942

The relative height of the surface of the sea to that of the land.

OF THE SEA, WHICH TO MANY FOOLS APPEARS TO BE HIGHER THAN THE EARTH WHICH FORMS ITS SHORE.

b d is a plain through which a river flows to the sea; this plain ends at the sea, and since in fact the dry land that is uncovered is not perfectly level—for, if it were, the river would have no motion—as the river does move, this place is a slope rather than a plain; hence this plain d b so ends where the sphere of water begins that if it were extended in a continuous line to b a it would go down beneath the sea, whence it follows that the sea a c b looks higher than the dry land.

Obviously no portions of dry land left uncovered by water can ever be lower than the surface of the watery sphere.

Taken from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci edited by Jean Paul Richter, 1880.

Notebooks of Leonoardo da Vinci
XVI: Physical Geography.
. . .
922,
923,
924,
925,
926,
927,
928
General introduction.
929
The arrangement of Book I.
930
Definitions.
931,
932
Of the surface of the water in relation to the globe.
933,
934,
935,
936
Of the proportion of the mass of water to that of the earth.
937,
938
The theory of Plato.
939
That the flow of rivers proves the slope of the land.
940
Theory of the elevation of water within the mountains.
941
The relative height of the surface of the sea to that of the land.
942,
943,
944,
945
Refutation of Pliny’s theory as to the saltness of the sea.
946,
947
The characteristics of sea water.
948,
949
On the formation of Gulfs.
950,
951
On the encroachments of the sea on the land and vice versa.
952,
953,
954
The ebb and flow of the tide.
955,
956,
957,
958,
959,
960
Theory of the circulation of the waters.
961,
962
. . .