grief to everyone, for it is not in the power of nature to reproduce
another such man.”
14
_Mankind’s Debt to Leonardo_
When Leonardo died his notebooks began their separate journeys into
obscurity. They traveled to different lands and became parts of widely
disparate collections. It has only been within the last fifty years that
efforts were made to bring them all together between the covers of one
volume—a dream that Leonardo himself entertained but never realized. As
the manuscripts and drawings were brought to light, translated and
published, the extraordinary scope of Leonardo’s scientific explorations
was revealed.
Mathematician, anatomist, botanist, astronomer and geologist form only
part of the long list of his accomplishments and give the clue to the
man who considered all the natural world within his province of study.
Because of the universality of Leonardo’s scientific thought he has been
frequently mentioned as the forerunner of such men as Galileo Galilei,
Sir Isaac Newton, James Watt, Francis Bacon and William Harvey. Although
Leonardo cannot be credited with the actual discoveries that these men
made, his methods of investigation pointed the way down the paths that
they would follow.
The key to Leonardo’s methods lies in a quotation from his notes on
vision. He wrote of vision as _saper vedere_—“to know how to see”—and he
referred to the eye as “the window of the soul.” Again and again, he
stressed the importance of observation and personal experience. Although
he himself was well read, he emphasized that “science comes by
observation not by authority.” His supreme talent for drawing underlines
his credo and is inseparable from his science. What he saw in the
natural world about him needed investigating. The results of these
investigations were transformed into drawings as the most certain method
for passing this knowledge along to others. The best example of this
attitude is represented by his anatomical studies. To merely draw the
living figure in front of him was not sufficient—it was imperative to
know what he was drawing. He turned to the dissecting room and after
intensive study produced some of the finest anatomical drawings in the
world—and among the easiest for others to understand.
What Walter Pater wrote of the Renaissance—“in many things great rather
by what it designed or aspired to than by what it actually
achieved”—could be a summation of Leonardo’s own lifetime of effort in
science. He labored to bring mankind from the morass of medieval
superstitions onto the firm ground of natural facts. With an insatiable
curiosity Leonardo attempted the impossible task of encompassing all
knowledge. Thus he established his right to immortality—for it was an
attempt that shone like a beacon in a world dark with ignorance.
_Significant Dates in Leonardo’s Life_
1452 April 15. Birth of Leonardo.
1467 Commences apprenticeship with Verrochio in Florence.
1478 Commissioned for altarpiece in the Palace of the
Signoria.
1481 Commissioned to paint an altarpiece for Convent of San
Donato.
1482-83(?) Leonardo leaves Florence for the court of Ludovico
Sforza in Milan.
1483 Begins equestrian monument of Francesco Sforza for
Ludovico.
1484-86 Plague in Milan.
1490 April 23. Recommences equestrian monument and starts
book on light and shade.
1496 Meets with Fra Luca Pacioli, professor of mathematics.
1498 _The Last Supper_ completed.
1499 Apr. Land awarded to Leonardo near Porta Vercellina.
Oct. French occupy Milan. Dec. Leonardo leaves Milan
with Pacioli.
1500 Leonardo arrives in Mantua. Travels to Venice and
returns to Florence.
1502 In the service of Cesare Borgia.
1503 Returns to Florence, commences work on a canal to sea.
1504 Begins the painting of battle of Anghiari. Father dies.
Attempt at flight (?).
1506 May. Leaves Florence for Milan at summons of Charles
d’Amboise, French military governor.
1507 Sept. Goes to Florence to settle father’s will.
1508 July. Returns to Milan.
1511 Works with Marc Antonio della Torre on anatomical
research.
1512 French lose Milan.
1513 Leonardo leaves Milan for Rome. Serves Giuliano de’
Medici, brother of Pope Leo X.
