproduction  I will give you a hundred
such as I am   And so it was 

A Spider found a bunch of grapes which for its sweetness was much
resorted to by bees and divers kinds of flies  It seemed to her that
she had found a most convenient spot to spread her snare  and having
settled herself on it with her delicate web  and entered into her
new habitation  there  every day placing herself in the openings
made by the spaces between the grapes  she fell like a thief on the
wretched creatures which were not aware of her  But  after a few
days had passed  the vintager came  and cut away the bunch of grapes
and put it with others  with which it was trodden  and thus the
grapes were a snare and pitfall both for the treacherous spider and
the betrayed flies 

An ass having gone to sleep on the ice over a deep lake  his heat
dissolved the ice and the ass awoke under water to his great grief 
and was forthwith drowned 

A falcon  unable to endure with patience the disappearance of a
duck  which  flying before him had plunged under water  wished to
follow it under water  and having soaked his feathers had to remain
in the water while the duck rising to the air mocked at the falcon
as he drowned 

The spider wishing to take flies in her treacherous net  was cruelly
killed in it by the hornet 

An eagle wanting to mock at the owl was caught by the wings in
bird lime and was taken and killed by a man 

Fables on lifeless objects  1271  1274  

1271 

The water finding that its element was the lordly ocean  was seized
with a desire to rise above the air  and being encouraged by the
element of fire and rising as a very subtle vapour  it seemed as
though it were really as thin as air  But having risen very high  it
reached the air that was still more rare and cold  where the fire
forsook it  and the minute particles  being brought together  united
and became heavy  whence its haughtiness deserting it  it betook
itself to flight and it fell from the sky  and was drunk up by the
dry earth  where  being imprisoned for a long time  it did penance
for its sin 

1272 

A FABLE 

The razor having one day come forth from the handle which serves as
its sheath and having placed himself in the sun  saw the sun
reflected in his body  which filled him with great pride  And
turning it over in his thoughts he began to say to himself   And
shall I return again to that shop from which I have just come 
Certainly not  such splendid beauty shall not  please God  be turned
to such base uses  What folly it would be that could lead me to
shave the lathered beards of rustic peasants and perform such menial
service  Is this body destined for such work  Certainly not  I will
hide myself in some retired spot and there pass my life in tranquil
repose   And having thus remained hidden for some months  one day he
came out into the air  and issuing from his sheath  saw himself
turned to the similitude of a rusty saw while his surface no longer
reflected the resplendent sun  With useless repentance he vainly
deplored the irreparable mischief saying to himself   Oh  how far
better was it to employ at the barbers my lost edge of such
exquisite keenness  Where is that lustrous surface  It has been
consumed by this vexatious and unsightly rust  

The same thing happens to those minds which instead of exercise give
themselves up to sloth  They are like the razor here spoken of  and
lose the keenness of their edge  while the rust of ignorance spoils
their form 

A FABLE 

A stone of some size recently uncovered by the water lay on a
certain spot somewhat raised  and just where a delightful grove
ended by a stony road  here it was surrounded by plants decorated by
various flowers of divers colours  And as it saw the great quantity
of stones collected together in the roadway below  it began to wish
it could let itself fall down there  saying to itself   What have I
to do here with these plants  I want to live in the company of
those  my sisters   And letting itself fall  its rapid course ended
among these longed for companions  When it had been there sometime
it began to find itself constantly toiling under the wheels of the
carts the iron shoed feet of horses and of travellers  This one
rolled it over  that one trod upon it  sometimes it lifted itself a
little and then it was covered with mud or the dung of some animal 
and it was in vain that it looked at the spot whence it had come as
a place of solitude and tranquil place 

Thus it happens to those who choose to leave a life of solitary
comtemplation  and come to live in cities among people full of
infinite evil 

1273 

Some flames had already lasted in the furnace of a glass blower 
when they saw a candle approaching in a beautiful and glittering
candlestick  With ardent longing they strove to reach it  and one of
them  quitting its natural course  writhed up to an unburnt brand on
which it fed and passed at the opposite end out by a narrow chink to
the candle which was near  It flung itself upon it  and with fierce
jealousy and greediness it devoured it  having reduced it almost to
death  and  wishing to procure the prolongation of its life  it
tried to return to the furnace whence it had come  But in vain  for
it was compelled to die  the wood perishing together with the
candle  being at last converted  with lamentation and repentance 
into foul smoke  while leaving all its sisters in brilliant and
enduring life and beauty 

1274 

A small patch of snow finding itself clinging to the top of a rock
which was lying on the topmost height of a very high mountain and
being left to its own imaginings  it began to reflect in this way 
saying to itself   Now  shall not I be thought vain and proud for
having placed myself  such a small patch of snow  in so lofty a
spot  and for allowing that so large a quantity of snow as I have
seen here around me  should take a place lower than mine  Certainly
my small dimensions by no means merit this elevation  How easily may
I  in proof of my insignificance  experience the same fate as that
which the sun brought about yesterday to my companions  who were
all  in a few hours  destroyed by the sun  And this happened from
their having placed themselves higher than became them  I will flee
from the wrath of the sun  and humble myself and find a place
befitting my small importance   Thus  flinging itself down  it began
to descend  hurrying from its high home on to the other snow  but
the more it sought a low place the more its bulk increased  so that
when at last its course was ended on a hill  it found itself no less
in size than the hill which supported it  and it was the last of the
snow which was destroyed that summer by the sun  This is said for
those who  humbling themselves  become exalted 

Fables on plants  1275 1279  

1275 

The cedar  being desirous of producing a fine and noble fruit at its
summit  set to work to form it with all the strength of its sap  But
this fruit  when grown  was the cause of the tall and upright
tree top being bent over 

The peach  being envious of the vast quantity of fruit which she saw
borne on the nut tree  her neighbour  determined to do the same  and
loaded herself with her own in such a way that the weight of the
fruit pulled her up by the roots and broke her down to the ground 

The nut tree stood always by a road side displaying the wealth of
its fruit to the passers by  and every one cast stones at it 

The fig tree  having no fruit  no one looked at it  then  wishing to
produce fruits that it might be praised by men  it was bent and
broken down by them 

The fig tree  standing by the side of the elm and seeing that its
boughs were bare of fruit  yet that it had the audacity to keep the
Sun from its own unripe figs with its branches  said to it   Oh elm 
art thou not ashamed to stand in front of me  But wait till my
offspring are fully grown and you will see where you are   But when
her offspring were mature  a troop of soldiers coming by fell upon
the fig tree and her figs were all torn off her  and her boughs cut
away and broken  Then  when she was thus maimed in all her limbs 
the elm asked her  saying   O fig tree  which was best  to be
without offspring  or to be brought by them into so miserable a
plight  

1276 

The plant complains of the old and dry stick which stands by its
side and of the dry stakes that surround it 

One keeps it upright  the other keeps it from low company 

1277 

A FABLE 

A nut  having been carried by a crow to the top of a tall campanile
and released by falling into a chink from the mortal grip of its
beak  it prayed the wall by the grace bestowed on it by God in
allowing it to be so high and thick  and to own such fine bells and
of so noble a tone  that it would succour it  and that  as it had
not been able to fall under the verdurous boughs of its venerable
father and lie in the fat earth covered up by his fallen leaves it
would not abandon it  because  finding itself in the beak of the
cruel crow  it had there made a vow that if it escaped from her it
would end its life in a little hole  At these words the wall  moved
to compassion  was content to shelter it in the spot where it had
fallen  and after a short time the nut began to split open and put
forth roots between the rifts of the stones and push them apart  and
to throw out shoots from its hollow shell  and  to be brief  these
rose above the building and the twisted roots  growing thicker 
began to thrust the walls apart  and tear out the ancient stones
from their old places  Then the wall too late and in vain bewailed
the cause of its destruction and in a short time  it wrought the
ruin of a great part of it 

1278 

A FABLE 

The privet feeling its tender boughs loaded with young fruit 
pricked by the sharp claws and beak of the insolent blackbird 
complained to the blackbird with pitious remonstrance entreating her
that since she stole its delicious fruits she should not deprive it
of the leaves with which it preserved them from the burning rays of
the sun  and that she should not divest it of its tender bark by
scratching it with her sharp claws  To which the blackbird replied
with angry upbraiding   O  be silent  uncultured shrub  Do you not
know that Nature made you produce these fruits for my nourishment 
do you not see that you are in the world  only  to serve me as food 
do you not know  base creature  that next winter you will be food
and prey for the Fire   To which words the tree listened patiently 
and not without tears  After a short time the blackbird was taken in
a net and boughs were cut to make a cage  in which to imprison her 
Branches were cut  among others from the pliant privet  to serve for
the small rods of the cage  and seeing herself to be the cause of
the Blackbird s loss of liberty it rejoiced and spoke as follows   O
Blackbird  I am here  and not yet burnt by fire as you said  I shall
see you in prison before you see me burnt  

A FABLE 

The laurel and the myrtle seeing the pear tree cut down cried out
with a loud voice   O pear tree  whither are you going  Where is the
pride you had when you were covered with ripe fruits  Now you will
no longer shade us with your mass of leaves   Then the pear tree
replied   I am going with the husbandman who has cut me down and who
will take me to the workshop of a good sculptor who by his art will
make me take the form of Jove the god  and I shall be dedicated in a
temple and adored by men in the place of Jove  while you are bound
always to remain maimed and stripped of your boughs  which will be
placed round me to do me honour 

A FABLE 

The chesnut  seeing a man upon the fig tree  bending its boughs down
and pulling off the ripe fruits  which he put into his open mouth
destroying and crushing them with his hard teeth  it tossed its long
boughs and with a noisy rustle exclaimed   O fig  how much less are
you protected by nature than I  See how in me my sweet offspring are
set in close array  first clothed in soft wrappers over which is the
hard but softly lined husk  and not content with taking this care of
me  and having given them so strong a shelter  on this she has
placed sharp and close set spines so that the hand of man cannot
hurt me   Then the fig tree and her offspring began to laugh and
having laughed she said   I know man to be of such ingenuity that
with rods and stones and stakes flung up among your branches he will
bereave you of your fruits  and when they are fallen  he will
trample them with his feet or with stones  so that your offspring
will come out of their armour  crushed and maimed  while I am
touched carefully by their hands  and not like you with sticks and
stones  

1279 

The hapless willow  finding that she could not enjoy the pleasure of
seeing her slender branches grow or attain to the height she wished 
or point to the sky  by reason of the vine and whatever other trees
that grew near  but was always maimed and lopped and spoiled 
brought all her spirits together and gave and devoted itself
entirely to imagination  standing plunged in long meditation and
seeking  in all the world of plants  with which of them she might
ally herself and which could not need the help of her withes  Having
stood for some time in this prolific imagination  with a sudden
flash the gourd presented itself to her thoughts and tossing all her
branches with extreme delight  it seemed to her that she had found
the companion suited to her purpose  because the gourd is more apt
to bind others than to need binding  having come to this conclusion
she awaited eagerly some friendly bird who should be the mediator of
her wishes  Presently seeing near her the magpie she said to him   O
gentle bird  by the memory of the refuge which you found this
morning among my branches  when the hungry cruel  and rapacious
falcon wanted to devour you  and by that repose which you have
always found in me when your wings craved rest  and by the pleasure
you have enjoyed among my boughs  when playing with your companions
or making love  I entreat you find the gourd and obtain from her
some of her seeds  and tell her that those that are born of them I
will treat exactly as though they were my own flesh and blood  and
in this way use all the words you can think of  which are of the
same persuasive purport  though  indeed  since you are a master of
language  I need not teach you  And if you will do me this service I
shall be happy to have your nest in the fork of my boughs  and all
your family without payment of any rent   Then the magpie  having
made and confirmed certain new stipulations with the willow   and
principally that she should never admit upon her any snake or
polecat  cocked his tail  and put down his head  and flung himself
from the bough  throwing his weight upon his wings  and these 
beating the fleeting air  now here  now there  bearing about
inquisitively  while his tail served as a rudder to steer him  he
came to a gourd  then with a handsome bow and a few polite words  he
obtained the required seeds  and carried them to the willow  who
received him with a cheerful face  And when he had scraped away with
his foot a small quantity of the earth near the willow  describing a
circle  with his beak he planted the grains  which in a short time
began to grow  and by their growth and the branches to take up all
the boughs of the willow  while their broad leaves deprived it of
the beauty of the sun and sky  And not content with so much evil 
the gourds next began  by their rude hold  to drag the ends of the
tender shoots down towards the earth  with strange twisting and
distortion 

Then  being much annoyed  it shook itself in vain to throw off the
gourd  After raving for some days in such plans vainly  because the
firm union forbade it  seeing the wind come by it commended itself
to him  The wind flew hard and opened the old and hollow stem of the
willow in two down to the roots  so that it fell into two parts  In
vain did it bewail itself recognising that it was born to no good
end 

III 

JESTS AND TALES 

1280 

A JEST 

A priest  making the rounds of his parish on Easter Eve  and
sprinkling holy water in the houses as is customary  came to a
painter s room  where he sprinkled the water on some of his
pictures  The painter turned round  somewhat angered  and asked him
why this sprinkling had been bestowed on his pictures  then said the
priest  that it was the custom and his duty to do so  and that he
was doing good  and that he who did good might look for good in
return  and  indeed  for better  since God had promised that every
good deed that was done on earth should be rewarded a hundred fold
from above  Then the painter  waiting till he went out  went to an
upper window and flung a large pail of water on the priest s back 
saying   Here is the reward a hundred fold from above  which you
said would come from the good you had done me with your holy water 
by which you have damaged my pictures  

1281 

When wine is drunk by a drunkard  that wine is revenged on the
drinker 

1282 

Wine  the divine juice of the grape  finding itself in a golden and
richly wrought cup  on the table of Mahomet  was puffed up with
pride at so much honour  when suddenly it was struck by a contrary
reflection  saying to itself   What am I about  that I should
rejoice  and not perceive that I am now near to my death and shall
leave my golden abode in this cup to enter into the foul and fetid
caverns of the human body  and to be transmuted from a fragrant and
delicious liquor into a foul and base one  Nay  and as though so
much evil as this were not enough  I must for a long time lie in
hideous receptacles  together with other fetid and corrupt matter 
cast out from human intestines   And it cried to Heaven  imploring
vengeance for so much insult  and that an end might henceforth be
put to such contempt  and that  since that country produced the
finest and best grapes in the whole world  at least they should not
be turned into wine  Then Jove made that wine drunk by Mahomet to
rise in spirit to his brain  and that in so deleterious a manner
that it made him mad  and gave birth to so many follies that when he
had recovered himself  he made a law that no Asiatic should drink
wine  and henceforth the vine and its fruit were left free 

As soon as wine has entered the stomach it begins to ferment and
swell  then the spirit of that man begins to abandon his body 
rising as it were skywards  and the brain finds itself parting from
the body  Then it begins to degrade him  and make him rave like a
madman  and then he does irreparable evil  killing his friends 

1283 

An artizan often going to visit a great gentleman without any
definite purpose  the gentleman asked him what he did this for  The
other said that he came there to have a pleasure which his lordship
could not have  since to him it was a satisfaction to see men
greater than himself  as is the way with the populace  while the
gentleman could only see men of less consequence than himself  and
so lords and great men were deprived of that pleasure 

1284 

Franciscan begging Friars are wont  at certain times  to keep fasts 
when they do not eat meat in their convents  But on journeys  as
they live on charity  they have license to eat whatever is set
before them  Now a couple of these friars on their travels  stopped
at an inn  in company with a certain merchant  and sat down with him
at the same table  where  from the poverty of the inn  nothing was
served to them but a small roast chicken  The merchant  seeing this
to be but little even for himself  turned to the friars and said 
 If my memory serves me  you do not eat any kind of flesh in your
convents at this season   At these words the friars were compelled
by their rule to admit  without cavil  that this was the truth  so
the merchant had his wish  and eat the chicken and the friars did
the best they could  After dinner the messmates departed  all three
together  and after travelling some distance they came to a river of
some width and depth  All three being on foot  the friars by reason
of their poverty  and the other from avarice  it was necessary by
the custom of company that one of the friars  being barefoot  should
carry the merchant on his shoulders  so having given his wooden
shoes into his keeping  he took up his man  But it so happened that
when the friar had got to the middle of the river  he again
remembered a rule of his order  and stopping short  he looked up 
like Saint Christopher  to the burden on his back and said   Tell
me  have you any money about you     You know I have   answered the
other   How do you suppose that a Merchant like me should go about
otherwise    Alack   cried the friar   our rules forbid as to carry
any money on our persons   and forthwith he dropped him into the
water  which the merchant perceived was a facetious way of being
revenged on the indignity he had done them  so  with a smiling face 
and blushing somewhat with shame  he peaceably endured the revenge 

1285 

A JEST 

A man wishing to prove  by the authority of Pythagoras  that he had
formerly been in the world  while another would not let him finish
his argument  the first speaker said to the second   It is by this
token that I was formerly here  I remember that you were a miller  
The other one  feeling himself stung by these words  agreed that it
was true  and that by the same token he remembered that the speaker
had been the ass that carried the flour 

A JEST 

It was asked of a painter why  since he made such beautiful figures 
which were but dead things  his children were so ugly  to which the
painter replied that he made his pictures by day  and his children
by night 

1286 

A man saw a large sword which another one wore at his side  Said he
 Poor fellow  for a long time I have seen you tied to that weapon 
why do you not release yourself as your hands are untied  and set
yourself free   To which the other replied   This is none of yours 
on the contrary it is an old story   The former speaker  feeling
stung  replied   I know that you are acquainted with so few things
in this world  that I thought anything I could tell you would be new
to you  

1287 

A man gave up his intimacy with one of his friends because he often
spoke ill of his other friends  The neglected friend one day
lamenting to this former friend  after much complaining  entreated
him to say what might be the cause that had made him forget so much
friendship  To which he answered   I will no longer be intimate with
you because I love you  and I do not choose that you  by speaking
ill of me  your friend  to others  should produce in others  as in
me  a bad impression of yourself  by speaking evil to them of me 
your friend  Therefore  being no longer intimate together  it will
seem as though we had become enemies  and in speaking evil of me  as
is your wont  you will not be blamed so much as if we continued
intimate 

1288 

A man was arguing and boasting that he knew many and various tricks 
Another among the bystanders said   I know how to play a trick which
will make whomsoever I like pull off his breeches   The first man  
the boaster  said   You won t make me pull off mine  and I bet you a
pair of hose on it   He who proposed the game  having accepted the
offer  produced breeches and drew them across the face of him who
bet the pair of hose and won the bet  4  

A man said to an acquaintance   Your eyes are changed to a strange
colour   The other replied   It often happens  but you have not
noticed it    When does it happen   said the former   Every time
that my eyes see your ugly face  from the shock of so unpleasing a
sight they suddenly turn pale and change to a strange colour  

A man said to another   Your eyes are changed to a strange colour  
The other replied   It is because my eyes behold your strange ugly
face  

A man said that in his country were the strangest things in the
world  Another answered   You  who were born there  confirm this as
true  by the strangeness of your ugly face  

 Footnote  The joke turns  it appears  on two meanings of trarre and
is not easily translated  

1289 

An old man was publicly casting contempt on a young one  and boldly
showing that he did not fear him  on which the young man replied
that his advanced age served him better as a shield than either his
tongue or his strength 

1290 

A JEST 

A sick man finding himself in  articulo mortis  heard a knock at the
door  and asking one of his servants who was knocking  the servant
went out  and answered that it was a woman calling herself Madonna
Bona  Then the sick man lifting his arms to Heaven thanked God with
a loud voice  and told the servants that they were to let her come
in at once  so that he might see one good woman before he died 
since in all his life he had never yet seen one 

1291 

A JEST 

A man was desired to rise from bed  because the sun was already
risen  To which he replied   If I had as far to go  and as much to
do as he has  I should be risen by now  but having but a little way
to go  I shall not rise yet  

1292 

A man  seeing a woman ready to hold up the target for a jousting
match  exclaimed  looking at the shield  and considering his spear 
 Alack  this is too small a workman for so great a business  

IV 

PROPHECIES 

1293 

THE DIVISION OF THE PROPHECIES 

First  of things relating to animals  secondly  of irrational
creatures  thirdly of plants  fourthly  of ceremonies  fifthly  of
manners  sixthly  of cases or edicts or quarrels  seventhly  of
cases that are impossible in nature  paradoxes   as  for instance 
of those things which  the more is taken from them  the more they
grow  And reserve the great matters till the end  and the small
matters give at the beginning  And first show the evils and then the
punishment of philosophical things 

 Of Ants  

These creatures will form many communities  which will hide
themselves and their young ones and victuals in dark caverns  and
they will feed themselves and their families in dark places for many
months without any light  artificial or natural 

 Footnote  Lines 1  5l are in the original written in one column 
beginning with the text of line 11  At the end of the column is the
programme for the arrangement of the prophecies  placed here at the
head  Lines 56  79 form a second column  lines 80  97 a third one
 see the reproduction of the text on the facsimile PI  CXVIII  

Another suggestion for the arrangement of the prophecies is to be
found among the notes 55  57 on page 357  

 Of Bees  

And many others will be deprived of their store and their food  and
will be cruelly submerged and drowned by folks devoid of reason  Oh
Justice of God  Why dost thou not wake and behold thy creatures thus
ill used 

 Of Sheep  Cows  Goats and the like  

Endless multitudes of these will have their little children taken
from them ripped open and flayed and most barbarously quartered 

 Of Nuts  and Olives  and Acorns  and Chesnuts  and such like  

Many offspring shall be snatched by cruel thrashing from the very
arms of their mothers  and flung on the ground  and crushed 

 Of Children bound in Bundles  

O cities of the Sea  In you I see your citizens  both females and
males  tightly bound  arms and legs  with strong withes by folks who
will not understand your language  And you will only be able to
assuage your sorrows and lost liberty by means of tearful complaints
and sighing and lamentation among yourselves  for those who will
bind you will not understand you  nor will you understand them 

 Of Cats that eat Rats  

In you  O cities of Africa your children will be seen quartered in
their own houses by most cruel and rapacious beasts of your own
country 

 Of Asses that are beaten  

 Footnote 48  Compare No  845   O Nature  Wherefore art thou so
partial  being to some of thy children a tender and benign mother 
and to others a most cruel and pitiless stepmother  I see children
of thine given up to slavery to others  without any sort of
advantage  and instead of remuneration for the good they do  they
are paid with the severest suffering  and spend their whole life in
benefitting those who ill treat them 

 Of Men who sleep on boards of Trees  

Men shall sleep  and eat  and dwell among trees  in the forests and
open country 

 Of Dreaming  

Men will seem to see new destructions in the sky  The flames that
fall from it will seem to rise in it and to fly from it with terror 
They will hear every kind of animals speak in human language  They
will instantaneously run in person in various parts of the world 
without motion  They will see the greatest splendour in the midst of
darkness  O  marvel of the human race  What madness has led you
thus  You will speak with animals of every species and they with you
in human speech  You will see yourself fall from great heights
without any harm and torrents will accompany you  and will mingle
with their rapid course 

 Of Christians  

Many who hold the faith of the Son only build temples in the name of
the Mother 

 Of Food which has been alive  

 84  A great portion of bodies that have been alive will pass into
the bodies of other animals  which is as much as to say  that the
deserted tenements will pass piecemeal into the inhabited ones 
furnishing them with good things  and carrying with them their
evils  That is to say the life of man is formed from things eaten 
and these carry with them that part of man which dies      

1294 

 Of Funeral Rites  and Processions  and Lights  and Bells  and
Followers  

The greatest honours will be paid to men  and much pomp  without
their knowledge 

 Footnote  A facsimile of this text is on PI  CXVI below on the
right  but the writing is larger than the other notes on the same
sheet and of a somewhat different style  The ink is also of a
different hue  as may be seen on the original sheet at Milan  

1295 

 Of the Avaricious  

There will be many who will eagerly and with great care and
solicitude follow up a thing  which  if they only knew its
malignity  would always terrify them 

 Of those men  who  the older they grow  the more avaricious they
become  whereas  having but little time to stay  they should become
more liberal  

We see those who are regarded as being most experienced and
judicious  when they least need a thing  seek and cherish it with
most avidity 

 Of the Ditch  

Many will be busied in taking away from a thing  which will grow in
proportion as it is diminished 

 Of a Weight placed on a Feather pillow  

And it will be seen in many bodies that by raising the head they
swell visibly  and by laying the raised head down again  their size
will immediately be diminished 

 Of catching Lice  

And many will be hunters of animals  which  the fewer there are the
more will be taken  and conversely  the more there are  the fewer
will be taken 

 Of Drawing Water in two Buckets with a single Rope  

And many will be busily occupied  though the more of the thing they
draw up  the more will escape at the other end 

 Of the Tongues of Pigs and Calves in Sausage skins  

Oh  how foul a thing  that we should see the tongue of one animal in
the guts of another 

 Of Sieves made of the Hair of Animals  

We shall see the food of animals pass through their skin everyway
excepting through their mouths  and penetrate from the outside
downwards to the ground 

 Of Lanterns  

 Footnote 35  Lanterns were in Italy formerly made of horn   The
cruel horns of powerful bulls will screen the lights of night
against the wild fury of the winds 

 Of Feather beds  

Flying creatures will give their very feathers to support men 

 Of Animals which walk on Trees  wearing wooden Shoes  

The mire will be so great that men will walk on the trees of their
country 

 Of the Soles of Shoes  which are made from the Ox  

And in many parts of the country men will be seen walking on the
skins of large beasts 

 Of Sailing in Ships  

There will be great winds by reason of which things of the East will
become things of the West  and those of the South  being involved in
the course of the winds  will follow them to distant lands 

 Of Worshipping the Pictures of Saints  

Men will speak to men who hear not  having their eyes open  they
will not see  they will speak to these  and they will not be
answered  They will implore favours of those who have ears and hear
not  they will make light for the blind 

 Of Sawyers  

There will be many men who will move one against another  holding in
their hands a cutting tool  But these will not do each other any
injury beyond tiring each other  for  when one pushes forward the
other will draw back  But woe to him who comes between them  For he
will end by being cut in pieces 

 Of Silk spinning  

Dismal cries will be heard loud  shrieking with anguish  and the
hoarse and smothered tones of those who will be despoiled  and at
last left naked and motionless  and this by reason of the mover 
which makes every thing turn round 

 Of putting Bread into the Mouth of the Oven and taking it out
again  

In every city  land  castle and house  men shall be seen  who for
want of food will take it out of the mouths of others  who will not
be able to resist in any way 

 Of tilled Land  

The Earth will be seen turned up side down and facing the opposite
hemispheres  uncovering the lurking holes of the fiercest animals 

 Of Sowing Seed  

Then many of the men who will remain alive  will throw the victuals
they have preserved out of their houses  a free prey to the birds
and beasts of the earth  without taking any care of them at all 

 Of the Rains  which  by making the Rivers muddy  wash away the
Land  

 Footnote 81  Compare No  945   Something will fall from the sky
which will transport a large part of Africa which lies under that
sky towards Europe  and that of Europe towards Africa  and that of
the Scythian countries will meet with tremendous revolutions
 Footnote 84  Compare No  945   

 Of Wood that burns  

The trees and shrubs in the great forests will be converted into
cinder 

 Of Kilns for Bricks and Lime  

Finally the earth will turn red from a conflagration of many days
and the stones will be turned to cinders 

 Of boiled Fish  

The natives of the waters will die in the boiling flood 

 Of the Olives which fall from the Olive trees  shedding oil which
makes light  

And things will fall with great force from above  which will give us
nourishment and light 

 Of Owls and screech owls and what will happen to certain birds  

Many will perish of dashing their heads in pieces  and the eyes of
many will jump out of their heads by reason of fearful creatures
come out of the darkness 

 Of flax which works the cure of men  

That which was at first bound  cast out and rent by many and various
beaters will be respected and honoured  and its precepts will be
listened to with reverence and love 

 Of Books which teach Precepts  

Bodies without souls will  by their contents give us precepts by
which to die well 

 Of Flagellants  

Men will hide themselves under the bark of trees  and  screaming 
they will make themselves martyrs  by striking their own limbs 

 Of the Handles of Knives made of the Horns of Sheep  

We shall see the horns of certain beasts fitted to iron tools  which
will take the lives of many of their kind 

 Of Night when no Colour can be discerned  

There will come a time when no difference can be discerned between
colours  on the contrary  everything will be black alike 

 Of Swords and Spears which by themselves never hurt any one  

One who by himself is mild enough and void of all offence will
become terrible and fierce by being in bad company  and will most
cruelly take the life of many men  and would kill many more if they
were not hindered by bodies having no soul  that have come out of
caverns  that is  breastplates of iron 

 Of Snares and Traps  

Many dead things will move furiously  and will take and bind the
living  and will ensnare them for the enemies who seek their death
and destruction 

