The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (81 page)

It is said of the bear that when it goes to the haunts of bees to
take their honey, the bees having begun to sting him he leaves the
honey and rushes to revenge himself. And as he seeks to be revenged
on all those that sting him, he is revenged on none; in such wise
that his rage is turned to madness, and he flings himself on the
ground, vainly exasperating, by his hands and feet, the foes against
which he is defending himself.

1223.

The virtue of gratitude is said to be more [developed] in the birds
called hoopoes which, knowing the benefits of life and food, they
have received from their father and their mother, when they see them
grow old, make a nest for them and brood over them and feed them,
and with their beaks pull out their old and shabby feathers; and
then, with a certain herb restore their sight so that they return to
a prosperous state.

The toad feeds on earth and always remains lean; because it never
eats enough:— it is so afraid lest it should want for earth.

1224.

Pigeons are a symbol of ingratitude; for when they are old enough no
longer to need to be fed, they begin to fight with their father, and
this struggle does not end until the young one drives the father out
and takes the hen and makes her his own.

The basilisk is so utterly cruel that when it cannot kill animals by
its baleful gaze, it turns upon herbs and plants, and fixing its
gaze on them withers them up.

1225.

It is said of the eagle that it is never so hungry but that it will
leave a part of its prey for the birds that are round it, which,
being unable to provide their own food, are necessarily dependent on
the eagle, since it is thus that they obtain food.

When the wolf goes cunningly round some stable of cattle, and by
accident puts his foot in a trap, so that he makes a noise, he bites
his foot off to punish himself for his folly.

1226.

The syren sings so sweetly that she lulls the mariners to sleep;
then she climbs upon the ships and kills the sleeping mariners.

The ant, by her natural foresight provides in the summer for the
winter, killing the seeds she harvests that they may not germinate,
and on them, in due time she feeds.

The wild bull having a horror of a red colour, the hunters dress up
the trunk of a tree with red and the bull runs at this with great
frenzy, thus fixing his horns, and forthwith the hunters kill him
there.

1227.

We may liken the virtue of Justice to the king of the bees which
orders and arranges every thing with judgment. 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
accompagny 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.

Although partridges steal each other's eggs, nevertheless the young
born of these eggs always return to their true mother.

1228.

The cranes are so faithful and loyal to their king, that at night,
when he is sleeping, some of them go round the field to keep watch
at a distance; others remain near, each holding a stone in his foot,
so that if sleep should overcome them, this stone would fall and
make so much noise that they would wake up again. And there are
others which sleep together round the king; and this they do every
night, changing in turn so that their king may never find them
wanting.

The fox when it sees a flock of herons or magpies or birds of that
kind, suddenly flings himself on the ground with his mouth open to
look as he were dead; and these birds want to peck at his tongue,
and he bites off their heads.

1229.

The mole has very small eyes and it always lives under ground; and
it lives as long as it is in the dark but when it comes into the
light it dies immediately, because it becomes known;—and so it is
with lies.

The lion is never afraid, but rather fights with a bold spirit and
savage onslaught against a multitude of hunters, always seeking to
injure the first that injures him.

The hare is always frightened; and the leaves that fall from the
trees in autumn always keep him in terror and generally put him to
flight.

1230.

The falcon never preys but on large birds; and it will let itself
die rather than feed on little ones, or eat stinking meat.

As regards this vice, we read that the peacock is more guilty of it
than any other animal. For it is always contemplating the beauty of
its tail, which it spreads in the form of a wheel, and by its cries
attracts to itself the gaze of the creatures that surround it.

And this is the last vice to be conquered.

1231.

Constancy may be symbolised by the phoenix which, knowing that by
nature it must be resuscitated, has the constancy to endure the
burning flames which consume it, and then it rises anew.

The swallow may serve for Inconstancy, for it is always in movement,
since it cannot endure the smallest discomfort.

The camel is the most lustful animal there is, and will follow the
female for a thousand miles. But if you keep it constantly with its
mother or sister it will leave them alone, so temperate is its
nature.

1232.

The unicorn, through its intemperance and not knowing how to control
itself, for the love it bears to fair maidens forgets its ferocity
and wildness; and laying aside all fear it will go up to a seated
damsel and go to sleep in her lap, and thus the hunters take it.

We see the most striking example of humility in the lamb which will
submit to any animal; and when they are given for food to imprisoned
lions they are as gentle to them as to their own mother, so that
very often it has been seen that the lions forbear to kill them.

1233.

The falcon, by reason of its haughtiness and pride, is fain to lord
it and rule over all the other birds of prey, and longs to be sole
and supreme; and very often the falcon has been seen to assault the
eagle, the Queen of birds.

The wild ass, when it goes to the well to drink, and finds the water
troubled, is never so thirsty but that it will abstain from
drinking, and wait till the water is clear again.

The vulture is so addicted to gluttony that it will go a thousand
miles to eat a carrion [carcase]; therefore is it that it follows
armies.

1234.

