brain, work, and hand of Leonardo, who made a
book drawn in red chalk, and annotated with the pen, of the bodies
that he dissected with his own hand, and drew with the greatest
diligence; wherein he showed all the frame of the bones; and then
added to them, in order, all the nerves, and covered them with
muscles; the first attached to the bone, the second that hold the
body firm, and the third that move it; and beside them, part by
part, he wrote in letters of an ill-shaped character, which he made
with the left hand, backwards; and whoever is not practised in
reading them cannot understand them, since they are not to be read
save with a mirror. Of these papers on the anatomy of man, a great
part is in the hands of Messer Francesco da Melzo, a gentleman of
Milan, who in the time of Leonardo was a very beautiful boy, and
much beloved by him, and now is a no less beautiful and gentle old
man; and he holds them dear, and keeps such papers together as if
they were relics, in company with the portrait of Leonardo of happy
memory; and to all who read these writings, it seems impossible that
that divine spirit should have discoursed so well of art, and of the
muscles, nerves, and veins, and with such diligence of everything.
So, also, there are in the hands of ----,[11] a painter of Milan,
certain writings of Leonardo, likewise in characters written with
the left hand, backwards, which treat of painting, and of the
methods of drawing and colouring. This man, not long ago, came to
Florence to see me, wishing to print this work, and he took it to
Rome, in order to put it into effect; but I do not know what may
afterwards have become of it.

And to return to the works of Leonardo; there came to Milan, in his
time, the King of France, wherefore Leonardo being asked to devise
some bizarre thing, made a lion which walked several steps and then
opened its breast, and showed it full of lilies.

In Milan he took for his assistant the Milanese Salai, who was most
comely in grace and beauty, having fine locks, curling in ringlets,
in which Leonardo greatly delighted; and he taught him many things
of art; and certain works in Milan, which are said to be by Salai,
were retouched by Leonardo.

He returned to Florence, where he found that the Servite Friars had
entrusted to Filippino the painting of the panel for the high-altar
of the Nunziata; whereupon Leonardo said that he would willingly
have done such a work. Filippino, having heard