INTRODUCTION XI

wide on the outside and those that are wide on the inside.

To whom, then, does such a medley original: "bigarrure"; refers to a diverse, multicolored, or mismatched collection appeal? As a whole, to no one; in its details, to everyone—be they a spiritualist original: "spirite"; one who believes in communication with spirits, a squarer of the circle original: "chercheur de quadrature"; a person obsessed with the impossible mathematical problem of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle, a member of the war council, or an ophthalmologist an eye specialist.

To compile the chosen "Texts," it was necessary to read all the published manuscripts in the hope of gleaning traits unnoticed by predecessors or disdained by them; and this reading formed three notebooks corresponding to the three major groups of manuscripts: the Manuscripts of the Institute, the Windsor Manuscripts, and the Codex Atlanticus. For a long time, there was hesitation in publishing these extracts, due to uncertainty regarding the public's receptivity.

For there could be no question of classifying each of the three collections philosophically: it was necessary, so to speak, to leaf through all these pages with the reader and cite the most characteristic ones. This work, born of a fanatical admiration, corresponds only to beings who profoundly admire the Master of the Saint John A reference to Leonardo da Vinci, creator of the famous painting of St. John the Baptist. One can be a very honest man without devotion and honor Leonardo without wishing to study him down to the confused details of his scattered work. But an era that groups select men under the invocation of a Stendhal The French novelist known for his psychological depth and devotion to Italian art certainly contains Leonardians, for whom the contemplation of this incomparable intelligence is a pleasure, all the more vivid because it requires a sort of spiritual aristia original: "aristie"; a term derived from Ancient Greek referring to a hero's finest moment or state of excellence. Finally, whatever judgment is passed on this publication, it claims no merit except that of intention.

Translating this old Italian presents no diffi—