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than of bustling court life. Whatever may have been the fate of the
MSS. and note books of the foregoing years--whether they were
destroyed by Leonardo himself or have been lost--it is certainly
strange that nothing whatever exists to inform us as to his life and
doings in Milan earlier than the consecutive series of manuscripts
which begin in the year 1489.
There is nothing surprising in the fact that the notes regarding
his pupils are few and meagre. Excepting for the record of money
transactions only very exceptional circumstances would have prompted
him to make any written observations on the persons with whom he was
in daily intercourse, among whom, of course, were his pupils. Of
them all none is so frequently mentioned as Salai, but the character
of the notes does not--as it seems to me--justify us in supposing
that he was any thing more than a sort of factotum of Leonardo's
(
see 1519, note).
Leonardo's quotations from books and his lists of titles supply
nothing more than a hint as to his occasional literary studies or
recreations. It was evidently no part of his ambition to be deeply
read (see Nrs. 10, 11, 1159) and he more than once expressly states
(
in various passages which will be found in the foregoing sections)
that he did not recognise the authority of the Ancients, on
scientific questions, which in his day was held paramount.
Archimedes is the sole exception, and Leonardo frankly owns his
admiration for the illustrious Greek to whose genius his own was so
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