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The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, Complete

Leonardo Da Vinci

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Section 1 of 32
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should have remained so long unpublished, and indeed forgotten.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.
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The Magic Egg and Other Stories Frank R. Stockton Category: Short Stories Sections: 14 What's this? Table of Contents		Fiction Short Stories Poetry Plays Sci Fi Philosophy Religion Biography