Resistance of a support and its distance from the base
A prop bears a weight more easily the nearer the load lies to its perpendicular
Leonardo states the rule that the extremity of a support resists least when it is farthest from the perpendicular of its base: the support a b holds a given weight at n far more easily than the support b c would hold it at m. Restated, the part of a support situated farther from its fixed point resists least. Three drawings of curved props carrying suspended weights at varying distances from their pivots illustrate the principle.
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The extremity farthest from the perpendicular resists least
That extremity of the support resists least which is most remote from the perpendicular of its base. Thus the support a b will much more easily sustain a given weight at n than the support b c would sustain it at m; the part of a support farther from its fixed point resists least.
Curved props carrying suspended loads
Three figures on the right show curved supports or brackets fixed to an upright, each carrying weights hung on cords at different distances from the pivot. They picture the varying resistance a prop offers as the load moves away from the perpendicular of its base, keyed by the letters a, c, b and the points n, m.