Weight of a man on a ladder, and his centre of gravity
The load a climber transmits to two supports b and c, with a marginal scriptural note
A red-chalk diagram shows a man at the top of a ladder that leans between two supports labelled b and c, and Leonardo asks what weight the man transmits to b and to c at each degree of his movement. A note added in pen directs the reader to observe the perpendicular dropped below the man's centre of gravity. A separate line jots the scriptural phrase 'Paul was caught up into heaven.'
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Weight transmitted to supports b and c
Leonardo asks what weight the man exerts at every degree of motion while standing on the ladder, and specifically how much load passes to the two supports labelled b and c. The problem treats the climber as a shifting weight divided between two points.
Perpendicular of the centre of gravity
A note added in pen instructs one to observe the vertical line dropped from below the man's centre of gravity — the key to resolving how his weight divides between the supports.
Marginal note: Paul caught up into heaven
An isolated line records the phrase 'Paul was caught up into heaven', a scriptural allusion jotted apart from the mechanical study.