Leonardo da Vinci, artist, thinker and man of science; . ns asthis : Farisci, frati santi, vol dire - ]harise(;s, that is to say, he declaresthat many of them havemade a trade of deceiv-ing the foolish multitudewith false miracles . What, he asks in hisProphecies, are the falsecoins which help thoseto triumph who spendthem ? and he answers, the monks, who,spending nothing butwords, receive greatriches, and give Para-dise. ^ He girds, too,against the workers offalse miracles: and manymake a trade of decep-tions and sham miracles,cheating the silly crowd,and if no one showed that
Leonardo da Vinci, artist, thinker and man of science; . ns asthis : Farisci, frati santi, vol dire - ]harise(;s, that is to say, he declaresthat many of them havemade a trade of deceiv-ing the foolish multitudewith false miracles . What, he asks in hisProphecies, are the falsecoins which help thoseto triumph who spendthem ? and he answers, the monks, who,spending nothing butwords, receive greatriches, and give Para-dise. ^ He girds, too,against the workers offalse miracles: and manymake a trade of decep-tions and sham miracles,cheating the silly crowd,and if no one showed thathe understood their de-ceits, they would makea good thing of them. ?Comparedto theseattacksthe followino- is relativelymild. A priest, peram-bulating his parish onEaster S a t u r d a y,sprinkled a picture on which a painter was at work with holy water ; tothe latter, who demanded what that was for, the priest answered that Richter, vol. ii., p. 302. ? Richter, vol. ii., p. 363.—Cf. p. 364. ? Ravaisson-Mollien, Les Manuscrits, vol. iv., fol. . ANGEL. SIDE IICTUKli FOR AN ALTAK-rlECE ASCRIBED TO AMUKOGIODE PREDIS. (Naliûnal Gallery, London.) 38 LEONARDO DA VINCI God was in the habit of restoring one a hundredfold for all the goodone did here below. Scarcely had the priest emerged from the housebefore the painter upset a bucket of water on his head, crying : thereyou are, rewarded a hundredfold for the good you have done me withyour holy water, which has half-spoiled my picture ! i With a man like this morality must have counted for at least asmuch as faith. The writings of Leonardo abound, in fact, withprecepts as simple in their teaching as they are eloquent in us take a kw examples. Falsehood is so vile that if it spokewell of God, it would take something from the grace of His divinity,while truth is so excellent that when applied to the smallest things, itmakes them Intellectual ardour drives away luxury— la passione dell animo caccia via la
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