 Of Metals  

That shall be brought forth out of dark and obscure caves  which
will put the whole human race in great anxiety  peril and death  To
many that seek them  after many sorrows they will give delight  and
to those who are not in their company  death with want and
misfortune  This will lead to the commission of endless crimes  this
will increase and persuade bad men to assassinations  robberies and
treachery  and by reason of it each will be suspicious of his
partner  This will deprive free cities of their happy condition 
this will take away the lives of many  this will make men torment
each other with many artifices deceptions and treasons  O monstrous
creature  How much better would it be for men that every thing
should return to Hell  For this the vast forests will be devastated
of their trees  for this endless animals will lose their lives 

 Of Fire  

One shall be born from small beginnings which will rapidly become
vast  This will respect no created thing  rather will it  by its
power  transform almost every thing from its own nature into
another 

 Of Ships which sink  

Huge bodies will be seen  devoid of life  carrying  in fierce haste 
a multitude of men to the destruction of their lives 

 Of Oxen  which are eaten  

The masters of estates will eat their own labourers 

 Of beating Beds to renew them  

Men will be seen so deeply ungrateful that they will turn upon that
which has harboured them  for nothing at all  they will so load it
with blows that a great part of its inside will come out of its
place  and will be turned over and over in its body 

 Of Things which are eaten and which first are killed  

Those who nourish them will be killed by them and afflicted by
merciless deaths 

 Of the Reflection of Walls of Cities in the Water of their
Ditches  

The high walls of great cities will be seen up side down in their
ditches 

 Of Water  which flows turbid and mixed with Soil and Dust  and of
Mist  which is mixed with the Air  and of Fire which is mixed with
its own  and each with each  

All the elements will be seen mixed together in a great whirling
mass  now borne towards the centre of the world  now towards the
sky  and now furiously rushing from the South towards the frozen
North  and sometimes from the East towards the West  and then again
from this hemisphere to the other 

 The World may be divided into two Hemispheres at any Point  

All men will suddenly be transferred into opposite hemispheres 

 The division of the East from the West may be made at any point  

All living creatures will be moved from the East to the West  and in
the same way from North to South  and vice versa 

 Of the Motion of Water which carries wood  which is dead  

Bodies devoid of life will move by themselves and carry with them
endless generations of the dead  taking the wealth from the
bystanders 

 Of Eggs which being eaten cannot form Chickens  

Oh  how many will they be that never come to the birth 

 Of Fishes which are eaten unborn  

Endless generations will be lost by the death of the pregnant 

 Of the Lamentation on Good Friday  

Throughout Europe there will be a lamentation of great nations over
the death of one man who died in the East 

 Of Dreaming  

Men will walk and not stir  they will talk to those who are not
present  and hear those who do not speak 

 Of a Man s Shadow which moves with him  

Shapes and figures of men and animals will be seen following these
animals and men wherever they flee  And exactly as the one moves the
other moves  but what seems so wonderful is the variety of height
they assume 

 Of our Shadow cast by the Sun  and our Reflection in the Water at
one and the same time  

Many a time will one man be seen as three and all three move
together  and often the most real one quits him 

 Of wooden Chests which contain great Treasures  

Within walnuts and trees and other plants vast treasures will be
found  which lie hidden there and well guarded 

 Of putting out the Light when going to Bed  

Many persons puffing out a breath with too much haste  will thereby
lose their sight  and soon after all consciousness 

 Of the Bells of Mules  which are close to their Ears  

In many parts of Europe instruments of various sizes will be heard
making divers harmonies  with great labour to those who hear them
most closely 

 Of Asses  

The severest labour will be repaid with hunger and thirst  and
discomfort  and blows  and goadings  and curses  and great abuse 

 Of Soldiers on horseback  

Many men will be seen carried by large animals  swift of pace  to
the loss of their lives and immediate death 

In the air and on earth animals will be seen of divers colours
furiously carrying men to the destruction of their lives 

 Of the Stars of Spurs  

By the aid of the stars men will be seen who will be as swift as any
swift animal 

 Of a Stick  which is dead  

The motions of a dead thing will make many living ones flee with
pain and lamentation and cries 

 Of Tinder  

With a stone and with iron things will be made visible which before
were not seen 

1296 

 Of going in Ships  

We shall see the trees of the great forests of Taurus and of Sinai
and of the Appenines and others  rush by means of the air  from East
to West and from North to South  and carry  by means of the air 
great multitudes of men  Oh  how many vows  Oh  how many deaths  Oh 
how many partings of friends and relations  Oh  how many will those
be who will never again see their own country nor their native land 
and who will die unburied  with their bones strewn in various parts
of the world 

 Of moving on All Saints  Day  

Many will forsake their own dwellings and carry with them all their
belongings and will go to live in other parts 

 Of All Souls  Day  

How many will they be who will bewail their deceased forefathers 
carrying lights to them 

 Of Friars  who spending nothing but words  receive great gifts and
bestow Paradise  

Invisible money will procure the triumph of many who will spend it 

 Of Bows made of the Horns of Oxen  

Many will there be who will die a painful death by means of the
horns of cattle 

 Of writing Letters from one Country to another  

Men will speak with each other from the most remote countries  and
reply 

 Of Hemispheres  which are infinite  and which are divided by an
infinite number of Lines  so that every Man always has one of these
Lines between his Feet  

Men standing in opposite hemispheres will converse and deride each
other and embrace each other  and understand each other s language 

 Of Priests who say Mass  

There will be many men who  when they go to their labour will put on
the richest clothes  and these will be made after the fashion of
aprons  petticoats  

 Of Friars who are Confessors  

And unhappy women will  of their own free will  reveal to men all
their sins and shameful and most secret deeds 

 Of Churches and the Habitations of Friars  

Many will there be who will give up work and labour and poverty of
life and goods  and will go to live among wealth in splendid
buildings  declaring that this is the way to make themselves
acceptable to God 

 Of Selling Paradise  

An infinite number of men will sell publicly and unhindered things
of the very highest price  without leave from the Master of it 
while it never was theirs nor in their power  and human justice will
not prevent it 

 Of the Dead which are carried to be buried  

The simple folks will carry vast quantities of lights to light up
the road for those who have entirely lost the power of sight 

 Of Dowries for Maidens  

And whereas  at first  maidens could not be protected against the
violence of Men  neither by the watchfulness of parents nor by
strong walls  the time will come when the fathers and parents of
those girls will pay a large price to a man who wants to marry them 
even if they are rich  noble and most handsome  Certainly this seems
as though nature wished to eradicate the human race as being useless
to the world  and as spoiling all created things 

 Of the Cruelty of Man  

Animals will be seen on the earth who will always be fighting
against each other with the greatest loss and frequent deaths on
each side  And there will be no end to their malignity  by their
strong limbs we shall see a great portion of the trees of the vast
forests laid low throughout the universe  and  when they are filled
with food the satisfaction of their desires will be to deal death
and grief and labour and wars and fury to every living thing  and
from their immoderate pride they will desire to rise towards heaven 
but the too great weight of their limbs will keep them down  Nothing
will remain on earth  or under the earth or in the waters which will
not be persecuted  disturbed and spoiled  and those of one country
removed into another  And their bodies will become the sepulture and
means of transit of all they have killed 

O Earth  why dost thou not open and engulf them in the fissures of
thy vast abyss and caverns  and no longer display in the sight of
heaven such a cruel and horrible monster 

1297 

PROPHECIES 

There will be many which will increase in their destruction 

 The Ball of Snow rolling over Snow  

There will be many who  forgetting their existence and their name 
will lie as dead on the spoils of other dead creatures 

 Sleeping on the Feathers of Birds  

The East will be seen to rush to the West and the South to the North
in confusion round and about the universe  with great noise and
trembling or fury 

 In the East wind which rushes to the West  

The solar rays will kindle fire on the earth  by which a thing that
is under the sky will be set on fire  and  being reflected by some
obstacle  it will bend downwards 

 The Concave Mirror kindles a Fire  with which we heat the oven  and
this has its foundation beneath its roof  

A great part of the sea will fly towards heaven and for a long time
will not return   That is  in Clouds  

There remains the motion which divides the mover from the thing
moved 

Those who give light for divine service will be destroyed  The Bees
which make the Wax for Candles 

Dead things will come from underground and by their fierce movements
will send numberless human beings out of the world   Iron  which
comes from under ground is dead but the Weapons are made of it which
kill so many Men  

The greatest mountains  even those which are remote from the sea
shore  will drive the sea from its place 

 This is by Rivers which carry the Earth they wash away from the
Mountains and bear it to the Sea shore  and where the Earth comes
the sea must retire  

The water dropped from the clouds still in motion on the flanks of
mountains will lie still for a long period of time without any
motion whatever  and this will happen in many and divers lands 

 Snow  which falls in flakes and is Water  

The great rocks of the mountains will throw out fire  so that they
will burn the timber of many vast forests  and many beasts both wild
and tame 

 The Flint in the Tinder box which makes a Fire that consumes all
the loads of Wood of which the Forests are despoiled and with this
the flesh of Beasts is cooked  

Oh  how many great buildings will be ruined by reason of Fire 

 The Fire of great Guns  

Oxen will be to a great extent the cause of the destruction of
cities  and in the same way horses and buffaloes 

 By drawing Guns  

1298 

The Lion tribe will be seen tearing open the earth with their clawed
paws and in the caves thus made  burying themselves together with
the other animals that are beneath them 

Animals will come forth from the earth in gloomy vesture  which will
attack the human species with astonishing assaults  and which by
their ferocious bites will make confusion of blood among those they
devour 

Again the air will be filled with a mischievous winged race which
will assail men and beasts and feed upon them with much noise  
filling themselves with scarlet blood 

1299 

Blood will be seen issuing from the torn flesh of men  and trickling
down the surface 

Men will have such cruel maladies that they will tear their flesh
with their own nails   The Itch  

Plants will be seen left without leaves  and the rivers standing
still in their channels 

The waters of the sea will rise above the high peaks of the
mountains towards heaven and fall again on to the dwellings of men 
 That is  in Clouds  

The largest trees of the forest will be seen carried by the fury of
the winds from East to West   That is across the Sea  

Men will cast away their own victuals   That is  in Sowing  

1300 

Human beings will be seen who will not understand each other s
speech  that is  a German with a Turk 

Fathers will be seen giving their daughters into the power of man
and giving up all their former care in guarding them   When Girls
are married  

Men will come out their graves turned into flying creatures  and
they will attack other men  taking their food from their very hand
or table   As Flies  

Many will there be who  flaying their mother  will tear the skin
from her back   Husbandmen tilling the Earth  

Happy will they be who lend ear to the words of the Dead   Who read
good works and obey them  

1031 

Feathers will raise men  as they do birds  towards heaven  that is 
by the letters which are written with quills  

The works of men s hands will occasion their death   Swords and
Spears  

Men out of fear will cling to the thing they most fear   That is
they will be miserable lest they should fall into misery  

Things that are separate shall be united and acquire such virtue
that they will restore to man his lost memory  that is papyrus
 sheets  which are made of separate strips and have preserved the
memory of the things and acts of men 

The bones of the Dead will be seen to govern the fortunes of him who
moves them   By Dice  

Cattle with their horns protect the Flame from its death   In a
Lantern  Footnote 13  See note page 357    

The Forests will bring forth young which will be the cause of their
death   The handle of the hatchet  

1302 

Men will deal bitter blows to that which is the cause of their life 
 In thrashing Grain  

The skins of animals will rouse men from their silence with great
outcries and curses   Balls for playing Games  

Very often a thing that is itself broken is the occasion of much
union   That is the Comb made of split Cane which unites the threads
of Silk  

The wind passing through the skins of animals will make men dance 
 That is the Bag pipe  which makes people dance  

1303 

 Of Walnut trees  that are beaten  

Those which have done best will be most beaten  and their offspring
taken and flayed or peeled  and their bones broken or crushed 

 Of Sculpture  

Alas  what do I see  The Saviour cru  cified anew 

 Of the Mouth of Man  which is a Sepulchre  

Great noise will issue from the sepulchres of those who died evil
and violent deaths 

 Of the Skins of Animals which have the sense of feeling what is in
the things written  

The more you converse with skins covered with sentiments  the more
wisdom will you acquire 

 Of Priests who bear the Host in their body  

Then almost all the tabernacles in which dwells the Corpus Domini 
will be plainly seen walking about of themselves on the various
roads of the world 

1304 

And those who feed on grass will turn night into day  Tallow  

And many creatures of land and water will go up among the stars
 that is Planets  

The dead will be seen carrying the living  in Carts and Ships in
various places  

Food shall be taken out of the mouth of many   the oven s mouth  

And those which will have their food in their mouth will be deprived
of it by the hands of others  the oven  

1305 

 Of Crucifixes which are sold  

I see Christ sold and crucified afresh  and his Saints suffering
Martyrdom 

 Of Physicians  who live by sickness  

Men will come into so wretched a plight that they will be glad that
others will derive profit from their sufferings or from the loss of
their real wealth  that is health 

 Of the Religion of Friars  who live by the Saints who have been
dead a great while  

Those who are dead will  after a thou  sand years be those who will
give a livelihood to many who are living 

 Of Stones converted into Lime  with which prison walls are made  

Many things that have been before that time destroyed by fire will
deprive many men of liberty 

1306 

 Of Children who are suckled  

Many Franciscans  Dominicans and Benedictines will eat that which at
other times was eaten by others  who for some months to come will
not be able to speak 

 Of Cockles and Sea Snails which are thrown up by the sea and which
rot inside their shells  

How many will there be who  after they are dead  will putrefy inside
their own houses  filling all the surrounding air with a fetid
smell 

1307 

 Of Mules which have on them rich burdens of silver and gold  

Much treasure and great riches will be laid upon four footed beasts 
which will convey them to divers places 

1308 

 Of the Shadow cast by a man at night with a light  

Huge figures will appear in human shape  and the nearer you get to
them  the more will their immense size diminish 

 Footnote page 1307  It seems to me probable that this note  which
occurs in the note book used in 1502  when Leonardo  in the service
of Cesare Borgia  visited Urbino  was suggested by the famous
pillage of the riches of the palace of Guidobaldo  whose treasures
Cesare Borgia at once had carried to Cesena  see GREGOROVIUS 
 Geschichte der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter   XIII  5  4    

1309 

 Of Snakes  carried by Storks  

Serpents of great length will be seen at a great height in the air 
fighting with birds 

 Of great guns  which come out of a pit and a mould  

Creatures will come from underground which with their terrific noise
will stun all who are near  and with their breath will kill men and
destroy cities and castles 

1310 

 Of Grain and other Seeds  

Men will fling out of their houses those victuals which were
intended to sustain their life 

 Of Trees  which nourish grafted shoots  

Fathers and mothers will be seen to take much more delight in their
step children then in their own children 

 Of the Censer  

Some will go about in white garments with arrogant gestures
threatening others with metal and fire which will do no harm at all
to them 

1311 

 Of drying Fodder  

Innumerable lives will be destroyed and innumerable vacant spaces
will be made on the earth 

 Of the Life of Men  who every year change their bodily substance  

Men  when dead  will pass through their own bowels 

1312 

 Shoemakers  

Men will take pleasure in seeing their own work destroyed and
injured 

1313 

 Of Kids  

The time of Herod will come again  for the little innocent children
will be taken from their nurses  and will die of terrible wounds
inflicted by cruel men 

V 

DRAUGHTS AND SCHEMES FOR THE HUMOROUS WRITINGS 

Schemes for fables  etc   1314 1323  

1314 

A FABLE 

The crab standing under the rock to catch the fish which crept under
it  it came to pass that the rock fell with a ruinous downfall of
stones  and by their fall the crab was crushed 

THE SAME 

The spider  being among the grapes  caught the flies which were
feeding on those grapes  Then came the vintage  and the spider was
cut down with the grapes 

The vine that has grown old on an old tree falls with the ruin of
that tree  and through that bad companionship must perish with it 

The torrent carried so much earth and stones into its bed  that it
was then constrained to change its course 

The net that was wont to take the fish was seized and carried away
by the rush of fish 

The ball of snow when  as it rolls  it descends from the snowy
mountains  increases in size as it falls 

The willow  which by its long shoots hopes as it grows  to outstrip
every other plant  from having associated itself with the vine which
is pruned every year was always crippled 

1315 

Fable of the tongue bitten by the teeth 

The cedar puffed up with pride of its beauty  separated itself from
the trees around it and in so doing it turned away towards the wind 
which not being broken in its fury  flung it uprooted on the earth 

The traveller s joy  not content in its hedge  began to fling its
branches out over the high road  and cling to the opposite hedge 
and for this it was broken away by the passers by 

1316 

The goldfinch gives victuals to its caged young  Death rather than
loss of liberty   Footnote  Above this text is another note  also
referring to liberty  see No  694  

1317 

 Of Bags  

Goats will convey the wine to the city 

1318 

All those things which in winter are hidden under the snow  will be
uncovered and laid bare in summer   for Falsehood  which cannot
remain hidden  

1319 

A FABLE 

The lily set itself down by the shores of the Ticino  and the
current carried away bank and the lily with it 

1320 

A JEST 

Why Hungarian ducats have a double cross on them 

1321 

A SIMILE 

A vase of unbaked clay  when broken  may be remoulded  but not a
baked one 

1322 

Seeing the paper all stained with the deep blackness of ink  it he
deeply regrets it  and this proves to the paper that the words 
composed upon it were the cause of its being preserved 

1323 

The pen must necessarily have the penknife for a companion  and it
is a useful companionship  for one is not good for much without the
other 

Schemes for prophecies  1324 1329  

1324 

The knife  which is an artificial weapon  deprives man of his nails 
his natural weapons 

The mirror conducts itself haughtily holding mirrored in itself the
Queen  When she departs the mirror remains there    

1325 

Flax is dedicated to death  and to the corruption of mortals  To
death  by being used for snares and nets for birds  animals and
fish  to corruption  by the flaxen sheets in which the dead are
wrapped when they are buried  and who become corrupt in these
winding sheets    And again  this flax does not separate its fibre
till it has begun to steep and putrefy  and this is the flower with
which garlands and decorations for funerals should be made 

1326 

 Of Peasants who work in shirts 

Shadows will come from the East which will blacken with great colour
darkness the sky that covers Italy 

 Of the Barbers  

All men will take refuge in Africa 

1327 

The cloth which is held in the hand in the current of a running
stream  in the waters of which the cloth leaves all its foulness and
dirt  is meant to signify this  c 

By the thorn with inoculated good fruit is signified those natures
which of themselves were not disposed towards virtue  but by the aid
of their preceptors they have the repudation of it 

1328 

A COMMON THING 

A wretched person will be flattered  and these flatterers are always
the deceivers  robbers and murderers of the wretched person 

The image of the sun where it falls appears as a thing which covers
the person who attempts to cover it 

 Money and Gold  

Out of cavernous pits a thing shall come forth which will make all
the nations of the world toil and sweat with the greatest torments 
anxiety and labour  that they may gain its aid 

 Of the Dread of Poverty  

The malicious and terrible  monster  will cause so much terror of
itself in men that they will rush together  with a rapid motion 
like madmen  thinking they are escaping her boundless force 

 Of Advice  

The man who may be most necessary to him who needs him  will be
repaid with ingratitude  that is greatly contemned 

1329 

 Of Bees  

They live together in communities  they are destroyed that we may
take the honey from them  Many and very great nations will be
destroyed in their own dwellings 

1330 

WHY DOGS TAKE PLEASURE IN SMELLING AT EACH OTHER 

This animal has a horror of the poor  because they eat poor food 
and it loves the rich  because they have good living and especially
meat  And the excrement of animals always retains some virtue of its
origin as is shown by the faeces    

Now dogs have so keen a smell  that they can discern by their nose
the virtue remaining in these faeces  and if they find them in the
streets  smell them and if they smell in them the virtue of meat or
of other things  they take them  and if not  they leave them  And to
return to the question  I say that if by means of this smell they
know that dog to be well fed  they respect him  because they judge
that he has a powerful and rich master  and if they discover no such
smell with the virtue of meet  they judge that dog to be of small
account and to have a poor and humble master  and therefore they
bite that dog as they would his master 

1331 

The circular plans of carrying earth are very useful  inasmuch as
men never stop in their work  and it is done in many ways  By one of
these ways men carry the earth on their shoulders  by another in
chests and others on wheelbarrows  The man who carries it on his
shoulders first fills the tub on the ground  and he loses time in
hoisting it on to his shoulders  He with the chests loses no time 
 Footnote  The subject of this text has apparently no connection
with the other texts of this section  

Irony  1332  

1332 

If Petrarch was so fond of bay  it was because it is of a good taste
in sausages and with tunny  I cannot put any value on their foolery 
 Footnote  Conte Porro has published these lines in the  Archivio
Stor  Lombarda  VIII  IV  he reads the concluding line thus   I no
posso di loro gia  sic  co  far tesauro    This is known to be by a
contemporary poet  as Senatore Morelli informs me  

Tricks  1333 1335  

1333 

We are two brothers  each of us has a brother  Here the way of
saying it makes it appear that the two brothers have become four 

1334 

TRICKS OF DIVIDING 

Take in each hand an equal number  put 4 from the right hand into
the left  cast away the remainder  cast away an equal number from
the left hand  add 5  and now you will find 13 in this  left  hand 
that is I made you put 4 from the right hand into the left  and cast
away the remainder  now your right hand has 4 more  then I make you
throw away as many from the right as you threw away from the left 
so  throwing from each hand a quantity of which the remainder may be
equal  you now have 4 and 4  which make 8  and that the trick may
not be detec  ted I made you put 5 more  which made 13 

TRICKS OF DIVIDING 

Take any number less than 12 that you please  then take of mine
enough to make up the number 12  and that which remains to me is the
number which you at first had  because when I said  take any number
less than 12 as you please  I took 12 into my hand  and of that 12
you took such a number as made up your number of 12  and what you
added to your number  you took from mine  that is  if you had 8 to
go as far as to 12  you took of my 12  4  hence this 4 transferred
from me to you reduced my 12 to a remainder of 8  and your 8 became
12  so that my 8 is equal to your 8  before it was made 12 

 Footnote 1334  G  Govi  says in the   Saggio  p  22   Si dilett
Leonarda  di giuochi di prestigi e molti     ne descrisse  che si
leggono poi riportati dal Paciolo nel suo libro   de Viribus
Quantitatis   e che  se non tutti  sono certo in gran parte
invenzioni del Vinci   

1335 

If you want to teach someone a subject you do not know yourself  let
him measure the length of an object unknown to you  and he will
learn the measure you did not know before   Master Giovanni da Lodi 

 XXI  

 Letters  Personal Records  Dated Notes  

 When we consider how superficial and imperfect are the accounts of
Leonardo s life written some time after his death by Vasari and
others  any notes or letters which can throw more light on his
personal circumstances cannot fail to be in the highest degree
interesting  The texts here given as Nos   1351  1353   set his
residence in Rome in quite a new aspect  nay  the picture which
irresistibly dwells in our minds after reading these details of his
life in the Vatican  forms a striking contrast to the contemporary
life of Raphael at Rome  

 I have placed foremost of these documents the very remarkable
letters to the Defterdar of Syria  In these Leonardo speaks of
himself as having staid among the mountains of Armenia  and as the
biographies of the master tell nothing of any such distant journeys 
it would seem most obvious to treat this passage as fiction  and so
spare ourselves the onus of proof and discussion  But on close
examination no one can doubt that these documents  with the
accompanying sketches  are the work of Leonardo s own hand  Not
merely is the character of the handwriting his  but the spelling and
the language are his also  In one respect only does the writing
betray any marked deviation from the rest of the notes  especially
those treating on scientific questions  namely  in these
observations he seems to have taken particular pains to give the
most distinct and best form of expression to all he had to say  we
find erasures and emendations in almost every line  He proceeded  as
we shall see  in the same way in the sketches for letters to
Giuliano de  Medici  and what can be more natural  I may ask  than
to find the draft of a letter thus altered and improved when it is
to contain an account of a definite subject  and when personal
interests are in the scale  The finished copies as sent off are not
known to exist  if we had these instead of the rough drafts  we
might unhesitatingly have declared that some unknown Italian
engineer must have been  at that time  engaged in Armenia in the
service of the Egyptian Sultan  and that Leonardo had copied his
documents  Under this hypothesis however we should have to state
that this unknown writer must have been so far one in mind with
Leonardo as to use the same style of language and even the same
lines of thought  This explanation might  as I say  have been
possible  if only we had the finished letters  But why should these
rough drafts of letters be regarded as anything else than what they
actually and obviously are  If Leonardo had been a man of our own
time  we might perhaps have attempted to account for the facts by
saying that Leonardo  without having been in the East himself  might
have undertaken to write a Romance of which the scene was laid in
Armenia  and at the desire of his publisher had made sketches of
landscape to illustrate the text 

I feel bound to mention this singular hypothesis as it has actually
been put forward  see No  1336 note 5   and it would certainly seem
as though there were no other possible way of evading the conclusion
to which these letters point  and their bearing on the life of the
master   absurd as the alternative is  But  if  on a question of
such importance  we are justified in suggesting theories that have
no foundation in probability  I could suggest another which  as
compared with that of a Fiction by Leonardo  would be neither more
nor less plausible  it is  moreover the only other hypothesis 
perhaps  which can be devised to account for these passages  if it
were possible to prove that the interpretation that the documents
themselves suggest  must be rejected a priori  viz may not Leonardo
have written them with the intention of mystifying those who  after
his death  should try to decipher these manuscripts with a view to
publishing them  But if  in fact  no objection that will stand the
test of criticism can be brought against the simple and direct
interpretation of the words as they stand  we are bound to regard
Leonardo s travels in the East as an established fact  There is  I
believe nothing in what we know of his biography to negative such a
fact  especially as the details of his life for some few years are
wholly unknown  nor need we be at a loss for evidence which may
serve to explain  at any rate to some extent  the strangeness of his
undertaking such a journey  We have no information as to Leonardo s
history between 1482 and 1486  it cannot be proved that he was
either in Milan or in Florence  On the other hand the tenor of this
letter does not require us to assume a longer absence than a year or
two  For  even if his appointment   offitio   as Engineer in Syria
had been a permanent one  it might have become untenable  by the
death perhaps of the Defterdar  his patron  or by his removal from
office    and Leonardo on his return home may have kept silence on
the subject of an episode which probably had ended in failure and
disappointment 

From the text of No  1379 we can hardly doubt that Leonardo intended
to make an excursion secretly from Rome to Naples  although so far
as has hitherto been known  his biographers never allude to it  In
another place  No  1077  he says that he had worked as an Engineer
in Friuli  Are we to doubt this statement too  merely because no
biographer has hitherto given us any information on the matter  In
the geographical notes Leonardo frequently speaks of the East  and
though such passages afford no direct proof of his having been
there  they show beyond a doubt that  next to the Nile  the
Euphrates  the Tigris and the Taurus mountains had a special
interest in his eyes  As a still further proof of the futility of
the argument that there is nothing in his drawings to show that he
had travelled in the East  we find on Pl  CXX a study of oriental
heads of Armenian type   though of course this may have been made in
Italy 

If the style of these letters were less sober  and the expressions
less strictly to the point throughout  it miglit be possible to
regard them as a romantic fiction instead of a narrative of fact 
Nay  we have only to compare them with such obviously fanciful
passages as No  1354  Nos  670 673  and the Fables and Prophecies 
It is unnecessary to discuss the subject any further here  such
explanations as the letter needs are given in the foot notes 

The drafts of letters to Lodovico il Moro are very remarkable 
Leonardo and this prince were certainly far less closely connected 
than has hitherto been supposed  It is impossible that Leonardo can
have remained so long in the service of this prince  because the
salary was good  as is commonly stated  On the contrary  it would
seem  that what kept him there  in spite of his sore need of the
money owed him by the prince  was the hope of some day being able to
carry out the project of casting the   gran cavallo  

Drafts of Letters and Reports referring to Armenia  1336  1337  

1336 

To THE DEVATDAR OF SYRIA  LIEUTENANT OF THE SACRED SULTAN OF
BABYLON 

 3  The recent disaster in our Northern parts which I am certain
will terrify not you alone but the whole world  which

 Footnote  Lines 1 52 are reproduced in facsimile on Pl  CXVI 

1   Diodario   This word is not to be found in any Italian
dictionary  and for a long time I vainly sought an explanation of
it  The youthful reminiscences of my wife afforded the desired clue 
The chief town of each Turkish Villayet  or province   such as
Broussa  for instance  in Asia Minor  is the residence of a
Defterdar  who presides over the financial affairs of the province 
 Defterdar hane  was  in former times  the name given to the
Ministry of Finance at Constantinople  the Minister of Finance to
the Porte is now known as the  Mallie Nazri  and the  Defterdars 
are his subordinates  A  Defterdar   at the present day is merely
the head of the finance department in each Provincial district  With
regard to my suggestion that Leonardo s  Diodario  might be
identical with the Defterdar of former times  the late M  C 
DEFREMERIE  Arabic Professor  and Membre de l Institut de France
wrote to me as follows   Votre conjecture est parfaitement fondee 
diodario est Vequivalent de devadar ou plus exactement devatdar 
titre d une importante dignite en Egypt e  sous les Mamlouks  

