marrow, or spongy. And all these conditions are sometimes found in

one and the same bone, and in some bones none of them. And three you

must have for the woman, in which there is much that is mysterious

by reason of the womb and the foetus. Therefore by my drawings every

part will be known to you, and all by means of demonstrations from

three different points of view of each part; for when you have seen

a limb from the front, with any muscles, sinews, or veins which take

their rise from the opposite side, the same limb will be shown to

you in a side view or from behind, exactly as if you had that same

limb in your hand and were turning it from side to side until you

had acquired a full comprehension of all you wished to know. In the

same way there will be put before you three or four demonstrations

of each limb, from various points of view, so that you will be left

with a true and complete knowledge of all you wish to learn of the

human figure[Footnote 35: Compare Pl. CVII. The original drawing at

Windsor is 28 1/2 X 19 1/2 centimetres. The upper figures are

slightly washed with Indian ink. On the back of this drawing is the

text No. 1140.].

Thus, in twelve entire figures, you will have set before you the

cosmography of this lesser world on the same plan as, before me, was

adopted by Ptolemy in his cosmography; and so I will afterwards

divide them into limbs as he divided the whole world into provinces;

then I will speak of the function of each part in every direction,

putting before your eyes a description of the whole form and

substance of man, as regards his movements from place to place, by

663

The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci Complete