[LEONARDO'S MADONNA AND CHILD WITS ST. ANNE ‘THE, STANDARD EDITION OF THE COMPLETE FSYCHOLOGICAL WORKS OF SIGMUND FREUD ‘ranted fiom the Gorman ander th Geral sip of JAMES STRACHEY In Collaboration wth ANNA FREUD Assit by ALIX STRACHEY and ALAN TYSON VOLUME XI 919 Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis Leonardo da Vinci ond Other Works THE HOGARTH PRESS [AND THE INSTITUTE OF FSYCHO-ANALYSIS astEDITOR'S NOTE LINE KINDHEITSERINNERUNG DES LEONARDO ‘DA VINCL (@) Gmaux Boron: 1910 Leipeig and. Vienna: Deaticke, Pp. 71. (Sefer ax ‘shgeandlenSaleland, et 7) 1919 Qud'ed. Same publisher. Pp. 76 1623. Srl od. Same publishers. Pp. 78. 125 GS, 9, 571-454. 1988 GW,, 8, 128-211. (@) Brot Teaanion: Leona da Vick 1916 New York: Moflat, Yard. Pp. 190, (Te. A. A. Beil.) 1922 London: Kegan Pasl. Pp. ¥ + 180. (Same translator, with a preface by Henest Jones.) 1082 New York: Dodd Mead. Pp. 158. (Revissue of above) "The present tranlation, with @ modified tile, Lemardo da ‘Vineland a Memory of is Childhood”, an entiely new one bby Alan Tyson, rh orn ares eee of Steet tra romp aed ate (eee Lena maar sey" miranryar eta iene anatarietiion tani Sepia diate Rea ESS vige un erteenee Sahitteandisanrarnepiea es “pen ee psec paeticat iee rare thee!° {20xARDO DA vINct remarked in eter to Jung on Oxide 17 seed Bare the Sins comstutin ar Longe wists genna. He sided {hat he was obtang s book on Leonards oath fom Tay This was the monogrph by Scognamigio refered 0 on pz 2s, Aer eadiag tb and some oer boots on Lead, cfg on tieebje tothe Vienna Pc Anaya Seley tn December 1 but it was ot wnt he begnag of Ape, 1810, habe ished wing way Te war bed 2 he ead orMay, Tread de a munber of conscions and addons in the Istrcre he sks Among the ay be pecially mee ‘oned the sort footnote on ehtunetien pp 9-6 the pe om Retr (pp 70-25). aad te log quotton fom Pier py. 5- 16m ali ofehem ade n 110, othe cae Son el Ge London cartoon (pp. 114 Tan added in 153 ‘This work of Freud's war aot the fast application ofthe methods of elnial paychoranalys to the Hives of historical figures in he post. Experinens in tis direction had already been made by others, notably by Sadger, who had published studies on Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (1908), Lena. (1908) and ‘Kiss (100). Freud himself had never before embarked on 8 Thb-lengoh biographical sty ofthis bind, though he had pre= viously made a few faginotary anslyes of wer, based on pivdes in thir works. Long before this, infact on June 20, 1, he had sent Flies a study of one of G. B. Meyer's short stories, ‘Die Richern, which threw light on its suthor’s eatiy lie (Freud 19505, Lecer 91). But this monograph on Leoaareo ‘wae not only the fiat but dhe lau of Freud largecaleexeute Sons into dhe eld of biography, The book seems to have been ‘grevted with more than the uaval amount of disspproval and ‘read was evidently justified in defending himset in advance with the refecions atthe begining of Chapter VI (p.180)— reflections which have a general applicatio even to-day to the Anihors and eres of biographies. Te isa srange fact, however, that until very recently none of + Theminuts ofthe Vienna PryebtnAnalytil Soty (ich we ae cxlurncuty pci fom ang) te tater ok Become 1, 1S, readmade ne fara one sls eae analyte bogaphy (GE Jon, 1955888), norron’s Nore a te ees of de yen work es ove Hg sp ha ston doube Sa west pnt. Aprominene par layed by Leonard's mtorr plans tng ied nscale by 1 ied of pry. Th mte pple 0 third ns mtebooks ini whith (athe frm of) the onary Italian tor fore Fea however, hroehost his sud trainee word bythe Coman “Ci, fr ich he age Eaton only be le Trew’ mistake se a Aave originated fom sme of he (Garman ‘tania with he wee Ti Mare Herd (08) ne the werd ‘Gr aie veo of he rae ian: Intcad cf “Alle the nora Geta od for fie. But probably temo ior iatunce wa the Co zn trarsacon o Merekovagys Lemar Bos wie, a= tay be ee on he eared copy in Pen’ bay, ae Turce ofa tery reat deal fh iran abou Leonard Satin wah he probably came serow the wory fr the ft Sine Tere tothe Gan yor ed in the cade pinay “Gis, though Merehieay howe eomety sel se, the Rision ord fo ate Sa ic of is maak, sme readers ty fel annie to dis th le dy 2 wort. ll boweer, be good pian to examine he sean more coy and conser a dea {boemnct pectin which Tee's npuments and eons minha Tae fe place the ‘hidden bin? in Lemar’ pice (phn) anatase isa bin atl ea aes Ifoeanto eannbinace fate Ths dscovery however, at hot nde by Free bt by Piss I wus otro en Ihe seo tton ofthe works and Frond seed wih Conaeabis cre ‘Nex an owe portant, coms he Ryn conection. “Tae hve othe Egyptian wor for tothe (a) gute esnly eps vl ad nots Ute. Gadins ins tht Epon Gromer (eed 195,46) ene the estate at Go the gn vate ewe ro he 2 sy pol eat by Ena deri ta 0 he rey eae ‘ion Lanes ‘Notebooks (1952, 286). Like me fee ehniihe Se Lard dhl nse fecale LEONARDO DA VINCI dat Focus sity dhat the Bid of Leonard's phantasy stood fos his mother cannot claim diect soppor feom the Egyptian smyth, and that the queson a is acquaintance with hat myth ‘eases