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Léonard de Vinci était un visionnaire de génie : peinture, architecture, physique, botanique... Aucun domaine n'a échappé à son insatiable curiosité et à son besoin de comprendre. A sa mort en 1519, il laissa de nombreux manuscrits, souvent cryptés, qui révèlent la profondeur d'un esprit mordant et une puissance d'analyse des mobiles humains. Avec un grand mépris des superstitions et de la crédulité des hommes, Léonard de Vinci, au gré des pages, livre ses pensées, une sagesse pratique et sa vision très personnelle du monde.

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

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Leonardo da Vinci

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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.

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Profile Image for Théo d'Or .
638 reviews310 followers
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March 11, 2025
[ ... Somewhere where captain Picard never got . ]

___________

Zog : " Glorp, do you see what I see ? There's a strange creature rummaging through our trash..."

Glorp : " By the stars ! You're right ! Hey, creature, what are you doin' here ? "

Leonardo : " Buongiorno a tutti, alien beings ! Don't worry about, I'm just looking for some clues. I'm conducting an experiment. Traveled through time, to study the refuse of advanced civilizations. "

Zog ( whispering to Glorp ) : " Did he just say he's studying our trash ? "

Glorp ( whispering back ) : " I think so...Let's see where this goes..."

Zog : " But, creature...why the trash ? "


Leonardo : " Call me Leo, please. Why the trash, you ask ? Because your refuse tells a story. It reveals the daily lives and habits of your species. For instance, this .... ( holds up a strange device ) - what is this ? "

Glorp : " That's a holo-snack wrapper. We consume them for entertainment. "

Leonardo : " Hmmm....And this ?" ( holds up a glowing orb )

Glorp : " That's a mood orb. It changes color based on our emotions. Very popular at parties. "

Leonardo : " Emotions ? You still have this ?! "

Zog : " Of course. You don't ? And, by the way, why do you have only one head, and not two, like everyone else ? "

Leonardo : " Why do you have two ? "

Glorp :" Because a superior intelligence can't fit in only one head, obviously. "

Leonardo : " Well, I'm a human . And a hu....

Glorp : " What's a human ?

Leonardo : " A human is...someone like me. A creature who can predict things. "

Zog : " " Predict things ? How outdated... We, aliens, have no need in this regard. We know only. "

Leonardo : " Know only " ? So, you have absolute knowledge of everything ? "

Zog : " Of course. Predictions are unnecessary when you already know the outcome. Glorp will die on Sol13, 3020, and I will die on PostSol 14, 3021, out of bitterness. He's my destined half.

Leonardo : " Jesus...It must be awful knowing that...On the other hand, it could be quite convenient...But this so-called.. gift - doesn't it take away the excitement of discovery ? "

Glorp : " Well....we have lost this notion of both excitement and discovery. The last discovery was when we discovered that we had nothing left to discover. "

Leonardo : " Oh, my.....Quite an inferno.. That would scare even Dante. So , I guess you also don't have the pleasure of reading a book anymore.. "

Zog : " What is a book ? "

Leonardo : " A book is...huh... some predictions, written on some sheets, you know...like " Prophecies ".

Zog : " Then we don't need books, if that's all about. "

