Product Description
Outstanding figures who have shaped the path of history are profiled in these handsome, inexpensive volumes. These biographies detail the facts known about their subjects and emphasize their childhood, motivation, accomplishments, and humanity, as well as their impact on history.

Figuras destacadas que han protagonizado los hechos más importantes de la historia están retratados en estos bellos volúmenes económicos. Tan fascinante como los hechos que les hicieron famosos, estas biografías detallan los hechos conocidos acerca de los sujetos con énfasis en su niñez, su motivación, sus triunfos, y su impacto en la historia, mientras revela un lado humano de estos hombres. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

good even for teenagers
I bought this book for my thirteen year old. He was not too atracted to the topic, but once he started reading it, he finished it very soon, and found it very interesting. He also learnt a lot from it.

lets see!
wath do you want me to tell you if i not readit yet ... Read more

Product Description
Also available as the first book in a five volume set (ISBN#0815329334) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Almost
This book was entertaining and informative of parts of leonardo da vinci's life, but it did not cover all topics that were needed to be.Still an outstanding book nonetheless. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1902.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A haunting masterpiece
Images from this book which I read 30 years ago are still strong and are touchstones, especially about the compatibility and connectedness of art and science. The goodies mentioned in the other reviews are all there as well. Renaissance Italy brought to life with realistic objective style depictions of historical characters and places without letting our modern concept of the Renaissance get in the way. The how and why of Savonorola is fascinating. Leonardo is given as an example of self-containment in a world of contradictions and abasements. A great book with magic in it that deserves to be read slowly.
It is indeed a shame that this book is not better known and celebrated. Since I came upon the book by random selection (not by reputation), it makes me wonder how many other neglected masterpieces there are.

A rare treasure
I have never picked up a book and been touched as I have been with this one. The other reviews are accurate, this book is one of the the greatest novels I have ever read. The insight into the mind of Leanardo is amazing.I will cherish this book forever.

Excellent Detail about the world of Leonardo.
I first found this book in a college library over 16 years ago.I've since seen only 3 other copies of it.This is a great pity, as it is surely one of the best written novels any where in the world.DmitryMerezhkovsky has recreated the conflicted life of Leonardo: genius on oneside counter balanced by the pagan world in conflict with the fanaticalreligous climate in which he lived.If you want to submerge yourself inLeonardo's world,I highly recommend this book for doing so.

Appreciation of an unknown book
This book is mostly unknown, although it is, in my opinion, one of the greatest novels ever written. The accuracy and depth of the historical reconstruction give a keen insight into the times of italian Renaissance,providing an extraordinary and original portrait of the great genius andhis lonely wanderings through late 15th century Italy. The insight theauthor manages to give on the artistic and scientific thought of Leonardoare unique, and rival any scientific text. The sublime reading pleasure ishence greatened by the wealth of knowledge which can be extracted from thiswonderful book. A pity the author is greatly unknown, not only in this butalso in all his other works. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
In the tradition of the New York Times bestselling Longitude comes a popular history that reveals the little known story of what happened when two of the world's most brilliant minds met. Italy, the year 1502. Leonardo da Vinci, engineer and possible spy in the court of Cesare Borgia, crosses paths with Niccol Machiavelli, at that time Florentine ambassador.

The two men formed a friendship, and joined together in an attempt to carry out one of Leonardo's most fantastic dreams: to build a system of canals that would make the Arno river navigable from Florence to the sea. While the primary reason for the project was military, da Vinci and Machiavelli also had commerce in mind. They envisioned a day when explorers would be able to sail from the city center to the sea and back, bringing riches from the New World for the greater glory of Florence.

In Fortune Is a River Roger Masters provides concise and insightful biographies of two of history's greatest geniuses, an interpretation of their roles in history, and a window into their culture. It is a first-rate popular history and a fascinating introduction to the wonders of the Italian Renaissance.