o be seevane* The phantary and the myth eem to have ‘no immediste connection with eachother. Nevertheless each of ‘hem, tke independently, rates an intresting probe. How ‘was it hae the ancient Egyptians came to link up the ideas of "ult? ad "mater? Dect the egyplalogst explanation that it is meray 9 matter ofa chance phoaeic evincideace meet the ‘question? If net, Frod's diseusion of androgynous mother- foddescs must have a vale of ts own, irespecive os ca fection with the eae of Lzonardo. So tao Leonaxde's phantasy ‘ofthe bird wring Lim inhi era and puting its tl into his ‘nouth continues to ery out fr an explanation even if he bird ‘var not a vulture. And Freud's psychological analysis ofthe panty i not coairadicted by dis eormetion but merely de= prived of one pve of earoboraive support. ‘Apart, the, rom the ensequent irrelevance ofthe Egyptian clscreion~though his nevertheless retains much ofits inde> pendent valie—dhe main body of Frees audy i unatlered by Fis mistake: the detaled construction of Leonardo's emotional ie fom his eet year, the ascount of the conflict between bis arse and his sdentieimpules the deep analysis of his pjchosesial fisory. Aud ia addin to this main topic, che Study prevents us with a bumber of ot les important side themer a more general dean of te nature and workings ‘ofthe mind ofthe creative artist, an outline ofthe genes of one Paricular typeof homosexvality and—of special inerst othe story of peycho-anaytic theory— the first fll emergence of fhe concept of uaa. 2 Nor cathe story ofthe vial igre of rates sree ridenecel Lesaro's hing had an excve bend wi ib other [Reialany-—sieurs the exteae of Sat bond not contracted by ‘he eo th patelar even. LEONARDO DA VINGI AND A MEMORY OF HIS CHILDHOOD ‘Wnt peybiatsic research, normally content to draw on failer sen for is materi, approaches one whois among the greatest (f the human race, itis not doing so for the reasons 9 f= ‘quently ascribed to by laymen. To blacken the radiant and. drag the sublime into the dust i no pat ofits purpose and there i+ no satiation for it in narsowing the gulf which Separates the perfection ofthe great fom the inadequacy ofthe ‘bjeet that ave is usual ecern. Bat it eannot bel finding ‘worthy of derstanding eveything that can be recognized ia ‘here illustrious models, and it believes there is ne one so feat ar eo be egraced by being subject to dhe laws which frover ou normal and pathological activity with equal cogeney. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1819) wat admired even by his sontemportie at one af the greatest men ofthe Hislian renaie ‘auce; yet in thei time be had already begun 10 seam ap ‘aigma, just ashe doe to us to-day. He was a wniversl genius ‘rhowe lines can only be sormived,—never dehued'.* In his ‘vn time is meet decive influence was in painting, snd it was Jef to wr to recognize the greatness ofthe natral seni (and ngince)* that waa combined in him with the artist. Though Left behind him masterpiece of painting, while his eiendic 2 [lst ie Wat, ds Sree a atnen “Und da aban inden Sn che (evden rd ad dsng tbe wine ithe ancy Fs pou by Sbil, "Ds Mic ea Ose ered tan exis ptpe oe 8 eon th pay Di un Orso Saale pedo tave tesa at ow Vic Ca Pt) "Ree uote face Berar uted by Rennes ator i TAS Wed in parent were ned in 1925]Lzoxanno na ver iscsi semaine npabliied and nutty he vest i hy never in the ote of tis Gevdopment the arta ‘irc fest fen made ever enero om ho fetspe in the cd suppres hs the let Hoo oh iy Scoring tothe wort thr Vao gies he reproached ili ving feed Ge in an yi are to 0 incon is are And oven thir of Vass as ther fxteral nor mach intra probasity bat tong tthe Inge hich began be woven round be myers Maer ‘en bende, vl of incomes values dence tink men bled tthe te ‘What was fete prevented. Leonard's penonaly, fom Ing undntod by i coepovatee The Ce ofthe wor evan oe the wy of halen ad he range ois movies, wbich enabled him to induce hinwel to the Court ofthe Duke of Min, Ladorco Sey, called I Moy, Ssayertormer on lind effets om inven, o slowed Tino nae remartabl ltr oe sme dle a ich be Tested fs achiorement ar architects tary engine, Torte dae ofthe reminance were quate ay we och ovina of wide snd dvenc sie oa ange ndividal *Sfhogh we mt low tnt Leonard Hime yas one of he ist ian exalt Nowe Belong the 9p {ius who bas reed a nggaryootvard event ea tire” and hin ht turn places no valic onthe ouwad forme it ina po pene loe ir onal ele ingr with sean. Gn te Conta, va tall and wee Poporoned; hs eatres were of conus Desay and is Biysen! ments smal, vn charming sn hme, oremely coe and herd ad antable to erence love neu nthe thing tht sounded; he wan fd Tage thing and vad every reef lig 2 pasage fo the eat on pltng whic ees is ely ‘cif even he compares pg wh i er ae it pr sen easel ttn ng cgi soiled Ogi nos a qu ce ie Be Sei mn enc perso name crete Tie hv re ecules mons te tk tuig atte of hts ee center es od CHT aT ddd Ga a aia! us ae veld wh ese oud ave one} Va ope 68 8) AND A MPNORY OF mS cxmDYCOD 65 sus sibs de hash tava he clptor orifice omeared and