1516 Leonardo leaves Rome for France to serve King Francis I.
1519 May 2. Death of Leonardo.
_Index_
A
Abbaco, Benedetto dell’, 5
Adda river, 124
“Adoration of the Magi,” 29, 30
Adriatic, the, 62, 93
“Air conditioner,” 69
Air, study of, 65, 66, 99
“Alarm clock,” 57
Albert of Saxony, 81
Alessandria, fortress of, 83
Alfonso of Calabria, 38
Alps, the, 37, 67
Amadeo, Antonio, 58
Amadori, Albiera di Giovanni, 2
Amadori, Alessandro, 3, 111
Amboise, _see_ Chateau d’Amboise
Amontons, 134
Anatomy, human, 52, 53, 107, 109, 119, 125-127, 138
Anchiano, 2
Anemometer, 65, 66
Anemoscope, 65
Anghiari, battle of, 103, 110, 113
Aquadello, 124
Aquila, Battista dell’, 139
Arabs, the, 54
Archimedes, 41, 67, 81, 134
Architecture, 50, 58
Argyropoulos, John, 17
Aristotle, 17, 23, 42, 48, 81, 89
Arithmetic, 77
Arithmetico, Benedetto, 16
Armored vehicle, 39, 40
Arno river, 25, 31, 96, 100-106, 109
Arrezzo, 93
Ascanio, Cardinal, 83
Astronomy, 80-82, 104, 105
Atlantic Ocean, 19
“Automobile,” 32, 33
Autopsies, 107
Avicenna, 53
B
Bacon, Francis, 160
Bacon, Roger, 120
Badia, the, 7
Battista, 155, 157
Bayzid II, 94
Beatis, Antonio de’, 151
Bianca Maria, 64
Bible, the, 62, 104, 141
Birds, flight of, 24, 65, 66, 76, 99, 119
Black Death, _see_ Bubonic plague
Blois, 152
Bologna, 144
Bombard, 26
Bombs, 39
Borgia, Cesare, 82, 86-97, 102, 139
Borgias, the, 102
Botticelli, Sandro, 33
Boureau, Guillaume, 156
Bramante, 68, 131
Bridge building, 95
Bubonic plague, 45-47
Buonarroti, Michelangelo, _see_ Michelangelo
C
“Camera obscura,” 55
Campo Morto, battle of, 38
Cannon, 26, 33, 41
Caravaggio, siege of, 124
Cardano, Girolamo, 113
Carles, Geffroy, 115, 116
Carpentry, 135, 136
Cassano, castle of, 124
Castel’ Sant’ Angelo, 130
Caterina, 2
Cellini, Benvenuto, 100
Centrifugal pump, 121, 122
Cesena, 94
Chambord, castle of, 152
Charles d’Amboise, 94, 114-117, 121, 124, 127, 139
Chateau d’Amboise, 147-156
Cher river, 152
Christ, 30, 74, 77, 78
Church of the Annunciation of the Servite Order of Monks, 90
Church, the, 18, 48, 53, 63, 104, 145
Cioni, Andrea di Michele di Francesco de’, _see_ Verrochio, Andrea
del
City Planning, 44, 45, 47
City-states, 9, 10
Civitavecchia, 143, 144
Cloux, Manoir de, 148, 154, 156
Coins, minting of, 47
Collections, 4
Columbus, Christopher, 19
Constantinople, 95
Corte, Bernardino da, 83
Corte Vecchia, 56
Coulomb, A. C., 17, 134
Council of Eighty, 109
Council of Florence, 23, 106
Councilors and Tribunal of Venice, 89
Credi, Lorenzo di, 13
Cusanus, Cardinal, 42
D
Dams, 101
Danti, Giovanni Battista, 96, 97
d’Aragona, Cardinal Luigi, 151
Darwin, 105
d’Auvergne, Madelaine, 153
David, statue of, 106
_De Ludo Geometrico_, 134
d’Este, Beatrice, 60, 61, 69, 86
d’Este, Isabella, 86, 87, 91
Diocletian, Emperor, 135
Diseases, 109
Dissection, 53, 126, 145
Diver’s suit, 89
Drawing, _see_ Painting
Drum, mechanical, 61
Dynamics, 140
E
Earth, the, 104, 105
Eclipse of the sun, 48
Einstein, 153
Equilibrium, 141
Euclid, 54, 91
Eye, the, 54, 55
F
Ferdinand, King of Naples, 25, 27
Ferrara, 70
Ferrari, Ambrogio, 42
Fiesole, 111, 113, 156
Flemish painters, 15
Flight,
of arrow, 82, 83
of birds, 24, 65, 66, 76, 99, 119
problems of, 70, 71, 75, 76, 96-100, 111-113
Florence, 7-19, 25-27, 32, 38, 53, 68, 93-96, 100-103
Flying machine, 70, 71, 75, 76, 112
Foix, Gaston de, 127
Forts, 88
Forum of the Caesars, 134
Four elements, 48
