That painting declines and deteriorates from age to age,
when painters have no other standard than
paintings already done
Hence the painter will produce pictures of small merit if he takes for his standard the pictures of others, but if he will study from natural objects he will bear good fruit. As was seen in the paintings after the Romans who always imitated each other and so their art constantly declined from age to age. After these came Giotto, the Florentine, who was not content with imitating the works of Cimabue his master, being born in mountain solitudes inhabited only by goats and such beasts and being guided by nature to his art, he began by drawing on the rocks the movements of the goats which he was tending; and thus he began to draw all the animals which were to be found in the country, and in such a way that after much study he excelled not only the masters of his time but all those of many bygone ages. Afterwards this art declined again, because everyone imitated the pictures that were already done; thus it went on deteriorating . . . until Tomaso of Florence, nicknamed Masaccio, showed by his perfect works how those who take for their standard anyone but nature—the mistress of all masters—weary themselves in vain. And similarly, I would say about these mathematical studies that those who study only the authorities and not the works of nature are descendants but not sons of nature, the mistress of all good authors. Oh how great is the folly of those who blame those who learn from nature, leaving uncensured the authorities who were themselves the disciples of this same nature.246
Therefore, O painter, who do not know these laws, if you would escape the censure of those who have studied them, be zealous to represent everything according to nature and not to disparage such study as do those who work only for gain.247
He is a poor disciple who does not excel his master.248
V
TALES AND ALLEGORIES
Leonardo’s notebooks contain a number of tales, fables, epigrams, riddles, and other imaginative writings, some of which may have been composed for recital at social gatherings. His language is simple and lucid, his humour terse and trenchant.
Below is a selection of tales dealing with animal life derived from ancient books which were in his possession. These are followed by fables and epigrams of his own invention, based on observations of nature and made, according to ancient usage, to serve as moral examples in order to expose ingratitude, vice, and ignorance, and to extol humility, virtue, and truth. After this is a selection of his ‘prophecies’ and a few tales entitled ‘jests’.
The last part of this chapter is devoted to imaginative descriptions of nature.
I. BESTIARY
The following thirteen tales are transcriptions from a medieval bestiary entitled Fior di Virtù which was very popular from the thirteenth century onwards.
Love of virtue
The lark is a bird of which it is told that when it is taken into the presence of a sick person, if the sick man is going to die, the bird turns away its head and never looks at him. But if the sick person is going to recover the bird never loses sight of him and is the cause of curing all his sickness.
Like unto this is the love of virtue. It never looks at any vile or base thing, but rather dwells always on things honest and virtuous and takes up its abode in a noble heart, like the birds do in green woods upon flowery branches. And this love shows itself more in adversity than in prosperity, as light does which shines most where it finds the darkest spot.1
Sadness
Sadness resembles the raven which, when it sees its young ones born white, departs with great grief and abandons them with sad lamentations, and does not feed them until it sees on them some few black feathers.2
Peace
Of the beaver one reads that when it is pursued, knowing this to be on account of the virtue of its testicles for medicinal uses and not being able to escape, it stops; and in order to be at peace with its pursuers bites off its testicles with its sharp teeth and leaves them to its enemies.3
Anger
It is said of the bear that when he goes to the beehives to take their honey the bees begin to sting him so that he leaves the honey and rushes to avenge himself; and wishing to take vengeance on all those who sting him he fails to take vengeance on any; in such a wise that his rage is turned to madness, and he flings himself on the ground in exasperation vainly trying to defend himself by his hands and feet.3
Avarice
The toad feeds on earth and always remains lean, because it never satisfied itself—it is so afraid lest it should be without earth.4
Blandishments
The siren sings so sweetly that she lulls the mariners to sleep; then she climbs upon the ships and kills the sleeping mariners.
Prudence
The ant, by natural foresight, provides in the summer for the winter, killing the seeds she harvests that they may not germinate, and on them it feeds in due time.
Folly
The wild bull having a dislike of red colour, the hunters cover the trunk of tree with red and the bull runs at it and with great fury digs into it with its horns, and forthwith the hunters kill it.5
Justice
We may liken the virtue of justice to the king of the bees who orders and arranges everything with judgement. For some bees are ordered to go to the flowers, others are ordered to labour, others to fight with the wasps, others to clear away all dirt, others to accompany and escort the king; and when he is old and has no wings they carry him. And if one of them fails in his duty, he is punished without reprieve.6
Falsehood
The fox, when it sees a flock of jackdaws or magpies or birds of that kind, suddenly flings himself on the ground with his mouth open to look as if he were dead; and these birds want to peck at his tongue and he bites off their heads.7
Lies
The mole has very small eyes and always lives underground; and it lives as long as it remains in the dark, but when it emerges into the light it dies immediately because it becomes known. So it is with lies.
