A Classification of the Kinds of Motion
Simple and compound; natural, accidental and neutral; rectilinear, circular, flexuous and angular paths
This page is a systematic taxonomy of motion, each category paired with a small diagram of its path. Simple motions are natural, accidental or neutral, subdivided further into circular kinds (of equidistant motion or of equidistant pole), flexuous rectilinear and curvilinear, and angular. A second block treats compound motions, combining circular, flexuous and angular varieties, with lettered figures a, b, c, m and n keyed to the wavy, coiled and looping lines drawn at the left.
On this page
Simple motion: natural, accidental, neutral
Under the heading Division of natural motion, Leonardo lists simple natural (a), simple accidental (b) and simple neutral (c), keyed to the small figures at the left of the page.
Circular and flexuous simple motions
Simple circular motion is divided into that of equidistant motion (a), of equidistant pole (b) and neutral (c). Flexuous motion is split into rectilinear (a) and curvilinear (b), matching the wavy and coiled lines drawn alongside.
Angular rectilinear and curvilinear motion
Angular motion is given as rectilinear (a) and curvilinear (b). Later the angular is folded into flexuous compounds, as angle rectilinear flexuous (m) and angle curvilinear and flexuous (n).
Compound motions
The second half is headed Compound motions and combines the categories: natural, accidental and neutral circular; natural flexuous rectilinear-and-curvilinear and its variants; and circular flexuous curvilinear of equidistant motion or of equidistant pole, each with lettered figures.
