The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, Leonardo Da Vinci [interesting novels to read TXT] 📗

have (2 lire.) a pair of short boots made of it; this Giacomo stole it of me within a month and sold it to a cobbler for 20 soldi, with which money, by his own confession, he bought anise comfits.

Item: again, on the 2nd April, Giovan Antonio [Footnote 16: Giovan Antonio, probably Beltraffio, 1467 to 1516.] having left a silver point on a drawing of his, Giacomo stole it, and this was of the value of 24 soldi (1 lira 4 S.)

The first year—

A cloak, 2 lire, 6 shirts, 4 lire, 3 jerkins, 6 lire, 4 pairs of hose, 7 lire 8 soldi, 1 lined doublet, 5 lire, 24 pairs of shoes, 6 lire 5 soldi, A cap, 1 lira, laces, 1 lira.

[Footnote: Leonardo here gives a detailed account not only of the loss he and others incurred through Giacomo but of the wild tricks of the youth, and we may therefore assume that the note was not made merely as a record for his own use, but as a report to be forwarded to the lad’s father or other responsible guardian.]

 

1459.

 

On the last day but one of September;

Thursday the 27th day of September Maestro Tommaso came back and worked for himself until the last day but one of February. On the 18th day of March, 1493, Giulio, a German, came to live with me,—Lucia, Piero, Leonardo.

On the 6th day of October.

 

1460.

 

1493. On the 1st day of November we settled accounts. Giulio had to pay 4 months; and Maestro Tommaso 9 months; Maestro Tommaso afterwards made 6 candlesticks, 10 days’ work; Giulio some fire-tongs 15 days work. Then he worked for himself till the 27th May, and worked for me at a lever till the 18th July; then for himself till the 7th of August, and for one day, on the fifteenth, for a lady. Then again for me at 2 locks until the 20th of August.

 

1461.

 

On the 23rd day of August, 12 lire from Pulisona. On the 14th of March 1494, Galeazzo came to live with me, agreeing to pay 5 lire a month for his cost paying on the l4th day of each month.

His father gave me 2 Rhenish florins.

On the l4th of July, I had from Galeazzo 2 Rhenish florins.

 

1462.

 

On the 15th day of September Giulio began the lock of my studio

1494.

1463.

 

Saturday morning the 3rd of August 1504 Jacopo the German came to live with me in the house, and agreed with me that I should charge him a carlino a day.

 

1464.

 

1511. On the 26th of September Antonio broke his leg; he must rest 40 days.

[Footnote: This note refers possibly to Beltraffio.]

 

1465.

 

I left Milan for Rome on the 24th day of September, 1513, with Giovanni [Footnote 2: Giovan; it is not likely that Leonardo should have called Giovan’ Antonio Beltraffio at one time Giovanni, as in this note and another time Antonio, as in No. 1464 while in No. 1458 l. 16 we find Giovan’Antonio, and in No. 1436, l.6 Beltraffio. Possibly the Giovanni here spoken of is Leonardo’s less known pupil Giovan Pietrino (see No. 1467, 5).], Francesco di Melzi [Footnote 2,3: Francesco de’ Melzi is often mentioned, see Nos. 1350.], Salai [Footnote 3: Salai. See No. 1519 note.], Lorenzo and il Fanfoia.

[Footnote 4: Lorenzo. See No. 1351, l. 10 (p. 408). Amoretti gives the following note in Mem. Stor. XXIII: 1505. Martedi—sera a di 14 d’aprile. Venne Lorenzo a stare con mecho: disse essere d’eta d’anni 17 .. a di 15 del detto aprile ebbi scudi 25 d’oro dal chamerlingo di Santa Maria nuova. This, he asserts is derived from a MS. marked S, in quarto. This MS. seems to have vanished and left no trace behind; Amoretti himself had not seen it, but copied from a selection of extracts made by Oltrocchi before the Leonardo MSS. were conveyed to Paris on the responsibility of the first French Republic. Lorenzo, by this, must have been born in 1487. The sculptor Lorenzetto was born in 1490. Amoretti has been led by the above passage to make the following absurd observations:

Cotesto Lorenzo, che poi gli fu sempre compagno, almeno sin che stette in Italia, sarebb’ egli Lorenzo Lotto bergamasco? Sappiamo essere stato questo valente dipintore uno de’bravi scolari del Vinci (?).