dusted allover with marble powser m0 tat be Tea ea bn eincmpletl covered ith Bde chips ‘kmarbl ao that een a is bck ad been sowed os Sod his house fl ofeplintes of tone and due Ta he eas the pine quite dierent, forthe ple stn fost Sin ost in poe! confor. es wellrons and andes the Hgts ot brahes which be dps fn pleut caloun. le wean te elds be Ties; and howe i allo digi ings at ir spel clean, He i often scompaned by {aie o by men who read fom a variety of beau wor, tee can ten otha with grat pleanve and without Gin of bammer and oiber noe’ ™ Tis indeed quite ple thatthe ide o rainy happy an plessueoving Lenard only applicable he Bist and lenges peso ofthe ata ie Afra when Ue dow tt Lotovico Mao's ule ced hr oleve Mi, the ty at rst cent hi acti ane wher his pao ws rey nd to pure sie cing in scent and wot rich in exon ‘ec tl he found helt syle in Panes, the sale abe temperment ray have gr im and vore Senge {is of ho sunze ony eve been thrown ito prominence Moreover te uring ov hr itress om hs att sens, “whch increased a ne west ny mus have plyed i arf Yidenng the gulf between hime and his contemporare ll the ers in which inthe opin he fered aay hs ime iene could have ben industonaly pain fo order and Ircoring rch (a for example, his former (eowstideat Peruging di) scnd to them fo be merely caprsou ing tr eve ston De pected eFbingin teen of the ‘buck sr We are i a peton fo unemtand im beter, for vee Know fom his ote what were the ar that e practaed, Tan age which was brgnning to replace the autor of te {Ghar by thao anSqiy and which was no yet uae with ‘ny frm of rare ao based on pressppaions, Leonardo the frcrunncr and by no means savory ral of Bacon Sad ‘Copenicarvas neteariy rated, In his deco of the dead bodies of ones and homan beings ins contruction of xpi la Pee [vig 0, 05h Ris, 18« LEONARDO A VINCI Sing machines, and in his studies on the mutton of plane snd their reactions o poisons, he certainly departed widely fom. the commentators on Arnie, and cxme close oo the despised alchemist, in whase laboratories experimental research had found some refuge at least in these unfavourable dines. "The fle that this had on hs painting wae that he took up ‘sds with reluctance, painted lesand les left what he baa ‘bogun for the most part unfinished and cared ite about the ‘ulate fate of is works. And this was what he was blamed for by his contemporaries: to them his attitude towards his art remained a riddle, Several of Leonardo's later admirers have mad attempt to acquit his charace ofthe aw ofiastabity. tn his defence they ‘lai that he is blamed for what isa general Feature of great farts: even the energetic Michelangelo, a man entirely given {Up toi labour, eA many of his works incomplete, and was to more hit fait than it wae Leomardos in the paral ine stance. Moreover, in dhe eae of ome ofthe pictures they urge, Js noc 0 much s question oftheir being unfinished sof bis declaring them to be so. What appears to the layman ay a smarerpeceis never for the creator ofthe work of re more than. ‘an unsatctory embodimeat of what hefatended; he has some ‘it notion of @ perfection, whose likeness dane and again he ‘spas of reproducing. Least of all, they claim, i eight 10 make the arist responsible for the ultimate fate of his works. "Valid ac aotne of thee excuses may be, they ail da not cover the whole state of affirs that confronts us in Leonardo, The sue distending struggle with a wook, the faal ight fom i and the inference tot Tature te may recur iu many other farts, but there is no doube that this Behaviour is shown in ‘Leonardo in an extreme degree, Solai (1910, 12) quotes the ‘remark of ane of fis pupils Pareva che ad ogni ora tremasse, ‘quando si poneva a dipiager, « perb non diede mai fine ad Alcuna cost comindata, consderando la grandceen dllat, tal eee sorgeva cost in quelle cows, ce a alts parevano riracoll’* His last piers, he goes on, the Leda, the 2 [He appeared to wemble the whole ine when he set Mwai 0 nt and ye he never erpleed ey wore had beg, bang 20 Tha vega for the peas fat ithe dcovered ls a hg ‘hat to ote seemed mice] AND A MEMORY OF HIS CHILDHOOD 6? ‘Mavouss di San Ousiyy Bac al a yous, St Jolae the Baptist, remained unfinished ‘come quad intervenne df tutte le cost ue.” Lomazz, who made a copy of the Last Supper, refers in @ sonnet to Leonard's notorious ability 10 ‘ish He work: dt pene me ire Ron es oping Vind Do Sora e The some with which Lemando worked was provera Ha pinted uth Lat Supper inte Convento Suna Maa Ale Grain Min, afer the test through preparcory Sic fr dee wit yous" One f his entenportt, Maceo Handle wort, whe ache me was young hols the eontent liso Leonardo oe eed oc ep ‘heseling eae morgan seria here el vight fever one Ive his bach aide, and wh no though af Extng or ieng. ‘Then aye wold pas witout hi poting {Ethind toi Sototimes he wold rein hou in ont of the paindng, merely dang iin Me mind At oe nes be vroud cue tight fo te convent om the court in {est Miln, where be war making the mode fhe eq. tin state fr Pani Stre, nore oad few sok fhe brsh to © Sgue, amd