“...You have asked me about happiness. Does anyone know what happiness is? It is so often illusory. For you, Francesco, it’s a woman...or a swim in the lake. For me it was always work. If a great discipline haunts a man throughout his life...well, he’s lucky. You have seen me happy. You didn’t throw in your lot with a bitter man.
“We see King Francis...we watch him...he is eaten up with regrets...he is scheming, plotting...worrying...battlefields gnaw his guts...if we want sanity there are Vaprios, little rivers, little hills.”
He asked me for another cover.
Cloux
This was our last conversation—on April 23rd.
Melzi - I heard that you created a mirror machine while you were in Rome.
Da Vinci - I tried to amplify the stars—study them.
Melzi - Please explain.
Da Vinci - A series of mirrors and lens.