Salt Lake Telegram | 1926-03-19 | Page 7 | A Man Who Lived

i t A Man Who Lived I IBy By JOHN BLAKE It was said of Leonardo da do Vinci that for any sort of work vork he would instantly lay aside his brush I Da Do Vinci was one of the worlds world's great painters But he was he-was was far more than that He was probably probably probably proba proba- bly one of the greatest engineers of ot his time and time and possessed more vision than any man who lived in his century There was Avas little thought of his day In which he was not the leader lr Ir not the originator But he lie never could have painted The Last Supper Supper Sup Sup- per Mona Lisa and his other masterpieces if he had been willing to drop his brushes at the call can of any other york work He must have concentrated upon these at them till he was tired and then gladly availed himself himself himself him him- self of ota a a change of work and thought Da Do Vinci's shop was full fun of 0 mechanical contrivances contrivances con con- of all kinds among them an airplane which lacked only the modern propelling force gasoline gasoline gaso gaso- line Une to mak it fly He was perhaps the first man who firmly firmly- believed be believed believed be- be that human beings would some day rival the birds This conclusion n he reached after watching the birds in their flight observing exactly how they propelled themselves through the air and how be becaUSe because because be- be cause of the density of that element element- they were able to keep afloat OIl on it To his his contemporaries these were the dreams of ofa ofa ofa a mad man yet man yet so great was the force of Leonardo's Leonardos Leonardos Leonardo's Leonar Leonar- dos do's intellect that he exerted a great influence over them and commanded commande their respect and admiration In an age of sp specialization when often a man who is pre eminent in m some particular calling knows little HWe or not nothing of 0 anything else it Is interesting and instructive to read the life Ufe of this man inan who al allowed allowed allowed al- al lowed nothing In nature to escape his careful notice He would turn from his easel to attend to a plumbing Job in the house of the duchess and to him the principles involved in plumbing were as Important as those Involved in perceptive and the mixing of colors To him genius was nothing supernatural but merely a a. a glorified g common sense which enabled him to study and understand problems which were incomprehensible to his fellows felloes In drawing he made careful measurements and was never wrong in proportions or in perspective Considering that he lived in a time when civilization civilization civil civil- was Just coming back after its long sleep In hi the dark ages when ages when only ii in the remains left by bythe bythe bythe the ancients could ma man study art or engineering he was probably the most remarkable man of 0 all time Such a life Ufe was well weH worth living never living never without fascination It is Idle to envy genius but the practical side of ot Leonardo was what filled his days with congenial occupations His interest In all an things great and small can well wen serve as an example for people of all times Copyright 1926 by the Bell Syndicate Inc