Bilmeceler

by Leonardo da Vinci, Samih Rifat (Translator)

Vincili hezarfen kahinin karamsar kehanetleri...
Rönesans'ın büyük ustası Leonardo da Vinci'nin,yalnızca aynada okunabilen ters yazısıyla ünlü defterlerine yazdığı bilmeceler, 'muamma'lar, kehanetler...
La Gioconda'nın ressamından kötümser, aykırı bir söylem.

52 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

It was on April 15, 1452, that Leonardo was born in the town of Vinci, Republic of Florence, in what is now in Italy, the illegitimate son of a notary and a barmaid. It is from his birthplace that he is known as Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo seemed to master every subject to which he turned his attention: he was a painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer, wrote poetry and stories: the prototype Renaissance man!

His Last Supper (1495-97) and Mona Lisa (La Gioconda, 1503-06) are among the most popular paintings from the Renaissance. He and his rival Michelangelo did great service to the medical arts by accurate paintings of dissections, which were only occasionally allowed by the Church. Yet, his artistry appeared to be an afterthought, as he frequently left his works unfinished, and only about fifteen of his paintings survive. His notebooks reveal that he was centuries ahead of his time in mechanics and physic, fortifications, bridges, weapons, and river diversions to flood the enemy, which aided Italian city-states in their many wars.

Leonardo was an early evolutionist regarding fossils. Through his careful observations he noted that “if the shells had been carried by the muddy deluge they would have been mixed up, and separated from each other amidst the mud, and not in regular steps and layers — as we see them now in our time.” Leonardo reasoned that what is now dry land, where these aquatic fossils were found, must once have been covered by seawater.

He was for a short time accused of homosexuality: there is no evidence Leonardo had any sexual interest in women. As he wrote in his notebooks, “The act of procreation and anything that has any relation to it is so disgusting that human beings would soon die out if there were no pretty faces and sensuous dispositions.”

And what of his religion? It is significant that at the end of his life he felt he had much spiritual negligence to atone for. His first biographer, Giorgio Vasari, wrote in 1550:

"Finally, …feeling himself near to death, [he] asked to have himself diligently informed of the teaching of the Catholic faith, and of the good way and holy Christian religion; and then, with many moans, he confessed and was penitent; and … was pleased to take devoutly the most holy Sacrament, out of his bed. The King, who was wont often and lovingly to visit him, then came into the room; wherefore he, out of reverence … showed withal how much he had offended God and mankind in not having worked at his art as he should have done."

There was much skepticism in Renaissance Italy at the time, and Leonardo was an intellectual genius, not just an artistic genius. While there was great intellectual freedom during the Italian Renaissance, there were limits as long as the Dominicans, the “Hounds of the Lord,” were active. This semblance of a deathbed conversion, by so critical a thinker and so great a genius as Leonardo, who would have nothing to lose by professing piety all his life, can only mean that during his prime years he was a secret freethinker.

Leonardo died quietly on the 2 of May, 1519, a few weeks following his 67th birthday.

Reviews

[Dilara Han · Rating 3 out of 5]

leonardo'nun atolyesi icin yapacagi alisveris listesini bile okurum demistim zamaninda bunu gordugumde ama yok, okumazmisim sevgili dostlar. ya da yok ya alisveris listesini okurdum da bu olmadi. kitabin adi bilmeceler/kehanetler gibi alengirli bir sey olunca haliyle alengirli bir sey bekliyorsunuz. beklemeyin. sadece enteresan bir tecrube tabii zihninden gecenleri okumak, o kadar. bunun yerine gidip da vinci's demons'i izleseydim keske sil bastan, yuzde doksan besi kurgu olsa bile guzel bir kurguydu. uc yildiz mi dort mu diye pinpon oynadim resmen. da vinci asiklari okusun, ne diyeyim.

*bu arada sevgili sel yayincilik, sozum size. zaten geceyarisi kitaplari serisi incecik kitaplardan olusuyor, alan da farkinda bunun satan da, aaa otuz sayfaymis bu keske on sayfa daha olsaymis kafasiyla almiyoruz zaten. on sayfa daha uzun olsun diye cocuk kitabi gibi nal kadar puntoyla yazip, her paragrafin arasina kafam kadar bosluk birakarak basmak zorunda degildiniz. kitap olsun 30 sayfa yani, ne fark eder.

da vinci'min kelami icin uc yildiz.

[Fact100 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"İnsanların acımasızlığı üstüne.
Aralıksız savaştığı görülecek kimi yaratıkların, büyük kayıplarla ve her iki taraftan sayısız ölülerle. Kötülükleri sınır tanımayacak; dünyanın uçsuz bucaksız ormanlarında, yabanıl kollarıyla çok sayıda ağacı yerle bir edecekler. Bir kez tıkınıp doydular mı yiyeceğe, bu kez de yaşayan her şeye ölüm, acı, sıkıntı, sürgün ve dehşet vermek isteyecekler. Büyüklenmeleri yüzünden göğe yükselmeye çalışacaklar ama bedenlerinin gereksiz ağırlığı yerde tutacak onları. Ne yeryüzünde, ne toprağın altında, ne de sularda, kovalanmamış, örselenmemiş ya da yıkıma uğratılmamış hiçbir şey kalmayacak; bir ülkedeki, başka bir ülkeyle taşınacak; ve bedenleri, mezarı ve lağımı olacak öldürdükleri tüm canlı bedenlerin. Ey Yeryüzü! Ne bekliyorsun, yarılıp ta uçurumlarının ve mağaralarının derin yarıklarına çekip yok etmek için onları; bu denli yabanıl ve amansız bir canavarı bir daha göklerin karşısına çıkartmamak için!"

[Nurtan Meral · Rating 3 out of 5]

Önemli tarafları: da Vinci, Sel yayıcılığın özenli formatı, çevirmen Samih Rifat ın önsözü. Bunlar dışında, okunabilecek bir tarafı yok. Sadece ilginç.

[Duygu Kaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yarımküreler sonsuz sayıdadır ve sonsuz sayıda çizgiyle bölünmüşlerdir, her insanın ayakları arasındaki bu çizgiler üstüne.

İnsanlar konuşacak, birbirlerine dokunacak ve öpüşecekler -değişik yarımkürelerde olmalarına karşın- ve birbirlerinin dilini anlayacaklar.