The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci — Complete
at the other a counterpoise; and there was also
attached 12 feet of chain; and, at the end of
this chain, as much rope as would reach from
the chain to the base of the top, where it was
fixed with a small rope; from this base it ran
down to the bottom of the mast where a
very strong spar was attached and to this
was fastened the end of the rope. But to go on
to the use of his machine; I say that below
this grappling iron was a fire [Footnote 14: Compare No. 1128.] which, with
tremendous noise, threw down its rays and
a shower of burning pitch; which, pouring
down on the [enemy's] top, compelled the
men who were in it to abandon the top
to which the grappling-iron had clung. This
was hooked on to the edges of the top
and then suddenly the cord attached at the
base of the top to support the cord which
went from the grappling iron, was cut, giving
way and drawing in the enemy's ship; and
if the anchor--was cast ...
[Footnote: Archimedes never visited Spain, and the
names here mentioned cannot be explained. Leonardo
seems to quote here from a book, perhaps by some
questionable mediaeval writer. Prof. C. Justi writes to
me from Madrid, that Spanish savants have no knowledge
of the sources from which this story may have
been derived.]
Leic. 14b
1499.
Theophrastus on the ebb and flow of the
tide, and of eddies, and on water.
[Footnote: The Greek philosophers had no opportunity
to study the phenomenon of the ebb and flow of
the tide and none of them wrote about it. The
movement of the waters in the Euripus however was to
a few of them a puzzling problem.]
Ash. II. IIb]
1500.
Tryphon of Alexandria, who spent his life
at Apollonia, a city of Albania (163).
[Footnote: Tryphon of Alexandria, a Greek Grammarian
of the time of Augustus. His treatise *TtaOY Aeijecu* appeared first at Milan in 1476, in Constantin
Laskaris's Greek Grammar.]
K.3 29b]
1501.
Messer Vincenzio Aliprando, who lives
near the Inn of the Bear, has Giacomo
Andrea's Vitruvius.
L. 53b]
1502.
Vitruvius says that small models are of
no avail for ascertaining the effects of large
ones; and I here propose to prove that
this conclusion is a false one. And chiefly
by bringing forward the very same argument
which led him to this conclusion; that is, by
an experiment with an auger. For he proves
that if a man, by a certain exertion of
strength, makes a hole of a given diameter,
and afterwards another hole of double the
diameter, this cannot be made with only
double the exertion of the man's strength,
but needs much more. To this it may very
well be answered that an auger
L. 53a]
1503.
of double the diameter cannot be
moved by double the exertion, be-
cause the superficies of a body of
the same form but twice as large has
four times the extent of the superficies
of the smaller, as is shown in the two
figures a and n.
Section title: Notes on books and authors
* There are characters present in the original footnotes that have accents - I have placed an asterisk next to them.
1504.
OF SQUARING THE CIRCLE, AND WHO IT WAS
THAT FIRST DISCOVERED IT BY ACCIDENT.
Vitruvius, measuring miles by means of
the repeated revolutions of the wheels which
move vehicles, extended over many Stadia
the lines of the circumferences of the circles
of these wheels. He became aware of them
by the animals that moved the vehicles. But
he did not discern that this was a means of
finding a square equal to a circle. This was
first done by Archimedes of Syracuse, who
by multiplying the second diameter of a circle
by half its circumference produced a rectangular
quadrilateral equal figure to the circle.
[Footnote: Vitruvius, see also Nos. 1113 and 343.
10. Compare No. 1475.]
1505.
Virgil says that a blank shield is devoid of
merit because among the people of Athens the
true recognition confirmed by testimonies ...
[Footnote: The end of the text cannot be deciphered.]
1506.
In Vitolone there are 805 conclusions
[problems] in perspective.