The word however is not of Turkish  but of Perso Arabie derivation 
 Defter written in arab   literally  Defter   Arabic  meaning
 folio   for  dar   Persian  Bookkeeper or holder is the English
equivalent  and the idea is that of a deputy in command  During the
Mamelook supremacy over Syria  which corresponded in date with
Leonardo s time  the office of Defterdar was the third in importance
in the State 

 Soltano di Babilonia   The name of Babylon was commonly applied to
Cairo in the middle ages  For instance BREIDENBACH   Itinerarium
Hierosolyma  p  218 says   At last we reached Babylon  But this is
not that Babylon which stood on the further shore of the river
Chober  but that which is called the Egyptian Babylon  It is close
by Cairo and the twain are but one and not two towns  one half is
called Cairo and the other Babylon  whence they are called together
Cairo Babylon  originally the town is said to have been named
Memphis and then Babylon  but now it is called Cairo   Compare No 
1085  6 

Egypt was governed from 1382 till 1517 by the Borgite or
Tcherkessian dynasty of the Mamelook Sultans  One of the most famous
of these  Sultan Kait Bey  ruled from 1468 1496 during whose reign
the Gama  or Mosque  of Kait Bey and tomb of Kait Bey near the
Okella Kait Bey were erected in Cairo  which preserve his name to
this day  Under the rule of this great and wise prince many
foreigners  particularly Italians  found occupation in Egypt  as may
be seen in the  Viaggio di Josaphat Barbaro   among other
travellers   Next to Leonardo  so I learn from Prof  Jac  Burckhardt
of Bale  Kait Bey s most helpful engineer was a German who in about
1487  superintended the construction of the Mole at Alexandria 
Felix Fabri knew him and mentions him in his  Historia Suevorum  
written in 1488  

3   Il nuovo accidente accaduto   or as Leonardo first wrote and
then erased   e accaduto un nuovo accidente   From the sequel this
must refer to an earthquake  and indeed these were frequent at that
period  particularly in Asia Minor  where they caused immense
mischief  See No  1101 note  

shall be related to you in due order  showing first the effect and
then the cause   Footnote 4  The text here breaks off  The following
lines are a fresh beginning of a letter  evidently addressed to the
same person  but  as it would seem  written at a later date than the
previous text  The numerous corrections and amendments amply prove
that it is not a copy from any account of a journey by some unknown
person  but  on the contrary  that Leonardo was particularly anxious
to choose such words and phrases as might best express his own
ideas  

Finding myself in this part of Armenia  Footnote 5   Parti
d Erminia   See No  945  note  The extent of Armenia in Leonardo s
time is only approximately known  In the XVth century the Persians
governed the Eastern  and the Arabs the Southern portions  Arabic
authors  as  for instance Abulfeda  include Cilicia and a part of
Cappadocia in Armenia  and Greater Armenia was the tract of that
country known later as Turcomania  while Armenia Minor was the
territory between Cappadocia and the Euphrates  It was not till
1522  or even 1574 that the whole country came under the dominion of
the Ottoman Turks  in the reign of Selim I 

The Mamelook Sultans of Egypt seem to have taken a particular
interest in this  the most Northern province of their empire  which
was even then in danger of being conquered by the Turks  In the
autumn of 1477 Sultan Kait Bey made a journey of inspection 
visiting Antioch and the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates with a
numerous and brilliant escort  This tour is briefly alluded to by
 Moodshireddin  p  561  and by WEIL   Geschichte der Abbasiden  V 
p  358  An anonymous member of the suite wrote a diary of the
expedition in Arabic  which has been published by R  V  LONZONE
   Viaggio in Palestina e Soria di Kaid Ba XVIII sultano della II
dinastia mamelucca  fatto nel 1477  Testo arabo  Torino 1878   
without notes or commentary   Compare the critique on this edition 
by J  GILDEMEISTER in  Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palaestina Vereins 
 Vol  Ill p  246  249   Lanzone s edition seems to be no more than
an abridged copy of the original  I owe to Professor Sche fer 
Membre de l Institut  the information that he is in possession of a
manuscript in which the text is fuller  and more correctly given 
The Mamelook dynasty was  as is well known  of Circassian origin 
and a large proportion of the Egyptian Army was recruited in
Circassia even so late as in the XVth century  That was a period of
political storms in Syria and Asia Minor and it is easy to suppose
that the Sultan s minister  to whom Leonardo addresses his report as
his superior  had a special interest in the welfare of those
frontier provinces  Only to mention a few historical events of
Sultan Kait Bey s reign  we find that in 1488 he assisted the
Circassians to resist the encroachments of Alaeddoulet  an Asiatic
prince who had allied himself with the Osmanli to threaten the
province  the consequence was a war in Cilicia by sea and land 
which broke out in the following year between the contending powers 
Only a few years earlier the same province had been the scene of the
so called Caramenian war in which the united Venetian  Neapolitan
and Sclavonic fleets had been engaged   See CORIALANO CIPPICO 
 Della guerra dei Veneziani nell  Asia dal  1469  1474  Venezia
1796  p  54  and we learn incidentally that a certain Leonardo
Boldo  Governor of Scutari under Sultan Mahmoud   as his name would
indicate  one of the numerous renegades of Italian birth  played an
important part in the negotiations for peace 

 Tu mi mandasti   The address  tu  to a personage so high in office
is singular and suggests personal intimacy  Leonardo seems to have
been a favourite with the Diodario  Compare lines 54 and 55 

I have endeavoured to show  and I believe that I am also in a
position to prove with regard to these texts  that they are draughts
of letters actually written by Leonardo  at the same time I must not
omit to mention that shortly after I had discovered

these texts in the Codex Atlanticus and published a paper on the
subject in the  Zeitschrift fur bildende Kunst  Vol  XVI    Prof 
Govi put forward this hypothesis to account for their origin 

  Quanto alle notizie sul monte Tauro  sull Armenia e sull  Asia
minore che si contengono negli altri frammenti  esse vennero prese
da qualche geografro o viaggiatore contemporaneo  Dall indice
imperfetto che accompagna quei frammenti  si potrebbe dedurre che
Leonardo volesse farne un libro  che poi non venne compiuto  A ogni
modo  non e possibile di trovare in questi brani nessun indizio di
un viaggio di Leonardo in oriente  ne della sua conversione alla
religione di Maometto  come qualcuno pretenderebbe  Leonardo amava
con passione gli studi geografici  e nel suoi scritti s incontran
spesso itinerart  indicazioni  o descrizioni di luoghi  schizzi di
carte e abbozzi topografici di varie regioni  non e quindi strano
che egli  abile narratore com era  si fosse proposto di scrivere una
specie di Romanzo in forma epistolare svolgendone Pintreccio
nell Asia Minore  intorno alla quale i libri d allora  e forse
qualche viaggiatore amico suo  gli avevano somministrato alcuni
elementi piu o meno  fantastici   See Transunti della Reale
Accademia dei Lincei Voi  V Ser  3  

It is hardly necessary to point out that Prof  Govi omits to name
the sources from which Leonardo could be supposed to have drawn his
information  and I may leave it to the reader to pronounce judgment
on the anomaly which is involved in the hypothesis that we have here
a fragment of a Romance  cast in the form of a correspondence  At
the same time  I cannot but admit that the solution of the
difficulties proposed by Prof  Govi is  under the circumstances 
certainly the easiest way of dealing with the question  But we
should then be equally justified in supposing some more of
Leonardo s letters to be fragments of such romances  particularly
those of which the addresses can no longer be named  Still  as
regards these drafts of letters to the Diodario  if we accept the
Romance theory  as pro  posed by Prof  Govi  we are also compelled
to assume that Leonardo purposed from the first to illustrate his
tale  for it needs only a glance at the sketches on PI  CXVI to CXIX
to perceive that they are connected with the texts  and of course
the rest of Leonardo s numerous notes on matters pertaining to the
East  the greater part of which are here published for the first
time  may also be somehow connected with this strange romance 

7   Citta de Calindra  Chalindra    The position of this city is so
exactly determined  between the valley of the Euphrates and the
Taurus range that it ought to be possible to identify it  But it can
hardly be the same as the sea port of Cilicia with a somewhat
similar name Celenderis  Kelandria  Celendria  Kilindria  now the
Turkish Gulnar  In two Catalonian Portulans in the Bibliotheque
Natio  nale in Paris one dating from the XV h century  by Wilhelm
von Soler  the other by Olivez de Majorca  in l584 I find this place
called Calandra  But Leonardo s Calindra must certainly have lain
more to the North West  probably somewhere in Kurdistan  The fact
that the geographical position is so care  fully determined by
Leonardo seems to prove that it was a place of no great importance
and little known  It is singular that the words first written in 1 
8 were divisa dal lago  Lake Van    altered afterwards to
dall Eitfrates 

Nostri confini  and in 1  6 proposito nostro  These refer to the
frontier and to the affairs of the Mamelook Sultan  Lines 65 and 66
throw some light on the purpose of Leonardo s mission 

8   I  corni del gra mote Tauro  Compare the sketches PI 
CXVI CXVIII  So long as it is im  possible to identify the situation
of Calindra it is most difficult to decide with any certainty which
peak of the Taurus is here meant  and I greatly regret that I had no
foreknowledge of this puzzling topographical question when  in 1876 
I was pursuing archaeological enquiries in the Provinces of Aleppo
and Cilicia  and had to travel for some time in view of the imposing
snow peaks of Bulghar Dagh and Ala Tepessi 

9 10  The opinion here expressed as to the height of the mountain
would be unmeaning  unless it had been written before Leonardo moved
to Milan  where Monte Rosa is so conspicuous an object in the
landscape  4  ore inanzi  seems to mean  four hours before the sun s
rays penetrate to the bottom of the valleys  

to carry into effect with due love and care the task for which you
sent me  Footnote    6   and to make a beginning in a place which
seemed to me to be most to our purpose  I entered into the city of
Calindrafy 7   near to our frontiers  This city is situated at the
base of that part of the Taurus mountains which is divided from the
Euphrates and looks towards the peaks of the great Mount Taurus  8 
to the West  9   These peaks are of such a height that they seem to
touch the sky  and in all the world there is no part of the earth 
higher than its summit 10   and the rays of the sun always fall upon
it on its East side  four hours before day time  and being of the
whitest stone  Footnote 11  Pietra bianchissima   The Taurus
Mountains consist in great part of limestone   it shines
resplendently and fulfils the function to these Armenians which a
bright moon light would in the midst of the darkness  and by its
great height it outreaches the utmost level of the clouds by a space
of four miles in a straight line  This peak is seen in many places
towards the West  illuminated by the sun after its setting the third
part of the night  This it is  which with you  Footnote 14 
 Appresso di voi   Leonardo had at first written  noi  as though his
meaning had been  This peak appeared to us to be a comet when you
and I observed it in North Syria  at Aleppo  at Aintas    The
description of the curious reflection in the evening  resembling the
 Alpine glow  is certainly not an invented fiction  for in the next
lines an explanation of the phenomenon is offered  or at least
attempted   we formerly in calm weather had supposed to be a comet 
and appears to us in the darkness of night  to change its form 
being sometimes divided in two or three parts  and sometimes long
and sometimes short  And this is caused by the clouds on the horizon
of the sky which interpose between part of this mountain and the
sun  and by cutting off some of the solar rays the light on the
mountain is intercepted by various intervals of clouds  and
therefore varies in the form of its brightness 

THE DIVISIONS OF THE BOOK  Footnote 19  The next 33 lines are
evidently the contents of a connected Report or Book  but not of one
which he had at hand  more probably  indeed  of one he purposed
writing   

The praise and confession of the faith  Footnote 20   Persuasione di
fede   of the Christian or the Mohammedan faith  We must suppose the
latter  at the beginning of a document addressed to so high a
Mohammedan official   Predica  probably stands as an abbreviation
for  predicazione   lat   praedicatio   in the sense of praise or
glorification  very probably it may mean some such initial doxology
as we find in Mohammedan works   Comp  1  40    

The sudden inundation  to its end 

 23  The destruction of the city 

 24 The death of the people and their despair 

The preacher s search  his release and benevolence  Footnote 28  The
phraseology of this is too general for any conjecture as to its
meaning to be worth hazarding  

Description of the cause of this fall of the mountain  Footnote 30 
 Ruina del monte   Of course by an earthquake  In a catalogue of
earthquakes  entitled  kechf aussalssaleb an auasf ezzel zeleh   and
written by Djelal eddin  

The mischief it did 

 32  Fall of snow 

The finding of the prophet  33  

His prophesy 

 35  The inundation of the lower portion of Eastern Armenia  the
draining of which was effected by the cutting through the Taurus
Mountains 

How the new prophet showed  Footnote 40  Nova profeta  1  33 
profeta   Mohammed  Leonardo here refers to the Koran 

In the name of the most merciful God   When the earth shall be
shaken by an earthquake  and the earth shall cast forth her burdens 
and a man shall say  what aileth her  On that day the earth shall
declare her tidings  for that thy Lord will inspire her  On that day
men shall go forward in distinct classes  that they may behold their
works  And whoever shall have wrought good of the weight of an ant 
shall behold the same  And whoever shall have wrought evil of the
weight of an ant  shall behold the same   The Koran  translated by
G  Sale  Chapter XCIX  p  452    that this destruction would happen
as he had foretold 

Description of the Taurus Mountains  43  and the river Euphrates 

Why the mountain shines at the top  from half to a third of the
night  and looks like a comet to the inhabitants of the West after
the sunset  and before day to those of the East 

Why this comet appears of variable forms  so that it is now round
and now long  and now again divided into two or three parts  and now
in one piece  and when it is to be seen again 

OF THE SHAPE OF THE TAURUS MOUNTAINS  Footnote 53 94  The facsimile
of this passage is given on Pl  CXVII   

I am not to be accused  Oh Devatdar  of idleness  as your chidings
seem to hint  but your excessive love for me  which gave rise to the
benefits you have conferred on me  Footnote 55  is that which has
also compelled me to the utmost painstaking in seeking out and
diligently investigating the cause of so great and stupendous an
effect  And this could not be done without time  now  in order to
satisfy you fully as to the cause of so great an effect  it is
requisite that I should explain to you the form of the place  and
then I will proceed to the effect  by which I believe you will be
amply satisfied 

 Footnote 36   Tagliata di Monte Tauro   The Euphrates flows through
the Taurus range near the influx of the Kura Shai  it rushes through
a rift in the wildest cliffs from 2000 to 3000 feet high and runs on
for 90 miles in 300 falls or rapids till it reaches Telek  near
which at a spot called Gleikash  or the Hart s leap  it measures
only 35 paces across  Compare the map on Pl  CXIX and the
explanation for it on p  391  

 Footnote 54  The foregoing sketch of a letter  lines 5  18  appears
to have remained a fragment when Leonardo received pressing orders
which caused him to write immediately and fully on the subject
mentioned in line 43  

 Footnote 59  This passage was evidently intended as an improvement
on that immediately preceding it  The purport of both is essentially
the same  but the first is pitched in a key of ill disguised
annoyance which is absent from the second  I do not see how these
two versions can be reconciled with the romance theory held by Prof 
Govi   Do not be aggrieved  O Devatdar  by my delay in responding to
your pressing request  for those things which you require of me are
of such a nature that they cannot be well expressed without some
lapse of time  particularly because  in order to explain the cause
of so great an effect  it is necessary to describe with accuracy the
nature of the place  and by this means I can afterwards easily
satisfy your above mentioned request   Footnote 62  This passage was
evidently intended as an improvement on that immediately preceding
it  The purport of both is essentially the same  but the first is
pitched in a key of ill disguised annoyance which is absent from the
second  I do not see how these two versions can be reconciled with
the romance theory held by Prof  Govi  

I will pass over any description of the form of Asia Minor  or as to
what seas or lands form the limits of its outline and extent 
because I know that by your own diligence and carefulness in your
studies you have not remained in ignorance of these matters  65  
and I will go on to describe the true form of the Taurus Mountain
which is the cause of this stupendous and harmful marvel  and which
will serve to advance us in our purpose  66   This Taurus is that
mountain which  with many others is said to be the ridge of Mount
Caucasus  but wishing to be very clear about it  I desired to speak
to some of the inhabitants of the shores of the Caspian sea  who
give evidence that this must be the true Caucasus  and that though
their mountains bear the same name  yet these are higher  and to
confirm this in the Scythian tongue Caucasus means a very high
 Footnote 68  Caucasus  Herodot Kaoxaais  Armen  Kaukaz   peak  and
in fact we have no information of there being  in the East or in the
West  any mountain so high  And the proof of this is that the
inhabitants of the countries to the West see the rays of the sun
illuminating a great part of its summit for as much as a quarter of
the longest night  And in the same way  in those countries which lie
to the East 

OF THE STRUCTURE AND SIZE OF MOUNT TAURUS 

 Footnote 73  The statements are of course founded on those of the
 inhabitants  spoken of in 1  67   The shadow of this ridge of the
Taurus is of such a height that when  in the middle of June  the Sun
is at its meridian  its shadow extends as far as the borders of
Sarmatia  twelve days off  and in the middle of December it extends
as far as the Hyperborean mountains  which are at a month s journey
to the North  75   And the side which faces the wind is always free
from clouds and mists  because the wind which is parted in beating
on the rock  closes again on the further side of that rock  and in
its motion carries with it the clouds from all quarters and leaves
them where it strikes  And it is always full of thunderbolts from
the great quantity of clouds which accumulate there  whence the rock
is all riven and full of huge debris  Footnote 77  Sudden storms are
equally common on the heights of Ararat  It is hardly necessary to
observe that Ararat cannot be meant here  Its summit is formed like
the crater of Vesuvius  The peaks sketched on Pl  CXVI CXVIII are
probably views of the same mountain  taken from different sides 
Near the solitary peak  Pl  CXVIII these three names are written
 goba  arnigasar  caruda   names most likely of different peaks  Pl 
CXVI and CXVII are in the original on a single sheet folded down the
middle  30 centimetres high and 43 1 2 wide  On the reverse of one
half of the sheet are notes on  peso  and  bilancia   weight and
balance   on the other are the  prophecies  printed under Nos  1293
and 1294  It is evident from the arrangement that these were written
subsequently  on the space which had been left blank  These pages
are facsimiled on Pl  CXVIII  In Pl  CXVI CXVIII the size is smaller
than in the original  the map of Armenia  Pl  CXVIII  is on Pl  CXIX
slightly enlarged  On this map we find the following names 
beginning from the right hand at the top   pariardes mo   for
Paryadres Mons  Arm  Parchar  now Barchal or Kolai Dagh  Trebizond
is on its slope  

 Aquilone    North   Antitaurus Antitaurus psis mo   probably meant
for Thospitis   Lake Van  Arm  Dgov Vanai  Tospoi  and the Mountain
range to the South    Gordis mo   Mountains of Gordyaea   the birth
place of the Tigris   Oriente    East   Tigris   and then  to the
left   Eufrates   Then  above to the left  Argeo mo   now Erdshigas 
an extinct volcano  12000 feet high    Celeno mo   no doubt Sultan
Dagh in Pisidia   Celeno is the Greek town of KeAouvat   see Arian
I  29  I  now the ruins of Dineir    oriente    East   africo
libezco   for libeccio  South West   In the middle of the Euphrates
river on this small map we see a shaded portion surrounded by
mountains  perhaps to indicate the inundation mentioned in l  35 
The affluent to the Euphrates shown as coming with many windings
from the high land of  Argeo  on the West  is the Tochma Su  which
joins the main river at Malatie  I have not been able to discover
any map of Armenia of the XVth or XVIth century in which the course
of the Euphrates is laid down with any thing like the correctness
displayed in this sketch  The best I have seen is the Catalonian
Portulan of Olivez de Majorca  executed in 1584  and it is far
behind Leonardo s    This mountain  at its base  is inhabited by a
very rich population and is full of most beautiful springs and
rivers  and is fertile and abounding in all good produce 
particularly in those parts which face to the South  But after
mounting about three miles we begin to find forests of great fir
trees  and beech and other similar trees  after this  for a space of
three more miles  there are meadows and vast pastures  and all the
rest  as far as the beginning of the Taurus  is eternal snows which
never disappear at any time  and extend to a height of about
fourteen miles in all  From this beginning of the Taurus up to the
height of a mile the clouds never pass away  thus we have fifteen
miles  that is  a height of about five miles in a straight line  and
the summit of the peaks of the Taurus are as much  or about that 
There  half way up  we begin to find a scorching air and never feel
a breath of wind  but nothing can live long there  there nothing is
brought forth save a few birds of prey which breed in the high
fissures of Taurus and descend below the clouds to seek their prey 
Above the wooded hills all is bare rock  that is  from the clouds
upwards  and the rock is the purest white  And it is impossible to
walk to the high summit on account of the rough and perilous ascent 

1337 

 Footnote  1337  On comparing this commencement of a letter l  1 2
with that in l  3 and 4 of No  1336 it is quite evident that both
refer to the same event   Compare also No  1337 l  10 l2 and 17 with
No  1336 l  23  24 and 32   But the text No  1336  including the
fragment l  3 4  was obviously written later than the draft here
reproduced  The  Diodario  is not directly addressed  the person
addressed indeed is not known  and it seems to me highly probable
that it was written to some other patron and friend whose name and
position are not mentioned  

Having often made you  by my letters  acquainted with the things
which have happened  I think I ought not to be silent as to the
events of the last few days  which   2    

Having several times  

Having many times rejoiced with you by letters over your prosperous
fortunes  I know now that  as a friend you will be sad with me over
the miserable state in which I find myself  and this is  that during
the last few days I have been in so much trouble  fear  peril and
loss  besides the miseries of the people here  that we have been
envious of the dead  and certainly I do not believe that since the
elements by their separation reduced the vast chaos to order  they
have ever combined their force and fury to do so much mischief to
man  As far as regards us here  what we have seen and gone through
is such that I could not imagine that things could ever rise to such
an amount of mischief  as we experienced in the space of ten hours 
In the first place we were assailed and attacked by the violence and
fury of the winds  10   to this was added the falling of great
mountains of snow which filled up all this valley  thus destroying a
great part of our city  Footnote 11   Della nostra citta   Leonardo
first wrote  di questa citta    From this we may infer that he had
at some time lived in the place in question wherever it might be   
And not content with this the tempest sent a sudden flood of water
to submerge all the low part of this city  12   added to which there
came a sudden rain  or rather a ruinous torrent and flood of water 
sand  mud  and stones  entangled with roots  and stems and fragments
of various trees  and every kind of thing flying through the air
fell upon us  finally a great fire broke out  not brought by the
wind  but carried as it would seem  by ten thousand devils  which
completely burnt up all this neighbourhood and it has not yet
ceased  And those few who remain unhurt are in such dejection and
such terror that they hardly have courage to speak to each other  as
if they were stunned  Having abandoned all our business  we stay
here together in the ruins of some churches  men and women mingled
together  small and great  Footnote 17   Certe ruine di chiese  
Either of Armenian churches or of Mosques  which it was not unusual
to speak of as churches 

 Maschi e femmini insieme unite   implies an infringement of the
usually strict rule of the separation of the sexes    just like
herds of goats  The neighbours out of pity succoured us with
victuals  and they had previously been our enemies  And if

 Footnote 18   I vicini  nostri nimici   The town must then have
stood quite close to the frontier of the country  Compare 1336  L 
7   vicini ai nostri confini   Dr  M  JORDAN has already published
lines 4 13  see  Das Malerbuch  Leipzig   1873  p  90   his reading
differs from mine  under the title of  Description of a landscape
near Lake Como   We do in fact find  among other loose sheets in the
Codex Atlanticus  certain texts referring to valleys of the Alps
 see Nos  1030  1031 and note p  237  and in the arrangement of the
loose sheets  of which the Codex Atlanticus has been formed  these
happen to be placed close to this text  The compiler stuck both on
the same folio sheet  and if this is not the reason for Dr  JORDAN S
choosing such a title  Description  c   I cannot imagine what it can
have been  It is  at any rate  a merely hypothetical statement  The
designation of the population of the country round a city as  the
enemy    nemici   is hardly appropriate to Italy in the time of
Leonardo  

it had not been for certain people who succoured us with victuals 
all would have died of hunger  Now you see the state we are in  And
all these evils are as nothing compared with those which are
promised to us shortly 

I know that as a friend you will grieve for my misfortunes  as I  in
former letters have shown my joy at your prosperity    

Notes about events observed abroad  1338 1339  

1338 

BOOK 43  OF THE MOVEMENT OF AIR ENCLOSED IN WATER 

I have seen motions of the air so furious that they have carried 
mixed up in their course  the largest trees of the forest and whole
roofs of great palaces  and I have seen the same fury bore a hole
with a whirling movement digging out a gravel pit  and carrying
gravel  sand and water more than half a mile through the air 

 Footnote  The first sixteen lines of this passage which treat of
the subject as indicated on the title line have no place in this
connexion and have been omitted  

 Footnote 2   Ho veduto movimenti   c  Nothing of the kind happened
in Italy during Leonardo s lifetime  and it is therefore extremely
probable that this refers to the natural phenomena which are so
fully described in the foregoing passage   Compare too  No  1021  
There can be no doubt that the descriptions of the Deluge in the
Libro di Pittura  Vol  I  No  607 611   and that of the fall of a
mountain No  610  l  17 30 were written from the vivid impressions
derived from personal experience  Compare also Pl  XXXIV XL  

1339 

 Footnote  It may be inferred from the character of the writing 
which is in the style of the note in facsimile Vol  I  p  297  that
this passage was written between 1470 and 1480  As the figure 6 at
the end of the text indicates  it was continued on another page  but
I have searched in vain for it  The reverse of this leaf is coloured
red for drawing in silver point  but has not been used for that
purpose but for writing on  and at about the same date  The passages
are given as Nos  1217  1218  1219  1162 and No  994  see note page
218   The text given above is obviously not a fragment of a letter 
but a record of some personal experience  No  1379 also seems to
refer to Leonardo s journeys in Southern Italy  

Like a whirling wind which rushes down a sandy and hollow valley 
and which  in its hasty course  drives to its centre every thing
that opposes its furious course    

No otherwise does the Northern blast whirl round in its tempestuous
progress    

Nor does the tempestuous sea bellow so loud  when the Northern blast
dashes it  with its foaming waves between Scylla and Charybdis  nor
Stromboli  nor Mount Etna  when their sulphurous flames  having been
forcibly confined  rend  and burst open the mountain  fulminating
stones and earth through the air together with the flames they
vomit 

Nor when the inflamed caverns of Mount Etna  Footnote 13  Mongibello
is a name commonly given in Sicily to Mount Etna  from Djebel 
Arab  mountain   Fr  FERRARA   Descrizione dell  Etna con la storia
delle eruzioni   Palermo  1818  p  88  tells us  on the authority of
the  Cronaca del Monastero Benedettino di Licordia  of an eruption
of the Volcano with a great flow of lava on Sept  21  1447  The next
records of the mountain are from the years 1533 and 1536  A  Percy
neither does mention any eruptions of Etna during the years to which
this note must probably refer  Memoire des tremblements de terre de
la peninsule italique  Vol  XXII des Memoires couronnees et Memoires
des savants etrangers  Academie Royal de Belgique   

A literal interpretation of the passage would not  however  indicate
an allusion to any great eruption  particularly in the connection
with Stromboli  where the periodical outbreaks in very short
intervals are very striking to any observer  especially at night
time  when passing the island on the way from Naples to Messina   
rejecting the ill restained element vomit it forth  back to its own
region  driving furiously before it every obstacle that comes in the
way of its impetuous rage    

Unable to resist my eager desire and wanting to see the great     of
the various and strange shapes made by formative nature  and having
wandered some distance among gloomy rocks  I came to the entrance of
a great cavern  in front of which I stood some time  astonished and
unaware of such a thing  Bending my back into an arch I rested my
left hand on my knee and held my right hand over my down cast and
contracted eye brows  often bending first one way and then the
other  to see whether I could discover anything inside  and this
being forbidden by the deep darkness within  and after having
remained there some time  two contrary emotions arose in me  fear
and desire  fear of the threatening dark cavern  desire to see
whether there were any marvellous thing within it    