France, 67-69, 78, 82-84, 94, 114-120, 125, 127, 128, 139,
142-145, 152
Francis I, 143-145, 148-157
Fraternity of the Immaculate Conception, 43, 44, 47
Friction, 140, 141
G
Galen, 52, 53
Galileo, Galilei, 134, 141, 160
Genoa, 143
Geocentric theory, _see_ Ptolemaic theory
Geography, 18, 19
Geology, 103, 104
Geometry, 91, 134
Georg, 131, 133, 140, 143, 145
Geotropism, 79
Germany, 47, 69
Ghirlandaio, Domenico di Tommaso del, 33
Giocondo, Francesco del, 98
Giovanni “the Piper,” 100
Gonzaga, Francesco, 86
Gothic tradition, 50
Gravity, 140, 141
Greeks, the, 69
Guido, 23
Guild, 19
H
Hadrian, Emperor, 130
Harvey, William, 126, 160
Heavens, observation of, 80
Heliocentric theory, 48, 81
Heliotropism, 79
Highmore, 53
Hippocrates, 52
Holy Roman Empire, 9
Hooke, Robert, 141
Horse, anatomy of the, 41
Hydraulic pump, 74, 122, 123
Hydraulics, 14
Hydrodynamics, 141
Hygrometer, 30, 31
I
Imola, 95, 96
Inclination gauge, 66, 67
India, 18
_Introduction to Perspective, or the Function of the Eye_, 58
Inventions, 25-27, 38-40
Irradiation, 55
Irrigation, 101
Isabella of Aragon, 51
Isonzo river, 88
Istanbul, _see_ Constantinople
J
Johannes, 133, 143, 145
Judas, 74, 77, 78
K
King Charles VIII, 67-69, 78, 82, 120, 148
L
Lake Como, 125
Lamps, 59
Lanfredini, Francesca, 2, 7
“Last Supper,” 30, 72, 74, 77, 92, 99, 138
League of Cambria, 124
Leghorn, 100
Leibig, 41
Leonardo da Vinci,
and the Church, 18, 48, 104, 145
birth of, 2
death of, 157
early years of, 1-8
illness of, 142, 150
moves to Florence, 10
notebooks of, 25, 29, 140, 152, 159, 160
Levite, 118
_Light and Shade_, 54
Lighting, 59
Lilienthal, Otto, 100
Livoli river, 139
Loches, 92
Loire river, 147, 149, 152
Lombardy, 37, 62, 78, 82, 83, 121,148
Louis XII (of Orleans), 78, 82, 92, 94, 114, 116, 119, 124, 142,
157
Louvre, the, 44
Lucullus, 130
Lyons, 152
Lyre, silver, 34, 35
M
Machiavelli, Niccolò, 96, 100, 102, 106, 109
Machine gun, 27
Machinery, improvement of, 16
Madonna Lisa, _see_ Mona Lisa
Malaria, 139
Mandeville, Sir John, 103
Manenti, 88
Mantua, 84, 86, 87
Mapmaking, 19, 93, 95, 96, 100, 101
Martelli, Piero, 118
Martini, Francesco di Giorgio, 58
Martino river, 139
Mathurine, 156, 157
Maximilian I, 64
Medici, Giovanni de’, 130
Medici, Giuliano de’, 21, 130, 132, 138-146
Medici, Lorenzo de’, 16, 21, 26, 27, 29, 35, 39, 127, 130, 132,
146, 153
Medici, Piero de’, 10, 16
Medicis, the, 10, 21, 23, 26, 27, 33, 34, 68, 130, 131, 140, 142,
146
Melzi, Francesco de’, 117, 128, 130, 140, 142, 145, 150, 155, 157,
158
Michelangelo, 106, 107, 113, 131, 137, 144, 145
Middle Ages, 81, 104
Migliorotti, Atalante, 35-38, 87
Milan, 9, 33-48, 60, 64, 68, 78, 82, 83, 85, 95, 114-128, 143, 144
Milan cathedral, 50
Military,
defenses, 88, 89
machines, 25-27, 33, 38-40
Millstones, 75
Mitre valve, 123
Mirrors, 133
“Mona Lisa,” 99, 103
Monferrato, 62
Monte Albano, 1, 2, 5
Monte Cecero, 113
Montorfano, 72
Muscles, 109, 119
Music, 34, 35
N
Naples, 9, 27, 68, 69
Needle sharpener, 75
Netherlands, the, 95
Newton, Isaac, 24, 56, 123, 141, 160
Newton’s First Law of Motion, 123
Newton’s law of gravitation, 83
_Notes_, 14
Novara, battle of, 92
O
Odometer, 69
Oggionno, Marco d’, 58
Orient, the, 89
Ornithopter, 111, 112
P
Pacioli, Fra Luca, 76, 77, 80, 84, 86-91, 133
Padua, 125
Painting, 4-7, 29-32, 43, 44, 71, 72, 91, 99, 105, 110, 112
Palatine hill, 135
Palazzo della Signoria, 12, 21-25, 103
Palazzo Vecchio, 12
Parachute, 71
Paris, 44
