684

Mottoes and Emblems.

Truth the sun. falsehood a mask. innocence, malignity.

Fire destroys falsehood, that is sophistry, and restores truth, driving out darkness.

Fire may be represented as the destroy of all sophistry, and as the image and demonstration of truth; because it is light and drives out darkness which conceals all essences [or subtle things].

[Footnote: See PI. LXIII. L. 1-8 are in the middle of the page; 1. 9-14 to the right below; 1. 15-22 below in the middle column. The rest of the text is below the sketches on the left. There are some other passages on this page relating to geometry.]

TRUTH.

Fire destroys all sophistry, that is deceit; and maintains truth alone, that is gold.

Truth at last cannot be hidden. Dissimulation is of no avail. Dissimulation is to no purpose before so great a judge. Falsehood puts on a mask. Nothing is hidden under the sun.

Fire is to represent truth because it destroys all sophistry and lies; and the mask is for lying and falsehood which conceal truth.

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

Notebooks of Leonoardo da Vinci
X: Studies and Sketches for Pictures and Decorations.
. . .
Bernardo di Bandino’s Portrait.
664
Notes on the Last Supper.
665,
666,
667,
668
On the battle of Anghiari.
669
Allegorical representations referring to the duke of Milan.
670,
671,
672,
673
Allegorical representations.
674,
675,
676,
677,
678
Arrangement of a picture.
679
List of drawings.
680
Mottoes and Emblems.
681,
682,
683,
684,
685,
686,
687,
688,
689,
690,
691,
692,
693,
694,
695,
696,
697,
698,
699,
700,
701,
702
Ornaments and Decorations for feasts.
703,
704
. . .