The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci — Complete
it and made its shores. And the summits of the Apennines stood up
out of this sea like islands, surrounded by salt water. Africa
again, behind its Atlas mountains did not expose uncovered to the
sky the surface of its vast plains about 3000 miles in length, and
Memphis [Footnote 6: _Mefi._ Leonardo can only mean here the citadel
of Cairo on the Mokattam hills.] was on the shores of this sea, and
above the plains of Italy, where now birds fly in flocks, fish were
wont to wander in large shoals.
1086.
Tunis.
The greatest ebb made anywhere by the Mediterranean is above Tunis,
being about two and a half braccia and at Venice it falls two
braccia. In all the rest of the Mediterranean sea the fall is little
or none.
1087.
Libya.
Describe the mountains of shifting deserts; that is to say the
formation of waves of sand borne by the wind, and of its mountains
and hills, such as occur in Libya. Examples may be seen on the wide
sands of the Po and the Ticino, and other large rivers.
1088.
Majorca.
Circumfulgore is a naval machine. It was an invention of the men of
Majorca. [Footnote: The machine is fully described in the MS. and
shown in a sketch.]
1089.
The Tyrrhene Sea.
Some at the Tyrrhene sea employ this method; that is to say they
fastened an anchor to one end of the yard, and to the other a cord,
of which the lower end was fastened to an anchor; and in battle they
flung this anchor on to the oars of the opponent's boat and by the
use of a capstan drew it to the side; and threw soft soap and tow,
daubed with pitch and set ablaze, on to that side where the anchor
hung; so that in order to escape that fire, the defenders of that
ship had to fly to the opposite side; and in doing this they aided
to the attack, because the galley was more easily drawn to the side
by reason of the counterpoise. [Footnote: This text is illustrated
in the original by a pen and ink sketch.]
IV.
THE LEVANT.
The Levantine Sea.
1090.
On the shores of the Mediterranean 300 rivers flow, and 40, 200
ports. And this sea is 3000 miles long. Many times has the increase
of its waters, heaped up by their backward flow and the blowing of
the West winds, caused the overflow of the Nile and of the rivers
which flow out through the Black Sea, and have so much raised the
seas that they have spread with vast floods over many countries. And
these floods take place at the time when the sun melts the snows on
the high mountains of Ethiopia that rise up into the cold regions of
the air; and in the same way the approach of the sun acts on the
mountains of Sarmatia in Asia and on those in Europe; so that the
gathering together of these three things are, and always have been,
the cause of tremendous floods: that is, the return flow of the sea
with the West wind and the melting of the snows. So every river will
overflow in Syria, in Samaria, in Judea between Sinai and the
Lebanon, and in the rest of Syria between the Lebanon and the Taurus
mountains, and in Cilicia, in the Armenian mountains, and in
Pamphilia and in Lycia within the hills, and in Egypt as far as the
Atlas mountains. The gulf of Persia which was formerly a vast lake
of the Tigris and discharged into the Indian Sea, has now worn away
the mountains which formed its banks and laid them even with the
level of the Indian ocean. And if the Mediterranean had continued
its flow through the gulf of Arabia, it would have done the same,
that is to say, would have reduced the level of the Mediterranean to
that of the Indian Sea.
The Red Sea. (1091. 1092).
1091.
For a long time the water of the Mediterranean flowed out through
the Red Sea, which is 100 miles wide and 1500 long, and full of
reefs; and it has worn away the sides of Mount Sinai, a fact which
testifies, not to an inundation from the Indian sea beating on these
coasts, but to a deluge of water which carried with it all the
rivers which abound round the Mediterranean, and besides this there
is the reflux of the sea; and then, a cutting being made to the West
3000 miles away from this place, Gibraltar was separated from Ceuta,
which had been joined to it. And this passage was cut very low down,
in the plains between Gibraltar and the ocean at the foot of the
mountain, in the low part, aided by the hollowing out of some
valleys made by certain rivers, which might have flowed here.
Hercules [Footnote 9: Leonardo seems here to mention Hercules half
jestingly and only in order to suggest to the reader an allusion to
the legend of the pillars of Hercules.] came to open the sea to the
westward and then the sea waters began to pour into the Western
Ocean; and in consequence of this great fall, the Red Sea remained
the higher; whence the water, abandoning its course here, ever after
poured away through the Straits of Spain.
1092.
The surface of the Red Sea is on a level with the ocean.
A mountain may have fallen and closed the mouth of the Red Sea and
prevented the outlet of the Mediterranean, and the Mediterranean Sea
thus overfilled had for outlet the passage below the mountains of
Gades; for, in our own times a similar thing has been seen [Footnote
6: Compare also No. 1336, ll. 30, 35 and 36.-- Paolo Giovio, the
celebrated historian (born at Como in 1483) reports that in 1513 at
the foot of the Alps, above Bellinzona, on the road to Switzerland,
a mountain fell with a very great noise, in consequence of an
earthquake, and that the mass of rocks, which fell on the left
(Western) side blocked the river Breno (T. I p. 218 and 345 of D.
Sauvage's French edition, quoted in ALEXIS PERCY, _Memoire des
tremblements de terre de la peninsule italique; Academie Royale de
Belgique._ T. XXII).--]; a mountain fell seven miles across a valley
and closed it up and made a lake. And thus most lakes have been made
by mountains, as the lake of Garda, the lakes of Como and Lugano,
and the Lago Maggiore. The Mediterranean fell but little on the
confines of Syria, in consequence of the Gaditanean passage, but a
great deal in this passage, because before this cutting was made the
Mediterranean sea flowed to the South East, and then the fall had to
be made by its run through the Straits of Gades.