Leonardo : " Morons... You have two heads for nothing. "
Profile Image for Hadeer Khaled.
287 reviews1,842 followers
February 6, 2017
كانت مصادفة جميلة لا تُصدَّق أن يقع في يدي هذا الكتاب عقب قراءتي رواية دان براون " شيفرة دافنشي "
خاصةً أن دان براون قد ألمح كثيرًا في روايته أنه من الممكن فهم ميول دافنشي الدينية أو بمعنى أصَّح: مشاعره تجاه الكنيسة آنذاك و التي ترّتب عليها أنه كان أبًا قائدًا موقرًا لجمعية سيون الدينية السرية و أشار إلى ذلك السر المقدس الذي تحميه الجمعية في لوحته الشهيرة " لوحة العشاء الأخير".
الكتاب صُدِر من الهيئة المصرية العامة للكتاب و الإخراج ممتاز و السعر رائع و لكن هناك مشكلة مع المُترِجم..أسلوبه في كثير من الفقرات المعقدة أصلًا...يُزيد من تعقيدها!
و أشعر أن الترجمة خالية من الروح أو لا أعرف ماذا أسميه و لكنه ذلك الشيء الذي يجعل قُرّاء الأدب اللاتيني يعشقون ترجمة صالح علماني.
فبإختفاء تلك الروح...كانت الترجمة هنا جامدة.
لكن إذا تحدثنا عن المُحتوى..كان جامعًا لكل شيء تقريبًا..تحدث ليوناردو عن الفن و عن الأدب و عن الفلسفة و عن المجتمع و حتى عن الطب.
و الغريب أنه خصص فصلًا في مذكراته للكتابة عن الحيوانات بمفهوم علمي و خرافي ممتع ذكرّني بأفلام سلسلة هاري بوتر.
و من إعجابي بهذا الفصل و المعلومات المثيرة فيه، قرأته مرتين :D
يظهر بوضوح في اليوميات إنتصار دافنشي للمنهج التجريبي و هذا واضح تفسيره، لإن دافنشي ينتمي لأعمدة عصر النهضة و في ذلك العصر بدأ العقل البشري في مسار الإتجاه التجريبي و البُعد كثيرًا عن الفلسفة.
هناك أيضًا في المذكرات رسائل كتبها دافنشي لبعض معارفه، لكن عندي تساؤل يخصّ تلك الرسائل.
هل هي حقيقية؟!
هي ممتعة بحق و لكنها غريبة، ففي رسالة يرسلها لصديقه التاجر يصف أن ماردًا وحشيًا هجم على مدينة دافنشي.. أعلم أنه من الساذج افتراض أنها حقيقية و لكن وصف دافنشي واقعي و تفصيلي للغاية... هل وقعت في فخ دعابة من دعاباته؟:D
يكتب دافنشي حكمًا و نصائح بليغة للغاية في فصل خصصه للحديث عن نفس الإنسان.
مذكرات ممتعة و ما أعجبني كثيرًا ، بالرغم أنها تفصيلة تافهة :)
في آخر عشر صفحات من الكتاب يوجد الكثير من اللوحات الشهيرة لليوناردو بجودة جميلة، ما جعلني في أوقات كثيرة أحدق فيها باستمتاع و أترك القراءة.
٢ فبراير ٢٠١٧
هدير خالد
Profile Image for Maryam.
182 reviews50 followers
December 10, 2015
عاشق به سوی معشوق کشیده می شود.همان طور که حس به سوی آنچه می بیند؛هر دو به هم می پیوندندو یکی می شوند.اثر ,اولین ثمره این پیوند است.اگر محبوب پست و حقیر باشد,عاشق نیز پست و حقیر می شود.اگر محبوبی که به او می پیوندید با تو که پذیرایش شده ای در هماهنگی باشد,ثمره پیوندتان آرامش,خشنودی و لذت است.هنگامی که عاشق به معشوق می پیوندد به شادی و نشاط دست می یابد؛گویی بار سنگینی را بر زمین می گذارد و آرام می گیرد.ذهن ما این نکته را به خوبی درک میکند
Profile Image for Eva.
86 reviews46 followers
August 30, 2018
ترجمة ركيكة ضيعت الموضوع كله جمل غير مترابطة الفاظ فجأة بالعامية.. كان ممكن يطلع احسن من كده بكتير.. مفيهوش غير فصل الحيوانات.. غير كده اغلب المعاني ضايعة.
Profile Image for Ghofran.
119 reviews11 followers
October 1, 2017
so that was a small light book maybe for 2 hours read then suddenly it's done..
It has some unrelated pieces that da vinci wrote himself, you'd like some of them but the others may be a little meaningless because you don't know the occasion when he said those words..
most of them looked just like old classic stories which our grandmas would tell us in a warm night or when you need a wise advice..
the thing I can't not talk about is the fact that I read this book translated in arabic and I want to say I've never been that happy with a translation before.. the translator "Muhammad Eid Ibrahiem" has an absolute talent in turning those little pieces to a same heart warming and great meaning and form in another language, I really liked it and it was part of me liking this book.
Profile Image for Moch Ansori.
100 reviews
November 4, 2024
Terjemahan ke dalam bhs Indonesia dan diterbitkan oleh penerbit Bentang kurang memuaskan. Cukup susah dibaca dan dipahami, karena kalinatnya yang tidak teratur. Meski begitu, saya dapat menangkap sebagian besar makna oenyampaian dalam tulisan Leonardo da Vinci ini. Terima kasih penerjemah dan Bentang atas usahanya menerbitkan buku langka ini.
Profile Image for Mustafa Samir.
16 reviews7 followers
February 1, 2019
لا أنكر كثيرًا ما غلبت الأهواء على تقييماتي للكتب، خصوصًا أن إعجابي الشديد بشخصية موسوعية مثل دافنشي لا يخفى على أحد؛ استطعت الحصول على الكتاب بطريقة غريبة خصوصًا أنه _كما قيل لي_ هي النسخة الوحيد التي كانت متوفرة بمعرض الكتاب 2019، وكنت أنا ذاك السعيد الحظ الذي حصل على النسخة الوحيدة .....

قد يكون من الصعب _بعض الشئ_ تصنيف مثل هذه الأعمال ولكنها من نوع الكتب التي _اسميها أنا_ "كتب القيلولة" تلك التي تستطيع أن تقرأها في ساعة من نهار مستمتعًا بما فيها ثم تلقي عليها السلام وترحل؛ مثل هذه الكتب التي تريح القارئ بين كتابين ثقال أو تعيده لنشاطه القرائي مرة آخرى ليبدأ بصدر رحب من جديد .....

من السهل ملاحظة التموجات الكثيرة الموجودة بالكتاب فهناك أجزاء من الكتاب تأخذك إلى قمة النشوة وهناك أجزاء آخرى _تلك التي يمقتها القارئ_ تهوي بك إلى أسف سافلين خصوصًا أنك لا تستطيع معرفة سبب هذا السقوط المفاجئ أهو خطأ مترجم أو هكذا كانت شخصية دافنشي، أم أن المشكلة أنك لم تفهم الجزء جيدًا أو ما أراد أن يوصله دافنشي إلى صندوق عقلك ، لكن هذا لا يمنع _بتاتًا_ أن الكتاب _في مجمله_ ممتع جدًا إلى الحد الذي تستطيع أن ترح به عقلك المنهك....
Profile Image for حسن  عدس.
329 reviews119 followers
April 29, 2017
قمة الغلاسة فكرني بهتش كونفوشيوس
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