Fear or cowardice
The hare is always frightened; and the leaves that fall from the trees in the autumn always keep him in terror and generally put him to flight.8
Constancy
Constancy may be symbolized by the phoenix which understanding by nature its renewal, it has the constancy to endure the burning flames which consume it, and then it is reborn anew.9
The following tales are transcriptions from Cecco d’Ascoli’s Acerba. The author was an astrologer, a contemporary of Dante.
The crocodile—hypocrisy
This animal catches a man and straightway kills him; after he is dead, it weeps over him with a lamentable voice and many tears. Then, having done with lamenting, it cruelly devours him. It is thus with the hypocrite, who for the smallest matter has his face bathed in tears, but shows the heart of a tiger and rejoices in his heart at the woes of others, while wearing a pitiful face.10
The oyster—for treachery
This opens completely when the moon is full; and when the crab sees it it throws a piece of stone or seaweed into it and the oyster cannot close again so that it serves the crab for a meal. So it is with him who opens his mouth to tell a secret and thereby puts himself at the mercy of the indiscreet listener.11
The caterpillar—for virtue in general
The caterpillar, which through the care exercised in weaving round itself a new habitation with admirable design and fine workmanship, comes out of it afterwards with painted and beautiful wings, rising on these towards heaven.
The spider
The spider brings forth out of herself the delicate and ingenious web, which makes her a return by the prey it takes.12
The following description is an adaptation from the ancient Roman natural philosopher Pliny’s Natural History.
The elephant
The great elephant has by nature qualities which are rarely found in man, namely honesty, prudence, a sense of justice, and of religious observance. Consequently when the moon is new
they go down to the rivers and there solemnly cleansing themselves bathe, and after having thus saluted the planet they return to the woods. And when they are ill, lying down they fling up plants towards heaven as though they wished to offer sacrifice. They bury their tusks when they drop out from old age. Of these two tusks they use one to dig up roots for food but they save the point of the other for fighting; when they are taken by hunters, worn out by fatigue, they strike off their tusks and having drawn them out ransom themselves therewith. They are merciful and know the dangers, and if one of them finds a man alone and lost it kindly puts him back in the path he has missed. If it finds the footprints of the man before it sees him, it fears betrayal, and so it stops and blows, as it shows them to the other elephants and they form into a troop and go warily.
These animals always go in troops, and the oldest goes in front and the second in age remains the last; and thus they enclose the troop. They fear shame and only pair at night and secretly, nor do they then rejoin the herd but first bathe in the river. They never fight with females as other animals do. It is so peaceable that it is unwilling by nature ever to hurt those weaker than itself; and if it meets a drove or flock of sheep it puts them aside with its trunk so as not to trample them underfoot; and it never injures others unless it is provoked. When one of them has fallen into a pit the others fill the pit with branches, earth, and stones, thus raising the bottom, that it may easily get out. They greatly dread the grunting of swine and retreat hastily doing no less harm with their feet to themselves than to their enemies. They delight in rivers and are always wandering about them; but on account of their great weight they cannot swim. They devour stones, and the trunks of trees are their favourite food. They hate rats. Flies delight in its smell and as they settle on its back it wrinkles up its skin making its folds deep and tight and kills them. When they are crossing rivers they send their young ones towards the fall of the stream, and standing themselves up stream they break the united current of the water so that the current may not carry them away. The dragon flings itself under the elephant’s body and with its tail it ties its legs; with its wings and claws it squeezes its ribs, and with its teeth bites its throat; the elephant falls on top of it and the dragon bursts. Thus in its death it is revenged on its foe.13
II. FABLES
Leonardo’s fables give a picture of the Italian countryside. Willow trees are planted in ordered rows, and pollarded. The vines are trained on these trees and arboured between them. Willow shoots are used to bind the vines to the trees. The fruit trees are loaded with walnuts, chestnuts, peaches, figs, and the big lemon-like citrons. Huge gourds lie in the sun with their big leaves spreading out on the ground. The manner of agriculture in Tuscany and Lombardy has not notably changed since Leonardo’s time.
The privet and the blackbird
In this fable Leonardo ridicules those who think that everybody and everything exists only to be of service to them.
The privet feeling its tender boughs, loaded with young fruit, pricked by the sharp claws and beak of the insolent blackbird complained to the blackbird with piteous remonstrance entreating it that since it stole the delicious fruits it should at least spare the leaves which served to protect them from the burning rays of the sun, and desist from scratching the tender bark with its sharp claws. To this the blackbird replied with angry upbraiding: ‘Oh, be silent uncultured shrub! Do you not know that nature made you produce these fruits for my nourishment; do you not see that you are in this world to serve me with food; do you not know, base creature, that next winter you will be food and prey for the fire ?’ To these words the tree listened patiently, and not without tears. Shortly afterwards the blackbird was caught in a net and boughs were cut to make a cage to imprison it. Branches were cut from the pliant privet among others, to serve for the plaited twigs of the cage; and seeing that it was the cause of the blackbird’s loss of liberty the privet rejoicingly said: ‘O blackbird, I am here and am not yet burnt as you have fore-said. I shall see you in prison before you see me burnt.’