then moditly break of? ‘Kosai to Vast gt ar yas pat he pore af Mona Ling, Ge ae of the Florentine. Prana det iowa, with bing abet bing 0 final completo. “Thveratance ay aso acm forthe at ha heptare vat sevr deere tthe tan who commonest ead romained ith Leonardo set sen to France by Sim wer eught by Ring Francs 1 nd eoeday fr one of the presi ears othe Lowe ‘bor porta of the way in which Leonardo work a compared wih the eine of de eonaany reno ‘Elton dice which hs It bend and whch exe Hit ewery ai appearing ahs pinng fa great Yara 2a vc te 2 fare Esti ston wn eg cx be ts Vins os ue ed syting ST aL] Soe oy Segui 8 Th TREE USA hoy, Vo ei 09, 2,40,* sascnoo oa wer Sa ne ay i Hh ew Scarce god ie en Ceri ife i nts atte Se ‘ett dt St Sa Gehan Sams we Siecle. Geta ii, maiteecte sta rare ag SE ltl rite dit fl at Sl Sg Ure mol esi yonharac tte se the forerunner of his subsequent withdrawal from painting.* SSPE hh ei eter. ies enue Guin ea Sains see eat tg a ema St rato Se Ee ea teehee reese ata enlist ae Se ENN Sein el Sari a SG ee ee Se CGEM Serge oe be ch Sa Sa aR Thence wil ein es soe de ea a ee ‘guilds aban cent sive Sanat waar tos Bae Sct lei sed ee SoS ikea Pha one nae Se ak iirc nr on rk vincent eat a ices Sens ions ope Sees ees RS hohe ost am ste und citi Lote nes as roa onan omen Reem mates “ 22S Sa eg ronteoy tome a RE pee ates AND A MEMORY OF HIS GHILDHOOD ‘penceabcacse end hi svoidance of ll antagoaian and conto ‘en. He was gene and Kindy t everyone he delined, iis ‘ito cat meat, since he dd not tink it jurtifable > deprive fimal of ei ves; and he took parcularpleasere fn buying rds inthe market and ecting dhem fee.) He condemned War snd bloodshed and desribed man a5 not 0 much the king of the auimal world but rather the worst ofthe wild Bears But thie feminine dicacy af Teling didnot deter him fom accom= patying condemned criminals on their way to exceuion in Snder to study ther features eirted by fear nd to sketch than in hie notebook, Nor dd it top him from devising the crue offensive weapons and ffom entering the service of (Cesare Borgia at chick military engineer. Ho often gave the appearance of béng indifferent to good and evl, ot he ine sed on measurement by a spedal standard. He accompanied Cesare in a postion of authority daring the eampaign that brought che Romagna into the posesion of that most rubles fd futles of adversties, Thee i wot & line in Leonard's otcbooks which revels any crtclam of the events of these ays, any concer in them, A comparion sages ibe here ‘with Goethe during the French campaign. fa bigraphiealetudy relly mended to ariveat an undes- standing of is her's mental fe emus not—as happensin the rusjentyofbiograpie ara rerultofdicretion or prudishnes— Slenly past over its subject's sexual activity oF sexual indi> Viduaty. What i known of Leonardo fa dis rapes side: Dut that Hide js full of significance. In aa age which saw a siriggle between eenmalty without resaiat and gloomy sect, Leonardo represented the cool repudiation of exualitya thing chat would scaray be expectal ofan ast tnd a portnyerof feminine bessty. Sola quote the following Seatente of his which i evidence of his fagiity: The act of procrestio and everything connected with iti so disgusting {hat mankind would soon die ot i were not an old-estabe lished etom and if dere were not prety laces and sensuous atures! * His psthumous writings, Which not only deal with * Monte (1099, 16) eto contnpray rr Tn ae son Motta oh neta Hear Lamar Sper (3, Waa) Fase days * Si 108,= LEONARDO DA VINE the greater aentii probens but ao outa lai ak fie ua serely worthy of so grt mind (analogical >aturl tory; animal able jl, prope), ae chee fone might say een sbinen—to wdegoe that would cause Surpriein a work of bls les even orday So relly do they hm everything seal ha i weld seer a Ero aloe, the presrr ofall iving thing, as not worthy material for the fovesigate in his pat of knowledge * Te wel Kao how fequenly great aris tke pleasure in giving veut othe ‘Blanes fn code and eten erudly olacene pictures. ‘Leonardo eae onthe contrary we hav only ome anatomical aetches of the internal female genital, the pion of the fenaye inthe womb and soon 2 Herzl 190), * ho cxerpiont thie (eaeh sn armor one) perhaps wo be Saco boy elected plies tlle fasse~bicbave oct been ‘thst Se rsd (1805 51}~ [hi erento Br ah rocrer lal ng thi’ nr appate Feo roduc of “Elsmere year teri alport excl the mane pa seer {eo er de scala opeaa ote dead ent Se, tance, ‘Beg th Pre Ps (190), Sand Ey 18,50 and 2) ft a 19198) Sonne rear rar ae ven eae fing sade by Leonardo of te seni act neni oatmeal gia ‘tio, uA craly canoer be elled eben (ig). They were Soeoered by Ree (1917) added by hi the Ube of he ‘ooune which Ihave ven fer of Laeardse charac “aero the proc f poring the ct of proceton chat thee fin fr roach baste sob aly a8 re fb evn greater sal rprenien. Tue at boa den {ile womaa' ony pare te denen sopoduced nag ‘wn tan npc Slacker withthe band vale but ole {ower part covered pay belated hat he head wl be ‘aif tes woman Te way ct om te re sad te they