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Section 29 of 32 - Table of Contents
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).
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