"Historically electrifying...Fascinating...A very interesting book" --The New York Times

"A discovery...Mr. Masters skillfully navigates the intricacies of Renaissance politics, capturing the turbulence and intrigue of the age...and indulges our imaginations in the bargain." --The Wall Street Journal

"A remarkable window on the birth of the modern age...meticulous...surprising." --Publishers Weekly Amazon.com Review
History is sometimes made by seemingly insignificant momentsthat turn out to have been pivotal in hindsight--and sometimes whatdidn't happen proves to be as important as what did. One such momentcame in the Florentine court of Cesare Borgia, when a civil servantnamed Niccolò Machiavelli recruited a local engineer namedLeonardo da Vinci to devise a plan to change the course of the ArnoRiver. Diverting that river, Machiavelli reasoned, would depriveFlorence's enemy, the nearby city-state of Pisa, of a dependable watersupply. It would also make the Arno River navigable for oceangoingvessels from the inland city of Florence, and as an added incentive,would help limit damage caused by the flood-prone Arno to thesurrounding farmlands.

Machiavelli and da Vinci devised a hydrological plan for the riverthat was extraordinarily promising, at least on paper. The flood-proneArno, however, made the task an impossible challenge. The pair'schances of success were further reduced by poor design, bad timing,and undisciplined workers. Their failure brought official disfavor onMachiavelli and da Vinci alike. Leonardo transferred his studio toMilan and then Rome, where he would produce remarkable work, whileMachiavelli retreated from public life for a time and used his forcedleisure to write ThePrince. Roger Masters crafts an epic tale out of a historicalfootnote. Although some of his conclusions are speculative in regardsto Niccolò's and Leonardo's relationship, readers will likelyfind his narrative persuasive and deeply informed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

'Professional' Reviews Are Misleading
Some of the Amazonian reviews get it right - this book is somewhat uneven.I expected the entire book to discuss the collaboration between Machiavelli and Da Vinci. What I got was a few chapters on the diversion of the Arno, multiple chapters on the biographies of the principal characters, and almost no indication that the two definitively worked together for an extended period of time on anything.

The story itself is minimal - at war with Pisa, Florence considered diverting the Arno to force Pisa to come to terms.Machiavelli oversaw the project and its financing. Da Vinci was instrumental in the project's overall design because he wished to alter the Arno to allow Florence to become a major seaport. The project failed due to overt incompetence at the construction level and the two men (who may or may not have worked together) went their separate ways.

The history surrounding the project is speculative (similar to the "who's to say it DIDN'T happen?" line of logic you would expect out of a lesser intellect that Roger Masters), but the history surrounding the biographies is very good.If nothing else, the book reminds us how interesting a period the Renaissance was.Simply consider how many people worked together at some point during their careers as evidenced in this book - Da Vinci, Vespucci, Machievelli, Borgia, various Medicis and Sforzas, Verocchio, Raphael, and so forth.It is difficult to imagine such a collective doing work together on a consistent basis these days.

As an overall impression - it is a quick read but somewhat boring.

Three Fascinating Figures.
Da Vinci, Borgia, and Machiavelli. Could there be more different and yet fascinating people? This book has some rich details, but came across more as a lecture than a true history. Nonetheless, it is an insightful tour of the "intellectual depth of the Italian Renaissance."

The table of contents itself is instructive. 1-A Mysterious Friendship, 2-The Arno, 3-Leonardo Achieves Fame, 4-Niccolo Achieves Power, 5-The Meeting, 6-The Collaboration Begins, 7-The Arno diversion Fails, 8-The Aftermath, 9-Leonardo In The Courts Of Power, 10-Niccolo's Struggle, Victory, & Defeat, 11-The Legacy. The last chapter was the most informative to this reader. With notes, sources, credits, acknowledments, & Index it is 279 pages.

Its focus is on the joint attempt to divert the Arno river away from Florence's rival Pisa. The colorful complexities of life in Renaissance Italy was the main appeal. The author gives the reader a visual show of a turbulent and fascinating era. The main negative is the idea that DA Vinci & Machiavelli knew each other? I was told when I was in Italy that they did not. Still this was an entertaining read.