Drafts of Letters to Lodovico il Moro  1340 1345  

1340 

 Footnote  The numerous corrections  the alterations in the figures
 l  18  and the absence of any signature prove that this is merely
the rough draft of a letter to Lodovico il Moro  It is one of the
very few manuscripts which are written from left to right  see the
facsimile of the beginning as here reproduced  This is probably the
final sketch of a document the clean of which copy was written in
the usual manner  Leonardo no doubt very rarely wrote so  and this
is probably the reason of the conspicuous dissimilarity in the
handwriting  when he did   Compare Pl  XXXVIII   It is noteworthy
too that here the orthography and abbreviations are also
exceptional  But such superficial peculiarities are not enough to
stamp the document as altogether spurious  It is neither a forgery
nor the production of any artist but Leonardo himself  As to this
point the contents leave us no doubt as to its authenticity 
particularly l  32  see No  719  where this passage is repeated  
But whether the fragment  as we here see it  was written from
Leonardo s dictation  a theory favoured by the orthography  the
erasures and corrections  or whether it may be a copy made for or by
Melzi or Mazenta is comparatively unimportant  There are in the
Codex Atlanticus a few other documents not written by Leonardo
himself  but the notes in his own hand found on the reverse pages of
these leaves amply prove that they were certainly in Leonardo s
possession  This mark of ownership is wanting to the text in
question  but the compilers of the Codex Atlanticus  at any rate 
accepted it as a genuine document 

With regard to the probable date of this projected letter see Vol 
II  p  3  

Most illustrious Lord  Having now sufficiently considered the
specimens of all those who proclaim themselves skilled contrivers of
instruments of war  and that the invention and operation of the said
instruments are nothing different to those in common use  I shall
endeavour  without prejudice to any one else  to explain myself to
your Excellency showing your Lordship my secrets  and then offering
them to your best pleasure and approbation to work with effect at
opportune moments as well as all those things which  in part  shall
be briefly noted below 

1  I have a sort of extremely light and strong bridges  adapted to
be most easily carried  and with them you may pursue  and at any
time flee from the enemy  and others  secure and indestructible by
fire and battle  easy and convenient to lift and place  Also methods
of burning and destroying those of the enemy 

2  I know how  when a place is besieged  to take the water out of
the trenches  and make endless variety of bridges  and covered ways
and ladders  and other machines pertaining to such expeditions 

3  Item  If  by reason of the height of the banks  or the strength
of the place and its position  it is impossible  when besieging a
place  to avail oneself of the plan of bombardment  I have methods
for destroying every rock or other fortress  even if it were founded
on a rock   c 

4  Again I have kinds of mortars  most convenient and easy to carry 
and with these can fling small stones almost resembling a storm  and
with the smoke of these causing great terror to the enemy  to his
great detriment and confusion 

9   8  And when the fight should be at sea I have kinds of many
machines most efficient for offence and defence  and vessels which
will resist the attack of the largest guns and powder and fumes 

5  Item  I have means by secret and tortuous mines and ways  made
without noise to reach a designated  spot   even if it were needed
to pass under a trench or a river 

6  Item  I will make covered chariots  safe and unattackable which 
entering among the enemy with their artillery  there is no body of
men so great but they would break them  And behind these  infantry
could follow quite unhurt and without any hindrance 

7  Item  In case of need I will make big guns  mortars and light
ordnance of fine and useful forms  out of the common type 

8  Where the operation of bombardment should fail  I would contrive
catapults  mangonels   trabocchi  and other machines of marvellous
efficacy and not in common use  And in short  according to the
variety of cases  I can contrive various and endless means of
offence and defence 

10  In time of peace I believe I can give perfect satisfaction and
to the equal of any other in architecture and the composition of
buildings public and private  and in guiding water from one place to
another 

Item  I can carry out sculpture in marble  bronze or clay  and also
in painting whatever may be done  and as well as any other  be he
whom he may 

 32  Again  the bronze horse may be taken in hand  which is to be to
the immortal glory and eternal honour of the prince your father of
happy memory  and of the illustrious house of Sforza 

And if any one of the above named things seem to any one to be
impossible or not feasible  I am most ready to make the experiment
in your park  or in whatever place may please your Excellency  to
whom I commend myself with the utmost humility  c 

1341 

To my illustrious Lord  Lodovico  Duke of Bari  Leonardo da Vinci of
Florence   Leonardo 

 Footnote  Evidently a note of the superscription of a letter to the
Duke  and written  like the foregoing from left to right  The
manuscript containing it is of the year 1493  Lodovico was not
proclaimed and styled Duke of Milan till September 1494  The Dukedom
of Bari belonged to the Sforza family till 1499  

1342 

You would like to see a model which will prove useful to you and to
me  also it will be of use to those who will be the cause of our
usefulness 

 Footnote  1342  1343  These two notes occur in the same not very
voluminous MS  as the former one and it is possible that they are
fragments of the same letter  By the  Modello   the equestrian
statue is probably meant  particularly as the model of this statue
was publicly exhibited in this very year  1493  on tne occasion of
the marriage of the Emperor Maximilian with Bianca Maria Sforza  

1343 

There are here  my Lord  many gentlemen who will undertake this
expense among them  if they are allowed to enjoy the use of
admission to the waters  the mills  and the passage of vessels and
when it is sold to them the price will be repaid to them by the
canal of Martesana 

1344 

I am greatly vexed to be in necessity  but I still more regret that
this should be the cause of the hindrance of my wish which is always
disposed to obey your Excellency 

Perhaps your Excellency did not give further orders to Messer
Gualtieri  believing that I had money enough 

I am greatly annoyed that you should have found me in necessity  and
that my having to earn my living should have hindered me    

 12  It vexes me greatly that having to earn my living has forced me
to interrupt the work and to attend to small matters  instead of
following up the work which your Lordship entrusted to me  But I
hope in a short time to have earned so much that I may carry it out
quietly to the satisfaction of your Excellency  to whom I commend
myself  and if your Lordship thought that I had money  your Lordship
was deceived  I had to feed 6 men for 56 months  and have had 50
ducats 

1345 

And if any other comission is given me
                            by any    
of the reward of my service  Because I am
                            not  able  to be    
things assigned because meanwhile they
                have     to them    
    which they well may settle rather than I    
not my art which I wish to change and    
given some clothing if I dare a sum    


My Lord  I knowing your Excellency s
               mind to be occupied    
to remind your Lordship of my small matters
                  and the arts put to silence
that my silence might be the cause of making
                  your Lordship scorn    
my life in your service  I hold myself ever
                 in readiness to obey    

 Footnote 11  See No  723  where this passage is repeated  

Of the horse I will say nothing because
              I know the times  are bad 
to your Lordship how I had still to receive
              two years  salary of the    
with the two skilled workmen who are constantly
in my pay and at my cost
that at last I found myself advanced the
             said sum about 15 lire    
works of fame by which I could show to
    those who shall see it that I have been
everywhere  but I do not know where I
could bestow my work  more     

 Footnote 17  See No  1344 l  12  
I  having been working to gain my
                       living    

I not having been informed what it is  I find
                         myself    

 Footnote 19  In April  1498  Leonardo was engaged in
painting the Saletta Nigra of the Castello at Milan 
 See G  MONGERI   l Arte in Milano   1872  p  417   

remember the commission to paint the
                       rooms    

I conveyed to your Lordship only requesting
                            you    


 Footnote  The paper on which this is written is torn down the
middle  about half of each line remains  

Draft of letter to be sent to Piacenza  1346  1347  

 Footnote  1346  1347  Piacenza belonged to Milan  The Lord spoken
of in this letter  is no doubt Lodovico il Moro  One may infer from
the concluding sentence  No  1346  l  33  34 and No  1347   that
Leonardo  who no doubt compiled this letter  did not forward it to
Piacenza himself  but gave it to some influential patron  under
whose name and signature a copy of it was sent to the Commission  

1346 

Magnificent Commissioners of Buildings I  understanding that your
Magnificencies have made up your minds to make certain great works
in bronze  will remind you of certain things  first that you should
not be so hasty or so quick to give the commission  lest by this
haste it should become impossible to select a good model and a good
master  and some man of small merit may be chosen  who by his
insufficiency may cause you to be abused by your descendants 
judging that this age was but ill supplied with men of good counsel
and with good masters  seeing that other cities  and chiefly the
city of the Florentines  has been as it were in these very days 
endowed with beautiful and grand works in bronze  among which are
the doors of their Baptistery  And this town of Florence  like
Piacenza  is a place of intercourse  through which many foreigners
pass  who  seeing that the works are fine and of good quality  carry
away a good impression  and will say that that city is well filled
with worthy inhabitants  seeing the works which bear witness to
their opinion  and on the other hand  I say seeing so much metal
expended and so badly wrought  it were less shame to the city if the
doors had been of plain wood  because  the material  costing so
little  would not seem to merit any great outlay of skill   

Now the principal parts which are sought for in cities are their
cathedrals  and of these the first things which strike the eye are
the doors  by which one passes into these churches 

Beware  gentlemen of the Commission  lest too great speed in your
determination  and so much haste to expedite the entrusting of so
great a work as that which I hear you have ordered  be the cause
that that which was intended for the honour of God and of men should
be turned to great dishonour of your judgments  and of your city 
which  being a place of mark  is the resort and gathering place of
innumerable foreigners  And this dishonour would result if by your
lack of diligence you were to put your trust in some vaunter  who by
his tricks or by favour shown to him here should obtain such work
from you  by which lasting and very great shame would result to him
and to you  Thus I cannot help being angry when I consider what men
those are who have conferred with you as wishing to undertake this
great work without thinking of their sufficiency for it  not to say
more  This one is a potter  that one a maker of cuirasses  this one
is a bell founder  another a bell ringer  and one is even a
bombardier  and among them one in his Lordship s service  who
boasted that he was the gossip of Messer Ambrosio Ferrere  Footnote
26  Messer Ambrogio Ferrere was Farmer of the Customs under the
Duke  Piacenza at that time belonged to Milan    who has some power
and who has made him some promises  and if this were not enough he
would mount on horseback  and go to his Lord and obtain such letters
that you could never refuse  to give  him the work  But consider
where masters of real talent and fit for such work are brought when
they have to compete with such men as these  Open your eyes and look
carefully lest your money should be spent in buying your own
disgrace  I can declare to you that from that place you will procure
none but average works of inferior and coarse masters  There is no
capable man    33  and you may believe me   except Leonardo the
Florentine  who is making the equestrian statue in bronze of the
Duke Francesco and who has no need to bring himself into notice 
because he has work for all his life time  and I doubt  whether
being so great a work  he will ever finish it  34  

The miserable painstakers     with what hope may they expect a
reward of their merit 

1347 

There is one whom his Lordship invited from Florence to do this work
and who is a worthy master  but with so very much business he will
never finish it  and you may imagine that a difference there is to
be seen between a beautiful object and an ugly one  Quote Pliny 

Letter to the Cardinal Ippolito d  Este 

1348 

 Footnote  This letter addressed to the Cardinal Ippolito d Este is
here given from Marchese G  CAMPORI S publication   Nuovi documenti
per la Vita di Leonardo da Vinci  Atti e Memorie delle R  R 
Deputazioni di Storia patria per la provincie modenesi e parmenesi 
Vol  III   It is the only text throughout this work which I have not
myself examined and copied from the original  The learned discoverer
of this letter  the only letter from Leonardo hitherto known as
having been sent  adds these interesting remarks   Codesto Cardinale
nato ad Ercole I  nel 1470  arcivescovo di Strigonia a sette anni 
poi d Agra  aveva conseguito nel 1497 la pingue ed ambita cattedra
di Milano  la dove avra conosciuto il Vinci  sebbene il poco amore
ch ei professava alle arti lasci credere che le proteste di servitu
di Leonardo piu che a gratitudine per favori ricevuti e per opere a
lui allogate  accennino a speranza per un favore che si aspetta 
Notabile e ancora in questo prezioso documento la ripetuta signatura
del grande artista  che si scrive Vincio e Vincius  non da Vinci
come si tiene comunemente  sebbene l una e l altra possano valere a
significare cosi il casato come il paese  restando a sapere se il
nome del paese di Vinci fosse assunto a cognome della famiglia di
Leonardo nel qual supposto piu propriamento avrebbe a chiamarsi
Leonardo Vinci  o Vincio  latinamente Vincius  com egli stesso amo
segnarsi in questa lettera  e come scrissero parecchi contenporanei
di lui  il Casio  il Cesariano  Geoffrey Tory  il Gaurico  il
Bandello  Raffaelle Maffei  il Paciolo  Per ultimo non lascero
d avvertire come la lettera del Vinci e assai ben conservata  di
nitida e larga scrittura in forma pienemente corrispondente a quella
dei suoi manoscritti  vergata all uso comune da sinistra a destra 
anziche contrariamente come fu suo costume  ma indubbiamente
autentica e fornita della menzione e del suggello che fresca ancora
conserva l impronta di una testa di profilo da un picciolo antico
cammeo    Compare No  1368  note   

Most Illustrious and most Reverend Lord 
  The Lord Ippolito  Cardinal of Este
                          at Ferrare 

Most Illustrious and most Reverend Lord 

I arrived from Milan but a few days since and finding that my elder
brother refuses to

carry into effect a will  made three years ago when my father
died  as also  and no less  because I would not fail in a matter I
esteem most important  I cannot forbear to crave of your most
Reverend Highness a letter of recommendation and favour to Ser
Raphaello Hieronymo  at present one of the illustrious members of
the Signoria before whom my cause is being argued  and more
particularly it has been laid by his Excellency the Gonfaloniere
into the hands of the said Ser Raphaello  that his Worship may have
to decide and end it before the festival of All Saints  And
therefore  my Lord  I entreat you  as urgently as I know how and am
able  that your Highness will write a letter to the said Ser
Raphaello in that admirable and pressing manner which your Highness
can use  recommending to him Leonardo Vincio  your most humble
servant as I am  and shall always be  requesting him and pressing
him not only to do me justice but to do so with despatch  and I have
not the least doubt  from many things that I hear  that Ser
Raphaello  being most affectionately devoted to your Highness  the
matter will issue  ad votum   And this I shall attribute to your
most Reverend Highness  letter  to whom I once more humbly commend
myself   Et bene valeat  

Florence XVIIIa 7bris 1507 
E  V  R  D 

your humble servant
Leonardus Vincius  pictor 

Draft of Letter to the Governor of Milan 

1349 

I am afraid lest the small return I have made for the great
benefits  I have received from your Excellency  have not made you
somewhat angry with me  and that this is why to so many letters
which I have written to your Lordship I have never had an answer  I
now send Salai to explain to your Lordship that I am almost at an
end of the litigation I had with my brother  that I hope to find
myself with you this Easter  and to carry with me two pictures of
two Madonnas of different sizes  These were done for our most
Christian King  or for whomsoever your Lordship may please  I should
be very glad to know on my return thence where I may have to reside 
for I would not give any more trouble to your Lordship  Also  as I
have worked for the most Christian King  whether my salary is to
continue or not  I wrote to the President as to that water which the
king granted me  and which I was not put in possession of because at
that time there was a dearth in the canal by reason of the great
droughts and because  Footnote Compare Nos  1009 and 1010  Leonardo
has noted the payment of the pension from the king in 1505   its
outlets were not regulated  but he certainly promised me that when
this was done I should be put in possession  Thus I pray your
Lordship that you will take so much trouble  now that these outlets
are regulated  as to remind the President of my matter  that is  to
give me possession of this water  because on my return I hope to
make there instruments and other things which will greatly please
our most Christian King  Nothing else occurs to me  I am always
yours to command   Footnote 1349  Charles d Amboise  Marechal de
Chaumont  was Governor of Milan under Louis XII  Leonardo was in
personal communication with him so early as in 1503  He was absent
from Milan in the autumn of 1506 and from October l5l0  when he
besieged Pope Julius II  in Bologna  till his death  which took
place at Correggio  February 11  1511  Francesco Vinci  Leonardo s
uncle  died  as Amoretti tells us  in the winter of l5l0 11  or
according to Uzielli in 1506    and Leonardo remained in Florence
for business connected with his estate  The letter written with
reference to this affair  No  1348  is undoubtedly earlier than the
letters Nos  1349 and 1350  Amoretti tells us   Memorie Storiche  
ch  II  that the following note existed on the same leaf in MS  C 
A  I have not however succeeded in finding it  The passage runs
thus   Jo sono quasi al fine del mio letizio che io o con mie
fratetgli     Ancora ricordo a V  Excia la facenda che o cum Ser
Juliana mio Fratello capo delli altri fratelli ricordandoli come se
offerse di conciar le cose nostre fra noi fratelli del comune della
eredita de mio Zio  e quelli costringa alla expeditione  quale
conteneva la lettera che lui me mando   

Drafts of Letters to the Superintendent of Canals and to Fr  Melzi 

1350 

Magnificent President  I am sending thither Salai  my pupil  who is
the bearer of this  and from him you will hear by word of mouth the
cause of my   

Magnificent President  I   

Magnificent President   Having ofttimes remembered the proposals
made many times to me by your Excellency  I take the liberty of
writing to remind your Lordship of the promise made to me at my last
departure  that is the possession of the twelve inches of water
granted to me by the most Christian King  Your Lordship knows that I
did not enter into possession  because at that time when it was
given to me there was a dearth of water in the canal  as well by
reason of the great drought as also because the outlets were not
regulated  but your Excellency promised me that as soon as this was
done  I should have my rights  Afterwards hearing that the canal was
complete I wrote several times to your Lordship and to Messer
Girolamo da Cusano who has in his keeping the deed of this gift  and
so also I wrote to Corigero and never had a reply  I now send
thither Salai  my pupil  the bearer of this  to whom your Lordship
may tell by word of mouth all that happened in the matter about
which I petition your Excellency  I expect to go thither this Easter
since I am nearly at the end of my lawsuit  and I will take with me
two pictures of our Lady which I have begun  and at the present time
have brought them on to a very good end  nothing else occurs to me 

My Lord the love which your Excellency has always shown me and the
benefits that I have constantly received from you I have hitherto   

I am fearful lest the small return I have made for the great
benefits I have received from your Excellency may not have made you
somewhat annoyed with me  And this is why  to many letters which I
have written to your Excellency I have never had an answer  I now
send to you Salai to explain to your Excellency that I am almost at
the end of my litigation with my brothers  and that I hope to be
with you this Easter and carry with me two pictures on which are two
Madonnas of different sizes which I began for the most Christian
King  or for whomsoever you please  I should be very glad to know
where  on my return from this place  I shall have to reside  because
I do not wish to give more trouble to your Lordship  and then 
having worked for the most Christian King  whether my salary is to
be continued or not  I write to the President as to the water that
the king granted me of which I had not been put in possession by
reason of the dearth in the canal  caused by the great drought and
because its outlets were not regulated  but he promised me certainly
that as soon as the regulation was made  I should be put in
possession of it  I therefore pray you that  if you should meet the
said President  you would be good enough  now that the outlets are
regulated  to remind the said President to cause me to be put in
possession of that water  since I understand it is in great measure
in his power  Nothing else occurs to me  always yours to command 

Good day to you Messer Francesco  Why  in God s name  of all the
letters I have written to you  have you never answered one  Now wait
till I come  by God  and I shall make you write so much that perhaps
you will become sick of it 

Dear Messer Francesco  I am sending thither Salai to learn from His
Magnificence the President to what end the regulation of the water
has come since  at my departure this regulation of the outlets of
the canal had been ordered  because His Magnificence the President
promised me that as soon as this was done I should be satisfied  It
is now some time since I heard that the canal was in order  as also
its outlets  and I immediately wrote to the President and to you 
and then I repeated it  and never had an answer  So you will have
the goodness to answer me as to that which happened  and as I am not
to hurry the matter  would you take the trouble  for the love of me 
to urge the President a little  and also Messer Girolamo Cusano  to
whom you will commend me and offer my duty to his Magnificence 

 Footnote  1350  28 36  Draft of a letter to Francesco Melzi  born
l493  a youth therefore of about 17 in 1510  Leonardo addresses his
young friend as  Messer   as being the son of a noble house  Melzi
practised art under Leonardo as a dilettante and not as a pupil 
like Cesare da Sesto and others  See LERMOLIEFF   Die Galerien   c  
p  476   

Drafts of a letter to Giuliano de  Medici  1351 1352  

135l 

 Most illustrious Lord  I greatly rejoice most Illustrious Lord at
your    

I was so greatly rejoiced  most illustrious Lord  by the desired
restoration of your health  that it almost had the effect that  my
own health recovered    I have got through my illness   my own
illness left me     of your Excellency s almost restored health  But
I am extremely vexed that I have not been able completely to satisfy
the wishes of your Excellency  by reason of the wickedness of that
deceiver  for whom I left nothing undone which could be done for him
by me and by which I might be of use to him  and in the first place
his allowances were paid to him before the time  which I believe he
would willingly deny  if I had not the writing signed by myself and
the interpreter  And I  seeing that he did not work for me unless he
had no work to do for others  which he was very careful in
solliciting  invited him to dine with me  and to work afterwards
near me  because  besides the saving of expense  he

 Footnote 1351  1353  It is clear from the contents of this notes
that they refer to Leonardo s residence in Rome in 1513 1515  Nor
can there be any doubt that they were addressed to Leonardo s patron
at the time  Giuliano de  Medici  third son of Lorenzo the
Magnificent and brother of Pope Leo X  born 1478   In 1512 he became
the head of the Florentine Republic  The Pope invited him to Rome 
where he settled  in 1513 he was named patrician with much splendid
ceremonial  The medal struck in honour of the event bears the words
MAG  IVLIAN  MEDICES  Leonardo too uses the style  Magnifico   in
his letter  Compare also No  1377 

GlNO CAPPONI   Storia della Repubblica di Firenze   Vol  III  p 
139  thus describes the character of Giuliano de  Medici  who died
in 1516   Era il migliore della famiglia  di vita placida  grande
spenditore  tenendo intorno a se uomini ingegnosi  ed ogni nuova
cosa voleva provare  

See too GREGOROVIUS   Geschichte der Stadi Rom   VIII  book XIV 
III  2    Die Luftschlosser furstlicher Grosse  wozu ihn der Papst
hatte erheben wollen zerfielen  Julian war der edelste aller
damaligen Medici  ein Mensch von innerlicher Richtung  unbefriedigt
durch das Leben  mitten im Sonnenglanz der Herrlichkeit Leo s X 
eine dunkle Gestalt die wie ein Schatten voruberzog   Giuliano lived
in the Vatican  and it may be safely inferred from No  1352 l  2 
and No  1353 l  4  that Leonardo did the same 

From the following unpublished notice in the Vatican archives  which
M  Eug  Muntz  librarian of the Ecole des Beaux arts  Paris  has
done me the favour to communicate to me  we get a more accurate view
of Leonardo s relation to the often named GIORGIO TEDESCO 

 Nota delle provisione   sic   a da pagare per me in nome del nostro
ill  S  Bernardo Bini e chompa di Roma  e prima della illma sua
chonsorte ogni mese d  800 

A Ldo da Vinci per sua provisione d  XXXIII  e piu d  VII al detto
per la provisione di Giorgio tedescho  che sono in tutto d  40 

From this we learn  that seven ducats formed the German s monthly
wages  but according to No  1353 l  7 he pretended that eight ducats
had been agreed upon  

would acquire the Italian language  He always promised  but would
never do so  And this I did also  because that Giovanni  the German
who makes the mirrors  was there always in the workshop  and wanted
to see and to know all that was being done there and made it known
outside     strongly criticising it  and because he dined with those
of the Pope s guard  and then they went out with guns killing birds
among the ruins  and this went on from after dinner till the
evening  and when I sent Lorenzo to urge him to work he said that he
would not have so many masters over him  and that his work was for
your Excellency s Wardrobe  and thus two months passed and so it
went on  and one day finding Gian Niccolo of the Wardrobe and asking
whether the German had finished the work for your Magnificence  he
told me this was not true  but only that he had given him two guns
to clean  Afterwards  when I had urged him farther  be left the
workshop and began to work in his room  and lost much time in making
another pair of pincers and files and other tools with screws  and
there he worked at mills for twisting silk which he hid when any one
of my people went in  and with a thousand oaths and mutterings  so
that none of them would go there any more 

I was so greatly rejoiced  most Illustrious Lord  by the desired
restoration of your health  that my own illness almost left me  But
I am greatly vexed at not having been able to completely satisfy
your Excellency s wishes by reason of the wickedness of that German
deceiver  for whom I left nothing undone by which I could have hope
to please him  and secondly I invited him to lodge and board with
me  by which means I should constantly see the work he was doing and
with greater ease correct his errors while  besides this  he would
learn the Italian tongue  by means of which be could with more ease
talk without an interpreter  his moneys were always given him in
advance of the time when due  Afterwards he wanted to have the
models finished in wood  just as they were to be in iron  and wished
to carry them away to his own country  But this I refused him 
telling him that I would give him  in drawing  the breadth  length 
height and form of what he had to do  and so we remained in
ill will 

The next thing was that he made himself another workshop and pincers
and tools in his room where he slept  and there he worked for
others  afterwards he went to dine with the Swiss of the guard 
where there are idle fellows  in which he beat them all  and most
times they went two or three together with guns  to shoot birds
among the ruins  and this went on till evening 

At last I found how this master Giovanni the mirror maker was he who
had done it all  for two reasons  the first because he had said that
my coming here had deprived him of the countenance and favour of
your Lordship which always    The other is that he said that his
iron workers  rooms suited him for working at his mirrors  and of
this he gave proof  for besides making him my enemy  he made him
sell all he had and leave his workshop to him  where he works with a
number of workmen making numerous mirrors to send to the fairs 

1352 

I was so greatly rejoiced  most Illustrious Lord  by the wished for
recovery of your health  that my own ills have almost left me  and I
say God be praised for it  But it vexes me greatly that I have not
been able completely to satisfy your Excellency s wishes by reason
of the wickedness of that German deceiver  for whom I left nothing
undone by which I could hope to please him  and secondly I invited
him to lodge and board with me  by which means I should see
constantly the work he was doing  for which purpose I would have a
table fixed at the foot of one of these windows  where he could work
with the file and finish the things made below  and so I should
constantly see the work he might do  and it could be corrected with
greater ease 

Draft of letter written at Rome 

1353 

This other hindered me in anatomy  blaming it before the Pope  and
likewise at the hospital  and he has filled  4  this whole Belvedere
with workshops for mirrors  and he did the same thing in Maestro
Giorgio s room  He said that he had been promised  7  eight ducats
every month  beginning with the first day  when he set out  or at
latest when he spoke with you  and that you agreed 

Seeing that he seldom stayed in the workshop  and that he ate a
great deal  I sent him word that  if he liked I could deal with him
separately for each thing that he might make  and would give him
what we might agree to be a fair valuation  He took counsel with his
neighbour and gave up his room  selling every thing  and went to
find   

Miscellaneous Records  1354  1355  

1354 

 Footnote  A puzzling passage  meant  as it would seem  for a jest 
Compare the description of Giants in Dante   Inf   XXI and XXII 
Perhaps Leonardo had the Giant Antaeus in his mind  Of him the myth
relates that he was a son of Ge  that he fed on lions  that he
hunted in Libya and killed the inhabitants  He enjoyed the
peculiarity of renewing his strength whenever he fell and came in
contact with his mother earth  but that Hercules lifted him up and
so conquered and strangled him  Lucan gives a full account of the
struggle  Pharsalia IV  617  The reading of this passage  which is
very indistinctly written  is in many places doubtful  

Dear Benedetto de  Pertarti  When the proud giant fell because of
the bloody and miry state of the ground it was as though a mountain
had fallen so that the country shook as with an earthquake  and
terror fell on Pluto in hell  From the violence of the shock he lay
as stunned on the level ground  Suddenly the people  seeing him as
one killed by a thunderbolt  turned back  like ants running wildly
over the body of the fallen oak  so these rushing over his ample
limbs           them with frequent wounds  by which  the giant being
roused and feeling himself almost covered by the multitude  he
suddenly perceives the smarting of the stabs  and sent forth a roar
which sounded like a terrific clap of thunder  and placing his hands
on the ground he raised his terrible face  and having lifted one
hand to his head he found it full of men and rabble sticking to it
like the minute creatures which not unfrequently are found there 
wherefore with a shake of his head he sends the men flying through
the air just as hail does when driven by the fury of the winds  Many
of these men were found to be dead  stamping with his feet 

And clinging to his hair  and striving to hide in it  they behaved
like sailors in a storm  who run up the ropes to lessen the force of
the wind  by taking in sail  

News of things from the East 

Be it known to you that in the month of June there appeared a Giant 
who came from the Lybian desert    mad with rage like ants    
struck down by the rude 

This great Giant was born in Mount Atlas and was a hero     and had
to fight against the Egyptians and Arabs  Medes and Persians  He
lived in the sea on whales  grampuses and ships 

Mars fearing for his life took refuge under the    of Jove 

And at the great fall it seemed as though the whole province quaked 

1355 

This spirit returns to the brain whence it had departed  with a loud
voice and with these words  it moved   

And if any man though he may have wisdom or goodness          

 Footnote  This passage  very difficult to decipher  is on the
reverse of a drawing at Windsor  Pl  CXXII  which possibly has some
connection with it  The drawing is slightly reduced in this
reproduction  the original being 25 cm  high by 19 cm  wide  

