80 THE LIFE OF SCIENCE 



His notes show that he could occasionally write in a terse lan- 

 guage and with a felicity of expression which would be a credit to 

 any writer; but somehow he lacked that particular kind of moral 

 energy which is necessary for a long composition, or he was per- 

 haps inhibited, as so many scientists are, by his exacting ideal of 

 accuracy. 



All that we know of Leonardo's scientific activities is patiently 

 dug out of his manuscripts. He was left-handed and wrote left- 

 handedly, that is, in mirror- writing : his writing is like the image 

 of ours in a mirror. It is a clear hand, but the disorder of the text 

 is such that the reading is very painful. Leonardo jumps from one 

 subject to another; the same page may contain remarks on dy- 

 namics, on astronomy, an anatomical sketch, and perhaps a draft 

 and calculations for a machine. 



The study of Dante is in many ways far simpler. His scientific 

 lore does not begin to compare with Leonardo's knowledge. The 

 T)ivina Commedia is the sublime apotheosis of the Middle Ages; 

 Leonardo's note-books are not simply an epitome of the past, but 

 they contain to a large extent the seeds of the future. The world 

 of Dante was the closed mediaeval world; the world of Leonardo 

 is already the unlimited world of modern man : the immense vision 

 which it opens is not simply one of beauty, of implicit faith, and 

 of corresponding hope; it is a vision of truth, truth in the making. 

 It is perhaps less pleasant, less hopeful; it does not even try to 

 please, nor to give hope; it just tries to show things as they are: 

 it is far more mysterious, and incomparably greater. 



I do not mean to say that Dante had not loved truth, but he 

 had loved it like a bashful suitor. Leonardo was like a con- 

 quering hero; his was not a passive love, but a devouring passion, 

 an indefatigable and self-denying quest, to which his life and per- 

 sonal happiness were entirely sacrificed. Some literary people who 

 do not realize what this quest implies, have said that he was selfish. 

 It is true, he took no interest in the petty and hopeless political 

 struggles of his day; Savonarola's revival hardly moved him, 

 and he had no more use for religious charlatanry than for scientific 