A Renaissance Development Project
The archives of Western nations and modern ex-colonies are littered with records of utopian development schemes.Roger Masters shows that Renaissance Florence was truly modern, at least in its ability to devise idealistic projects designed to address political and environmental problems.From 1503-06 Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli had a mutual interest in changing the course of the Arno River to marginalize rival Pisa, reduce the hazards of periodic flooding and ensure Florentine economic dominance of Tuscany.This visionary scheme was problematic, perhaps hare-brained, because the Florentine Republic lacked the technology, manpower and financing to successfully divert a major river.The author fails to prove the collaboration of Leonardo and Machiavelli due to scanty sources; his arguments from negative evidence are plausible but not fully convincing.But he accomplishes the more modest goal of demonstrating convergence of their interests and outlook.Masters breaks new ground in bringing together some disparate but very important issues in early modern Italy, and the story itself is always engaging, at times scintillating.In showing two leading geniuses and their familiar city in an unexpected light, the Italian Renaissance once again appears fresh and exciting.

What could have been if the Arno river was tamed!
This book has an interesting theme and is an original subject.I am notat all sure what Masters writes is true, since this history is very long ago, and the sources are not there.It seems probable that Machiavelli met and knew DaVinci.It seems clear that DaVinci tried to use the Arno initially to cut off the water for Pisa, and later to improve the commercial position of Florence and the city's boss Borgia.The book does show how DaVinci was ahead of his time in trying to damm and control a river.
This book drags at time and has lots of related material thrown in.I did learn a little more about the characters of Borgia, DaVinci, and Machiavelli.An alright read.

Fascinating study of little known details
This book is a fascinating study of some little known historical events.Even to those who have taken a keen interest in the life of Leonardo and/or Macchiavelli, there is plenty of obscure information to add to your body of knowledge.That is the main attraction of the book (apart from recounting its main event, the planned canal, of course), that it lingers over facts that other biographies largely ignore.
The anecdotes, trivial though some may think them, were a big bonus in my view - source material that is otherwise very hard to come by.
As icing to the cake, it is nicely written thus making it a pleasant read - a real page turner actually! ... Read more

Product Description
These art appreciation books have about 50 full-color illustrations each--many of them faithful reproductions of the artists' paintings. A brief biography accompanied an explanation of each artist's accomplishments. ... Read more

Product Description
Inventor, artist, scientist . . . Leonardo da Vinci s wide-ranging inquisitiveness was the source of his greatest accomplishments and his lifelong financial difficulties he would get bored quickly and rarely finish his projects. As an artist, only seventeen of his finished works survive, and yet they include two of the most famous paintings in the world: The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. His scientific studies of human anatomy were centuries ahead of their time. And his designs for inventions, such as mechanical flight, foresaw technologies that would not be developed for hundreds of years. Leonardo s achievements make him more than just an important historical figure: He is the ultimate Renaissance man who continues to inspire both artists and scientists more than 500 years after his death. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

interesting multimedia kit to augment Renaissance studies for middle grades
This kit has a number of interesting activities to supplement texts about the Renaissance, in general, and da Vinci, in particular.Activities and supplies include: a nifty metallic treasure chest with a secret drawer; a model flying machine with pilot -- this was moderately difficult to build and worked only slightly, but it has a stand and is impressive looking; a model of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore with its famous Brunelleschi dome -- this is difficult to build with glue as instructed (but much easier and quicker with a stapler!) but it looks good when it's done; punched drawing to illustrate the punched cartoon technique used by artists of the time; a 12-page pretend notebook of Leonardo's with examples of his sketches; a timeline of the events in the Maestro's life as well as concurrent events in Renaissance Europe; a sliding image to contrast the look of The Last Supper, before and after restoration; a built-in Alberti grid, squares imprinted on a transparent sheet to help an artist maintain perspective; a nice little book with sections on Leonardo's life, exploration, painting, sculpture and Gutenberg.

We enjoyed this set of activities, finding them interesting if not inspired.The quality of the materials is good, but we all thought the instructions were abysmal.

