Note on the persistence of impressions in the senses
A fragment on how impressions of light, sound and motion persist in sensible bodies; recto vault shows through
One mounted fragment of this verso is blank (invisible before restoration), while the other bears a passage of Leonardo's mirror-script, visible at the right, whose content is summarized in the catalogue note. An underlined opening statement asserts the persistence of impressions in sensible bodies, then gives examples drawn from sound (bells, the voice in the ear and its consonance), light (the image of the sun in the eye, the luminous circle made by whirling a burning brand) and rain, concluding that the motion of bodies is due to the persistence of the impressed force. The argument extends to impressions in fluids, air and water, before breaking off. The faint show-through at the upper left is the arched vault of the recto; the fragment's own script is only paraphrased here, not fully transcribed.
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Persisting impressed force and the motion of bodies
An underlined opening asserts that impressions persist in sensible bodies, concluding that the motion of bodies is due to the persistence of the impression, or force impressed by the mover. The reasoning then extends to impressions in the fluids air and water before it is left interrupted and suspended.
Examples: the sun in the eye and the whirling brand
Among the examples cited are the image of the sun that lingers in the eye and the luminous circle produced by whirling a burning brand, set alongside the sound of bells and the voice in the human ear by which consonance is perceived. These sensory examples illustrate how an impression endures after its cause.