O blessed and happy spirit whence comest thou  Well have I known
this man  much against my will  This one is a receptacle of
villainy  he is a perfect heap of the utmost ingratitude combined
with every vice  But of what use is it to fatigue myself with vain
words  Nothing is to be found in them but every form of sin     And
if there should be found among them any that possesses any good 
they will not be treated differently to myself by other men  and in
fine  I come to the conclusion that it is bad if they are hostile 
and worse if they are friendly 

Miscellaneous drafts of letters and personal records  1356  1368  

1356 

All the ills that are or ever were  if they could be set to work by
him  would not satisfy the desires of his iniquitous soul  and I
could not in any length of time describe his nature to you  but I
conclude   

1357 

I know one who  having promised me much  less than my due  being
disappointed of his presumptuous desires  has tried to deprive me of
all my friends  and as he has found them wise and not pliable to his
will  he has menaced me that  having found means of denouncing me 
he would deprive me of my benefactors  Hence I have informed your
Lordship of this  to the end  that this man who wishes to sow the
usual scandals  may find no soil fit for sowing the thoughts and
deeds of his evil nature  so that he  trying to make your Lordship 
the instrument of his iniquitous and maliceous nature may be
disappointed of his desire 

1358 

 Footnote  Below this text we read gusstino  Giustino and in another
passage on the same page Justin is quoted  No  1210  1  48   The two
have however no real connection  

And in this case I know that I shall make few enemies seeing that no
one will believe what I can say of him  for they are but few whom
his vices have disgusted  and he only dislikes those men whose
natures are contrary to those vices  And many hate their fathers 
and break off friendship with those who reprove their vices  and he
will not permit any examples against them  nor any advice 

If you meet with any one who is virtuous do not drive him from you 
do him honour  so that he may not have to flee from you and be
reduced to hiding in hermitages  or caves or other solitary places
to escape from your treachery  if there is such an one among you do
him honour  for these are our Saints upon earth  these are they who
deserve statues from us  and images  but remember that their images
are not to be eaten by you  as is still done in some parts of India
 Footnote 15  In explanation of this passage I have received the
following communication from Dr  G  W  LEITNER of Lahore   So far as
Indian customs are known to us  this practice spoken of by Leonardo
as  still existing in some parts of India  is perfectly unknown  and
it is equally opposed to the spirit of Hinduism  Mohammedanism and
Sikhism  In central Thibet the ashes of the dead  when burnt  are
mixed with dough  and small figures  usually of Buddha  are stamped
out of them and some are laid in the grave while others are
distributed among the relations  The custom spoken of by Leonardo
may have prevailed there but I never heard of it   Possibly Leonardo
refers here to customs of nations of America   where  when the
images have according to them  performed some miracle  the priests
cut them in pieces  being of wood  and give them to all the people
of the country  not without payment  and each one grates his portion
very fine  and puts it upon the first food he eats  and thus
believes that by faith he has eaten his saint who then preserves him
from all perils  What do you think here  Man  of your own species 
Are you so wise as you believe yourselves to be  Are these things to
be done by men 

1359 

As I told you in past days  you know that I am without any    
Francesco d Antonio  Bernardo di Maestro Jacopo 

1360 

Tell me how the things happened 

1361 

j lorezo    2 inbiadali    3 inferri de    4in lorezo    5 inno
abuil    6 in acocatu    7 per la sella    8colte di lor    9v
cavallott    I0el uiagg    IIal    I2a lurez    13in biada   
14inferri    15abuss    16in viagg    17alorz     Footnote  This
seems to be the beginning of a letter  but only the first words of
the lines have been preserved  the leaf being torn down the middle 
No translation is possible  

1362 

And so may it please our great Author that I may demonstrate the
nature of man and his customs  in the way I describe his figure 

 Footnote  A preparatory note for the passage given as No  798  11 
41  42  

1363 

This writing distinctly about the kite seems to be my destiny 
because among the first recollections of my infancy  it seemed to me
that  as I was in my cradle  a kite came to me and opened my mouth
with its tail  and struck me several times with its tail inside my
lips 

 Footnote  This note probably refers to the text No  1221  

1364 

 When I did well  as a boy you used to put me in prison  Now if I do
it being grown up  you will do worse to me  

1365 

Tell me if anything was ever done 

1366 

Tell me if ever I did a thing which me     

1367 

Do not reveal  if liberty is precious to you  my face is the prison
of love 

 Footnote  This note seems to be a quotation  

1368 

Maestro Leonardo of Florence 

 Footnote  So Leonardo writes his name on a sheet with sundry short
notes  evidently to try a pen  Compare the signature with those in
Nos  1341  1348 and 1374  see also No  1346  l  33   The form
 Lionardo  does not occur in the autographs  The Portrait of the
Master in the Royal Library at Turin  which is reproduced  slightly
diminished  on Pl  I  has in the original two lines of writing
underneath  one in red chalk of two or three words is partly
effaced   lionardo it    lm   or  lai     the second written in
pencil is as follows   fatto da lui stesso assai vecchio   In both
of these the writing is very like the Master s  but is certainly
only an imitation  

Notes bearing Dates  1369  1378  

1369 

The day of Santa Maria  della Neve   of the Snows  August the 2nd
1473   Footnote  W  An  I  1368  1369  This date is on a drawing of
a rocky landscape  See  Chronique des Arts  1881 no  23   Leonard de
Vinci a t il ete au Righi le 5 aout 1473   letter by H  de
Geymuller  The next following date in the MSS  is 1478  see No 
663  

1370 

On the 2nd of April 1489  book entitled  Of the human figure  
 Footnote  While the letters in the MS  notes of 1473 and 1478 are
very ornate  this note and the texts on anatomy on the same sheet
 for instance No  805  are in the same simple hand as we see on Pl 
CXVI and CXIX  No 1370 is the only dated note of the years between
1480 and 1489  and the characters are in all essential points
identical with those that we see in the latest manuscripts written
in France  compare the facsimiles on Pl  CXV and p  254   so that it
is hardly possible to determine exactly the date of a manuscript
from the style of the handwriting  if it does not betray the
peculiarities of style as displayed in the few notes dated previous
to l480   Compare the facsimile of the manuscripts 1479 on Pl LXII 
No  2  No  664  note  Vol  I p  346  This shows already a marked
simplicity as compared with the calligraphy of I478 

The text No  720 belongs to the year 1490  No  1510 to the year
1492  No  1459  No  1384 and No  1460 to the year 1493  No  1463 
No  1517  No  1024  1025 and 1461 to the year 1494  Nos  1523 and
1524 to the year 1497 

1371 

On the 1st of August 1499  I wrote here of motion and of weight 

 Footnote 1371   Scrissi qui   Leonardo does not say where  still we
may assume that it was not in Milan  Amoretti writes   Memorie
Storiche   chap  XIX   Sembra pertanto che non nel 1499 ma nel 1500 
dopo il ritorno e la prigionia del duca  sia da qui partito Lionardo
per andare a Firenze  ed e quindi probabile  che i mesi di governo
nuovo e incerto abbia passati coll  amico suo Francesco Melzi a
Vaprio  ove meglio che altrove studiar potea la natura  e
soprattutta le acque  e l Adda specialmente  che gia era stato
l ogetto delle sue idrostatiche ricerche   At that time Melzi was
only six years of age  The next date is 1502  to this year belong
No  1034  1040  1042  1048 and 1053  The note No  1525 belongs to
the year 1503  

1372 

On the 9th of July 1504  Wednesday  at seven o clock  died Ser Piero
da Vinci  notary at the Palazzo del Podesta  my father    at seven
o clock  being eighty years old  leaving behind ten sons and two
daughters 

 Footnote  This statement of Ser Piero s age contradicts that of the
 Riassunto della portata di Antonio da Vinci   Leonardo s
grandfather   who speaks of Ser Piero as being thirty years old in
1457  and that of the  Riassunto della portata di Ser Piero e
Francesco   sons of Antonia da Vinci  where Ser Piero is mentioned
as being forty in 1469  These documents were published by G 
UZIELLI   Ricerche intorno a L  da Vinci  Firenze   1872  pp  144
and 146  Leonardo was  as is well known  a natural son  His mother
 La Catarina  was married in 1457 to Acchattabriga di Piero del
Vaccha da Vinci  She died in 1519  Leonardo never mentions her in
the Manuscripts  In the year of Leonardo s birth Ser Piero married
Albiera di Giovanni Amadoci  and after her death at the age of
thirty eight he again married  Francesca  daughter of Ser Giovanni
Lanfredi  then only fifteen  Their children were Leonardo s
halfbrothers  Antonio  b  1476   Ser Giuliano  b  1479   Lorenzo  b 
1484   a girl  Violante  b  1485   and another boy Domenico  b 
1486   Domenico s descendants still exist as a family  Ser Piero
married for the third time Lucrezia di Guglielmo Cortigiani by whom
he had six children  Margherita  b  1491   Benedetto  b  1492  
Pandolfo  b  1494   Guglielmo  b  1496   Bartolommeo  b  1497   and
Giovanni  date of birth unknown   Pierino da Vinci the sculptor
 about 1520 1554  was the son of Bartolommeo  the fifth of these
children  The dates of their deaths are not known  but we may infer
from the above passage that they were all still living in 1505  

1373 

On Wednesday at seven o clock died Ser Piero da Vinci on the 9th of
July 1504 

 Footnote  This and the previous text it may be remarked are the
only mention made by Leonardo of his father  Nos  1526  1527 and No 
1463 are of the year 1504  

1374 

Begun by me  Leonardo da Vinci  on the l2th of July 1505 

 Footnote  Thus he writes on the first page of the MS  The title is
on the foregoing coversheet as follows   Libro titolato
disstrafformatione coe   cioe   d un corpo nvn   in un   altro sanza
diminuitione e acresscemento di materia   

1375 

Begun at Milan on the l2th of September 1508 

 Footnote  No  1528 and No  1529 belong to the same year  The text
Vol  I  No  4 belongs to the following year 1509  1508 old style  
so also does No  1009    Nos  1022  1057 and 1464 belong to 1511  

1376 

On the 9th of January 1513 

 Footnote  No  1465 belongs to the same year  No  1065 has the next
date 1514  

1377 

The Magnifico Giuliano de  Medici left Rome on the 9th of January
1515  just at daybreak  to take a wife in Savoy  and on the same day
fell the death of the king of France 

 Footnote  Giuliano de Medici  brother to Pope Leo X   see note to
Nos  1351 1353  In February  1515  he was married to Filiberta 
daughter of Filippo  Duke of Savoy  and aunt to Francis I  Louis
XII s successor on the throne of France  Louis XII died on Jan  1st 
and not on Jan  9th as is here stated    This addition is written in
paler ink and evidently at a later date  

1378 

On the 24th of June  St John s day  1518 at Amboise  in the palace
of   

 Footnote   Castello del clli   The meaning of this word is obscure 
it is perhaps not written at full length  

 XXII  

 Miscellaneous Notes  

 The incidental memoranda scattered here and there throughout the
MSS  can have been for the most part intelligible to the writer
only  in many cases their meaning and connection are all the more
obscure because we are in ignorance about the persons with whom
Leonardo used to converse nor can we say what part he may have
played in the various events of his time  Vasari and other early
biographers give us a very superficial and far from accurate picture
of Leonardo s private life  Though his own memoranda  referring for
the most part to incidents of no permanent interest  do not go far
towards supplying this deficiency  they are nevertheless of some
importance and interest as helping us to solve the numerous
mysteries in which the history of Leonardo s long life remains
involved  We may at any rate assume  from Leonardo s having
committed to paper notes on more or less trivial matters on his
pupils  on his house keeping  on various known and unknown
personages  and a hundred other trifies  that at the time they must
have been in some way important to him  

 I have endeavoured to make these  Miscellaneous Notes  as complete
as possible  for in many cases an incidental memorandum will help to
explain the meaning of some other note of a similar kind  The first
portion of these notes  Nos  l379  l457   as well as those referring
to his pupils and to other artists and artificers who lived in his
house  1458  1468   are arranged in chronological order  A
considerable proportion of these notes belong to the period between
1490 and 1500  when Leonardo was living at Milan under the patronage
of Lodovico il Moro  a time concerning which we have otherwise only
very scanty information  If Leonardo did really  as has always been
supposed   spend also the greater part of the preceding decade in
Milan  it seems hardly likely that we should not find a single note
indicative of the fact  or referring to any event of that period  on
the numerous loose leaves in his writing that exist  Leonardo s life
in Milan between 1489 and 1500 must have been comparatively
uneventful  The MSS  and memoranda of those years seem to prove that
it was a tranquil period of intellectual and artistic labour rather
than of bustling court life  Whatever may have been the fate of the
MSS  and note books of the foregoing years  whether they were
destroyed by Leonardo himself or have been lost  it is certainly
strange that nothing whatever exists to inform us as to his life and
doings in Milan earlier than the consecutive series of manuscripts
which begin in the year 1489  

 There is nothing surprising in the fact that the notes regarding
his pupils are few and meagre  Excepting for the record of money
transactions only very exceptional circumstances would have prompted
him to make any written observations on the persons with whom he was
in daily intercourse  among whom  of course  were his pupils  Of
them all none is so frequently mentioned as Salai  but the character
of the notes does not  as it seems to me  justify us in supposing
that he was any thing more than a sort of factotum of Leonardo s
 see 1519  note   

 Leonardo s quotations from books and his lists of titles supply
nothing more than a hint as to his occasional literary studies or
recreations  It was evidently no part of his ambition to be deeply
read  see Nrs  10  11  1159  and he more than once expressly states
 in various passages which will be found in the foregoing sections 
that he did not recognise the authority of the Ancients  on
scientific questions  which in his day was held paramount 
Archimedes is the sole exception  and Leonardo frankly owns his
admiration for the illustrious Greek to whose genius his own was so
much akin  see No  1476   All his notes on various authors 
excepting those which have already been inserted in the previous
section  have been arranged alphabetically for the sake of
convenience  1469  1508   

 The passages next in order contain accounts and inventories
principally of household property  The publication of these  often
very trivial entries  is only justifiable as proving that the
wealth  the splendid mode of life and lavish expenditure which have
been attributed to Leonardo are altogether mythical  unless we put
forward the very improbable hypothesis that these notes as to money
in hand  outlay and receipts  refer throughout to an exceptional
state of his affairs  viz  when he was short of money  

 The memoranda collected at the end  No  1505  1565  are  in the
original  in the usual writing  from left to right  Besides  the
style of the handwriting is at variance with what we should expect
it to be  if really Leonardo himself had written these notes  Most
of them are to be found in juxtaposition with undoubtedly authentic
writing of his  But this may be easily explained  if we take into
account the fact  that Leonardo frequently wrote on loose sheets  He
may therefore have occasionally used paper on which others had made
short memoranda  for the most part as it would seem  for his use  At
the end of all I have given Leonardo s will from the copy of it
preserved in the Melzi Library  It has already been printed by
Amoretti and by Uzielli  It is not known what has become of the
original document  

Memoranda before 1500  1379 l413  

1379 

Find Longhi and tell him that you wait for him at Rome and will go
with him to Naples  make you pay the donation  Footnote 2   Libro di
Vitolone  see No  1506 note   and take the book by Vitolone  and the
measurements of the public buildings   3  Have two covered boxes
made to be carried on mules  but bed covers will be best  this makes
three  of which you will leave one at Vinci   4  Obtain
the               from Giovanni Lombardo the linen draper of Verona 
Buy handkerchiefs and towels      and shoes  4 pairs of hose  a
jerkin of    and skins  to make new ones  the lake of Alessandro 
 Footnote  7 and fol  It would seem from the text that Leonardo
intended to have instructions in painting on paper  It is hardly
necessary to point out that the Art of illuminating was quite
separate from that of painting  

Sell what you cannot take with you  Get from Jean de Paris the
method of painting in tempera and the way of making white  Footnote 
The mysterious looking words  quite distinctly written  in line 1 
 ingol  amor a  ilopan a  and on line 2   enoiganod al  are
obviously in cipher and the solution is a simple one  by reading
them backwards we find for  ingol   logni probably  longi  
evidently the name of a person  for  amor a    a Roma   for  ilopan
a    a Napoli   Leonardo has done the same in two passages treating
on some secrets of his art Nos  641 and 729  the only other places
in which we find this cipher employed  we may therefore conclude
that it was for the sake of secrecy that he used it 

There can be no doubt  from the tenor of this passage  that Leonardo
projected a secret excursion to Naples  Nothing has hitherto been
known of this journey  but the significance of the passage will be
easily understood by a reference to the following notes  from which
we may infer that Leonardo really had at the time plans for
travelling further than Naples  From lines 3  4 and 7 it is evident
that he purposed  after selling every thing that was not easily
portable  to leave a chest in the care of his relations at Vinci 
His luggage was to be packed into two trunks especially adapted for
transport by mules  The exact meaning of many sentences in the
following notes must necessarily remain obscure  These brief remarks
on small and irrelevant affairs and so forth are however of no
historical value  The notes referring to the preparations for his
journey are more intelligible  

salt  and how to make tinted paper  sheets of paper folded up  and
his box of colours  learn to work flesh colours in tempera  learn to
dissolve gum lac  linseed     white  of the garlic of Piacenza  take
 de Ponderibus   take the works of Leonardo of Cremona  Remove the
small furnace     seed of lilies and of    Sell the boards of the
support  Make him who stole it  give you the     learn levelling and
how much soil a man can dig out in a day 

1380 

This was done by Leone in the piazza of the castle with a chain and
an arrow   Footnote  This note must have been made in Milan  as we
know from the date of the MS  

1381 

NAMES OF ENGINEERS 

Callias of Rhodes  Epimachus the Athenian  Diogenes  a philosopher 
of Rhodes  Calcedonius of Thrace  Febar of Tyre  Callimachus the
architect  a master of fires   Footnote  Callias  Architect of
Aradus  mentioned by Vitruvius  X  16  5    Epimachus  of Athens 
invented a battering enginee for Demetrius Poliorketes  Vitruvius X 
16  4    Callimachus  the inventor of the Corinthian capital  Vitr 
IV  I  9   and of the method of boring marble  Paus  I  26  7   was
also famous for his casts in bronze  Plin  XXXIV  8  19   He
invented a lamp for the temple of Athene Polias  on the Acropolis of
Athens  Paus  I  26  7   The other names  here mentioned  cannot be
identified  

1382 

Ask maestro Lodovico for  the conduits of water    Footnote 
Condotti d acqua  Possibly a book  a MS  or a map  

1383 

    at Pistoja  Fioravante di Domenico at Florence is my most
beloved friend  as though he were my  brother    Footnote  On the
same sheet is the text No  663  

1384 

On the 16th day of July 

Caterina came on 16th day of July  1493 

Messer Mariolo s Morel the Florentin  has a big horse with a fine
neck and a beautiful head 

The white stallion belonging to the falconer has fine hind quarters 
it is behind the Comasina Gate 

The big horse of Cermonino  of Signor Giulio   Footnote  Compare
Nos  1522 and 1517  Caterina seems to have been his housekeeper  

1385 

OF THE INSTRUMENT 

Any one who spends one ducat may take the instrument  and he will
not pay more than half a ducat as a premium to the inventor of the
instrument and one grosso to the workman every year  I do not want
sub officials   Footnote  Refers perhaps to the regulation of the
water in the canals  

1386 

Maestro Giuliano da Marliano has a fine herbal  He lives opposite to
Strami the Carpenters   Footnote  Compare No  616  note  4 
legnamiere  milanese dialect    legnajuolo  

1387 

Christofano da Castiglione who lives at the Pieta has a fine head 

1388 

Work of     of the stable of Galeazzo  by the road of Brera
 Footnote 4  Brera  see No  1448  II  13   benefice of Stanghe
 Footnote 5 Stanghe  see No  1509    benefice of Porta Nuova 
benefice of Monza  Indaco s mistake  give first the benefices  then
the works  then ingratitude  indignity and lamentations 

1389 

Chiliarch  captain of 1000 

Prefects  captains 

A legion  six thousand and sixty three men 

1390 

A nun lives at La Colomba at Cremona  she works good straw plait 
and a friar of Saint Francis   Footnote   La Colomba  is to this day
the name of a small house at Cremona  decorated with frescoes  

1391 

Needle   Niccolao   thread   Ferrando   lacopo
Andrea   canvas   stone   colours    brushes   pallet   sponge   the
panel of the Duke 

1392 

Messer Gian Domenico Mezzabarba and Messer Giovanni Franceso
Mezzabarba  By the side of Messer Piero d Anghiera 

1393 

Conte Francesco Torello 

1394 

Giuliano Trombetta   Antonio di Ferrara    Oil of       Footnote 
Near this text is the sketch of a head drawn in red chalk  

1395 

Paul was snatched up to heaven   Footnote  See the facsimile of this
note on Pl  XXIII No  2  

1396 

Giuliano da Maria  physician  has a steward without hands 

1397 

Have some ears of corn of large size sent from Florence 

1398 

See the bedstead at Santa Maria  Secret 

1399 

Arrigo is to have 11 gold Ducats  Arrigo is to have 4 gold ducats in
the middle of August 

1400 

Give your master the instance of a captain who does not himself win
the victory  but the soldiers do by his counsels  and so he still
deserves the reward 

1401 

Messer Pier Antonio 

1402 

Oil   yellow   Ambrosio   the mouth    the farmhouse 

1403 

My dear Alessandro from Parma  by the hand of    

1404 

Giovannina  has a fantastic face   is at Santa Caterina  at the
Hospital   Footnote  Compare the text on the same page  No  667  

1405 

24 tavole make 1 perch  4 trabochi make 1 tavola  4 braccia and a
half make a trabocco  A perch contains 1936 square braccia  or 1944 

1406 

The road of Messer Mariolo is 13 1 4 braccia wide  the House of
Evangelista is 75 

It enters 7 1 2 braccia in the house of Mariolo   Footnote  On this
page and that which faces it  MS I2 7la  are two diagrams with
numerous reference numbers  evidently relating to the measurements
of a street  

1407 

I ask at what part of its curved motion the moving cause will leave
the thing moved and moveable 

Speak to Pietro Monti of these methods of throwing spears 

1408 

Antonio de  Risi is at the council of Justice 

1409 

Paolo said that no machine that moves another       Footnote  The
passage  of which the beginning is here given  deals with questions
in mechanics  The instances in which Leonardo quotes the opinions of
his contemporaries on scientific matters are so rare as to be worth
noticing  Compare No  901   

1410 

Caravaggio   Footnote   Caravaggio   a village not far from the Adda
between Milan and Brescia  where Polidoro and Michelangelo da
Caravaggio were born  This note is given in facsimile on Pl  XIII 
No  I  above  to the left   On Pl  XIII  No  2 above to the right we
read  cerovazo   

1411 

Pulleys   nails   rope   mercury   cloth  Monday 

1412 

MEMORANDUM 

Maghino  Speculus of Master Giovanni the Frenchman  Galenus on
utility 

1413 

Near to Cordusio is Pier Antonio da Tossano and his brother
Serafino   Footnote  This note is written between lines 23 and 24 of
the text No  710  Corduso  Cordusio   curia ducis     Cordus in the
Milanese dialect  is the name of a Piazza between the Via del
Broletto and the Piazza de  Mercanti at Milan   In the time of il
Moro it was the centre of the town  The persons here named were
members of the noble Milanese family de Fossani  Ambrogio da
Possano  the contemporary painter  had no connection with them  

1414 

Memoranda after 1500  1414  1434 

1414 

Paul of Vannochio at Siena     The upper chamber for the apostles 

 4  Buildings by Bramante 

The governor of the castle made a prisoner 

 6  Visconti carried away and his son killed   Footnote 6  Visconti 
 Chi fosse quel Visconte non sapremmo indovinare fra tanti di questo
nome  Arluno narra che allora atterrate furono le case de  Viconti 
de  Castiglioni  de  Sanseverini  e de  Botta e non e improbabile
che ne fossero insultati e morti i padroni  Molti Visconti annovera
lo stesso Cronista che per essersi rallegrati del ritorno del duca
in Milano furono da  Francesi arrestati  e strascinati in Francia
come prigionieri di stato  e fra questi Messer Francesco Visconti  e
suo figliuolo Battista    AMORETTI  Mem  Stor  XIX    

Giovanni della Rosa deprived of his money 

Borgonzio began       and moreover his fortunes fled   Footnote 8 
Borgonzio o Brugonzio Botta fu regolatore delle ducali entrate sotto
il Moro  alla cui fuga la casa sua fu pur messa a sacco da 
partitanti francesi   AMORETTI  l  c   

The Duke has lost the state  property and liberty and none of his
entreprises was carried out by him 

 Footnote  l  4  10 This passage evidently refers to events in Milan
at the time of the overthrow of Ludovico il Moro  Amoretti published
it in the   Memorie Storiche   and added copious notes  

1415 

Ambrosio Petri  St  Mark  4 boards for the window  2      3 the
saints of chapels  5 the Genoese at home 

1416 

Piece of tapestry   pair of compasses    Tommaso s book   the book
of Giovanni Benci   the box in the custom house   to cut the
cloth   the sword belt   to sole the boots    a light hat   the cane
from the ruined houses   the debt for the table linen 
  swimming belt   a book of white paper for drawing   charcoal   How
much is a florin       a leather bodice 

1417 

Borges shall get for you the Archimedes from the bishop of Padua 
and Vitellozzo the one from Borgo a San Sepolcro  Footnote 3  Borgo
a San Sepolcro  where Luca Paciolo  Leonardo s friend  was born  

 Footnote  Borges  A Spanish name  

1418 

Marzocco s tablet 

1419 

Marcello lives in the house of Giacomo da Mengardino 

1420 

Where is Valentino   boots   boxes in the
custom house        Footnote 5  Carmine  A church and monastery at
Florence   the monk at the Carmine   squares    Footnotes 7 and 8 
Martelli  Borgherini  names of Florentine families  See No  4  
Piero Martelli    8  Salvi Borgherini   send back the bags   a
support for the spectacles    Footnote 11  San Gallo  possibly
Giuliano da San Gallo  the Florentine architect   the nude study of
San Gallo   the cloak  Porphyry   groups   square    Footnote 16 
Pandolfini  see No  1544 note   Pandolfino   Footnote  Valentino 
Cesare Borgia is probably meant  After being made Archbishop of
Valence by Alexander VI he was commonly called Valentinus or
Valentino  With reference to Leonardo s engagements by him see pp 
224 and 243  note  

1421 

Concave mirrors  philosophy of Aristotle  Footnote 2   Avicenna 
 Leonardo here writes it Avinega  the Arab philosopher  980 1037 
for centuries the unimpeachable authority on all medical questions 
Leonardo possibly points here to a printed edition   Avicennae
canonum libri V  latine  1476  Patavis   Other editions are  Padua
1479  and Venice 1490   the books of Avicenna Italian and Latin
vocabulary  Messer Ottaviano Palavicino or his Vitruvius  Footnote
3   Vitruvius   See Vol  I  No  343 note    bohemian knives 
Vitruvius Footnote 6   Vitruvius   See Vol  I  No  343 note    go
every Saturday to the hot bath where you will see naked men 

 Meteora   Footnote 7   Meteora   See No  1448  25   

Archimedes  on the centre of gravity   Footnote 9  The works of
Archimedes were not printed during Leonardo s life time   anatomy
 Footnote 10  Compare No  1494   Alessandro Benedetto  The Dante of
Niccolo della Croce  Inflate the lungs of a pig and observe whether
they increase in width and in length  or in width diminishing in
length 

 Footnote 14   Johannes Marliani sua etate philosophorum et
medicorum principis et ducalis phisic  primi de proportione motuum
velocitate questio subtilissima incipit ex ejusdem Marliani
originali feliciter extracta  M ilano   1482 

Another work by him has the title   Marlianus mediolanensis  Questio
de caliditate corporum humanorum tempore hiemis ed estatis et de
antiparistasi ad celebrem philosophorum et medicorum universitatem
ticinensem   1474   Marliano  on Calculation  to Bertuccio 
Albertus  on heaven and earth  Footnote 15  See No  1469  1  7   
 from the monk Bernardino   Horace has written on the movements of
the heavens 

 Footnote   Filosofia d Aristotele  see No  1481 note  

1422 

Of the three regular bodies as opposed to some commentators who
disparage the Ancients  who were the originators of grammar and the
sciences and    

1423 

The room in the tower of Vaneri 

 Footnote  This note is written inside the sketch of a plan of a
house  On the same page is the date 1513  see No  1376   

1424 

The figures you will have to reserve for the last book on shadows
that they may appear in the study of Gerardo the illuminator at San
Marco at Florence 

 Go to see Melzo  and the Ambassador  and Maestro Bernardo  

 Footnote  L  1 3 are in the original written between lines 3 and 4
of No  292  But the sense is not clear in this connection  It is
scarcely possible to devine the meaning of the following sentence 

