The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci — Volume 1Leonardo, da Vinci
Philosophy
The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci — Volume 1
Leonardo, da Vinci
Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519 -- Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc.
A man who wants to send an arrow very far from the bow must be
standing entirely on one foot and raising the other so far from the
foot he stands on as to afford the requisite counterpoise to his
body which is thrown on the front foot. And he must not hold his arm
fully extended, and in order that he may be more able to bear the
strain he must hold a piece of wood which there is in all crossbows,
extending from the hand to the breast, and when he wishes to shoot
he suddenly leaps forward at the same instant and extends his arm
with the bow and releases the string. And if he dexterously does
every thing at once it will go a very long way.
386.
When two men are at the opposite ends of a plank that is balanced,
and if they are of equal weight, and if one of them wants to make a
leap into the air, then his leap will be made down from his end of
the plank and the man will never go up again but must remain in his
place till the man at the other end dashes up the board.
[Footnote: See Pl. XXIV, No. 3.]
387.
Of delivering a blow to the right or left.
[Footnote: Four sketches on Pl. XXIV, No. 1 belong to this passage.
The rest of the sketches and notes on that page are of a
miscellaneous nature.]
388.
Why an impetus is not spent at once [but diminishes] gradually in
some one direction? [Footnote 1: The paper has been damaged at the
end of line 1.] The impetus acquired in the line _a b c d_ is spent
in the line _d e_ but not so completely but that some of its force
remains in it and to this force is added the momentum in the line _d
e_ with the force of the motive power, and it must follow than the
impetus multiplied by the blow is greater that the simple impetus
produced by the momentum _d e_.
[Footnote 8: The sketch No. 2 on Pl. XXIV stands, in the original,
between lines 7 and 8. Compare also the sketches on Pl. LIV.] A man
who has to deal a great blow with his weapon prepares himself with
all his force on the opposite side to that where the spot is which
he is to hit; and this is because a body as it gains in velocity
gains in force against the object which impedes its motion.
On hair falling down in curls.
389.
Observe the motion of the surface of the water which resembles that
of hair, and has two motions, of which one goes on with the flow of
the surface, the other forms the lines of the eddies; thus the water
forms eddying whirlpools one part of which are due to the impetus of
the principal current and the other to the incidental motion and
return flow.
[Footnote: See Pl. XXV. Where also the text of this passage is given
in facsimile.]
On draperies (390--392).
390.
OF THE NATURE OF THE FOLDS IN DRAPERY.
That part of a fold which is farthest from the ends where it is
confined will fall most nearly in its natural form.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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