thick How daw se bak sponse to the urd o ah Sama “eicen an the head ae mare os women's than ma “ue woman bres oven two dec The ft Indo i a scone far ctine ges fa en that ay fed tang dowa ples, The cond elect ie snarl, for ‘Sone te rarer ba vin Son presente by he fling ‘of af sonality Es over mabng a ose eamiaton of nasing ‘fsa ip Had he done he woul have bean bound ta mete Unt Ge alle owe out cfs cumr of pute xcrry dee “Lesa loevey fe oly sag duct eng fr dow tobe ‘bominl ei the proabty i ve dang toe al om he (sara elhand pete so coaseted i fpe Vaj Wih a AND A MEMORY OF HIS CHILDHOOD 71 Tes doubifal whether Leonardo over embraced a wesntn in passions nor is ie keown tht he had any intimate mental lar Sonship with a woman, ach as Michelangelo's with Vitoria (Golonsa. While he was stl an apprentice living in the house of bis master Verrocehio, a charge of forbidden homosexual practices was brought against him, slong wid some other young ceeteceresugteentnin mga seiaaetase teeters Se Senin: roe as ee ceca es ieee eoocceiee aires See eae | peor e Shree rpiag etoeaded » ey Cae Boe cane Erte bee Se faeces craic the trian Fe retin of mil aad te fad pregnancy by men of ‘ible nsromiat tonnes ‘val However, even if we ae ‘ay tp ence the arcs dee {ete Enowedge of anatomy Uy ‘forgo the dcamstances (tire then tl ‘emia nen prey te ‘enalegeial nt Leena bas tected ty caclely. The win Sod something that one ke ‘rt cnt dou be ae Str bre ne indting th tat ane cull com ie "Teme geil on he oter hand depicted by Lonard much smote connec Th for tance hes tet with dang2 [LEONARDO DA. vINer people, which ended in hie cequital, He acme to have fallen Under this rupicion beeause he had employed & boy of bed reputation as a model. When he had become a Master, he sur ‘undead himself wits handrome boys and youtbs whom he took te tes bat ao pt in he ely which he drew wit pvt ‘at pea remartable& tbe pose ia which Leonard ahs cots tbe plac Pts and raving by fs ait ut whch dept t's, ace bt wen coe fos a he weal ct big poe ing Up we at ray sop thatthe way 4 vowel represen of qshefpecal aregt tbat ‘Gicdi be represen in his ata a sino greg: way Stone wants to egy ons tw lo ke ogeelan cose poate th eee be bth dr private ge ed Foe, Most ofthe pels tay ok eens Hg pion sda ont odes ie down tar concay aed ect ‘pesto ied eset ora nyt ded "Moreover etre fhe an with he feminine he re aed rsa hat ote nsf roe a an i ane deta teayy wth an expen of pane Toe sea ae ol lana erie oe to nether he pene of oes sings note pina af Sedalgener expres erly egos se wwetion “te dumnist Under, Howe, war made by Leverton drawing the to ewer exe, Thomas's ot ud poe ft hae ‘en's gt ey br Ss Lemar Speed te sof it Shntomical agit secon illo feos hem et fot ol be above he plane he pcre: Cacreny se te se {son be wom a hold Eve ong oR et set [ht Leonardo Ins nvercarged ale ad eta The ae gu at ict pan the onal ones gt os atrhange ato {rai fone eae atte ig to en he eso te fs "hi conoal drawing tone wold hve ade pee delace de eprenion of tide represon WE tee he rest ‘hist ol vega nto mesg Spreng coe [aie 1815] The remara of Rekars have bon cei rts the ground that ache nals sol ot Be den ‘omaha Schad iso eve cea ws ne erat ‘arf te dreing rely Beog toe, Taco to Sages, 40) a reece 2 ht pio in an clear an Even rascal read pags ote Cadet ‘Mas “Quiet nae pu va ote a ioe or af grand, vt area pia [Whe tree feed ie Ler Ged bby you pte a es ow HT peak iin asa ad you wil Go wane Se] AND A MEMORY OF HHS GINLDHOOD sa pups, The Lat uf diese pupil, Premeu> Mela, aie Dated him to France, remained ds him up to his death and ‘Was named by him ae his her, Without sharing ia he ersinty of his madera biograpes, who naturally ject the posibilty that there was asexual relationship between him and his pupils a a Dates insult tothe great man, we may take it ag muck ‘more probable that Leonardo's afectionate relations with the {Young men whose wae the curtom sith pupa at that time ‘hated his existence didnot extend to sexual acsiviey. Maree ‘over a high degree of sexual activity is not to be attributed to im, “There is only one way in which the pecullasy of cis ‘eoional and sexual ie can be understood in connection with Leonardo's double nature aan arGst and as sceasii ime ‘vetigator. Among his biographers, © whom = peyehologieal lpprosch soften very alien, there iso my Jnowledge ealy ene, Edmondo Soli, who has approached the solaton of the probe Tem; but a writer who has chosen Leonardo 25 the hero of reat historical nove, Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhhovsky, has Imade a sislar reading of tie wruzual maa the basis of his pPorsait and has given clear expreaon to his conception, nat Thdsed in plain language, bat (ater the way of writer of fmagination) in plastic tenes.) Solmi's verdict on Leonardo is ‘a flows (1908, 46): ‘But his insaable desire to understand ‘everything around him, and (o fathom in a sprit of cold ‘petiority the deepest teres ofall that ir perfect, ad con ‘demmed Leonardo's work to remain for ever unfinished." nan eaay in the Ciyfrmar Firewine the following