The laurel, the myrtle, and the pear tree
The proud pear tree is shown to disdain the pity of the laurel and the myrtle because its wood is the favourite material of woodcarvers and lends itself for artistic purposes—while the laurel and myrtle are used for wreaths, and serve no lasting practical purpose.
The laurel and the myrtle seeing the pear tree cut down cried out with loud voices: ‘O pear tree, whither are you going? Where is the pride you displayed when you were covered with ripe fruit? Now you will no longer shade us with your dense foliage.’ The pear tree replied: ‘I am going with the husbandman who has cut me down and who will take me to the workshop of a good sculptor and he will by his art give me the form of Jove, the god; and I shall be dedicated in a temple, and shall be adored by men in place of Jove, while you are bound continually to be maimed and stripped of your boughs which will be placed around me to do me honour.’
The chestnut and the fig tree
Those who are pleased with themselves and look down on others are put in their place.
The chestnut, seeing a man upon the fig tree, bending the boughs towards him and plucking the ripe fruit which he put into his open mouth to destroy and gnaw with his hard teeth, tossed its long boughs and with tumultuous rustle exclaimed: ‘O fig! How much less are you protected by nature than I. See how with me my sweet offspring are set in close array: first clothed in soft wrappers over which is the hard but softly lined husk; and not content with taking this care of me, and giving them so strong a shelter, she has placed over this sharp and close-set spines so that the hand of man cannot hurt me’. Then the fig tree and its offspring began to laugh and after the laughter it said: ‘You know man to be of such ingenuity that he will bereave you of your fruits by means of rods and stones and stakes; and when they are fallen, he will trample them with his feet or hit them with stones so that your offspring will emerge from their armour crushed and maimed; while I am touched carefully by his hands and not like you with sticks and stones and. . . .’
The willow and the gourd
The weak are used for the benefit of the strong; and on trying to free themselves are liable to become the prey of worse parasites.
The hapless willow, finding that she could not enjoy the pleasure of seeing her slender branches grow and attain the height she wished, and point to the sky, because she was always being maimed and lopped and spoiled for the sake of the vine and any trees that grew near, collected her spirits and opened wide the portals of her imagination; and remaining in continual meditation she sought in the world of plants for one wherewith to ally herself which had no need of the help of her withes. Having stood for some time in this prolific imagination the gourd presented itself to her thoughts with a sudden flash, and tossing all her branches with extreme delight she thought that she had found the companion suited to her purpose, since the gourd is more apt to bind others than to need binding. Having come to this conclusion the willow straightened her branches towards the sky awaiting some friendly bird who should be the mediator of her wishes. Seeing the magpie among others near to her she said to it: ‘O gentle bird! By the refuge that you found among my branches during these days in the morning, when the hungry, cruel, and rapacious falcon wanted to devour you, and by the rest which you have always found in me when your wings craved repose, and by the pleasure you have enjoyed among my boughs when playing with your companions and making love I entreat you to find the gourd and obtain from her some of her seeds, and tell her that those that are born of them will be treated by me as though they were my own offspring; and in this way use all such words for the same persuasive purport; though indeed, since you are master of language, there is no need for me to teach you. And if you do me this service I shall be happy to have your nest in the fork of my boughs for all your family free of rent.’ Then the magpie after making and confirming certain new stipulations with the willow—and principally that she should never give admittance to any snake or polecat, cocked
its tail, lowered its head and flung itself down from the bough throwing its weight on its wings; and beating the fleeting air with these bearing about inquisitively now here now there while its tail served as a rudder to steer, it came to the gourd. There, with a few polite words and a handsome bow, it obtained the required seeds and carried them to the willow who received it with cheerful looks. And having with its claws scraped the earth near the willow, it planted the grains in a circle around it with its beak.
In a short time these started to sprout, and the branches grew and spread out and began to occupy all the boughs of the willow while their broad leaves deprived it of the beauty of the sun and sky. But this evil was not enough; the gourds then began to drag down towards the earth by their big weight the ends of the tender shoots inflicting strange twisting and discomfort.
Then the willow shook itself in vain to throw off the gourd. After raving in vain for some days because the grasp of the gourd was sure and firm as to forbid such plans, it saw the wind go by and commended itself to him. The wind blew hard and the old and hollow stem of the willow opened up in two parts down to the roots and fell; and it bewailed itself in vain and recognized that it was born to no good fate.
Notebooks Page 25