[Footnote: _(Witelo, Vitellion, Vitellon) Vitellione. *E da
vedersi su questo ottico prospettico del secolo XIII Luca
Pacioli, Paolo Lomazzo, Leonardo da Vinci, ecc. e fra i
moderni il Graesse, il Libri, il Brunet, e le Memorie
pubblicate dal principe Boncompagni, e 'Sur l' orthographe
du nom et sur la patrie de Witelo (Vitellion) note de
Maximilien Curtze, professeur *a Thorn', ove sono descritti
i molti codici esistenti nelle biblioteche d' Europa. Bernardino
Baldi nelle sue 'Vite de'matematici', manoscritto presso
il principe Boncompagni, ha una biografia del Vitellione.
Questo scritto del Baldi reca la data 25 agosto 1588.
Discorsero poi di lui Federigo Risnerio e Giovanni di Monteregio
nella prefazione dell' Alfagrano, Giovanni Boteone,
Girolamo Cardano, 'De subtilitate', che nota gli errori di
Vitellione. Visse, secondo il Baldi, intorno all' anno 1269,
ma secondo il Reinoldo fioriva nel 1299, avendo dedicata
la sua opera ad un frate Guglielmo di Monteca, che visse
di que' tempi.
Intorno ad un manoscritto dell' ottica di Vitellione, citato
da Luca Pacioli v' ha un secondo esemplare del Kurlz,
con aggiunte del principe Boncompagni, e le illustrazioni
del cav. Enrico Narducci. Nel 'Catalogo di manoscritti'
posseduti da D. Baldassare de' principi Boncompagni, compilato
da esso Narducci, Roma, 1862, sotto al n. 358,
troviamo citato: Vitellio, 'Perspectiva', manoscritto del secolo
XIV. La 'Prospettiva di Vitelleone' (sic) Thuringo-poloni
*e citata due volte da Paolo Lomazzo nel Trattato dell' arte
della pittura. Vitellio o Vitello o Witelo. Il suo libro
fu impresso in foglio a Norimberga nel 1535; la secondo
edizione *e del 1551, sempre di Norimberga, ed una terza
di Basilea, 1572._ (See _Indagini Storiche ... sulla Libreria--Visconteo--Sforzesca del Castello di Pavia ... per
cura di G. D'A., Milano 1879. P. I. Appendice p. 113. 114).]
1507.
Vitolone, at Saint Mark's.
[Footnote: _Altro codice di cotesta 'Prospettiva' del Vitolone
troviamo notato nel 'Canone bibliographico di Nicol*o V',
conservato alla, Magliabecchiana, in copia dell' originale
verosimilmente inviato dal Parentucelli a Cosimo de' Medici
(Magliab. cod. segn. 1 VII, 30 carte da 193 a 198).
Proviene dal Convento di San Marco e lo aveva trascritto
frate Leonardo Scruberti fiorentino, dell' ordine dei
predicatori che fu anche bibliotecario della Medicea pubblica
in San Marco_ (See _Indagini Storiche ... per cura
di G. D'A. Parte I, p. 97).]
K.2 12b}
1508.
How this proposition of Xenophon is false.
If you take away unequal quantities from
unequal quantities, but in the same
proportion, &c.
[Footnote: Xenophon's works were published several
times during Leonardo's lifetime.]
B. 4a]
Inventories
and accounts
(1509-1545).
1509.
On the 28th day of April I received from
the Marchesino 103 lire and 12 dinari.
[Footnote: Instead of the indication of the year there
is a blank space after d'aprile.--Marchesino Stange
was one of Lodovico il Moro's officials.--Campare
No. 1388.]
Ash. I. Ia]
1510.
On the ioth day of July 1492 in 135
Rhenish florins 1. 445
in dinari of 6 soldi 1. 112 S 16
in dinari of 5 1/2 soldi 1. 29 S 13
9 in gold and 3 scudi _l.__53________
1. 8II in all
S.K.M.III. 47a]
1511.
On the first day of February, lire 1200.
S.K.M.III. 47a]
1512.
The hall towards the court is 126 paces
long and 27 braccia wide.
1513
The narrow cornice above the hall lire 30.
The cornice beneath that, being one for
each picture, lire 7, and for the cost of blue,
gold, white, plaster, indigo and glue 3 lire;
time 3 days.
The pictures below these mouldings with
their pilasters, 12 lire each.
