Buying water by the ounce; how natural motion speeds up
A warning that a measured 'ounce' of water deceives, and a rule that natural motion accelerates
Leonardo warns the reader who buys water by the ounce that he may be badly deceived: an ounce measured in still water differs from an ounce in a current struck against the mouth of the measure, and it differs again taken near the surface, near the bottom, or across the flow. The note breaks off before the comparison is completed. A second line states the counterpart to violent motion's decay: natural motion grows faster the farther it departs from its cause.
On this page
The deceptive 'ounce' of water
One who buys water by the ounce may be greatly deceived: an ounce in still water is not the same as an ounce in a current struck against the mouth of the measure, nor the same taken near the surface, near the bottom, or across the flow.
Natural motion accelerates from its cause
The more natural motion departs from its cause, the faster it becomes.