2  3   Gherardo  Miniatore  a famous illuminator  1445 1497  to whom
Vasari dedicated a section of his Lives  Vol  II pp  237 243  ed 
Sansoni 1879  

5   Bernardo   possibly the painter Bernardo Zenale  

1425 

Hermes the philosopher 

1426 

Suisset  viz  calculator   Tisber    Angelo Fossobron   Alberto 

1427 

The structure of the drawbridge shown me by Donnino  and why  c  and
 d  thrust downwards 

 Footnote  The sketch on the same page as this text represents two
poles one across the other  At the ends of the longest are the
letter  c  and  d   The sense of the passage is not rendered any
clearer  

1428 

The great bird will take its first flight    on the back of his
great swan   filling the universe with wonders  filling all writings
with his fame and bringing eternal glory to his birthplace 

 Footnote  This seems to be a speculation about the flying machine
 compare p  271   

1429 

This stratagem was used by the Gauls against the Romans  and so
great a mortality ensued that all Rome was dressed in mourning 

 Footnote  Leonardo perhaps alludes to the Gauls under Brennus  who
laid his sword in the scale when the tribute was weighed  

1430 

Alberto da Imola   Algebra  that is  the demonstration of the
equality of one thing to another 

1431 

Johannes Rubicissa e Robbia 

1432 

Ask the wife of Biagio Crivelli how the capon nurtures and hatches
the eggs of the hen   he being drunk 

1433 

The book on Water to Messer Marco Antonio 

 Footnote  Possibly Marc Antonio della Torre  see p  97  

1434 

Have Avicenna s work on useful inventions translated  spectacles
with the case  steel and fork and      charcoal  boards  and paper 
and chalk and white  and wax           for glass  a saw for bones
with fine teeth  a chisel  inkstand          three herbs  and Agnolo
Benedetto  Get a skull  nut   mustard 

Boots   gloves  socks  combs  papers  towels  shirts     
shoe tapes         shoes  penknife  pens  A skin for the chest 

 Footnote  4  Lapis  Compare Condivi   Vita di Michelagnolo
Buonarotti   Chap  XVIII    Ma egli   Michelangelo   non avendo che
mostrare  prese una penna  percioche in quel tempo il lapis non era
in uso  e con tal leggiadria gli dipinse una mano ecc   The incident
is of the year l496   Lapis means pencil  and chalk   matita   
Between lines 7 and 8 are the texts given as Nos  819 and No  7  

Undated memoranda  1435 1457  

1435 

The book of Piero Crescenze   studies from the nude by Giovanni
Ambrosio   compasses    the book of Giovanni Giacomo 

1436 

MEMORARDUM 

To make some provisions for my garden    Giordano   De
Ponderibus  Footnote 3   Giordano   Jordanus Nemorarius  a
mathematician of the beginning of the XIIIth century  No particulars
of his life are known  The title of his principal work is 
 Arithmetica decem libris demonstrata   first published at Paris
1496  In 1523 appeared at Nuremberg   Liber Jordani Nemorarii de
ponderibus  propositiones XIII et earundem demonstrationes 
multarumque rerum rationes sane pulcherrimas complectens  nunc in
lucem editus      the peacemaker  the flow and ebb of the sea   have
two baggage trunks made  look to Beltraffio s  Footnote 6 
 Beltraffio   see No  465  note 2 

There are sketches by the side of lines 8 and 10   lathe and have
taken the stone   out leave the books belonging to Messer Andrea the
German    make scales of a long reed and weigh the substance when
hot and again when cold  The mirror of Master Luigi   A b  the flow
and ebb of the water is shown at the mill of Vaprio   a cap 

1437 

Giovanni Fabre   Lazaro del Volpe    the common   Ser Piero 

 Footnote  These names are inserted on a plan of plots of land
adjoining the Arno  

1438 

 Lactantius    the book of Benozzo   groups   to bind the book   a
lantern   Ser Pecantino   Pandolfino    Rosso   a square    small
knives   carriages   curry combs   cup 

1439 

Quadrant of Carlo Marmocchi   Messer Francesco Araldo   Ser
Benedetto d Accie perello   Benedetto on arithmetic   Maestro Paulo 
physician   Domenico di Michelino           of the Alberti   Messer
Giovanni Argimboldi 

1440 

Colours  formula   Archimedes   Marcantonio 

Tinned iron   pierced iron 

1441 

See the shop that was formerly Bartolommeo s  the stationer 

 Footnote  6   Marc Antonio   see No  1433  

1442 

The first book is by Michele di Francesco Nabini  it treats on
science 

1443 

Messer Francesco  physician of Lucca  with the Cardinal Farnese 

 Footnote   Alessandro Farnese   afterwards Pope Paul III was
created in 1493 Cardinal di San Cosimo e San Damiano  by Alexander
VI  

1444 

Pandolfino s book  Footnote 1   Pandolfino  Agnolo   of Florence  It
is to this day doubtful whether he or L  B  Alberti was the author
of the famous work   Del Governo della Famiglia    It is the more
probable that Leonardo should have meant this work by the words  il
libro   because no other book is known to have been written by
Pandolfino  This being the case this allusion of Leonardo s is an
important evidence in favour of Pandolfino s authorship  compare No 
1454  line 3      knives   a pen for ruling   to have the vest
dyed   The library at St  Mark s   The library at Santo
Spirito   Lactantius of the Daldi  Footnote 7  The works of
Lactantius were published very often in Italy during Leonardo s
lifetime  The first edition published in 1465   in monastero
sublacensi   was also the first book printed in Italy     Antonio
Covoni   A book by Maestro Paolo Infermieri    Boots  shoes and
hose    Shell lac    An apprentice to do the models for me  Grammar 
by Lorenzo de Medici   Giovanni del Sodo   Sansovino   Footnote 15 
 Sansovino   Andrea  the  sculptor   1460 1529    a ruler   a very
sharp knife   Spectacles   fractions     
  repair            Tomaso s book    Michelagnolo s little chain 
Learn the multiplication of roots from Maestro Luca   my map of the
world which Giovanni Benci has  Footnote 25  Leonardo here probably
alludes to the map  not executed by him  See p  224   which is with
the collection of his MSS  at Windsor  and was published in the
 Archaeologia  Vol  XI  see p  224     Socks   clothes from the
customhouse officier   Red Cordova leather   The map of the world 
of Giovanni Benci   a print  the districts about Milan  Market book 

Get the Friar di Brera to show you  the book    de Ponderibus  
 Footnote 11   Brera   now  Palazzo delle Scienze ed Arti  Until
1571 it was the monastery of the order of the Umiliati and
afterwards of the Jesuits 

 De ponderibus   compare No  1436  3     

Of the measurement of San Lorenzo   

I lent certain groups to Fra Filippo de Brera   Footnote 13 
 Brera   now  Palazzo delle Scienze ed Arti  Until 1571 it was the
monastery of the order of the Umiliati and afterwards of the
Jesuits 

 De ponderibus   compare No  1436  3    

Memorandum  to ask Maestro Giovannino as to the mode in which the
tower of Ferrara is walled without loopholes   

Ask Maestro Antonio how mortars are placed on bastions by day or by
night   

Ask Benedetto Portinari how the people go on the ice in Flanders   

On proportions by Alchino  with notes by Marliano  from Messer
Fazio   

The measurement of the sun  promised me by Maestro Giovanni  the
Frenchman   

The cross bow of Maestro Gianetto   

The book by Giovanni Taverna that Messer Fazio   

You will draw Milan  21    

The measurement of the canal  locks and supports  and large boats 
and the expense   

Plan of Milan  Footnote 23   Fondamento  is commonly used by
Leonardo to mean ground plan  See for instance p  53     

Groups by Bramante  Footnote 24   Gruppi   See Vol  I p  355  No 
600  note 9     

The book on celestial phenomena by Aristoteles  in Italian  Footnote
25   Meteora   By this Leonardo means no doubt the four books  He
must refer here to a MS  translation  as no Italian translation is
known to have been published  see No  1477 note      

Try to get Vitolone  which is in the library at Pavia  Footnote 26 
 Vitolone  see No  1506  note 

 Libreria di Pavia   One of the most famous of Italian libraries 
After the victory of Novara in April 1500  Louis XII had it conveyed
to France    come trofeo di vittoria     and which treats of
Mathematics   He had a master  learned  in waterworks and get him to
explain the repairs and the costs  and a lock and a canal and a mill
in the Lombard fashion 

A grandson of Gian Angelo s  the painter has a book on water which
was his fathers 

Paolino Scarpellino  called Assiolo has great knowledge of water
works 

 Footnote 12   Sco Lorenzo   A church at Milan  see pp  39  40 and
50  

 Footnote 13  24   Gruppi   See Vol  I p  355  No  600  note 9  

 Footnote 16  The  Portinari  were one of the great merchant 
families of Florence  

1449 

Francesco d Antonio at Florence 

1450 

Giuliano Condi 1    Tomaso Ridolfi    Tomaso Paganelli   Nicolo del
Nero   Simone Zasti   Nasi   the heir of Lionardo Manelli 
  Guglielmo di Ser Martino   Bartolomeo del Tovaglia   Andrea
Arrigucci    Nicolo Capponi   Giovanni Portinari 

 Footnote  I   Guiliano Gondi   Ser Piero da Vinci  Leonardo s
father  lived till 1480  in a house belonging to Giuliano Gondi  In
1498 this was pulled down to make room for the fine Palazzo built on
the Piazza San Firenze by Giuliano di San Gallo  which still exists 
In the  Riassunto del Catasto di Ser Piero da Vinci   1480  Leonardo
is not mentioned  it is evident therefore that he was living
elsewhere  It may be noticed incidentally that in the  Catasto di
Giuliano Gondi  of the same year the following mention is made of
his four eldest sons 

 Lionardo mio figliuolo d eta d anni 29  non fa nulla  Giovambatista
d eta d anni 28 in Ghostantinopoli  Billichozo d eta d anni 24 a
Napoli  Simone d eta d anni 23 in Ungheria  

He himself was a merchant of gold filigree   facciamo lavorare una
bottegha d arte di seta     facciamo un pocho di trafico a Napoli   
As he was 59 years old in 1480  he certainly would not have been
alive at the time of Leonardo s death  But Leonardo must have been
on intimate terms with the family till the end of his life  for in a
letter dated June 1  1519  in which Fr  Melzi  writing from Amboise 
announces Leonardo s death to Giuliano da Vinci at Florence  see p 
284   he says at the end   Datemene risposta per i Gondi    see
UZIELLI   Ricerche   passim  

Most of the other names on the list are those of well known
Florentine families  

1451 

Pandolfino 

1452 

Vespuccio will give me a book of Geometry 

 Footnote  See No  844  note  p  130  

1453 

Marcantonio Colonna at Santi Apostoli 

 Footnote  In July 1506 Pope Julius II gave Donna Lucrezia della
Rovere  the daughter of his sister Lucchina  in marriage to the
youthful Marcantonio Colonna  who  like his brothers Prospero and
Fabrizio  became one of the most famous Captains of his family  He
gave to him Frascati and made him a present of the palazzo he had
built  when Cardinal  near the church of Santi Apostoli which is now
known as the Palazzo Colonna  see GREGOROVIUS   Gesch  der Stadt
Rom   Vol  VIII  book XIV I  3  And COPPI   Mem  Colonnesi  p 
251   

1454 

A box  a cage    A square  to make the bird  Footnote 2  Vasari
states that Leonardo invented mechanical birds which moved through
the air  Compare No  703      Pandolfino s book  mortar        Small
knives  Venieri for the

 Footnote  Much of No  1444 is repeated in this memorandum  

Pen for ruling         stone   star   

To have the vest dyed  Alfieri s tazza   

The Libraries          the book on celestial
                       phenomena   

Lactantius of the      go to the house of
Daldi                  the Pazzi 

Book from Maestro      small box   
Paolo Infermieri   

Boots  shoes and       small gimlet   
hose 

Lac                              

An apprentice for              
models 

Grammar of Lo          the amount of the
renzo de  Medici          

Giovanni del Sodo           
for      the broken

Sansovino              the    

Piero di Cosino        the wings   

 Footnote 16   Pier di Cosimo  the well known Florentine painter
1462 1521  See VASARI   Vite   Vol  IV  p  134 ed  Sansoni 1880 
about Leonardo s influence on Piero di Cosimo s style of painting  

Filippo and Lorenzo  Footnote 17   Filippo e Lorenzo   probably the
painters Filippino Lippi and Lorenzo di Credi  L  di Credi s
pictures and Vasari s history of that painter bear ample evidence to
his intimate relations with Leonardo     A ruler     Spectacles   to
do the      again   Tomaso s book   Michelagnolo s chain   The
multiplication of roots   Of the bow and strinch   The map of the
world from Benci    Socks   The clothes from the custom house
officier   Cordova leather   Market books    waters of
Cronaca   waters of Tanaglino       the caps   Rosso s mirror  to
see him make it   1 3 of which I have 5 6   on the celestial
phenomena  by Aristotle  Footnote 36   Meteora   See No  1448 
25     boxes of Lorenzo di Pier Francesco  Footnote 37   Lorenzo di
Pier Francesco  and his brother  Giovanni  were a lateral branch of
the  Medici  family and changed their name for that of
Popolani     Maestro Piero of the Borgo   To have my book
bound   Show the book to Serigatto    and get the rule of the clock
 Footnote 41  Possibly this refers to the clock on the tower of the
Palazzo Vecchio at Florence  In February 1512 it had been repaired 
and so arranged as to indicate the hours after the French manner
 twelve hours a  m  and as many p  m       
ring   nutmeg   gum   the square   Giovan  Batista at the piazza 
de  Mozzi   Giovanni Benci has my book and jaspers   brass for the
spectacles 

1455 

Search in Florence for      

1456 

Bernardo da Ponte     Val di Lugano     many veins for anatomical
demonstration 

 Footnote  This fragmentary note is written on the margin of a
drawing of two legs  

1457 

Paolo of Tavechia  to see the marks in the German stones 

 Footnote  This note occurs on a pen and ink drawing made by
Leonardo as a sketch for the celebrated large cartoon in the
possession of the Royal Academy of Arts  in London  This cartoon is
commonly supposed to be identical with that described and lauded by
Vasari  which was exhibited in Florence at the time and which now
seems to be lost  Mr  Alfred Marks  of Long Ditton  in his valuable
paper  read before the Royal Soc  of Literature  June 28  1882   On
the St  Anne of Leonardo da Vinci   has adduced proof that the
cartoon now in the Royal Academy was executed earlier at Milan  The
note here given  which is written on the sheet containing the study
for the said cartoon  has evidently no reference to the drawing on
which it is written but is obviously of the same date  Though I have
not any opening here for discussing this question of the cartoon  it
seemed to me important to point out that the character of the
writing in this note does not confirm the opinion hitherto held that
the Royal Academy cartoon was the one described by Vasari  but  on
the contrary  supports the hypothesis put forward by Mr  Marks  

Notes on pupils  1458 1468  

1458 

Giacomo came to live with me on St  Mary Magdalen s Footnote   Il di
della Maddalena   July 22   day  1490  aged 10 years  The second day
I had two shirts cut out for him  a pair of hose  and a jerkin  and
when I put aside some money to pay for these things he stole 4
 lire  the money out of the purse  and I could never make him
confess  though I was quite certain of the fact   Thief  liar 
obstinate  glutton 

The day after  I went to sup with Giacomo Andrea  and the said
Giacomo supped for two and did mischief for four  for he brake 3
cruets  spilled the wine  and after this came to sup where I     

Item  on the 7th day of September he stole a silver point of the
value of 22 soldi from Marco Footnote 6   Marco   probably
Leonardo s pupil Marco d Oggionno  1470 is supposed to be the date
of his birth and 1540 of his death 

 Che stava con meco   We may infer from this that he left the master
shortly after this  his term of study having perhaps expired   who
was living with me  4  lire  this being of silver  and he took it
from his studio  and when the said Marco had searched for it a long
while he found it hidden in the said Giacomo s box 4  lire  

Item  on the 26th January following  I  being in the house of Messer
Galeazzo da San Severino  Footnote 9  Galeazzo  See No  718 note   
was arranging the festival for his jousting  and certain footmen
having undressed to try on some costumes of wild men for the said
festival  Giacomo went to the purse of one of them which lay on the
bed with other clothes  2 lire 4 S  and took out such money as was
in it 

Item  when I was in the same house  Maestro Agostino da Pavia gave
to me a Turkish hide to have  2 lire   a pair of short boots made of
it  this Giacomo stole it of me within a month and sold it to a
cobbler for 20 soldi  with which money  by his own confession  he
bought anise comfits 

Item  again  on the 2nd April  Giovan Antonio  Footnote 16  Giovan
Antonio  probably Beltraffio  1467 to 1516   having left a silver
point on a drawing of his  Giacomo stole it  and this was of the
value of 24 soldi  1 lira 4 S  

The first year 

A cloak  2 lire 
6 shirts  4 lire 
3 jerkins  6 lire 
4 pairs of hose  7 lire 8 soldi 
1 lined doublet  5 lire 
24 pairs of shoes  6 lire 5 soldi 
A cap  1 lira 
laces  1 lira 

 Footnote  Leonardo here gives a detailed account not only of the
loss he and others incurred through Giacomo but of the wild tricks
of the youth  and we may therefore assume that the note was not made
merely as a record for his own use  but as a report to be forwarded
to the lad s father or other responsible guardian  

1459 

On the last day but one of September 

Thursday the 27th day of September Maestro Tommaso came back and
worked for himself until the last day but one of February  On the
18th day of March  1493  Giulio  a German  came to live with
me   Lucia  Piero  Leonardo 

On the 6th day of October 

1460 

1493  On the 1st day of November we settled accounts  Giulio had to
pay 4 months  and Maestro Tommaso 9 months  Maestro Tommaso
afterwards made 6 candlesticks  10 days  work  Giulio some
fire tongs 15 days work  Then he worked for himself till the 27th
May  and worked for me at a lever till the 18th July  then for
himself till the 7th of August  and for one day  on the fifteenth 
for a lady  Then again for me at 2 locks until the 20th of August 

1461 

On the 23rd day of August  12 lire from Pulisona  On the 14th of
March 1494  Galeazzo came to live with me  agreeing to pay 5 lire a
month for his cost paying on the l4th day of each month 

His father gave me 2 Rhenish florins 

On the l4th of July  I had from Galeazzo 2 Rhenish florins 

1462 

On the 15th day of September Giulio began the lock of my studio
1494 

1463 

Saturday morning the 3rd of August 1504 Jacopo the German came to
live with me in the house  and agreed with me that I should charge
him a carlino a day 

1464 

1511  On the 26th of September Antonio broke his leg  he must rest
40 days 

 Footnote  This note refers possibly to Beltraffio  

1465 

I left Milan for Rome on the 24th day of September  1513  with
Giovanni  Footnote 2   Giovan   it is not likely that Leonardo
should have called Giovan  Antonio Beltraffio at one time Giovanni 
as in this note and another time Antonio  as in No  1464 while in
No  1458 l  16 we find  Giovan Antonio   and in No  1436  l 6
 Beltraffio   Possibly the Giovanni here spoken of is Leonardo s
less known pupil Giovan Pietrino  see No  1467  5     Francesco di
Melzi  Footnote 2 3   Francesco de  Melzi  is often mentioned  see
Nos  1350    Salai  Footnote 3   Salai   See No  1519 note   
Lorenzo and il Fanfoia 

 Footnote 4   Lorenzo   See No  1351  l  10  p  408   Amoretti gives
the following note in  Mem  Stor  XXIII   1505   Martedi  sera a di
14 d aprile  Venne Lorenzo a stare con mecho  disse essere d eta
d anni 17    a di 15 del detto aprile ebbi scudi 25 d oro dal
chamerlingo di Santa Maria nuova   This  he asserts is derived from
a MS  marked S  in quarto  This MS  seems to have vanished and left
no trace behind  Amoretti himself had not seen it  but copied from a
selection of extracts made by Oltrocchi before the Leonardo MSS 
were conveyed to Paris on the responsibility of the first French
Republic  Lorenzo  by this  must have been born in 1487  The
sculptor Lorenzetto was born in 1490  Amoretti has been led by the
above passage to make the following absurd observations 

 Cotesto Lorenzo  che poi gli fu sempre compagno  almeno sin che
stette in Italia  sarebb  egli Lorenzo Lotto bergamasco  Sappiamo
essere stato questo valente dipintore uno de bravi scolari del
Vinci      

 Il Fafoia   perhaps a nickname  Cesare da Sesto  Leonardo s pupil 
seems to have been in Rome in these years  as we learn from a
drawing by him in the Louvre 

1466 

On the 3rd day of January 

Benedetto came on the 17th of October  he stayed with me two months
and 13 days of last year  in which time he earned 38 lire  18 soldi
and 8 dinari  he had of this 26 lire and 8 soldi  and there remains
to be paid for the past year 12 lire 10 soldi 

Giodatti     came on the 8th day of September  at 4 soldi a month 
and stayed with me 3 months and 24 days  and earned 59 lire 14 soldi
and 8 dinari  he has had 43 lire  4 soldi  there remains to pay 16
lire  10 soldi and 8 dinari 

Benedetto  24 grossoni 

 Footnote  This seems to be an account for two assistants  The name
of the second is scarcely legible  The year is not given  The note
is nevertheless of chronological value  The first line tells us the
date when the note was registered  January 3d  and the observations
that follow refer to events of the previous month  of last year 
  dell anno passato    Leonardo cannot therefore have written thus
in Florence where the year was  at that period  calculated as
beginning in the month of March  see Vol  I  No  4  note 2   He must
then have been in Milan  What is more important is that we thus
learn how to date the beginning of the year in all the notes written
at Milan  This clears up Uzielli s doubts   A Milano facevasi
cominciar l anno ab incarnatione  cioe il 25 Marzo e a nativitate 
cioe il 25 Decembre  Ci sembra probabile che Leonardo dovesse
prescegliere lo stile che era in uso a Firenze     Ricerche   p  84 
note   

1467 

Gian Maria 4 
Benedetto 4 
Gian Pietro  5  3 
Salai 3 
Bartolomeo 3 
Gherardo 4 

1468 

Salai  20 lire 
Bonifacio  2 lire 
Bartolomeo  4 lire 
Arrigo  Harry   15 lire 

Quotations and notes on books and authors  1469 1508  

1469 

Book on Arithmetic  Footnote 1    La nobel opera de arithmethica ne
la qual se tracta tute cosse amercantia pertinente facta   compilata
per Piero borgi da Veniesia   in 40  In fine   Nela inclita cita di
Venetia a corni  2 augusto  1484  fu imposto fine ala presente
opera   Segn  a  p  quaderni  V ha pero un  altra opera simile di
Filippo Calandro  1491  E da consultarsi su quest  ultimo  Federici 
Memorie Trevigiane  Fiore di virtu  pag  73   Libricciuolo composto
di bello stile verso il 1320 e piu volte impresso nel secolo XV
 ristampato poi anche piu tardi   Gli accademici della Crusca lo
ammettono nella serie dei testi di lingua  Vedasi Gamba  Razzolini 
Panzer  Brunet  Lechi  ecc    G  D A      Flowers of Virtue  

Pliny  Footnote 2    Historia naturale di C  Plinio Secondo 
tradocta di lingua latina in fiorentina per Christophoro Laudino  
Opus Nicolai Jansonis gallici imp  anno salutis M CCCC LXXVI 
Venetiis  in fol   Diogene Laertio  Incomincia   El libro de la vita
de philosophi etc   Impressum Venetiis  per Bernardinum Celerium de
Luere  1480   in 40   G  D A       Lives of the Philosophers  

The Bible  Footnote 3    La Bibia volgare historiata  per Nicolo di
Mallermi  Venecia     M CCCC LXXI in kalende di Augusto  per
Vindelino de Spira   2 vol  in fol  a 2 col  di 50 lin   od altra
ediz  della stessa versione del Mallermi  Venetia 1471  e sempre 
 Venecia per Gabriel de Piero 1477   in fol   2 vol   Ottavio Scotto
da Modoetia 1481    Venetia 1487 per Joan Rosso Vercellese    1490
Giovanni Ragazo di Monteferato a instantia di Luchanthonio di
Giunta  ecc    Lapidario Teofrasto  Mandebille   Le grand
lapidaire   versione italiana ms      Giorgio Agricola non puo
essere  perche nato nel 1494  forse Alberto Magno  de mineralibus 
Potrebbe essere una traduzione del poema latino  Liber lapidum seu
de gemmis  di Marbordio Veterio di Rennes  morto nel 1123 da lui
stesso tradotto in francese dal greco di Evao re d Arabia celebre
medico che l aveva composto per l imperatore Tiberio  Marbodio
scrisse il suo prima per Filippo Augusto re di Francia  Vi sono
anche traduzioni in prosa   Il lapidario o la forza e la virtu delle
pietre preziose  delle Erbe e degli Animali     G  D A    
 Lapidary  

 On warfare   Footnote 4   Il Vegezio      Il Frontino      Il
Cornazzano     Noi crediamo piuttosto il Valturio  Questo libro
doveva essere uno de favoriti di Leonardo poiche libro di scienza e
d arte nel tempo stesso      Epistles of Filelfo  

 Footnote  The late Marchese Girolamo d Adda published a highly
valuable and interesting disquisition on this passage under the
title   Leonardo da Vinci e la sua Libreria  note di un bibliofilo
 Milano 1873  Ed  di soli 75 esemplari   privately printed   In the
autumn of 1880 the Marchese d Adda showed me a considerable mass of
additional notes prepared for a second edition  This  as he then
intended  was to come out after the publication of this work of
mine  After the much regretted death of the elder Marchese  his son 
the Marchese Gioachino d Adda was so liberal as to place these MS 
materials at my disposal for the present work  through the kind
intervention of Signor Gustavo Frizzoni  The following passages 
with the initials G  d A  are prints from the valuable notes in that
publication  the MS  additions I have marked  I did not however
think myself justified in reproducing here the acute and interesting
observations on the contents of most of the rare books here
enumerated  

 Footnote  1467  5  See No  1465  2  

The first decade   5   On the preservation of health   The third
decade   6  Ciecho d Ascoli  The fourth decade   7  Albertus Magnus 
Guido   8  New treatise on rhetorics  Piero Crescentio   9 
Cibaldone   Quadriregio    10  Aesop 

Donato   Footnote 11    Donatus latine   italice  Impressum Venetiis
impensis Johannis Baptistae de Sessa anno  1499   in  4deg        El
Psalterio de David in lingua volgare  da Malermi Venetia nel
M CCCC LXXVI    in fol  s  n    G  D A    Psalms 

Justinus   Footnote 12  Compare No  1210  48    La versione di
Girolamo Squarzafico     Il libro di Justino posto diligentemente in
materna lingua  Venetia ale spesse  sic  di Johane de Colonia  
Johane Gheretze      l477    in fol      Marsilii Ficini  Theologia
platonica  sive de animarum immortalitate  Florentine  per Ant 
Misconimum  1482    in fol   ovvero qualche versione italiana di
questo stesso libro  ms    G  D A     On the immortality of the
soul 

Guido  Footnote 13   Forse    la Historia Trojana Guidonis    od il
   manipulus    di    Guido da Monterocherii    ma piu probabilmente
   Guido d Arezzo    il di cui libro     Micrologus  seu disciplina
artis musicae    poteva da Leonardo aversi ms   di questi ne
esistono in molto biblioteche  e fu poi impresso nel 1784 dal
Gerbert  

 Molte sono le edizione dei sonetti di Burchiello Fiorentino 
impresse nel secolo XV  La prima e piu rara e recercata  
  Incominciano li sonetti  ecc   per Christoforo Arnaldo      in  4deg 
 senza numeri  richiami o segnature  del  1475   e fors  anche del 
1472   secondo Morelli e Dibdin  ecc    G  D A    Burchiello 

 Doctrinale   Footnote 14   Versione italiana det  Doctrinal de
Sapience  di Guy de Roy  e foris anche l originale in lingua
francese    

 Di Pulci Luigi  benche nell  edizione     Florentiae  1479   in  4deg 
si dica     Il Driadeo composto in rima octava per Lucio Pulcro   
Altre ediz  del secolo XV     Florentie Miscomini  1481   in  40 
 Firenze  apud S  Jacob  de Ripoli   1483     in  4deg   e  Antoni de
Francesco   1487    in  4deg   e Francesco di Jacopo  1489  in  4deg   ed
altre ancora di Venezia e senza alcuna nota ecc    G  D A   
Driadeo 

Morgante  Footnote 15   Una delle edizioni del Morgante impresse nel
secolo XV  ecc    

 Quale delle opere di Francesco Petrarca  sarebbe malagevole
l indovinare  ma probabilmente il Canzoniere    G  D A    Petrarch 