I calculate the cost for smalt, blue and
gold and other colours at 1 1/2 lire.
The days I calculate at 3, for the invention
of the composition, pilasters and other
things.
1514.
Item for each vault 7 lire
outlay for blue and gold 3 1/2
time, 4 days
for the windows 1 1/2
The cornice below the windows 16 soldi
per braccio
item for 24 pictures of Roman history
14 lire each
The philosophers 10 lire
the pilasters, one ounce of blue 10 soldi
for gold 15 soldi
Total 2 and 1/2 lire.
1515.
The cornice above lire 30
The cornice below lire 7
The compositions, one with another lire 13
1516.
Salai, 6 lire... 4 soldi... 10 soldi for
a chain;--
On the l4th of March I had 13 lire S. 4;
16 lire remain.
1517.
How many braccia high is the level of
the walls?--
123 braccia
How large is the hall?
How large is the garland?
30 ducats.
On the 29th day of January, 1494
cloth for hose lire 4 S 3
lining S 16
making S 8
to Salai S 3
a jasper ring S 13
a sparkling stone S 11
to Caterina S 10
to Caterina S 10
H.2 33a]
1518.
The wheel lire 7
the tire lire 10
the shield lire 4
the cushion lire 8
the ends of the axle-tree lire 2
bed and frame lire 30
conduit lire 10
S.K.M.II.2 4a]
1519.
Parsley 10 parts
mint 1 part
thyme 1 part
Vinegar ... and a little salt two pieces
of canvas for Salai.
[Footnote: This note, of about the year 1494, is the
earliest
mention of Salai, and the last is of the year
1513 (see No. 1465, 3). From the various notes in
the MSS. he seems to have been Leonardo's assistant
and keeper only, and scarcely himself a painter. At
any rate no signed or otherwise authenticated picture
by him is known to exist. Vasari speaks somewhat doubtfully on this point.]
S.K.M. II.I o"]
1520.
On Tuesday I bought wine for morning [drinking];
on Friday the 4th day of September the same.
[Footnote: This note enables us to fix the date of the
Manuscript, in which it is to be found. In 1495 the
4th of September fell on a Friday; the contents
of the Manuscript do not permit us to assign it to
a much earlier or later date (Compare No. 1522,
and Note).]
S.K.M. II.I 94b]
1521.
The cistern ... at
the Hospital,--2 ducats,--beans,-white
maize,--red maize,--millet,--buckwheat,
--kidney beans,--beans,--peas.
S.K.M. II.I 95a]
1522.
EXPENSES OF THE INTERMENT OF CATERINA.
For the 3 Ibs of tapers 27 S
For the bier 8 S
A pall over the bier 12 S
For bearing and placing the cross 4 S
For bearing the body 8 S
For 4 priests and 4 clerks 20 S
Bell, book and sponge 2 S
For the gravediggers 16 S
To the senior 8 S
For a license from the authorities__ 1 S
106 S
The doctor 2 S
Sugar and candles __ 12 S
120 S
[Footnote: See Nos. 1384 and 1517.]
1523.
Salai's cloak, the 4th of April 1497.
4 braccia of silver cloth l. 15 S 4
green velvet to trim it l. 9 S --
binding l.-- S 9
loops l.-- S 12
the making l. 1 S 5
binding for the front l.-- S 5
stitching _________
here are 13 grossoni of his l. 26 S 5
Salai stole the soldi.
1524.
On Monday I bought 4 braccia of cloth
lire 13 S 14 1/2 on the 17th of, October 1497.
1525.
Memorandum. That on the 8th day of
April 1503, I, Leonardo da Vinci, lent to
Vante, miniature painter 4 gold ducats, in
gold. Salai carried them to him and gave
them into his own hand, and he said he would
repay within the space of 40 days.
Memorandum. That on the same day I
paid to Salai 3 gold ducats which he said
he wanted for a pair of rose-coloured
hose with their trimming; and there remain
9 ducats due to him-excepting that he owes
me 20 ducats, that is 17 I lent him at Milan,
and 3 at Venice.
Memorandum. That I gave Salai 21 braccia