Cute Visual Aids
The glider guy and the building were complicated enough that my lego savvy eleven year old couldn't manage them without adult help, but we did find the kit enjoyable overall. ... Read more

Product Description
THE DRAWINGS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI BY C. LEWIS HIND.
LEONARDO DA VINCI found in drawing the readiest and most stimulating way of self-expression. The use of pen and crayon came to him as naturally as the monologue to an eager and egoistic talker. The outline designs in his " Treatise on Painting" aid and amplify the text with a force that is almost unknown in modern illustrated books. Open the pages at random. Here is a sketch showing " the greatest twist which a man can make in turning to look at himself behind." The accompanying text is hardly needed. The drawing supplies all that Leonardo wished to convey. Unlike Velasquez, whose authentic drawings are almost negligible, pen, pencil, silver-point, or chalk were rarely absent from Leonardo's hand, and although, in face of the Monna Lisa and The Virgin of the 1$ocks and the St. Anne, it is an exaggeration to say that he would have been quite as highly esteemed had none of his work except the drawings been preserved, it is in the d

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.

Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the difficult to read text. Read books online for free at http://www.forgottenbooks.org ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Figures, Anatomy, No Machinery
The "The Drawings Of Leonardo Da Vinci" contains 44 pages of drawings by the artist.The pages of the book are roughly 9 x 12 inches.Each page has one or two drawings.The full page drawings are printed as roughly 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches.The pictures are monochrome, even though the annotations indicate that some of them are done with colored chalk or on colored backgrounds.Each picture has a title, information about the media used to draw it and the museum or collection that contains the original.

This selection of drawings contains mostly figure and anatomical studies.It doesn't contain Leonardo's famous drawing of the fetus in the womb or his drawing of sexual intercourse.It does contain his famous drawing often called "Vitruvian Man", which is titled "Human Figure In A Circle, Illustrating Proportions" in this volume.There are no drawings of his mechanical inventions and only one drawingrelated to architecture.

There is no information about the sizes of the original drawings.Students interested in reading Leonardo's famous mirror writing won't be able to do it comfortably.I think the pages have sufficient resolution that you can read his words, but you'd need to hold the book close to your face or use a magnifier.

There is a two page introduction written by Elmer Belt, M.D. ( a prominent collector of Da Vinci's works and a pioneer of sex change surgery).It is mostly a characterization of Da Vinci and has few biographical facts.

I rate this book as three stars out of five to indicate that it does an average job of presenting Da Vinci's sketches.

As far as I know,there is no standard terminology for Leonardo's drawings.(It surprises me that the enumeration of works by famous artists receives less attention than the enumeration of famous musical compositions, which get an "opus" number or some other form of systematic classification.) Using the titles from the book, the drawings are as follows:


Profile of a Man and Studies of Horsemen
Pen and Ink
Academy, Venice, Italy

Studies of the Muscles of the Torso (printed on a half page)
Pen and ink on white paper
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Studies of Horses and of Horses' Heads(printed on a half page)
Silver-point on buff prepared surface
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Muscle Study of Figure from Rear
Pen and ink
Royal Library, Turin, Italy

Studies of the Muscles of the Face and Arm(printed on a half page)
Pen and ink on white paper
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Study of a Woman's Hands(printed on a half page)
Silver-point on pink prepared surface
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Virgin and Child with St. Anne and Infant St. John
Cartoon in charcoal on brown paper
Royal Academy of Arts, London, England

Five Grotesque Heads(also on the cover of the book)
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Profile of an Old Bearded Man
Black chalk on coarse gray paper
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Self-Portrait of Leonardo
Red chalk
Royal Library, Turin, Italy

Profile of a Warrior Wearing an Elaborate Helmet
Silver-point on cream-colored prepared surface
British Museum, London, England

Studies of the Chest and Right Arm of Man
Pen and ink over faint-black chalk on white paper
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Studies of an Angel, of Horsemen and Other Figures
Pen and ink and black chalk
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Two Studies of the Upper Part of an Old Man and Studies of Arms(printed on a half page)
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Two Horse Studies (printed on a half page)
Silver-point on pale pinkish-buff prepared surface
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Studies of a Child
Red Chalk
Academy, Venice, Italy