John de Mandeville  Footnote 16   Sono i viaggi del cavaliere 
  Mandeville    gentiluomo inglese  Scrisse il suo libro in lingua
francese  Fu stampato replicatamente nel secolo XV in francese  in
inglese ed in italiano ed in tedesco  del secolo XV ne annoverano
forse piu di 27 edizioni  di cui ne conosciamo  8  in francese 
quattro in latino  sei in tedesco e molte altre in volgare    G 
D A   

 On honest recreation   Footnote 17   Il Platina  Bartolomeo Sacchi 
la versione italiana    de la honesta voluptate    valetudine    de
li obsonnii  Venetia  senza nome di tipografo   1487    piccolo
in  4deg   gotico    G  D A    Compare No  844  21  

Manganello   Footnote 18   Il Manganello  Satira eccessivamente
vivace contro le donne ad imitazione della Sesta di Giovenale 
Manganello non e soltanto il titolo del libricino  sua ben anche il
nome dell autore ch era un    milanese     Di questo libercolo
rarissimo  che sembra impresso a Venezia dallo Zoppino  Nicolo
d Aristotile detto il   senza data  ma dei primissimi anni del
secolo XVI  e forse piu antico  come vedremo in appresso  non se ne
conoscono fra biblioteche pubbliche e private che due soli esemplari
in Europa    G  D A   

The Chronicle of Isidoro   Footnote 19    Cronica desidero   
 sembra si deggia leggere piuttosto    cronico disidoro     ed in
questo caso s intenderebbe la    cronica d Isidoro    tanto in voga
a quel tempo    Comenza la Cronica di Sancto Isidoro menore con
alchune additione cavate del testo   istorie de la Bibia   del libro
di Paulo Oroso      Impresso in Ascoli in casa del reverendo misser
Pascale       per mano di Guglielmo de Linis de Alamania
M CCCC LXXVII    in  4deg   di  157  ff  E il primo libro impresso ad
Ascoli e l edizione principe di questa cronica in oggi assai rara 
Non lo e meno l edizione di Cividal del Friuli   1480   e quella ben
anche di Aquila   1482   sempre in  4deg    Vedasi Panzer  Hain  Brunet
e P  Dechamps    G  D A   

The Epistles of Ovid   Footnote 20    Le pistole di Ovidio tradotte
in prosa  Napoli Sixt  Riessinger     in  4deg    oppure     Epistole
volgarizzate  1489    in  4deg   a due col     impresse ne la cita
 sic  di Bressa per pre  Baptista de Farfengo      in ottave  o  
  El libro dele Epistole di Ovidio in rima volgare per messere
Dominico de Monticelli toschano  Brescia Farfengo     in  4deg   got 
 in rima volgare    1491   ed anche la versione di Luca Pulci 
Firenze  Mischomini   1481   in  4deg    G  D A    

Epistles of Filelfo   Footnote 21  See l  4  

Sphere   Footnote 22    Jo  de Sacrobusto     o    Goro Dati     o 
  Tolosano da Colle    di cui molteplici edizioni del secolo XV  
 G  D A   

The Jests of Poggio   Footnote 23   Tre edizioni delle facezie del
Poggio abbiamo in lingua italiana della fine del secolo XV  tutte
senza data   Facetie de Poggio fiorentino traducte de latino in
vulgare ornatissimo   in 40  segn  a  e in caratteri romani 
l altra   Facetie traducte de latino in vulgare   in 40  caratteri
gotici  ecc    G  D A    Chiromancy   Footnote 24    Die Kunst
Cyromantia etc  in tedesco  26 ff  di testo e figure il tutte
eseguito su tavole di legno verso la fine del secolo XV da Giorgio
Schapff   Dibdin  Heinecken  Sotheby e Chatto ne diedero una lunga
descrizione  i primi tre accompagnati da fac simili  La data 1448
che si legge alla fine del titolo si riferisce al periodo della
composizione del testo  non a quello della stampa del volume benche
tabellario  Altri molti libri di Chiromanzia si conoscono di quel
tempo e sarebbe opera vana il citarli tutti    G  D A   

Formulary of letters   Footnote 25   Miniatore Bartolomeo 
 Formulario de epistole vulgare missive e responsive    altri fiori
de ornali parlamenti al principe Hercule d Esti ecc  composto ecc 
Bologna per Ugo di Rugerii   in 40  del secolo XV  Altra edizione di
 Venetia Bernardino di Novara  1487  e  Milano per Joanne Angelo
Scinzenzeler 1500   in 40    G  D A  

Five books out of this list are noted by Leonardo in another MS 
 Tr  3    donato     lapidario     plinio     abacho     morgante   

1470 

Nonius Marcellus  Festus Pompeius  Marcus Varro 

 Footnote  Nonius Marcellus and Sextus Pompeius Festus were Roman
grammarians of about the fourth century A  D  Early publications of
the works of Marcellus are   De proprietate sermonis  Romae   about
1470   and 1471  place of publication unknown    Compendiosa
doctrina  ad filium  de proprietate sermonum   Venice  1476  BRUNET 
 Manuel du libraire   IV  p  97  notes   Le texte de cet ancien
grammairien a ete reimprime plusieurs fois a la fin du XVe siecle 
avec ceux de Pomponius Festus et de Terentius Varro  La plus
ancienne edition qui reunisse ces trois auteurs est celle de Parme 
1480     Celles de Venise  1483  1490  1498  et de Milan  1500 
toutes in fol   ont peu de valeur   

1471 

Map of Elephanta in India which Antonello Merciaio has from maestro
Maffeo   there for seven years the earth rises and for seven years
it sinks   Enquire at the stationers about Vitruvius 

1472 

See  On Ships  Messer Battista  and Frontinus  On Acqueducts 
 Footnote 2  2   Vitruvius de Arch   et Frontinus de Aquedoctibus  
Florence  1513   This is the earliest edition of Frontinus   The
note referring to this author thus suggests a solution of the
problem of the date of the Leicester Manuscript   

 Footnote  Compare No  1113  25  

1473 

Anaxagoras  Every thing proceeds from every thing  and every thing
becomes every thing  and every thing can be turned into every thing
else  because that which exists in the elements is composed of those
elements 

1474 

The Archimedes belonging to the Bishop of Padua 

 Footnote  See No  1421  1  3  6 and Vol  I  No  343  

1475 

Archimedes gave the quadrature of a polygonal figure  but not of the
circle  Hence Archimedes never squared any figure with curved sides 
He squared the circle minus the smallest portion that the intellect
can conceive  that is the smallest point visible 

 Footnote  Compare No  1504  

1476 

If any man could have discovered the utmost powers of the cannon  in
all its various forms and have given such a secret to the Romans 
with what rapidity would they have conquered every country and have
vanquished every army  and what reward could have been great enough
for such a service  Archimedes indeed  although he had greatly
damaged the Romans in the siege of Syracuse  nevertheless did not
fail of being offered great rewards from these very Romans  and when
Syracuse was taken  diligent search was made for Archimedes  and he
being found dead greater lamentation was made for him by the Senate
and people of Rome than if they had lost all their army  and they
did not fail to honour him with burial and with a statue  At their
head was Marcus Marcellus  And after the second destruction of
Syracuse  the sepulchre of Archimedes was found again by Cato 25  
in the ruins of a temple  So Cato had the temple restored and the
sepulchre he so highly honoured     Whence it is written that Cato
said that he was not so proud of any thing he had done as of having
paid such honour to Archimedes 

 Footnote  Where Leonardo found the statement that Cato had found
and restored the tomb of Archimedes  I do not know  It is a merit
that Cicero claims as his own  Tusc  V  23  and certainly with a
full right to it  None of Archimedes  biographers   not even the
diligent Mazzucchelli  mentions any version in which Cato is named 
It is evidently a slip of the memory on Leonardo s part  Besides 
according to the passage in Cicero  the grave was not found   nelle
ruine d un tempio    which is highly improbable as relating to a
Greek  but in an open spot  H  MULLER STRUBING    See too  as to
Archimedes  No  1417 

Leonardo says somewhere in MS  C A    Architronito e una macchina di
fino rame  invenzlon d  Archimede   see   Saggio    p  20   

1477 

Aristotle  Book 3 of the Physics  and Albertus Magnus  and Thomas
Aquinas and the others on the rebound of bodies  in the 7th on
Physics  on heaven and earth 

1478 

Aristotle says that if a force can move a body a given distance in a
given time  the same force will move half the same body twice as far
in the same time 

1479 

Aristotle in Book 3 of the Ethics  Man merits praise or blame solely
in such matters as lie within his option to do or not to do 

1480 

Aristotle says that every body tends to maintain its nature 

1481 

On the increase of the Nile  a small book by Aristotle   Footnote 
 De inundatione Nili   is quoted here and by others as a work of
Aristotle  The Greek original is lost  but a Latin version of the
beginning exists  Arist  Opp  IV p  213 ed  Did  Par   

In his quotations from Aristotle Leonardo possibly refers to one of
the following editions   Aristotelis libri IV de coelo et mundo  de
anima libri III  libri VIII physi  corum  libri de generatione et
corruptione  de sensu et sensato    omnia latine  interprete
Averroe  Venetiis 1483   first Latin edition   There is also a
separate edition of  Liber de coelo et mundo   dated 1473  

1482 

Avicenna will have it that soul gives birth to soul as body to body 
and each member to itself 

 Footnote  Avicenna  see too No  1421  1  2  

1483 

Avicenna on liquids 

1484 

Roger Bacon  done in print   Footnote  The earliest printed edition
known to Brunet of the works of Roger Bacon  is a French
translation  which appeared about fourty years after Leonardo s
death  

1485 

Cleomedes the philosopher 

 Footnote  Cleomede  A Greek mathematician of the IVth century B  C 
We have a Cyclic theory of Meteorica by him  His works were not
published before Leonardo s death  

1486 

CORNELIUS CELSUS 

The highest good is wisdom  the chief evil is suffering in the body 
Because  as we are composed of two things  that is soul and body  of
which the first is the better  the body is the inferior  wisdom
belongs to the better part  and the chief evil belongs to the worse
part and is the worst of all  As the best thing of all in the soul
is wisdom  so the worst in the body is suffering  Therefore just as
bodily pain is the chief evil  wisdom is the chief good of the soul 
that is with the wise man  and nothing else can be compared with it 

 Footnote   Aulus Cornelius Celsus   a Roman physician  known as the
Roman Hippocrates  probably contemporary with Augustus  Only his
eight Books  De Medicina   are preserved  The earliest editions are 
 Cornelius Celsus  de medicina libr  VIII    Milan 1481 Venice 1493
and 1497  

1487 

Demetrius was wont to say that there was no difference between the
speech and words of the foolish and ignorant  and the noises and
rumblings of the wind in an inflated stomach  Nor did he say so
without reason  for he saw no difference between the parts whence
the noise issued  whether their lower parts or their mouth  since
one and the other were of equal use and importance 

 Footnote  Compare Vol  I  No  10  

1488 

Maestro Stefano Caponi  a physician  lives at the piscina  and has
Euclid  De Ponderibus  

1489 

5th Book of Euclid  First definition  a part is a quantity of less
magnitude than the greater magnitude when the less is contained a
certain number of times in the greater 

A part properly speaking is that which may be multiplied  that is
when  being multiplied by a certain number  it forms exactly the
whole  A common aggregate part    

Second definition  A greater magnitude is said to be a multiple of a
less  when the greater is measured by the less 

By the first we define the lesser  magnitude  and by the second the
greater is defined  A part is spoken

1490 

of in relation to the whole  and all their relations lie between
these two extremes  and are called multiples 

1491 

Hippocrates says that the origin of men s sperm derives from the
brain  and from the lungs and testicles of our parents  where the
final decocture is made  and all the other limbs transmit their
substance to this sperm by means of expiration  because there are no
channels through which they might come to the sperm 

 Footnote  The works of Hippocrates were printed first after
Leonardo s death  

1492 

Lucretius in his third  book   De Rerum Natura   The hands  nails
and teeth were  165  the weapons of ancient man 

They also use for a standard a bunch of grass tied to a pole  167  

 Footnote   Lucretius  de rerum natura libri VI  were printed first
about 1473  at Verona in 1486  at Brescia in 1495  at Venice in 1500
and in 1515  and at Florence in 1515  The numbers 165 and 167 noted
by Leonardo at the end of the two passages seem to indicate pages 
but if so  none of the editions just mentioned can here be meant 
nor do these numbers refer to the verses in the poems of Lucretius  

1493 

Ammianus Marcellinus asserts that seven hundred thousand volumes of
books were burnt in the siege of Alexandria in the time of Julius
Cesar 

 Footnote   Ammiani Marcellini historiarum libri qui extant XIII  
published at Rome in 1474  

1494 

Mondino says that the muscles which raise the toes are in the
outward side of the thigh  and he adds that there are no muscles in
the back  upper side  of the feet  because nature desired to make
them light  so as to move with ease  and if they had been fleshy
they would be heavier  and here experience shows    

 Footnote    Mundini anatomia  Mundinus  Anothomia  sic   Mundini
praestantissimorum doctorum almi studii ticiensis  sic  cura
diligentissime emendata  Impressa Papiae per magistrum Antonium de
Carfano 1478   in fol   ristampata   Bononiae Johan  de Noerdlingen 
1482   in fol    Padova per Mattheum Cerdonis de Vuindischgretz 
1484   in 40   Lipsia  1493   in 40   Venezia  1494   in 40 e ivi
 1498   con fig  Queste figure per altro non sono  come si e
preteso  le prime che fossero introdotte in un trattato di Notamia 
Nel  fasciculus Medicinae  di Giovanni Ketham  che riproduce
l  Anatomia  del Mundinus  impresso pure a Venezia da J  e G  de
Gregoriis  1491  in fol   contengonsi intagli in legno  si vogliono
disegnati non gia incisi da Andrea Mantegna  di grande dimensione  e
che furono piu volte riprodotti negli anni successivi  Quest 
edizione del  fasciculus  del 1491  sta fra nostri libri e potrebbe
benissimo essere il volume d Anatomia notato da Leonardo    G 
D A   

1495 

Of the error of those who practice without knowledge    3  See first
the  Ars poetica  of Horace  5  

 Footnote  A 3 5 are written on the margin at the side of the title
line of the text given  entire as No  19 

1496 

The heirs of Maestro Giovanni Ghiringallo have the works of
Pelacano 

1497 

The catapult  as we are told by Nonius and Pliny  is a machine
devised by those  c 

 Footnote   Plinius   see No  946  

1498 

I have found in a history of the Spaniards that in their wars with
the English Archimedes of Syracuse who at that time was living at
the court of Ecliderides  King of the Cirodastri  And in maritime
warfare he ordered that the ships should have tall masts  and that
on their tops there should be a spar fixed  Footnote 6  Compare No 
1115   of 40 feet long and one third of a foot thick  At one end of
this was a small grappling iron and at the other a counterpoise  and
there was also attached 12 feet of chain  and  at the end of this
chain  as much rope as would reach from the chain to the base of the
top  where it was fixed with a small rope  from this base it ran
down to the bottom of the mast where a very strong spar was attached
and to this was fastened the end of the rope  But to go on to the
use of his machine  I say that below this grappling iron was a fire
 Footnote 14  Compare No  1128   which  with tremendous noise  threw
down its rays and a shower of burning pitch  which  pouring down on
the  enemy s  top  compelled the men who were in it to abandon the
top to which the grappling iron had clung  This was hooked on to the
edges of the top and then suddenly the cord attached at the base of
the top to support the cord which went from the grappling iron  was
cut  giving way and drawing in the enemy s ship  and if the
anchor  was cast    

 Footnote  Archimedes never visited Spain  and the names here
mentioned cannot be explained  Leonardo seems to quote here from a
book  perhaps by some questionable mediaeval writer  Prof  C  Justi
writes to me from Madrid  that Spanish savants have no knowledge of
the sources from which this story may have been derived  

1499 

Theophrastus on the ebb and flow of the tide  and of eddies  and on
water   Footnote  The Greek philosophers had no opportunity to study
the phenomenon of the ebb and flow of the tide and none of them
wrote about it  The movement of the waters in the Euripus however
was to a few of them a puzzling problem  

1500 

Tryphon of Alexandria  who spent his life at Apollonia  a city of
Albania  163    Footnote  Tryphon of Alexandria  a Greek Grammarian
of the time of Augustus  His treatise TtaOY Aeijecu appeared first
at Milan in 1476  in Constantin Laskaris s Greek Grammar  

1501 

Messer Vincenzio Aliprando  who lives near the Inn of the Bear  has
Giacomo Andrea s Vitruvius 

1502 

Vitruvius says that small models are of no avail for ascertaining
the effects of large ones  and I here propose to prove that this
conclusion is a false one  And chiefly by bringing forward the very
same argument which led him to this conclusion  that is  by an
experiment with an auger  For he proves that if a man  by a certain
exertion of strength  makes a hole of a given diameter  and
afterwards another hole of double the diameter  this cannot be made
with only double the exertion of the man s strength  but needs much
more  To this it may very well be answered that an auger

1503 

of double the diameter cannot be moved by double the exertion  be 
cause the superficies of a body of the same form but twice as large
has four times the extent of the superficies of the smaller  as is
shown in the two figures a and n 

1504 

OF SQUARING THE CIRCLE  AND WHO IT WAS THAT FIRST DISCOVERED IT BY
ACCIDENT 

Vitruvius  measuring miles by means of the repeated revolutions of
the wheels which move vehicles  extended over many Stadia the lines
of the circumferences of the circles of these wheels  He became
aware of them by the animals that moved the vehicles  But he did not
discern that this was a means of finding a square equal to a circle 
This was first done by Archimedes of Syracuse  who by multiplying
the second diameter of a circle by half its circumference produced a
rectangular quadrilateral equal figure to the circle  Footnote 10 
Compare No  1475   

 Footnote   Vitruvius   see also Nos  1113 and 343  

1505 

Virgil says that a blank shield is devoid of merit because among the
people of Athens the true recognition confirmed by testimonies    

 Footnote  The end of the text cannot be deciphered  

1506 

In Vitolone there are 805 conclusions  problems  in perspective 

 Footnote    Witelo  Vitellion  Vitellon  Vitellione  E da vedersi
su questo ottico prospettico del secolo XIII Luca Pacioli  Paolo
Lomazzo  Leonardo da Vinci  ecc  e fra i moderni il Graesse  il
Libri  il Brunet  e le Memorie pubblicate dal principe Boncompagni 
e  Sur l  orthographe du nom et sur la patrie de Witelo  Vitellion 
note de Maximilien Curtze  professeur a Thorn   ove sono descritti i
molti codici esistenti nelle biblioteche d  Europa  Bernardino Baldi
nelle sue  Vite de matematici   manoscritto presso il principe
Boncompagni  ha una biografia del Vitellione  Questo scritto del
Baldi reca la data 25 agosto 1588  Discorsero poi di lui Federigo
Risnerio e Giovanni di Monteregio nella prefazione dell  Alfagrano 
Giovanni Boteone  Girolamo Cardano   De subtilitate   che nota gli
errori di Vitellione  Visse  secondo il Baldi  intorno all  anno
1269  ma secondo il Reinoldo fioriva nel 1299  avendo dedicata la
sua opera ad un frate Guglielmo di Monteca  che visse di que  tempi 

Intorno ad un manoscritto dell  ottica di Vitellione  citato da Luca
Pacioli v ha un secondo esemplare del Kurlz  con aggiunte del
principe Boncompagni  e le illustrazioni del cav  Enrico Narducci 
Nel  Catalogo di manoscritti  posseduti da D  Baldassare de 
principi Boncompagni  compilato da esso Narducci  Roma  1862  sotto
al n  358  troviamo citato  Vitellio   Perspectiva   manoscritto del
secolo XIV  La  Prospettiva di Vitelleone   sic  Thuringo poloni e
citata due volte da Paolo Lomazzo nel Trattato dell  arte della
pittura  Vitellio o Vitello o Witelo  Il suo libro fu impresso in
foglio a Norimberga nel 1535  la secondo edizione e del 1551  sempre
di Norimberga  ed una terza di Basilea  1572    See  Indagini
Storiche     sulla Libreria Visconteo Sforzesca del Castello di
Pavia     per cura di  G  D A    Milano 1879  P  I  Appendice p 
113  114    

1507 

Vitolone  at Saint Mark s 

 Footnote   Altro codice di cotesta  Prospettiva  del Vitolone
troviamo notato nel  Canone bibliographico di Nicolo V   conservato
alla  Magliabecchiana  in copia dell  originale verosimilmente
inviato dal Parentucelli a Cosimo de  Medici  Magliab  cod  segn  1
VII  30 carte da 193 a 198   Proviene dal Convento di San Marco e lo
aveva trascritto frate Leonardo Scruberti fiorentino  dell  ordine
dei predicatori che fu anche bibliotecario della Medicea pubblica in
San Marco   See  Indagini Storiche     per cura di  G  D A   Parte
I  p  97    

1508 

How this proposition of Xenophon is false 

If you take away unequal quantities from unequal quantities  but in
the same proportion   c   Footnote  Xenophon s works were published
several times during Leonardo s lifetime  

Inventories and accounts  1509  1545  

1509 

On the 28th day of April I received from the Marchesino 103 lire and
12 dinari   Footnote  Instead of the indication of the year there is
a blank space after  d aprile    Marchesino Stange was one of
Lodovico il Moro s officials   Compare No  1388  

1510 

On the 10th day of July 1492 in 135
Rhenish florins          1  445
in dinari of 6 soldi     1  112 S 16
in dinari of 5 1 2 soldi 1   29 S 13
9 in gold and 3 scudi    1   53
                                      
                         1  811 in all

1511 

On the first day of February  lire 1200 

1512 

The hall towards the court is 126 paces long and 27 braccia wide 

1513 

The narrow cornice above the hall lire 30 

The cornice beneath that  being one for each picture  lire 7  and
for the cost of blue  gold  white  plaster  indigo and glue 3 lire 
time 3 days 

The pictures below these mouldings with their pilasters  12 lire
each 

I calculate the cost for smalt  blue and gold and other colours at 1
1 2 lire 

The days I calculate at 3  for the invention of the composition 
pilasters and other things 

1514 

Item for each vault 7 lire

outlay for blue and gold 3 1 2

time  4 days

for the windows 1 1 2

The cornice below the windows 16 soldi per braccio

item for 24 pictures of Roman history 14 lire each

The philosophers 10 lire

the pilasters  one ounce of blue 10 soldi

for gold 15 soldi

Total 2 and 1 2 lire 

1515 

The cornice above lire 30

The cornice below lire 7

The compositions  one with another lire 13

1516 

Salai  6 lire     4 soldi     10 soldi for a chain   

On the l4th of March I had 13 lire S  4  16 lire remain 

1517 

How many braccia high is the level of the walls   

123 braccia

How large is the hall 

How large is the garland 

30 ducats 

On the 29th day of January  1494

cloth for hose lire 4 S 3

lining S 16

making S 8

to Salai S 3

a jasper ring S 13

a sparkling stone S 11

to Caterina S 10

to Caterina S 10

1518 

The wheel lire 7

the tire lire 10

the shield lire 4

the cushion lire 8

the ends of the axle tree lire 2

bed and frame lire 30

conduit lire 10

S K M II 2 4a 

1519 

Parsley 10 parts

mint 1 part

thyme 1 part

Vinegar     and a little salt two pieces of canvas for Salai 

 Footnote  This note  of about the year 1494  is the earliest
mention of Salai  and the last is of the year 1513  see No  1465 
3   From the various notes in the MSS  he seems to have been
Leonardo s assistant and keeper only  and scarcely himself a
painter  At any rate no signed or otherwise authenticated picture by
him is known to exist  Vasari speaks somewhat doubtfully on this
point  

1520 

On Tuesday I bought wine for morning  drinking   on Friday the 4th
day of September the same 

 Footnote  This note enables us to fix the date of the Manuscript 
in which it is to be found  In 1495 the 4th of September fell on a
Friday  the contents of the Manuscript do not permit us to assign it
to a much earlier or later date  Compare No  1522  and Note   

1521 

The cistern     at the Hospital    2 ducats    beans    white maize 
  red maize    millet    buckwheat    kidney beans    beans    peas 

1522 

EXPENSES OF THE INTERMENT OF CATERINA 

For the 3 lbs of tapers 27 S
For the bier 8 S
A pall over the bier 12 S
For bearing and placing the cross 4 S
For bearing the body 8 S
For 4 priests and 4 clerks 20 S
Bell  book and sponge 2 S
For the gravediggers 16 S
To the senior 8 S
For a license from the authorities 1 S
106 S

The doctor 2 S
Sugar and candles 12 S
120 S

 Footnote   See Nos  1384 and 1517  

1523 

Salai s cloak  the 4th of April 1497 
4 braccia of silver cloth l  15 S 4
green velvet to trim it l  9 S   
binding l    S 9
loops l    S 12
the making l  1 S 5
binding for the front l    S 5
stitching          
here are 13 grossoni of his l  26 S 5
Salai stole the soldi 

1524 

On Monday I bought 4 braccia of cloth lire 13 S 14 1 2 on the 17th
of  October 1497 

1525 

Memorandum  That on the 8th day of April 1503  I  Leonardo da Vinci 
lent to Vante  miniature painter 4 gold ducats  in gold  Salai
carried them to him and gave them into his own hand  and he said he
would repay within the space of 40 days 

Memorandum  That on the same day I paid to Salai 3 gold ducats which
he said he wanted for a pair of rose coloured hose with their
trimming  and there remain 9 ducats due to him  excepting that he
owes me 20 ducats  that is 17 I lent him at Milan  and 3 at Venice 

Memorandum  That I gave Salai 21 braccia of cloth to make a shirt 
at 10 soldi the braccio  which I gave him on the 20th day of April
1503 

 Footnote  With regard to Vante or Attavante  the miniature painter
 not Nanni as I formerly deciphered this name  which is difficult to
read  see  Zeitschrift fur Bild  Kunst   1879  p  155   and Vasari 
Lives of Frate Giovanni da Fiesole  of Bartolommeo della Gatta  and
of Gherardo   miniatore   He  like Leonardo  was one of the
committee of artists who  in 1503  considered the erection and
placing of Michel Angelo s David  The date of his death is not
known  he was of the same age as Leonardo  Further details will be
found in   Notizie di Attavante miniatore  e di alcuni suoi lavori  
 Milanese s ed  of Vasari  III  231 235   

1526 

On the morning of San Peter s day  June 29th  1504  I took io
ducats  of which I gave one to Tommaso my servant to spend 

On Monday morning 1 florin to Salai to spend on the house 

On Thursday I took 1 florin for my own spending 

Wednesday evening 1 florin to Tommaso  before supper 

Saturday morning 1 florin to Tommaso 

Monday morning 1 florin less 10 soldi 

Thursday to Salai 1 florin less 10 soldi 

For a jerkin  1 florin 

For a jerkin And a cap 2 florins 

To the hosier  1 florin 

To Salai  1 florin 

Friday morning  the 19th of July  1 florin  less 6 soldi  I have 7
fl  left  and 22 in the box 

Tuesday  the 23th day of July  1 florin to Tommaso 

Monday morning  to Tommaso 1 florin 

 Wednesday morning 1 fl  to Tommaso  

Thursday morning the 1st day of August 1 fl  to Tommaso 

Sunday  the 4th of August  1 florin 

Friday  the 9th day of August 1504  I took 10 ducats out of the box 

1527 

1504  On the 9th day of August  1504  I took 10 florins in gold 2 
     3  on Friday the 9th day of August fifteen grossoni that is fl 
5 S 5     given to me 1 florin in gold on the 12th day of August  4 
    on the 14th of August  32 grossoni to Tommaso  On the 18th of
the same 5 grossoni to Salai  On the 8th of September 6 grossoni to
the workman to spend  that is on the day of our Lady s birth  On the
16th day of September I gave 4 grossoni to Tommaso  on a Sunday 

 Footnote  In the original  the passage given as No  1463 is written
between lines 2 and 3 of this text  and it is possible that the
entries in lines 3 and 4 refer to the payments of Jacopo Tedesco 
who is there mentioned  The first words of these lines are very
illegible  

 Footnote 7   Al fattore   Il Fattore  was  as is well known  the
nick name of Giovanni Franceso Penni  born in Florence in 1486  and
subsequently a pupil of Raphael s  According to Vasari he was known
by it even as a boy  Whether he is spoken of in this passage  or
whether the word Fattore should be translated literally  I will not
undertake to decide  The latter seems to me more probably right  

1528 

On the day of October  1508  I had 30 scudi  13 I lent to Salai to
make up his sister s dowry  and 17 I have left 

1529 

Memorandum of the money I have had from the King as my salary from
July 1508 till April next 1509  First 100 scudi  then 70  then 50 
then 20 and then 200 florins at 48 soldi the florin   Footnote 
Compare No  1350 and 1561  

