at battle; seeing that in it rage, fury, and revenge
are perceived as much in the men as in the horses, among which two
with the fore-legs interlocked are fighting no less fiercely with
their teeth than those who are riding them do in fighting for that
standard, which has been grasped by a soldier, who seeks by the
strength of his shoulders, as he spurs his horse to flight, having
turned his body backwards and seized the staff of the standard, to
wrest it by force from the hands of four others, of whom two are
defending it, each with one hand, and, raising their swords in the
other, are trying to sever the staff; while an old soldier in a red
cap, crying out, grips the staff with one hand, and, raising a
scimitar with the other, furiously aims a blow in order to cut off
both the hands of those who, gnashing their teeth in the struggle,
are striving in attitudes of the utmost fierceness to defend their
banner; besides which, on the ground, between the legs of the
horses, there are two figures in foreshortening that are fighting
together, and the one on the ground has over him a soldier who has
raised his arm as high as possible, that thus with greater force he
may plunge a dagger into his throat, in order to end his life; while
the other, struggling with his legs and arms, is doing what he can
to escape death.

It is not possible to describe the invention that Leonardo showed in
the garments of the soldiers, all varied by him in different ways,
and likewise in the helmet-crests and other ornaments; not to
mention the incredible mastery that he displayed in the forms and
lineaments of the horses, which Leonardo, with their fiery spirit,
muscles, and shapely beauty, drew better than any other master. It
is said that, in order to draw that cartoon, he made a most
ingenious stage, which was raised by contracting it and lowered by
expanding. And conceiving the wish to colour on the wall in oils, he
made a composition of so gross an admixture, to act as a binder on
the wall, that, going on to paint in the said hall, it began to peel
off in such a manner that in a short time he abandoned it, seeing it
spoiling.

[Illustration: LEONARDO DA VINCI: MONNA LISA

(_Formerly Paris: The Louvre, 1601. Canvas on Panel_)]

Leonardo had very great spirit, and in his every action was most
generous. It is said that, going to the bank for the allowance that
he used to draw every month from Piero Soderini, the cashier wanted
to give him