Study of the Head of a Man Shouting
Black and red chalk
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary

Studies of the Head and Shoulders of a Man
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Study of a Nude Man (printed on a half page)
Silver-point on blue prepared surface
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Study for a Youthful St. John The Baptist (printed on a half page)
Silver-point on blue prepared surface
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England


Grotest Profiles of a Man and Woman Facing
Pen and ink and wash
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Studies of the Head of Cesare Borgia(printed on a half page)
Red chalk
Royal Library, Turin, Italy

A Horseman Trampling on a Fallen Foe(printed on a half page)
Silver-point on blue prepared surface
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

The Madonna and Child and Other Studies
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Studies of Human Legs and Bones of the Leg in a Man and in a Dog
Pen and ink over red chalk
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Study of Drapery of a Woman Kneeling
Silver-point on red prepared surface
Corsini gallery, Rome, Italy

Studies of an Old Man Seated and of Swirling Water(printed on a half page)
Pen and Ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Two Studies of Horses (printed on a half page)
Silver-point on orange prepared surface
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Anatomical Studies of the Foot and Ankle
Pen and ink over faint-black chalk
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Studies of Horses, a Cat, and of St. George and the Dragon
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Study of a Man Lunging to the Right(printed on a half page)
Red chalk on red prepared surface
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Study of a Sleeve and Hand (printed on a half page)
Pen and ink with washes of black
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Sheet of Sketches: Madonna Adoring the Child
Pen and bistre on pinkish paper
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY

Eight Studies Showing the Structure of the Foot
Pen and ink over faint-black chalk
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Drawing of a Left Leg Showing Bones and Tendons(printed on a half page)
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Anatomical Drawing of Two Skulls in Profile (printed on a half page)
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Study of the Lower Half of a Nude Man
Black chalk
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Studies of a Woman's Head and Bust
Silver-point on pink prepared surface
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Study of the Drapery of a Figure Kneeling
Drawn with brush on blue prepared paper
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Anatomical Studies
Pen and ink over faint-black chalk
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

St. Jerome
Silver-point, heightened with white
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Six Figure Studies
Pen and ink
The Louvre, Paris, France

Studies of Nude Soldiers with Swords
Pen and ink
Royal Library, Turin, Italy

Anatomical Studies of a Man's Neck and Shoulders
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Human Figure in a Circle, Illustrating Proportions
Pen and ink
Academy, Venice, Italy

Studies of Single Figures
Pen and ink
British Museum, London, England

Three Studies of Horses(printed on a half page)
Pen and ink over black chalk
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Head of an Apostle and study of Architecture(printed on a half page)
Red chalk and pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Profile of a Girl (printed on a half page)
Silver-point on pinkish prepared surface
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Profiles of Men and Half-Length of a Girl(printed on a half page)
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Anatomical Studies of Man's Neck and Shoulders
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Man Blowing Trumpet in Another's Ear and Two Figures(printed on a half page)
Pen and ink over lead-point
British Museum, London, England

A Youth with a Lance (printed on a half page)
Pen and ink and wash, over black chalk
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Head of a Man Shouting
Red chalk
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary

Studies of Horses' Heads and Rearing Horse
Pen and ink
Royal Collection, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England

Drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci
I gave the Kindle version a single star because because I couldn't give it less. It starts with an essay on the drawings of Leonardo but does not include ANY drawings whatsoever. Disappointing!

The Drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci (Master Draughtsman Series)
no es bueno el libro, yo lo queria para que mis alumnos pudieran realizar trabajos basandose en dibujos de los grandes maestros y vi sorprendida como la fotografia de los dibujos está quemada, los dibujos están muy oscuros y las sombras aparecen como grandes manchas ... Read more

Product Description
Leonardo da Vinci was the true Renaissance man. Not only was he one of the greatest artists ever to live, but he was also a truly gifted architect and creative mind who devised amazing machines centuries ahead of his time.