The turtle-dove is never false to its mate; and if one dies the
other preserves perpetual chastity, and never again sits on a green
bough, nor ever again drinks of clear water.

The bat, owing to unbridled lust, observes no universal rule in
pairing, but males with males and females with females pair
promiscuously, as it may happen.

The ermine out of moderation never eats but once in the day; it will
rather let itself be taken by the hunters than take refuge in a
dirty lair, in order not to stain its purity.

1235.

The eagle when it is old flies so high that it scorches its
feathers, and Nature allowing that it should renew its youth, it
falls into shallow water [Footnote 5: The meaning is obscure.]. And
if its young ones cannot bear to gaze on the sun [Footnote 6: The
meaning is obscure.]—; it does not feed them with any bird, that
does not wish to die. Animals which much fear it do not approach its
nest, although it does not hurt them. It always leaves part of its
prey uneaten.

This is found in Asia Major, and shines so brightly that it absorbs
its own shadow, and when it dies it does not lose this light, and
its feathers never fall out, but a feather pulled out shines no
longer.

1236.

This bird has a great love for its young; and when it finds them in
its nest dead from a serpent's bite, it pierces itself to the heart,
and with its blood it bathes them till they return to life.

This has no digestive organs, and gets no food but from the fire, in
which it constantly renews its scaly skin.

The salamander, which renews its scaly skin in the fire,—for
virtue.

This lives on air, and there it is the prey of all the birds; so in
order to be safer it flies above the clouds and finds an air so
rarefied that it cannot support the bird that follows it.

At that height nothing can go unless it has a gift from Heaven, and
that is where the chameleon flies.

1237.

The fish
alepo
does not live out of water.

This bird converts iron into nourishment, and hatches its eggs by
its gaze;—Armies under commanders.

The swan is white without any spot, and it sings sweetly as it dies,
its life ending with that song.

This bird, by drinking saltwater purges itself of distempers. If the
male finds his mate unfaithful, he abandons her; and when it grows
old its young ones brood over it, and feed it till it dies.

1238.

This silences the cuckoo with its song. It dies in oil and revives
in vinegar. It sings in the greatest heats

The more light there is the blinder this creature becomes; as those
who gaze most at the sun become most dazzled.—For Vice, that cannot
remain where Virtue appears.

This bird changes from the female into the male and forgets its
former sex; and out of envy it steals the eggs from others and
hatches them, but the young ones follow the true mother.

This bird gives sight to its blind young ones by means of celandine.

1239.

This creature, when the moon is full opens itself wide, and when the
crab looks in he throws in a piece of rock or seaweed and the oyster
cannot close again, whereby it serves for food to that crab. This is
what happens to him who opens his mouth to tell his secret. He
becomes the prey of the treacherous hearer.

All snakes flie from this creature; but the weasel attacks it by
means of rue and kills it.

This carries instantaneous death in its fangs; and, that it may not
hear the charmer it stops its ears with its tail.

1240.

This creature entangles itself in the legs of the elephant which
falls upon it, and so both die, and in its death it is avenged.

She, in pairing opens her mouth and at last clenches her teeth and
kills her husband. Then the young ones, growing within her body rend
her open and kill their mother.

Saliva, spit out when fasting will kill a scorpion. This may be
likened to abstinence from greediness, which removes and heals the
ills which result from that gluttony, and opens the path of virtue.

1241.

This animal catches a man and straightway kills him; after he is
dead, it weeps for him with a lamentable voice and many tears. Then,
having done lamenting, it cruelly devours him. It is thus with the
hypocrite, who, for the smallest matter, has his face bathed with
tears, but shows the heart of a tiger and rejoices in his heart at
the woes of others, while wearing a pitiful face.

The toad flies from the light of the sun, and if it is held there by
force it puffs itself out so much as to hide its head below and
shield itself from the rays. Thus does the foe of clear and radiant
virtue, who can only be constrainedly brought to face it with puffed
up courage.

1242.

The caterpillar, which by means of assiduous care is able to weave
round itself a new dwelling place with marvellous artifice and fine
workmanship, comes out of it afterwards with painted and lovely
wings, with which it rises towards Heaven.

The spider brings forth out of herself the delicate and ingenious
web, which makes her a return by the prey it takes.

[Footnote: Two notes are underneath this text. The first:
'nessuna
chosa e da ttemere piu che lla sozza fama'
is a repetition of the
first line of the text given in Vol. I No. 695.

The second:
faticha fugga cholla fama in braccio quasi ochultata c
is written in red chalk and is evidently an incomplete sentence.]

1243.

This animal, with his thundering roar, rouses his young the third
day after they are born, teaching them the use of all their dormant
senses and all the wild things which are in the wood flee away.

This may be compared to the children of Virtue who are roused by the
sound of praise and grow up in honourable studies, by which they are
more and more elevated; while all that is base flies at the sound,
shunning those who are virtuous.

Again, the lion covers over its foot tracks, so that the way it has
gone may not be known to its enemies. Thus it beseems a captain to
conceal the secrets of his mind so that the enemy may not know his
purpose.