Moral emblems and a pendulum hammer
The magnanimous falcon, an emblem of constancy, and a mechanism of durable motion
Drawn in red chalk (oriented upside-down relative to the notebook), the sheet pairs short moral mottoes with small mechanical and emblematic sketches. Two of the notes are bestiary-style emblems of virtue: the falcon that seizes only large birds and would sooner die than eat foul-smelling meat stands for magnanimity, while a hand gripping a lance carries a motto on constancy. At the top a pendulum-hung hammer is captioned as a device of very durable motion.
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Magnanimity: the emblem of the falcon
A moralized bestiary note: the falcon takes only large birds and would sooner die than feed on meat of ill odour, offered as a figure of magnanimity. It follows Leonardo's habit of drawing a virtue from an animal's supposed nature.
Constancy: a hand gripping a lance
Beside a sketch of a hand clenched about a lance runs the motto of constancy: not the one who begins, but the one who perseveres. The image and words form a single emblem of steadfast resolve.
Pendulum hammer of durable motion
At the top a hammer hinged from a pivoting arm is captioned as a very durable motion, a study in long-sustained mechanical movement. The device belongs to Leonardo's recurring interest in perpetual and long-lasting motion.