Parma, 138
Pater, Walter, 161
Pavia, 51, 58, 125
Pazzi conspiracy, 21, 23, 25
Pazzi, Francesco de’, 23
Pera, 95
“Periscope,” the, 89
Perugia, 96
Perugino, Pietro, 13, 33, 107
Pesaro, 93
Peschiera, 124
Pharisee, 118
Philiberta, 142
Phyllotaxis, 79
Physics, 17
Piazzetta, the, 87
Pincio hill, 130
Piombino, 93, 139, 154
Pisa, 25, 100-102, 110
Pitti Palace, 31
Plague, _see_ Bubonic plague
Plants, study of, 79, 80
Platonic school, 54
Pliny, 23
Plutarch, 81
Pollaiuolo, 53
Ponte Vecchio, 31
Pontine marshes, 139, 154
Pope Alexander VI, 82, 92, 102
Pope Innocent VIII, 63
Pope Julius II, 124, 127, 128, 130, 131
Pope Leo X, 130-132, 139, 142-146, 153
Pope Sixtus IV, 21, 33
Porta del Popolo, 129
Porta Romana, 29
Porta Vercellina, 79, 115
Porto Cesanatico, 94
Portugal, 26
Predis, Bernardino de, 47
Predis, Giovanni Ambrogio de, 43, 44, 47, 56
Ptolemaic theory, 48
Ptolemy, 23, 54, 103
Q
Queen Claude, 152
R
Raphael, 107, 131, 137
Ravenna, battle of, 127
Red Book of the Painters of Florence, 19
Reflection, law of, 56
Renaissance, 89, 104, 125, 161
Riario, Girolamo, 21, 38
Rimini, 93
Rome, 9, 33, 47, 69, 128-146
Romorantin, 150, 152
Rosate, Ambrogio da, 63
Rumford, 56
Rustici, Giovanni, 118
S
“St. Anne with the Virgin and Child,” 91, 92
St. Augustine, 42
Saint-Denis church, 157
St. Germain-en-Laye, 157
Saint-Hubert, chapel of, 153, 157
St. John, 118, 154
St. John the Baptist, 151
St. Luke, 19
St. Mary of the Virgin, 96
St. Peter’s, church of, 131
Salai, 86, 115
Salviati, Francesco, 21
San Bernardo, chapel of, 23
San Cristoforo, 157
San Donato a Scopeto, 29
San Lorenzo, 144, 145
San Marco, Little Square of, 87
Sanseverino, Galeazzo da, 82, 83
Sant’ Onofrio, hospital, 107
Santa Croce, church of, 107
Santa Maria delle Grazie, 71, 78
Santa Maria Novella, 107
Sanzio, Raffaello, _see_ Raphael
Savoy, 142
Scarlione, Bartolommeo degli, 43
Sculpture, 41, 49, 52-54, 58-64, 118
Sforza, Duke Gian Galeazzo, 51, 56, 68, 120
Sforza, Francesco, 41, 47, 49, 61, 64
Sforza, Francesco (child), 68
Sforza, Ludovico, 33-47, 51, 52, 56, 57, 60-72, 76-79, 82-84, 92,
115, 117, 120, 138, 146, 154
Sforza monument, 49-59, 61, 64, 120
Sforzas, the, 40, 56, 57, 71, 79, 83, 117, 120, 154
Shells, 62, 63
Signoria, the, 96, 100-106, 110, 114, 116
Sistine Chapel, 33, 132, 137
Soderini, Piero, 103, 106, 109, 114-116
Sologne, 154
Spain, 18, 69, 127, 139, 142, 143
Statics, 140
Steam, 41
Strabo, 23, 103, 104
Swiss, 127, 128, 143
T
Ticino gate, 44
Torre, Marcantonio della, 125, 128
Toscanelli, Paolo del Pozzo, 18, 19, 42, 93
Touraine, 92
Trivulzio, Marshal Gian Giacomo, 120, 121, 125, 128, 143
Turks, the, 87-90, 94
Tuscany, 93
Tyrrhenian coast, 143
U
Uffizi Gallery, 25, 32
University of Padua, 125
University of Pavia, 63
Urbino, 93
V
Valentinois, Duke of, _see_ Borgia, Cesare
Valois, Marguerite de, 150
Vatican, the, 47, 130-145
Venice, 9, 69, 87-89, 124, 125, 127
Verrochio, Andrea del, 7, 12-19, 23, 118
Via Ghibellina, 90
Vigevano, 68, 75
Vinci, 2, 13
Vinci, da, Giuliano, 117
Vinci, da, Piero, 2-7, 10, 12, 90, 106, 117
“Virgin of the Rocks,” 44
Vitellozzo, 93
Vitruvius, 77
W
Water, study of, 67, 101, 102, 121, 122
Watt, James, 160
Witelo, 58
Y
Yugoslavia, 88
[Illustration: Endpaper, portraits of scientists]
[Illustration: Endpaper, names of scientists]
Transcriber’s Notes
—Silently corrected a few typos.
—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.