“Bountiful nature has provided that, in all parts of the world, you will find something to imitate”

Philosophical little sonnets, fleeting thoughts... sort of like Nietzsche’s Gay Science. I think philosophy books are best when written in this musing kind of way. A way that makes you wonder if it was

Fascinating read. Wasn’t aware that DaVinci had already surmised Newton’s Third Law, and had perhaps hundreds of inventions he refused to reveal for fear of them getting into the wrong hands.

Quotes
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“Men of worth naturally desire knowledge.”

“I do not consider that men of coarse and boorish habi

If you had no preconception of Leonardo as a great genius and Renaissance man par excellence, you would not get that impression from this book.

At one point early on, I think he says "in the future, men will communicate with one another at great distances," which is pretty impressive, but for the mos

There are comparisons in here which compare different art forms with Vinci having an obvious soft spot for painting compared to other art forms. These comparisons didn't seem to do much for me.

But other than that when he is talking about paintings in general, or how to describe some of the scenes in

Li estas notas aquando da minha leitura da biografia "Leonardo" de Walter Isaacson no ano passado. Na altura nada aqui escrevi porque acalentei a ideia de aprofundar um pouco mais o meu conhecimento sobre Da Vinci. Contudo, como acabei utilizando o seu carácter como modelo para um dos fluxos de pers

Interesting and a good read, but Leonardo is a little too focused on explaining why painting is better than poetry, or sculpture, or other art forms.

I'll level with you. I read this book because of Da Vinci's Demons. Don't think this a stab at culture or pretense or anything.

That said, the book was surprisingly engaging, considering its age, and the fact that, between the ciphers and the terse, rambling tone, it was obviously never intended for

Just about everyone knows Leonardo da Vinci for his paintings, but not so many know him for his inventions, his work with the military and his experiments. This book shares his thoughts on a lot of different subjects, and I think is a great insight into this influential man. We do get to see him obs