His list of interests and achievements are extraordinary; as well as artist and architect, he was astronomer, researcher, scientist, experimenter, anatomist, and inventor.Leonardo's most acclaimed paintings are the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, Paris and The Last Supper in the refectory at Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy.

But in many ways his greatest legacy are the hundreds of pen and ink drawings and sketches which are now in museums and collections around the world.These explain, in his remarkable mirror writing, his calculations and hypotheses for the mechanical operation of his various ideas.

This book attempts to explain who this great genius was and why he became such a creative man. It looks at where he came from and his education, who his influences were, and how he made his way in the world to become the most remarkable man of his time. His work was founded in strict science and based on a profound analysis of ancient and traditional sources, but it was his curiosity which really drove him. His inquisitive mind led him to investigate every field of knowledge and his life's work is an extraordinary synthesis of art, science, and technology fused in theoretical and practical experience gathered from a long and productive life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Leonardo da Vinci at his best
Among the best of so many documentary books about Leonardo da Vinci. Covers all activities of this genius summarized by the most renounced da Vinci authority. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

short...very short review
said to be a good book by one critic ... Read more

Product Description
A singular fatality has ruled the destiny of nearly all the most famous of Leonardo da Vinci's works. Two of the three most important were never completed, obstacles having arisen during his life-time, which obliged him to leave them unfinished; namely the Sforza Monument and the Wall-painting of the Battle of Anghiari, while the third—the picture of the Last Supper at Milan—has suffered irremediable injury from decay and the repeated restorations to which it was recklessly subjected during the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries. Nevertheless, no other picture of the Renaissance has become so wellknown and popular through copies of every description.
Vasari says, and rightly, in his Life of Leonardo, "that he laboured much more by his word than in fact or by deed", and the biographer evidently had in his mind the numerous works in Manuscript which have been preserved to this day. To us, now, it seems almost inexplicable that these valuable and interesting original texts should have remained so long unpublished, and indeed forgotten. It is certain that during the XVIth and XVIIth centuries their exceptional value was highly appreciated. This is proved not merely by the prices which they commanded, but also by the exceptional interest which has been attached to the change of ownership of merely a few pages of Manuscript.
That, notwithstanding this eagerness to possess the Manuscripts, their contents remained a mystery, can only be accounted for by the many and great difficulties attending the task of deciphering them. The handwriting is so peculiar that it requires considerable practice to read even a few detached phrases, much more to solve with any certainty the numerous difficulties of alternative readings, and to master the sense as a connected whole. Vasari observes with reference to Leonardos writing: "he wrote backwards, in rude characters, and with the left hand, so that any one who is not practised in reading them, cannot understand them". The aid of a mirror in reading reversed handwriting appears to me available only for a first experimental reading. Speaking from my own experience, the persistent use of it is too fatiguing and inconvenient to be practically advisable, considering the enormous mass of Manuscripts to be deciphered. And as, after all, Leonardo's handwriting runs backwards just as all Oriental character runs backwards—that is to say from right to left—the difficulty of reading direct from the writing is not insuperable. This obvious peculiarity in the writing is not, however, by any means the only obstacle in the way of mastering the text. Leonardo made use of an orthography peculiar to himself; he had a fashion of amalgamating several short words into one long one, or, again, he would quite arbitrarily divide a long word into two separate halves; added to this there is no punctuation whatever to regulate the division and construction of the sentences, nor are there any accents—and the reader may imagine that such difficulties were almost sufficient to make the task seem a desperate one to a beginner. It is therefore not surprising that the good intentions of some of Leonardo s most reverent admirers should have failed.
Leonardos literary labours in various departments both of Art and of Science were those essentially of an enquirer, hence the analytical method is that which he employs in arguing out his investigations and dissertations. The vast structure of his scientific theories is consequently built up of numerous separate researches, and it is much to be lamented that he should never have collated and arranged them. His love for detailed research—as it seems to me—was the reason that in almost all the Manuscripts, the different paragraphs appear to us to be in utter confusion; on one and the same page, observations on the most dissimilar subjects follow each other without any connection. ... Read more