The Five Regular Solids, with a Tercet
Tetrahedron, cube, dodecahedron, octahedron and icosahedron, with verses in their praise
The lower part of the folio sets out the five regular (Platonic) solids in a row, each numbered by its count of faces. Above them a short tercet, 'made for the regular bodies and their derivatives,' compares them to a sweet and well-loved fruit that drew the philosophers of old to search out their causes and nourish the intellect. A carried-over optics figure at the top shows a large spherical body partly lit by a much smaller one.
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The five regular (Platonic) solids
The five regular bodies are drawn and numbered by their faces: the tetrahedron (4), the hexahedron or cube (6), the dodecahedron (12), the octahedron (8), and the icosahedron (20).
A tercet in praise of the regular bodies
A short verse, made for the regular bodies and their derivatives, likens them to a sweet and well-loved fruit that compelled the philosophers of the past to seek out their causes and so nourish the intellect.
A large sphere partly lit by a smaller one
Above the verse, a large spherical body is partially illuminated by a much smaller spherical one, with lines marking the extent of the light received.
