Draft petition on unpaid service; a weight in air and in water
A draft letter to his lord about wages and the horse, beside a proof that a weight weighs less in a denser medium.
The larger sheet (914a) carries a draft of a letter from Leonardo to his lord, pleading over unpaid service: he recalls two years of owed salary, two masters kept continually at his own wages and expense, and finding himself some 15 lire out of pocket, while pledging continual obedience and touching on the horse and a commission to paint the little chambers (camerini). The smaller sheet (914b) sets out a physical proof that a given weight shows itself lighter or heavier according to the density of the medium in which it hangs, demonstrated with equal weights balanced in air and in water. A small pen drawing at the upper right of the larger sheet is not covered by the transcription.
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Draft letter petitioning his lord over unpaid service
Leonardo drafts a letter to his lord (addressed 'Signore' and 'vostra Eccellenzia'), reminding him of small matters he had almost kept silent about and declaring that his life devoted to his service keeps him ever ready to obey. He writes that of the horse he will say nothing, for he knows the times, and recalls the commission to paint the little chambers.
A weight weighs less when submerged in a denser medium
Two equal weights hung on equal arms of a balance resist one another; but if one is lowered into water while the other stays in air, the one in air shows itself heavier by as much as water is denser than air. He concludes that the proportion of the media is the inverse of the proportion of the weights, and that unequal weights balancing in air and water cannot be in media of equal density.
Two years' unpaid salary and some 15 lire out of pocket
Within the petition Leonardo recalls that he was still owed the salary of two years, that two masters remained continually at his own wages and expense, and that in the end he found himself out of pocket on the said work by about 15 lire.