Il Fafoia, perhaps a nickname. Cesare da Sesto, Leonardo’s pupil, seems to have been in Rome in these years, as we learn from a drawing by him in the Louvre.

 

1466.

 

On the 3rd day of January.

Benedetto came on the 17th of October; he stayed with me two months and 13 days of last year, in which time he earned 38 lire, 18 soldi and 8 dinari; he had of this 26 lire and 8 soldi, and there remains to be paid for the past year 12 lire 10 soldi.

Giodatti (?) came on the 8th day of September, at 4 soldi a month, and stayed with me 3 months and 24 days, and earned 59 lire 14 soldi and 8 dinari; he has had 43 lire, 4 soldi, there remains to pay 16 lire, 10 soldi and 8 dinari.

Benedetto, 24 grossoni.

[Footnote: This seems to be an account for two assistants. The name of the second is scarcely legible. The year is not given. The note is nevertheless of chronological value. The first line tells us the date when the note was registered, January 3d, and the observations that follow refer to events of the previous month ‘of last year’ (dell’anno passato). Leonardo cannot therefore have written thus in Florence where the year was, at that period, calculated as beginning in the month of March (see Vol. I, No. 4, note 2). He must then have been in Milan. What is more important is that we thus learn how to date the beginning of the year in all the notes written at Milan. This clears up Uzielli’s doubts: A Milano facevasi cominciar l’anno ab incarnatione, cioe il 25 Marzo e a nativitate, cioe il 25 Decembre. Ci sembra probabile che Leonardo dovesse prescegliere lo stile che era in uso a Firenze. (Ricerche, p. 84, note.)]

 

1467.

 

Gian Maria 4, Benedetto 4, Gian Pietro [5] 3, Salai 3, Bartolomeo 3, Gherardo 4.

 

1468.

 

Salai, 20 lire, Bonifacio, 2 lire, Bartolomeo, 4 lire, Arrigo [Harry], 15 lire.

Quotations and notes on books and authors (1469-1508).

 

1469.

 

Book on Arithmetic [Footnote 1: “La nobel opera de arithmethica ne la qual se tracta tute cosse amercantia pertinente facta & compilata per Piero borgi da Veniesia”, in-40. In fine: “Nela inclita cita di Venetia a corni. 2 augusto. 1484. fu imposto fine ala presente opera.” Segn. a—p. quaderni. V’ha pero un’ altra opera simile di Filippo Calandro, 1491. E da consultarsi su quest’ ultimo, Federici: Memorie Trevigiane, Fiore di virtu: pag. 73. “Libricciuolo composto di bello stile verso il 1320 e piu volte impresso nel secolo XV (ristampato poi anche piu tardi). Gli accademici della Crusca lo ammettono nella serie dei testi di lingua. Vedasi Gamba, Razzolini, Panzer, Brunet, Lechi, ecc. (G. D’A.)], ‘Flowers of Virtue’,

Pliny [Footnote 2: “Historia naturale di C. Plinio Secondo, tradocta di lingua latina in fiorentina per Christophoro Laudino & Opus Nicolai Jansonis gallici imp. anno salutis M.CCCC.LXXVI. Venetiis” in-fol.—Diogene Laertio. Incomincia: “El libro de la vita de philosophi etc.: Impressum Venetiis” per Bernardinum Celerium de Luere, 1480”, in-40 (G. D’A.).], ‘Lives of the Philosophers’,

The Bible [Footnote 3: “La Bibia volgare historiata (per Nicolo di Mallermi) Venecia … M.CCCC.LXXI in kalende di Augusto (per Vindelino de Spira)” 2 vol. in-fol. a 2 col. di 50 lin,; od altra ediz. della stessa versione del Mallermi, Venetia 1471, e sempre: “Venecia per Gabriel de Piero 1477,” in-fol.; 2 vol.; Ottavio Scotto da Modoetia 1481,” “Venetia 1487 per Joan Rosso Vercellese,” “1490 Giovanni Ragazo di Monteferato a instantia di Luchanthonio di Giunta, ecc.”—Lapidario Teofrasto? Mandebille: “Le grand lapidaire,” versione italiana ms.?… Giorgio Agricola non puo essere, perche nato nel 1494, forse Alberto Magno: de mineralibus. Potrebbe essere una traduzione del poema latino (Liber lapidum seu de gemmis) di Marbordio Veterio di Rennes (morto nel 1123 da lui stesso tradotto in francese dal greco di Evao re d’Arabia celebre medico che l’aveva composto per l’imperatore Tiberio. Marbodio scrisse il suo prima per Filippo Augusto re di Francia. Vi sono anche traduzioni in prosa. “Il lapidario o la forza e la virtu delle pietre preziose, delle Erbe e degli Animali.” (G. D’A.)], ‘Lapidary’,

