U4 DaVincis Codex Leicester Reading 2014 950L

4
IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Leonardo da Vinci’s
Codex Leicester
950L
By Big History Project, adapted by Newsela
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 — 1519) was a multi-talented Italian scholar who gave
meaning to the term “Renaissance man.” He was a painter, architect, mathematician,
inventor, engineer, and more. The Codex Leicester is a 72-page scientific jour-
nal handwritten by da Vinci. The Codex is named for the Earl of Leicester, Thomas
Coke, who bought it in 1717. In the Codex, da Vinci notes his observations about
astronomy, the movement of water, light, fossils, and geology. The creative thinking
process of a scientist is on display. We can see how da Vinci argues, probes, and
gathers information on which to base claims.
Here are selections of Codex. They have been translated and adapted to provide a
simplified look at da Vinci’s experiments and observations.
Note: Headings have been inserted by the editors.
1
1 Observing light and waves
“The Moon is without any light of its own. It has only the light which it
takes from the Sun. But it could not take nor reflect that light if its
5 surface was not dense and shining like either a mirror or liquid. But, if
it were like a shining mirror, it would give us only some of the light.
It would reflect at an angle that would make very little light. But maybe
the Moon contains oceans. If its glow comes from a liquid body, the
reflected rays would not lose their character. Nor would they lose their
10 great brightness. But if it is wavy, as we see in the oceans, then the
brightness will convey itself to each single wave on its own account.
Then all together will cause a great quantity of brightness. However,
the shady parts of the waves mean the brightness will not be as pow-
erful as it was originally.” (Codex Leicester, Folio 1 R)
15
Shells in the mountains
20 “Shells can be seen today in Italy, far from the seas, at great heights in
the mountains. You say they were brought by the Great Flood described
in the Bible, which was higher than the highest mountain. My reply is
that these shells, which always reside near sea shores, ought to have
remained on those mountains. They should not be found so low as
25 the feet of the mountains, every one at the same height, layer by layer.
You might then say that these shells are inclined to stay near the sea
shores. And you say, as the water rises at such a height, the shells
follow the rising water up to their greatest height. I would reply that a
30 sea snail is no faster than the land snail when it is out of the water.
In fact it will be even slower. The snail does not swim. Rather it makes
a trail in the sand and will walk less than 2.5 meters (8 feet) a day. At
this rate, the shell could not walk from the Adriatic Sea to the Monferrato
in Northern Italy in 40 days, as the Bible said. The snails could not
35 have walked that distance of 400 kilometers (249 miles).
And you might say that the waves carried the shells there. I would
reply that because of their weight they cannot be supported except on
the sea bed. Things that are heavier than water do not float on water.
40 You may not accept this. But, at least acknowledge that they had to
remain on the tops of the highest mountains, and in the lakes that are
enclosed among the mountains. (Codex Leicester, Folio 8 V)
2
46 Underground water and a moving Earth
Articles leveled by Newsela have been adjusted
along several dimensions of text complexity including
“The heat of the fire burning within the center of the Earth warms the sentence structure, vocabulary and organization.
The number followed by L indicates the Lexile mea-
waters which are enclosed within the great caverns. This heat causes sure of the article. For more information on Lexile
50 the waters to be warmed and evaporated. They raise themselves up to measures and how they correspond to grade levels:
http://www.lexile.com/about-lexile/lexile-overview/
the roofs of the caverns, and climb through cracks in the mountains. To learn more about Newsela, visit www.newsela.
They climb higher still, until it finds the cold, and suddenly changes com/about.
back into water. It falls down and forms the beginning of the rivers. But
when great coldness pushes back the heat toward the center of the
55 world, this heat becomes more powerful. It gives rise to greater evapo- The Lexile® Framework for Reading
ration of the waters. These evaporations heat the caverns in which The Lexile® Framework for Reading evaluates reading
ability and text complexity on the same developmental
they circulate. scale. Unlike other measurement systems, the Lexile
Framework determines reading ability based on actual
assessments, rather than generalized age or grade
levels. Recognized as the standard for matching
Yet they cannot produce the waters as they used to. Just as it is seen readers with texts, tens of millions of students world-
65 in the making of alcohol, if the evaporation of wine did not pass wide receive a Lexile measure that helps them find
targeted readings from the more than 100 million
through cool water, it would never change into alcohol. It would instead articles, books and websites that have been measured.
Lexile measures connect learners of all ages with
return to vapor and finally it would condense to such an extent that it resources at the right level of challenge and monitors
their progress toward state and national proficiency
would break through whatever holds it. standards. More information about the Lexile® Frame-
work can be found at www.Lexile.com.
70 We will say the same of water heated in the depths of the earth. If the
water cannot find the coolness it needs, it does not form itself into
water as it did before. Instead it condenses and congeals like the fire
multiplied and condensed within a bomb. It makes itself harder and
more powerful than the matter that receives it.
75
And so, unless it has a sudden release, it immediately proceeds to

break and destroy whatever holds it. The evaporation of water bursts
within the depths of the Earth in different places, revolving and rum-
bling with great commotion. Finally, it reaches the surface of the earth
80 as an earthquake. The power ruins mountains and collapses cities. It
emerges with great wind through the breaks previously made in the
Earth; and so, by this exhalation, it consumes its own power.” (Codex
Leicester, Folio 28 R)

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4

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

By Big History Project, adapted by Newsela

Note: Headings have been inserted by the editors.

Shells in the mountains

And so, unless it has a sudden release, it immediately proceeds to

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