At _a_ the water of the Mediterranean fell into the ocean.
All the plains which lie between the sea and mountains were formerly
covered with salt water.
Every valley has been made by its own river; and the proportion
between valleys is the same as that between river and river.
The greatest river in our world is the Mediterranean river, which
moves from the sources of the Nile to the Western ocean.
And its greatest height is in Outer Mauritania and it has a course
of ten thousand miles before it reunites with its ocean, the father
of the waters.
That is 3000 miles for the Mediterranean, 3000 for the Nile, as far
as discovered and 3000 for the Nile which flows to the East, &c.
[Footnote: See Pl. CXI 2, a sketch of the shores of the
Mediterranean Sea, where lines 11 to 16 may be seen. The large
figures 158 are not in Leonardo's writing. The character of the
writing leads us to conclude that this text was written later than
the foregoing. A slight sketch of the Mediterranean is also to be
found in MS. I', 47a.]
The Nile (1093-1098).
1093.
Therefore we must conclude those mountains to be of the greatest
height, above which the clouds falling in snow give rise to the
Nile.
1094.
The Egyptians, the Ethiopians, and the Arabs, in crossing the Nile
with camels, are accustomed to attach two bags on the sides of the
camel's bodies that is skins in the form shown underneath.
In these four meshes of the net the camels for baggage place their
feet.
[Footnote: Unfortunately both the sketches which accompany this
passage are too much effaced to be reproduced. The upper represents
the two sacks joined by ropes, as here described, the other shows
four camels with riders swimming through a river.]
1095.
The Tigris passes through Asia Minor and brings with it the water of
three lakes, one after the other of various elevations; the first
being Munace and the middle Pallas and the lowest Triton. And the
Nile again springs from three very high lakes in Ethiopia, and runs
northwards towards the sea of Egypt with a course of 4000 miles, and
by the shortest and straightest line it is 3000 miles. It is said
that it issues from the Mountains of the Moon, and has various
unknown sources. The said lakes are about 4000 braccia above the
surface of the sphere of water, that is 1 mile and 1/3, giving to
the Nile a fall of 1 braccia in every mile.
[Footnote 5: _Incogniti principio._ The affluents of the lakes are
probably here intended. Compare, as to the Nile, Nos. 970, 1063 and
1084.]
1096.
Very many times the Nile and other very large rivers have poured out
their whole element of water and restored it to the sea.
1097.
Why does the inundation of the Nile occur in the summer, coming from
torrid countries?
1098.
It is not denied that the Nile is constantly muddy in entering the
Egyptian sea and that its turbidity is caused by soil that this
river is continually bringing from the places it passes; which soil
never returns in the sea which receives it, unless it throws it on
its shores. You see the sandy desert beyond Mount Atlas where
formerly it was covered with salt water.
Customs of Asiatic Nations (1099. 1100).
1099.
The Assyrians and the people of Euboea accustom their horses to
carry sacks which they can at pleasure fill with air, and which in
case of need they carry instead of the girth of the saddle above and
at the side, and they are well covered with plates of cuir bouilli,
in order that they may not be perforated by flights of arrows. Thus
they have not on their minds their security in flight, when the
victory is uncertain; a horse thus equipped enables four or five men
to cross over at need.
1100.
SMALL BOATS.
The small boats used by the Assyrians were made of thin laths of
willow plaited over rods also of willow, and bent into the form of a
boat. They were daubed with fine mud soaked with oil or with
turpentine, and reduced to a kind of mud which resisted the water
and because pine would split; and always remained fresh; and they
covered this sort of boats with the skins of oxen in safely crossing
the river Sicuris of Spain, as is reported by Lucant; [Footnote 7:
See Lucan's Pharsalia IV, 130: _Utque habuit ripas Sicoris camposque
reliquit, Primum cana salix madefacto vimine parvam Texitur in
puppim, calsoque inducto juvenco Vectoris patiens tumidum supernatat
amnem. Sic Venetus stagnante Pado, fusoque Britannus Navigat oceano,
sic cum tenet omnia Nilus, Conseritur bibula Memphitis cymbo papyro.
His ratibus transjecta manus festinat utrimque Succisam cavare nemus
]
The Spaniards, the Scythians and the Arabs, when they want to make a
bridge in haste, fix hurdlework made of willows on bags of ox-hide,
and so cross in safety.
Rhodes (1101. 1102).
1101.
In [fourteen hundred and] eighty nine there was an earthquake in the
sea of Atalia near Rhodes, which opened the sea--that is its
bottom--and into this opening such a torrent of water poured that
for more than three hours the bottom of the sea was uncovered by
reason of the water which was lost in it, and then it closed to the
former level.
[Footnote: _Nello ottanto_ 9. It is scarcely likely that Leonardo
should here mean 89 AD. Dr. H. MULLER- STRUBING writes to me as
follows on this subject: "With reference to Rhodes Ross says (_Reise
auf den Griechischen Inseln, III_ 70 _ff_. 1840), that ancient
history affords instances of severe earthquakes at Rhodes, among
others one in the second year of the 138th Olympiad=270 B. C.; a
remarkably violent one under Antoninus Pius (A. D. 138-161) and