‘On warfare’ [Footnote 4: Il Vegezio? … Il Frontino? … Il Cornazzano?… Noi crediamo piuttosto il Valturio. Questo libro doveva essere uno de’favoriti di Leonardo poiche libro di scienza e d’arte nel tempo stesso.], ‘Epistles of Filelfo’,

[Footnote: The late Marchese Girolamo d’Adda published a highly valuable and interesting disquisition on this passage under the title: Leonardo da Vinci e la sua Libreria, note di un bibliofilo (Milano 1873. Ed. di soli 75 esemplari; privately printed). In the autumn of 1880 the Marchese d’Adda showed me a considerable mass of additional notes prepared for a second edition. This, as he then intended, was to come out after the publication of this work of mine. After the much regretted death of the elder Marchese, his son, the Marchese Gioachino d’Adda was so liberal as to place these MS. materials at my disposal for the present work, through the kind intervention of Signor Gustavo Frizzoni. The following passages, with the initials G. d’A. are prints from the valuable notes in that publication, the MS. additions I have marked. I did not however think myself justified in reproducing here the acute and interesting observations on the contents of most of the rare books here enumerated.]

[Footnote: 1467. 5. See No. 1465, 2.]

The first decade, [5] ‘On the preservation of health’, The third decade, [6] Ciecho d’Ascoli, The fourth decade, [7] Albertus Magnus, Guido, [8] New treatise on rhetorics, Piero Crescentio, [9] Cibaldone, ‘Quadriregio’, [10] Aesop,

Donato, [Footnote 11: “Donatus latine & italice: Impressum Venetiis impensis Johannis Baptistae de Sessa anno 1499, in-4�”.— “El Psalterio de David in lingua volgare (da Malermi Venetia nel M.CCCC.LXXVI,” in-fol. s. n._ (G. D’A.)] Psalms,

Justinus, [Footnote 12: Compare No. 1210, 48.—_La versione di Girolamo Squarzafico:_ “Il libro di Justino posto diligentemente in materna lingua. Venetia ale spesse (sic) di Johane de Colonia & Johane Gheretze … l477,” in-fol.—”Marsilii Ficini, Theologia platonica, sive de animarum immortalitate, Florentine, per Ant. Misconimum 1482,” in-fol., ovvero qualche versione italiana di questo stesso libro, ms. (G. D’A.)] ‘On the immortality of the soul,

Guido [Footnote 13: Forse “la Historia Trojana Guidonis” od il “manipulus” di “Guido da Monterocherii” ma piu probabilmente “Guido d’Arezzo” il di cui libro: “Micrologus, seu disciplina artis musicae” poteva da Leonardo aversi ms.; di questi ne esistono in molto biblioteche, e fu poi impresso nel 1784 dal Gerbert.

Molte sono le edizione dei sonetti di Burchiello Fiorentino, impresse nel secolo XV. La prima e piu rara e recercata: “Incominciano li sonetti, ecc. (per Christoforo Arnaldo)”, in-4� senza numeri, richiami o segnature, del 1475, e fors’ anche del 1472, secondo Morelli e Dibdin, ecc. (G. D’A.)] Burchiello,

‘Doctrinale’ [Footnote 14: Versione italiana det “Doctrinal de Sapience” di Guy de Roy, e foris’anche l’originale in lingua francese.—

Di Pulci Luigi, benche nell’ edizione: “Florentiae 1479” in-4� si dica: “Il Driadeo composto in rima octava per Lucio Pulcro” Altre ediz, del secolo XV, “Florentie Miscomini_ 1481, in-40, Firenze, apud S. Jacob, de Ripoli, 1483,_” in-4� e “Antoni de Francesco, 1487,” in-4� e