pro- ‘nouncement of Leonardo's is quoted, which repreent is Con- fisian of fth and provider the key to his nature: ‘Nessna fsa spud ante nb odie, ee prima nom a ha cogaition di (gulla’® That ito say: One has no vight to love or hate anj- thingifone has no acquired a thorough knowledge ofits nature, ‘Ana the same is repeated by Leonardo in a passoge in the ‘reatbe on painting where he vems to be defending hiner againe the charge of inligoa: ‘But such exeping erties would * Meretoray (19025 Geran ray 193) ama Vn fat theveond orb ast hie tly ned Got oe ‘Thetwo other wolmey ae flan a ad Pet at i "Gotan (100,198) [J.P Rice (1508, 2 240)n zowano A vise do tro hee a Fo hat (in un) he wy 10 tecome ssid wich the Cleator fo mowy wend Sng anita way to love so gret na Inventor ora tru gen lve sing fom great none fe Spe one jou vibe abl Mc "he vl of thes real of Leonard's not tbe Wed fine conepng a import pyc tat Be at they srt obi ile and Leonards mas hae we Sie elas wed ei at that human bg ey ibvng or isting ntl thy hove nuded and become fi wi the anu the object to vic tee afew ape On the conary they love sully fom cmetonal jive ‘rich bave ant todo rid kaeolodge and whe ope te ta mont wiatened by relooe and coadertion, Lesoardo then cu ony ve meant that ee preted yin bla wat fe proper and ode ‘kind: one showld love in such a way as to hold back the affect, tubjic iw the pres of ceecton and ely et le 1 lure wien that sod up to the te ef nag: And atthe ‘Shoe in we under that be waco lw ht bape eos ints cow an ha wold be west lor eye ‘ito mea love and hued se done “A in Kee i eye a Yen Hr afc vere conto nd subject the inne fr early {stor ve and nt but eked hime abut the eign aad Sigua’ of what wa love or tne Tes Re wo boon SU int fo appr inirent to good and oy bau and {nce Das tht wor offavestgton lve ad hate rw fff ice pve or arate sens an were bh alte wana firmed in intel ince In realy Leoaedo wa ot Aevold of pon; he did ot lc the Grse spark which {ire or inde te ding nce rie ute bebind {IV oman ay He ad ety converted ha pan ne a thin or knows be then apd lume tw aveigaon Wi be partence,comaney and penton wh eco Fred fo pasion aod tthe elma of ideal labour, ‘en Asondge hd bea voor allowed te long rated ‘ecto brea ome and ow away Bey sof sea of * ta Pts (183), AND A MEMORY OF HIS CHILDHOOD 75 rater Ueawu ivan acive i allowed o Dow away when ie work donc, When, at the climax ofa discovery, he could survey large porson a the whole nerus, he was overeame by emodion, tod in eestade language praised the splendour of the part of ‘eatin that he ad sted, or—in rigs phravology—the freatnes of his Creator. This proces of usnsformation in Leonardo has been rigily understood by Solmi. After quoting f pasage ofthis wrt in which Leonardo celebrates the sublime law ofaature (© mirabile coms ye writes (1910, 11}: ‘Tate tasigurazione della sciewza dala natura in emozione, quasi iri relgiosa, & uno dei tras cartteristii de’ manoe ‘ert Vineland, ea wova conto e cento vote esprema ‘Because of his innable aud indefitigable thirst f knows ledge Leonardo has been called the Italian Faust. Bus quite ‘apart fem doubts about a posible eransformation of te ine ‘lnc to favestigate back into an enjoyment of Hle—a tone farmstion which we mat ake as fundamental in the wageay of aust—the view may be bszarded that Leonardo's develope ment approaches Spinena’s mode of thinking. sfconversion of peychcalinstinctal force into various forms of activity can pesbape no more be achieved without los than & ‘conversion of pliyial force, The ample of Leanardo teaches {Ws how many oer things we have to cake into account in cone ‘ection with these process, The postponement of loving unt full uowledge is sequred ends in a substeuion ofthe Inter or the former, A man who hat won bis way to astate oF knowledge ‘cannot properly be said to love and hate; he remains beyond Tove and hatred, He ha inveigated instead afloving. And that i perhaps why Leonard's fe was 0 mach poorer in love than. that ofotber great men, and of other artist. The stormy pase sions of mature that ingpirs and consumes, pasion in which ‘ther men have enjoyed thelr chest experience, appear not (0 lave touched im. "There are some further consequences. Investigating has taken the place of acting and creating a well A maa who has begun to have an inkling ofthe grandeur of the universe with all is ‘complexities and fs Laws readily forgets his own insignia 2 pSuch a apafquration of mtura scene into a srt of religous ‘eon onto the curate eure of Leones macy [En there are Sandro aod bande af xp a]6 LEONARDO DA VINCE sell: ane fn smiraon and fled with true uml, heal woo aly forgets dhat he hinaells a part of aoe active Boreas and ‘at in aecordance withthe scale of his personal szength the way is open fr him toy tale anal portion ofthe destined ous ofthe workd—a world in which the small esl no let ‘wonderful and significant than the great ‘Leonardo's rscarches had. perbape fst begun, as Solmi believes im the service of his athe directed is efforts wo the propertic: and laws of