Propositions on weight and the descent of falling bodies
Statics of heavy bodies along curved and oblique lines, with lune and square constructions
A dense left-hand column sets out a series of propositions on gravity and descent: every weight directs itself toward the middle, the heavier body falls faster, and a body falls more swiftly along the less curved line while descending less along a more oblique path. Several statements compare the load borne on lines of differing curvature and the perpendicular distance gained over equal courses, closing with the rule that every freely falling weight seeks the center of the earth. On the right are geometric figures — crescent-shaped lunes, a square with its diagonals, and right-angle constructions — with a small numerical note beside a rectangle on the inverted part of the sheet.
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Every weight directs itself toward the middle
The column opens by stating that every weight directs itself toward the middle, that the heavier thing descends sooner, and that a body falls most swiftly along the less curved line. It adds that a body set on a less curved line sustains and bears the greater weight.
Descent along less-curved versus oblique lines
Several propositions compare paths: a body falling along a more oblique line gains less perpendicular distance over an equal stretch, and descends less over an equal course. The passage ends with the rule that every weight, falling freely, directs itself toward the center of the earth.
Lunes and a square with diagonals
The right margin carries geometric constructions: two crescent-shaped lunes, a square crossed by its diagonals, and small right-angle figures, drawn alongside the physical propositions.