1530 

Saturday the 2nd day of March I had from Santa Maria Novella 5 gold
ducats  leaving 450  Of these I gave 2 the same day to Salai  who
had lent them to me   Footnote  See   Conto corrente di Leonardo da
Vinci con lo Spedale di S  Maria Nuova    1500 a 1507  1513 1520 
published by G  UZIELLI   Ricerche intorno a Leonardo da Vinci 
Firenze   1872  pp  164  165  218 and 219  The date here given by
Leonardo does not occur in either of the accounts  

1531 

Thursday  the eighth day of June  I took 17 grossoni  18 soldi  on
the same Thursday in the morning I gave to Salai 22 soldi for the
expenses 

1532 

To Salai 4 grossoni  and for one braccio of velvet  5 lire  and 1 2 
viz  10 soldi for loops of silver  Salai 14 soldi for binding  the
making of the cloak 25 soldi   Footnote  Compare No  1523  

1533 

I gave to Salai 93 lire 6 soldi  of which I have had 67 lire and
there remain 26 lire 6 soldi 

1534 

To Salai S 42

2 dozen of laces S 8

for papers S 3 d 8

a pair of shoes S 14

for velvet S 14

a sword and knife S 21

to the barber S 11

to Paolo for a     S 20

For having his fortune told S 6

1535 

On Friday morning 
one florin to Salai to
spend  3 soldi received

bread S   d

wine S   d

grapes S   d

mushrooms S   d

fruit S   d

 Footnote 6  Compare Nos  1545  l  4 and 5 
with similar entries for horse s fodder  
bran S   d

at the barber s S   d

for shoes S   d

1536 

On Thursday morning one florin 

1537 

On Saint Ambrose s day from the morning to Thursday 36 soldi 

1538 

The moneys I have had from Ser Matteo 
first 20 grassoni  then on 13 occasions 3 f 
and then 61 grassoni  then 3  and then 33 
46 soldi 12 grossoni 

1539 

For paper S 18

for canvas S 30

for paper S 10 d 19

Total S 73

1540 

20 pounds of German
blue  at one ducat the pound lire 80 S  d

60 pounds of white  S  
the pound lire 15 S  d

1 1 2 pound at 4 S the pound lire 6 S  d

2 pounds of cinnabar at
S 18 the pound lire 1 S 16 d

6 pounds of green at S 12
the pound lire 3 S 12 d

4 pounds of yellow at S 12
the pound lire 2 S 8 d

1 pound of minium at S 8
the pound lire 0 S 8 d

4 pounds of     at S 2
the pound lire 0 S 8 d

6 pounds of ochre at S 1
the pound lire 0 S 6 d

black     at S 2 the pound
for 20 lire 2 S 0 d

wax to make the stars
29 pounds at S  the pound lire 0 S 0 d

40 pounds of oil for painting
at 5 soldi the pound lire 10 S 0 d

Altogether lire 120 d 18
without the gold  18

tin for putting on the gold 120 18

58

1541 

Two large hatchets and one very small one  8 brass spoons  4
tablecloths  2 towels  15 small napkins  2 coarse napkins  2 coarse
cloths  2 wrappers  3 pairs of sheets  2 pairs new and 1 old 

1542 

Bed 7 0 S

ring 7 0

crockery 2 5

gardener 1 2

      2 8

porters 2 1

glasses 1

fuel 3 6

a lock 1

Section title  Miscellaneous Notes 

1543 

New tin ware          3 pairs of sheets
6 small bowls           each of 4 breadths 
6 bowls               2 small sheets 
2 large dishes        2 tablecloths and 1 2 
2 dishes medium size  16 coarse cloths 
2 small ones          8 shirts 
  Old tin ware        9 napkins 
3 small bowls         2 hand towels 
4 bowls 
3 square stones 
2 small bowls 
1 large bowl 
1 platter 
4 candlesticks 
1 small candlestick 

1544 

Hose        S 40
straw       S 60
wheat       S 42
wine        S 54
bread       S 18
meat        S 54
eggs        S  5
salad       S  3
the Barber  S 2 d 6
horses      S 1

1545 

   Sunday

meat        S 10 d
wine        S 12 d
bran        S  5 d 4
herbs       S 10 d
buttermilk  S  4 d 4
melon       S  3 d
bread       S  3 d 1
                    
   Monday   S  9   8
                    
            S  6 d
wine        S 12 d
bran        S  9 d 4
buttermilk  S  4 d 4
herbs       S  8 d
                    
     Tuesday S    d
                     
meat         S  0 d 8
wine         S 12 d
bread        S  3 d
meal         S  5 d 4
herbs        S  8 d
                     
    Wednesday
                     
wine         S  5 d
melon        S  2 d
meal         S  5 d 4
vegetables   S  8

Notes by unknown persons among the MSS   1546 1565  

1546 

Miseracione divina sacro sancte Romane ecclesie tituli n cardinalis
2wulgariter nuncupatus venerabili religioso fratri Johanni Mair
d Nustorf 3ordinis praedicatorum provintie teutonie     conventus
Wiennensis capellano 4 nostro commensali salutem in dno sempiternam
Religione zelus rite ac in  ferite   5honestas aliarumque
laudabilium probitatis et virtutum merita quibus apud nos fide
6digno commendationis testimonio Magistri videlicet ordinis felicis
recordacionis Leonardi de 7Mansuetis de Perusio sigillo suo     us
dans tibi ad     opera virtutum comen salem   8 locum et tempus
success ores  cujus similiter officium ministratus qui
praedecessoris sui donum     9confirmavit et de novo dedit
aliorumque plurima  laudatis  qui opera tua laudant 10nos inducunt
ut tibi     reddamus ad gratiam liberalem hinc est quod nos
cupientes   Footnote  The meaning of this document  which is very
difficult to decipher  and is written in unintelligible Latin  is 
that Leonardo di Mansuetis recommends the Rev  Mair of Nusdorf 
chaplain at Vienna  to some third person  and says also that
something  which had to be proved  has been proved  The rest of the
passages on the same leaf are undoubtedly in Leonardo s hand   Nos 
483  661  519  578  392  582  887 and 894   

1547 

Johannes Antonius di Johannes Ambrosius de Bolate  He who lets time
pass and does not grow in virtue  the more I think of it the more I
grieve  No man has it in him to be virtuous who will give up honour
for gain  Good fortune is valueless to him who knows not toil  The
man becomes happy who follows Christ  There is no perfect gift
without great suffering  Our glories and our triumphs pass away 
Foul lust  and dreams  and luxury  and sloth have banished every
virtue from the world  so that our Nature  wandering and perplexed 
has almost lost the old and better track  Henceforth it were well to
rouse thyself from sleep  The master said that lying in down will
not bring thee to Fame  nor staying beneath the quilts  He who 
without Fame  burns his life to waste  leaves no more vestige of
himself on earth than wind blown smoke  or the foam upon the sea 
 Footnote  From the last sentence we may infer that this text is by
the hand of a pupil of Leonardo s    On the same sheet are the notes
Nos 1175 and 715 in Leonardo s own handwriting  

1548 

On the morning of Santo Zanobio the
29th of May 1504  I had from Lionardo Vinci
15 gold ducats and began to spend them 
to Mona Margarita   S  62 d 4
to remake the ring  S  19 d 8
clothes             S  13
good beef           S   4
eggs                S   6
debt at the bank    S   7
velvet              S  12
wine                S  6 d 4
meat                S  4
mulberries          S  2 d 4
mushrooms           S  3 d 4
salad               S  1
fruit               S  1 d 4
candles             S  3
                    S  1
flour               S  2

    Sunday           198   8

bread               S  6
wine                S  9 d 4
meat                S  7
soup                S  2
fruit               S  3 d 4
candles             S  3 d

Monday                31

bread               S  6 d 4
meat                S 10 d 8
wine                S  9 d 4
fruit               S  4
soup                S  1 d 8

                      32

1549 

Tuesday

bread              S  6
meat               S 11
wine               S  7
fruit              S  9
soup               S  2
salad              S  1

 Footnote 1548 and 1549  On the same sheet is the text No  1015 in Leonardo s own handwriting  

1550 

To Monna Margarita          S  5
to Tomaso                   S 14
to Monna Margarita     d  5 S  2
on the day of San Zanobi
left     after
payment                d 13 S  2 d 4
of Monna Margarita

     altogether        d 14 S 5 d 4

1551 

On Monday  the l3th of February  I lent lire S 7 to Lionardo to
spend  Friday d 7 

 Footnote  This note is followed by an account very like the one
given as No  1549  

1552 

Stephano Chigi  Canonico      servant of the honorable Count Grimani
at S  Apostoli 

 Footnote  Compare No  674  21 23  

1553 

Having become anxious     Bernardo di Simone  Silvestro di Stefano 
Bernardo di Jacopo  Francesco di Matteo Bonciani  Antonio di
Giovanni Ruberti  Antonio da Pistoia     Antonio  He who has time
and waits for time  will lose his friends and his money 

1554 

Reverend Maestro  Domino Giovanni  I spoke to Maestro Zacaria as a
brother about this business  and I made him satisfied with the
arrangement that I had wished  that is  as regards the commission
that I had from the parties and I say that between us there is no
need to pay money down  as regard the pictures of the    

1555 

Of things seen through a mist that which is nearest its farthest
limit will be least visible  and all the more so as they are more
remote 

1556 

Theodoricus Rex Semper Augustus 

1557 

Either you say Hesperia alone  and it will mean Italy  or you add
ultima  and it will mean Spain  Umbria  part of Tuscany 

 Footnote  The notes in Greek  Nos  1557  1558 and 1562 stand in
close connection with each other  but the meaning of some words is
very doubtful  and a translation is thus rendered impossible  

1558 

 Footnote  Greek Characters 

1559 

Canonica of     on the 5th of July 1507  my dearly beloved mother 
sisters and cousin I herewith inform you that thanks to God I am    
about the sword which I     bring it to Maso at the piazza     and I
will settle the business of Piero so that    

 Footnote  AMORETTI   Mem  Stor  XXIV   quotes the first three lines
of this letter as by Leonardo  The character of the writing however
does not favour this hypothesis  and still less the contents  I
should regard it rather a rough draft of a letter by young Melzi  I
have not succeeded in deciphering completely the 13 lines of this
text  Amoretti reads at the beginning  Canonica di Vaprio   but
 Vaprio  seems to me a very doubtful reading  

1560 

  Ut bene respondet Naturae ars docta  dedisset
    Vincius  ut tribuit cetera   sic animam  
  Noluit ut similis magis haec foret  altera sic est 
    Possidet illius Maurus amans animam 

 Footnote  These three epigrams on the portrait of Lucrezia
Crivelli  a picture by Leonardo which must have been lost at a very
early date  seem to have been dedicated to Leonardo by the poet 
Leonardo used the reverse of the sheet for notes on geometry  

Hujus quam cernis nomen Lucretia  Divi Omnia cui larga contribuere
manu  Rara huic forma data est  pinxit Leonardos  amavit Maurus 
pictorum primus hic  ille ducum 

Naturam  ac superas hac laesit imagine Divas Pictor  tantum hominis
posse manum haec doluit  Illae longa dari tam magnae tempera formae 
Quae spatio fuerat deperitura brevi 

1561 

Egidius Romanus on the formation of the human body in the mother s
womb  Footnote 1   Liber magistri Egidii de pulsibus matrice
conipositus  cum commentario Gentilis de Fulgineo   published in
1484 at Padova  in 1494 and in 1514 at Venice  and in 1505 at
Lyons   

 Footnote 2 2  This text appears to be in a handwriting different
from that in the note  l  1  Here the reading is not so simple as
AMORETTI gave it   Mem  Star  XXV  A Monsieur Lyonard Peintre du Roy
pour Amboyse   He says too that this address is of the year 1509 
and Mr  Ravaisson remarks    De cette suscription il semble qu on
peut inferer que Leonard etait alors en France  a la cour de Louis
XII     Pour conclure je crois qu il n est pas prouve que Leonard de
Vinci n ait pas fait un voyage de quelques mois en France sous Louis
XII  entre le printemps de 1509 et l automne de  1510    I must
confess that I myself have not succeeded in deciphering completely
this French writing of which two words remain to me doubtful  But so
much seems to be quite evident that this is not an address of a
letter at all  but a certificate or note   Amboise  l  6  I believe
to be the signature of Charles d Amboise the Governor of Milan  If
this explanation is the right one  it can be easily explained by the
contents of Nos  1350 and 1529  The note  line 1  was perhaps added
later by another hand  and Leonardo himself wrote afterwards on the
same sheet some geometrical explanations  I must also point out that
the statement that this sheet belongs to the year 1509 has
absolutely no foundation in fact  There is no clue whatever for
giving a precise date to this note   To Monsieur le Vinci   the
horses of the king s equerry     Continue the payment to Ms 
Lyonard  Painter to the King 

 6  Amboise 

1562 

 Footnote  Greek Characters 

1563 

Memorandum to Maestro Lionardo to have     the state of Florence 

1564 

To remind your Excellency that Ridolfo Manini brought to Florence a
quantity of crystal besides other stones such as are    

1565 

XVI C  6 de Ciuitate Dei  se Antipodes 

 Footnote  A facsimile of this note  which refers to a well known
book by St  Augustin  is given on page 254  

1566 

Leonardo s Will 

Be it known to all persons  present and to come that at the court of
our Lord the King at Amboise before ourselves in person  Messer
Leonardo da Vinci painter to the King  at present staying at the
place known as Cloux near Amboise  duly considering the certainty of
death and the uncertainty of its time  has acknowledged and declared
in the said court and before us that he has made  according to the
tenor of these presents  his testament and the declaration of his
last will  as follows  And first he commends his soul to our Lord 
Almighty God  and to the Glorious Virgin Mary  and to our lord Saint
Michael  to all the blessed Angels and Saints male and female in
Paradise 

Item  The said Testator desires to be buried within the church of
Saint Florentin at Amboise  and that his body shall be borne thither
by the chaplains of the church 

Item  That his body may be followed from the said place to the said
church of Saint Florentin by the  collegium  of the said church 
that is to say by the rector and the prior  or by their vicars and
chaplains of the church of Saint Denis of Amboise  also the lesser
friars of the place  and before his body shall be carried to the
said church this Testator desires  that in the said church of Saint
Florentin three grand masses shall be celebrated by the deacon and
sub deacon and that on the day when these three high masses are
celebrated  thirty low masses shall also be performed at Saint
Gregoire 

Item  That in the said church of Saint Denis similar services shall
be performed  as above 

Item  That the same shall be done in the church of the said friars
and lesser brethren 

Item  The aforesaid Testator gives and bequeaths to Messer Francesco
da Melzo  nobleman  of Milan  in remuneration for services and
favours done to him in the past  each

 Footnote  See page 420  

and all of the books the Testator is at present possessed of  and
the instruments and portraits appertaining to his art and calling as
a painter 

Item  The same Testator gives and bequeaths henceforth for ever to
Battista de Vilanis his servant one half  that is the moity  of his
garden which is outside the walls of Milan  and the other half of
the same garden to Salai his servant  in which garden aforesaid
Salai has built and constructed a house which shall be and remain
henceforth in all perpetuity the property of the said Salai  his
heirs and successors  and this is in remuneration for the good and
kind services which the said de Vilanis and Salai  his servants have
done him in past times until now 

Item  The said Testator gives to Maturina his waiting woman a cloak
of good black cloth lined with fur  a     of cloth and two ducats
paid once only  and this likewise is in remuneration for good
service rendered to him in past times by the said Maturina 

Item  He desires that at his funeral sixty tapers shall be carried
which shall be borne by sixty poor men  to whom shall be given money
for carrying them  at the discretion of the said Melzo  and these
tapers shall be distributed among the four above mentioned churches 

Item  The said Testator gives to each of the said churches ten lbs 
of wax in thick tapers  which shall be placed in the said churches
to be used on the day when those said services are celebrated 

Item  That alms shall be given to the poor of the Hotel Dieu  to the
poor of Saint Lazare d Amboise and  to that end  there shall be
given and paid to the treasurers of that same fraternity the sum and
amount of seventy soldi of Tours 

Item  The said Testator gives and bequeaths to the said Messer
Francesco Melzo  being present and agreeing  the remainder of his
pension and the sums of money which are owing to him from the past
time till the day of his death by the receiver or treasurer general
M  Johan Sapin  and each and every sum of money that he has already
received from the aforesaid Sapin of his said pension  and in case
he should die before the said Melzo and not otherwise  which moneys
are at present in the possession of the said Testator in the said
place called Cloux  as he says  And he likewise gives and bequeaths
to the said Melzo all and each of his clothes which he at present
possesses at the said place of Cloux  and all in remuneration for
the good and kind services done by him in past times till now  as
well as in payment for the trouble and annoyance he may incur with
regard to the execution of this present testament  which however 
shall all be at the expense of the said Testator 

And he orders and desires that the sum of four hundred scudi del
Sole  which he has deposited in the hands of the treasurer of Santa
Maria Nuova in the city of Florence  may be given to his brothers
now living in Florence with all the interest and usufruct that may
have accrued up to the present time  and be due from the aforesaid
treasurer to the aforesaid Testator on account of the said four
hundred crowns  since they were given and consigned by the Testator
to the said treasurers 

Item  He desires and orders that the said Messer Francesco de Melzo
shall be and remain the sole and only executor of the said will of
the said Testator  and that the said testament shall be executed in
its full and complete meaning and according to that which is here
narrated and said  to have  hold  keep and observe  the said Messer
Leonardo da Vinci  constituted Testator  has obliged and obliges by
these presents the said his heirs and successors with all his goods
moveable and immoveable present and to come  and has renounced and
expressly renounces by these presents all and each of the things
which to that are contrary  Given at the said place of Cloux in the
presence of Magister Spirito Fieri vicar  of the church of Saint
Denis at Amboise  of M  Guglielmo Croysant priest and chaplain  of
Magister Cipriane Fulchin  Brother Francesco de Corion  and of
Francesco da Milano  a brother of the Convent of the Minorites at
Amboise  witnesses summoned and required to that end by the
indictment of the said court in the presence of the aforesaid M 
Francesco de Melze who accepting and agreeing to the same has
promised by his faith and his oath which he has administered to us
personally and has sworn to us never to do nor say nor act in any
way to the contrary  And it is sealed by his request with the royal
seal apposed to legal contracts at Amboise  and in token of good
faith 

Given on the XXIIIrd day of April MDXVIII  before Easter 

And on the XXIIIrd day of this month of April MDXVIII  in the
presence of M  Guglielmo Borian  Royal notary in the court of the
bailiwick of Amboise  the aforesaid M  Leonardo de Vinci gave and
bequeathed  by his last will and testament  as aforesaid  to the
said M  Baptista de Vilanis  being present and agreeing  the right
of water which the King Louis XII  of pious memory lately deceased
gave to this same de Vinci  the stream of the canal of Santo
Cristoforo in the duchy of Milan  to belong to the said Vilanis for
ever in such wise and manner that the said gentleman made him this
gift in the presence of M  Francesco da Melzo  gentleman  of Milan
and in mine 

And on the aforesaid day in the said month of April in the said year
MDXVIII the same M  Leonardo de Vinci by his last will and testament
gave to the aforesaid M  Baptista de Vilanis  being present and
agreeing  each and all of the articles of furniture and utensils of
his house at present at the said place of Cloux  in the event of the
said de Vilanis surviving the aforesaid M  Leonardo de Vinci  in the
presence of the said M  Francesco Melzo and of me Notary  c  Borean 




    END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK  THE NOTEBOOKS OF LEONARDO DA
    VINCI  COMPLETE    

This file should be named 8ldvc10 txt or 8ldvc10 zip
Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER  8ldvc11 txt
VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER  8ldvc11a txt

Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed
editions  all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US
unless a copyright notice is included   Thus  we usually do not
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition 

We are now trying to release all our eBooks one year in advance
of the official release dates  leaving time for better editing 
Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections 
even years after the official publication date 

Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til
midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement 
The official release date of all Project Gutenberg eBooks is at
Midnight  Central Time  of the last day of the stated month   A
preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion  comment
and editing by those who wish to do so 

Most people start at our Web sites at 
http   gutenberg net or
http   promo net pg

These Web sites include award winning information about Project
Gutenberg  including how to donate  how to help produce our new
eBooks  and how to subscribe to our email newsletter  free   


Those of you who want to download any eBook before announcement
can get to them as follows  and just download by date   This is
also a good way to get them instantly upon announcement  as the
indexes our cataloguers produce obviously take a while after an
announcement goes out in the Project Gutenberg Newsletter 

http   www ibiblio org gutenberg etext04 or
ftp   ftp ibiblio org pub docs books gutenberg etext04

Or  etext03  02  01  00  99  98  97  96  95  94  93  92  92  91 or 90

Just search by the first five letters of the filename you want 
as it appears in our Newsletters 


Information about Project Gutenberg  one page 

We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work   The
time it takes us  a rather conservative estimate  is fifty hours
to get any eBook selected  entered  proofread  edited  copyright
searched and analyzed  the copyright letters written  etc    Our
projected audience is one hundred million readers   If the value
per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce  2
million dollars per hour in 2002 as we release over 100 new text
files per month   1240 more eBooks in 2001 for a total of 4000 
We are already on our way to trying for 2000 more eBooks in 2002
If they reach just 1 2  of the world s population then the total
will reach over half a trillion eBooks given away by year s end 

The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away 1 Trillion eBooks 
This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers 
which is only about 4  of the present number of computer users 

Here is the briefest record of our progress    means estimated  

eBooks Year Month

    1  1971 July
   10  1991 January
  100  1994 January
 1000  1997 August
 1500  1998 October
 2000  1999 December
 2500  2000 December
 3000  2001 November
 4000  2001 October November
 6000  2002 December 
 9000  2003 November 
10000  2004 January 


The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been created
to secure a future for Project Gutenberg into the next millennium 

We need your donations more than ever 

As of February  2002  contributions are being solicited from people
and organizations in  Alabama  Alaska  Arkansas  Connecticut 
Delaware  District of Columbia  Florida  Georgia  Hawaii  Illinois 
Indiana  Iowa  Kansas  Kentucky  Louisiana  Maine  Massachusetts 
Michigan  Mississippi  Missouri  Montana  Nebraska  Nevada  New
Hampshire  New Jersey  New Mexico  New York  North Carolina  Ohio 
Oklahoma  Oregon  Pennsylvania  Rhode Island  South Carolina  South
Dakota  Tennessee  Texas  Utah  Vermont  Virginia  Washington  West
Virginia  Wisconsin  and Wyoming 

We have filed in all 50 states now  but these are the only ones
that have responded 

As the requirements for other states are met  additions to this list
will be made and fund raising will begin in the additional states 
Please feel free to ask to check the status of your state 

In answer to various questions we have received on this 

We are constantly working on finishing the paperwork to legally
request donations in all 50 states   If your state is not listed and
you would like to know if we have added it since the list you have 
just ask 

While we cannot solicit donations from people in states where we are
not yet registered  we know of no prohibition against accepting
donations from donors in these states who approach us with an offer to
donate 

International donations are accepted  but we don t know ANYTHING about
how to make them tax deductible  or even if they CAN be made
deductible  and don t have the staff to handle it even if there are
ways 

Donations by check or money order may be sent to 

Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
PMB 113
1739 University Ave 
Oxford  MS 38655 4109

Contact us if you want to arrange for a wire transfer or payment
method other than by check or money order 

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation has been approved by
the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501 c  3  organization with EIN
 Employee Identification Number  64 622154   Donations are
tax deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law   As fund raising
requirements for other states are met  additions to this list will be
made and fund raising will begin in the additional states 

We need your donations more than ever 

You can get up to date donation information online at 

http   www gutenberg net donation html


   

If you can t reach Project Gutenberg 
you can always email directly to 

Michael S  Hart  hart pobox com 

Prof  Hart will answer or forward your message 

We would prefer to send you information by email 


  The Legal Small Print  


 Three Pages 

   START  THE SMALL PRINT   FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS  START   
Why is this  Small Print   statement here  You know  lawyers 
They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with
your copy of this eBook  even if you got it for free from
someone other than us  and even if what s wrong is not our
fault  So  among other things  this  Small Print   statement
disclaims most of our liability to you  It also tells you how
you may distribute copies of this eBook if you want to 

 BEFORE   YOU USE OR READ THIS EBOOK
By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG tm
eBook  you indicate that you understand  agree to and accept
this  Small Print   statement  If you do not  you can receive
a refund of the money  if any  you paid for this eBook by
sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person
you got it from  If you received this eBook on a physical
medium  such as a disk   you must return it with your request 

ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG TM EBOOKS
This PROJECT GUTENBERG tm eBook  like most PROJECT GUTENBERG tm eBooks 
is a  public domain  work distributed by Professor Michael S  Hart
through the Project Gutenberg Association  the  Project   
Among other things  this means that no one owns a United States copyright
on or for this work  so the Project  and you   can copy and
distribute it in the United States without permission and
without paying copyright royalties  Special rules  set forth
below  apply if you wish to copy and distribute this eBook
under the  PROJECT GUTENBERG  trademark 

Please do not use the  PROJECT GUTENBERG  trademark to market
any commercial products without permission 

To create these eBooks  the Project expends considerable
efforts to identify  transcribe and proofread public domain
works  Despite these efforts  the Project s eBooks and any
medium they may be on may contain  Defects   Among other
things  Defects may take the form of incomplete  inaccurate or
corrupt data  transcription errors  a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement  a defective or damaged
disk or other eBook medium  a computer virus  or computer
codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment 

LIMITED WARRANTY  DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES
But for the  Right of Replacement or Refund  described below 
 1  Michael Hart and the Foundation  and any other party you may
receive this eBook from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG tm eBook  disclaims
all liability to you for damages  costs and expenses  including
legal fees  and  2  YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR
UNDER STRICT LIABILITY  OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT 
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT  CONSEQUENTIAL  PUNITIVE
OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES  EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES 

If you discover a Defect in this eBook within 90 days of
receiving it  you can receive a refund of the money  if any 
you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that
time to the person you received it from  If you received it
on a physical medium  you must return it with your note  and
such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement
copy  If you received it electronically  such person may
choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to
receive it electronically 

THIS EBOOK IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU  AS IS   NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND  EXPRESS OR IMPLIED  ARE MADE TO YOU AS
TO THE EBOOK OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON  INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE 

Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or
the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages  so the
above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you  and you
may have other legal rights 

INDEMNITY
You will indemnify and hold Michael Hart  the Foundation 
and its trustees and agents  and any volunteers associated
with the production and distribution of Project Gutenberg tm
texts harmless  from all liability  cost and expense  including
legal fees  that arise directly or indirectly from any of the
following that you do or cause    1  distribution of this eBook 
 2  alteration  modification  or addition to the eBook 
or  3  any Defect 

DISTRIBUTION UNDER  PROJECT GUTENBERG tm 
You may distribute copies of this eBook electronically  or by
disk  book or any other medium if you either delete this
 Small Print   and all other references to Project Gutenberg 
or 

 1   Only give exact copies of it   Among other things  this
     requires that you do not remove  alter or modify the
     eBook or this  small print   statement   You may however 
     if you wish  distribute this eBook in machine readable
     binary  compressed  mark up  or proprietary form 
     including any form resulting from conversion by word
     processing or hypertext software  but only so long as
      EITHER  

          The eBook  when displayed  is clearly readable  and
          does  not  contain characters other than those
          intended by the author of the work  although tilde
               asterisk     and underline     characters may
          be used to convey punctuation intended by the
          author  and additional characters may be used to
          indicate hypertext links  OR

          The eBook may be readily converted by the reader at
          no expense into plain ASCII  EBCDIC or equivalent
          form by the program that displays the eBook  as is
          the case  for instance  with most word processors  
          OR

          You provide  or agree to also provide on request at
          no additional cost  fee or expense  a copy of the
          eBook in its original plain ASCII form  or in EBCDIC
          or other equivalent proprietary form  

 2   Honor the eBook refund and replacement provisions of this
      Small Print   statement 

 3   Pay a trademark license fee to the Foundation of 20  of the
     gross profits you derive calculated using the method you
     already use to calculate your applicable taxes   If you
     don t derive profits  no royalty is due   Royalties are
     payable to  Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation 
     the 60 days following each date you prepare  or were
     legally required to prepare  your annual  or equivalent
     periodic  tax return   Please contact us beforehand to
     let us know your plans and to work out the details 

WHAT IF YOU  WANT  TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON T HAVE TO 
Project Gutenberg is dedicated to increasing the number of
public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed
in machine readable form 

The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money  time 
public domain materials  or royalty free copyright licenses 
Money should be paid to the 
 Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation  

If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or
software or other items  please contact Michael Hart at 
hart pobox com

 Portions of this eBook s header and trailer may be reprinted only
when distributed free of all fees   Copyright  C  2001  2002 by
Michael S  Hart   Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be
used in any sales of Project Gutenberg eBooks or other materials be
they hardware or software or any other related product without
express permission  

 END THE SMALL PRINT  FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS Ver 02 11 02 END 