ight, colours, shadows and penpectivein ‘order to ensure mastery inthe imitation of nature and to pit the same way to othe. It is probable that at that time he lady overated the value tothe art of these brauches of Inowiedge. Stil consandly folowing the lead given by the requirements of his painting he was then driven to investigate the painter's sabjecs, animal and plant, and the proporons fhe human body, and, pasing fom thelr extsron to proceed to gain a knowledge of ther internal structure and thie vital fanctions, which indeed as find expresion in hei appearance snd havea chim to be depicted in art. And finally the isin, ‘hich had became overwhelming, svept him away until he ‘connection with the demands of his art was severed, so that he Aiscovered she general lavaof mechanics and divined the history ofthe suatiication and fessiradon in the Amo valley, and ‘ante eould enter in large ltrs i is book the discovery: Hole son sf none His invetigatons extended to prscially ‘very branch of natural scence, and in every ingle ne he wa 2 discoverer or at leasta propit and pioneer Yet lie urge fo Enowledge was always discted to the extemal world some Ching Kept him far away ftom the iavetigntion of the bxman * Sotmi (1940, 8): "Eamarde sve parte come regal a peo slo del mature pat in panisae dco ale eos deena Shennaney ei aves solu seqsare non pit teen pet Tate, ten La socn pr In sen” [Loar ad pressed ti ry of ature ata ule fo te pla tothe pas fr sly td ‘cme mist, fad no loge wed vo abe eung fr he Sie at 16, Royat iogrpalea! invoiuctio by Mane Here (Vat, fo the aces ay fe Gye (1910), ad eoawtere 280 A MEMORY OF HS ctUDHIOOD 7 sing. the Academia Vind (p25, fr whine rer {bm clever erences thereat He om Pcholoy "Prem when bemade the attempt sen om invention to bis arting pin the exces of his a, he und ise {laure iy the ne ction fis interes od he changed Sar of onal avi Wie irene Hf tie tv above alla pobams an bend the fir one hes cont J other probes ang, just athe wed in ied ad Inevisohieveendon ate He ao longer se Tihs demands tee the work of rein wlon sad to eat Itt the wide contest which he knew i bonged Aer the nos exhausting efor t ig to expres tr ren thing whch was omeced within hs oops be wes ferro sa ite a anne tate oo dlr that Saincomplae, “The ac bed once eke the nveignor int his esc to ast hm; now te servant had become the stonger sd spe Prove ha maser ‘When we find thst fn che picture preset bya pen czar sgl inte has Geveoped sn exe eng, Sd dhe eravng for knowledge in Leonard, we look or tie Sxplaaton in peal iontion though aoxt its dete Shane (wtih sce psy gas) cael anything yet Enown, Our choy sts of sero feos have owever el form firth expec wet would Te sratiing to ind coutrmed inc paras cae, Weems SiS I pou that an tnt iets of aes erenath eae een jy ui id a oy was bled by iprenon in he cil i ‘We tse se further sumption that and enbreement Som wi wera eal tine coat ter ical ake the pce opti subject soa le. Ths Don of histo woud lr example pre eaeare with ‘ine panionat dcvocea the abate wosld et hi vs nde would be able oinveneate intend eloving Wevweuld ‘ete tir that ise ony inthe example tnt {Dinvsigate that there has ea seul ronment, bt Sent othe cove wber ite if pia ney ‘Obnenaton of me daly ves shows ws at most people= LEONARDO DA. VINCE succeed i daca vey eunidersble portions of thelr sexual instinctual forces to thee profesional activie. The sexual ine stinct is parcuarly well ted to make comtibutons of this ind since tis endowed witha capacity fr sublimation; tht i, 5t has the power to replace is mmeciate aim by other ams ‘which may be valued more highly and which are ant sual, We aceept this process as proved whinever the history of & person's childhood that by the history of his mental develope ‘nent hows that in culdhoed this overspowerful sinc wa in the service of sesual intrest. We Sind further confirmation ita srking atrophy occurs inthe seal fe of maturity, as ‘hough a portion of sexual activity had naw been seplaced by the aatvity ofthe over-poverll instinct “There seem to be special difienlis in applying these expectae sions t the este ofan over-powerfl instinct for investigation, since preciely inthe case of eildren there isa reluctance t0 ‘ret them wich eer this serious intinet oF euy noteworthy sesual interests However, these dificlien ate easy overcame. ‘The eutiosty of smal chiéren is manifesced in thelr undeing Tove of ashing questions thse bewildering tothe adalt so long 4: he fails wo undertand that all these questions are merely sdrcumlocuons and that they cannot conte to an ead because the eld i ony trying to make them take the place of a ques ton which he does net ask. When he gross bigger snd ocomes Detter informed this expresion of einiity often comes oa sudden end, Peycho-analtie investigation provides we with 8 {al explanation by teaching ws that many, perhaps inst chile rea, or atleast the mest gifted one, passthrough a period, beginning whes they are aboot thre which ay be called the period of efile somal react, So far as we know, the ftiaciy of children af thi age