Cloth-shearing machine, with a maxim on necessity
'The cloth runs against the blade'; necessity as the rule of nature
The upper part of the page carries an aphorism, twice phrased, that necessity is the mistress and inventor of nature, its bridle and eternal rule. At the foot is a drawing of a shearing machine ('macchina cimatrice') — a low inclined bed on rollers used to crop the nap of cloth. The accompanying note explains that the cloth is fed against the cutting edge.
On this page
Cloth-shearing machine
A low inclined bed or table mounted on rollers is drawn at the foot of the page. The note, headed 'shearing machine', explains that the cloth runs against the cutting edge, so that the blade crops its nap as the fabric passes.
Maxim: necessity, the rule of nature
Necessity is the mistress and guardian of nature; necessity is the theme and inventor of nature, and her bridle and eternal rule. The saying is set down twice in slightly varied form.