On motion: the line of movement and the throwing-stick
Two notes headed 'De moto', in red chalk
The page, numbered 32, holds two short notes on motion, each headed 'De moto' ('On motion'). The first states a principle: every motion born of a free motion runs on and keeps to the line of the motion that generated it, the sole exception being lightning descending from the clouds. The second poses a question about impact and speed: why a throwing-stick (randello) delivers a greater blow and moves more than the stone it hurls.
On this page
Motion follows the line of the motion that generates it
Every motion that is born of a free motion runs on and observes the line of the motion that generates it. The only exception given is the lightning (fulgore) that descends from the clouds, which does not keep this straight line.
Why the throwing-stick strikes harder than the stone
The note asks for the cause by which the throwing-stick (randello) gives a greater blow and moves more than the stone. It frames a problem about the transfer of force and speed between a hurling implement and the projectile it drives.