doesnot awaken spontaneoly, buts aroused by the impresion made by some important event by the actual birth ata lee brother or wster, or bya fear of 4 based on extemal experiences—in which the child perceives 2 threat this selish inves. Researches axe directed to the (question of where babi come from, exactly asi the child were Teoking for ways and mesns to avert mo undesieed an even, I this way we have been astonished to lear that children reise to believe the bit of information that are given them—for ‘esamle that they energetically reject the able ofthe to with sow sumo ot enon) cyanate a ‘Rit yoshi oe fei on itl ee he he Se erate ty ip ng Ao Bini ats cenit ee: ieee ledges cet ote shittageoy ew sad wo ah Se ie cept ee ‘ora tect et. eke howls ber ater octet laaanialrreetae er ba el ieee Ee ae oe at Se tl tas BSLEC' ie ee ed We Si So a ‘ie Pd a ewes oe en ontet occ a cae sree fc Sata ea fee yc tenia THES sc ee le ce Sy Sapa ce nay gt metere acegarictimcr aay Socal gh ci ae net GicoLS le ees erent ences ng ed aur gence oi ned Tenant octet ireeinn ielgems ody wee ae ae these Re Ei mananetbemroneteacis, wri tannin swans sPastrerin octet SEE eee eae rr Se cere ehnne hacer Snape ake ameane tn pee oale ti esa on Gretel owars hetnof Poeay bd thei ae bat Tigi Saudi0 LEONARDO DA VINGE ‘ue yrown stronger, recalls the el asceration and offer it Iilp in evading revualrepresion, and the suppresed serial sctvte of raearch rerua fom he unconscious in the form of compuive brooding, naturally in a distorted and unlree form, Dut suciently powerful ro sexalie thinking itelf and t> colour intellectual operations with the pleaare and suaiety that belong to sexual proces proper. Here investigation ber comes a sexual actvig, olen the exclusive one and the feling ‘hat comes ffom sting things in one's mind’ and explaining ‘hem replace sexual saislaction; Dut the intermisable chars scter of the chiles rezarees je alo repeated inthe fac that ‘his brooding never ends and thatthe dntllectial fling, 0 ‘uch desired, of having found a sluton recedes more aad ‘more into the disance. Tn virtue of a special disposition, che third type, whichis the rant and most perfect, eeapes both inition of thought and neurotic compulsive thinking. It thee that here too sential epresion comes about, but it docs ot sucood in relegating & ‘component instinct of xual dese to the uneonscious stead, the libido evades the fate of represion by being miblimated fiom the very beginning into curindty and by becoming _tachod to the powerfl instinct for earch at a neaforeemeat Here, too, the research Becomes t seme extent compulsive a a subttute for sexual activity; but owing tothe complete dit. Ibrence in the undesying peyehien! proces (vublimation i stead of an irupton from the unconscious) the quality of ‘uot alvent; there sno tachment to the erga come plots of infantil sexual reach, andthe instinct can operate ‘eey inthe service of itelletl interest. Sexual represon, which has made theieatinet2nszong rough the addin tf ‘of sublimated bio is sl ken nto account by the nstiny,in that it avoids any concer With seal thems, we reflect on the concurrence in Leonardo of his over Powerful instinct for research and the atopy of hy sexual ie (hich was restricted to whats called ideal [sebimatd]hono= sexulity) we shall be dapeed to claim him as mode instance ‘four third type. The oore of his nate, and the ace! of, ‘would appear to be thae after his curity bad been activated. in infancy in the service of sexval interss he succeded in swblimating the greater part of his bide into an urge for re ‘AND A MEMORY OF mn cm-DHIOOD aL searoh te ot any Be rs, prove tat ef git To-do wo we dad nocd wine eure of hit metal {Erlpes he ee year of bs eldhod ae eee fol 0 hope fr nea fee sort when he accom of Wei arew meagre andy rel an when revert isa question inriondon aout crewingances that ape the ction of ler even fe elton people of at ow * ‘About Leonardo's youth we know very little. He was born in 45 helo Vet bereen Florence and Bgl ewan legate l,m ih nthe days wa early ‘ec cosered agave soil ign; hs ter war er Prod Vinca noary and desended Goma fini of moar sad Fumes wn Gok thei ate om te lel of inch is sober was erin Caterina, probably» poten gi who ier maried soother ave of Vind, Ths mother doc ot tccar gun inte Nsry of Leon's ity a oly Sicralrey—ehe novela~vho aleve tnt he hiss ested in ning sme trac other The ony dee pice of {Siimmaton abou Leonrdo'seldbeed come in a oil documento toe year 1); Floren lander fr {he purpose ef tno, which mentions Leonardo among the teste ofthe howe he Vin! mya the eye Sid esate hd of Ser Peo The ofa of Sr Feo Sth acer Daa Albee semaine tien three psi for the young Lomo tobe brought up Utter’ ue He dt ot eve tise lata ge Phot known hc enered Andes del Verocchio sai as apeence. Inthe year 1472 Leonard's natn waaay 1 ievfund io the Bit of members he “Compe lr? Tara. 1 Scogaaniio (1900, 18).uw “Tunes 90 far 28 know, only ane place in his selene ote Dooks wire Leonardo inserts & piece of information about his cluldhood. In pasage about the fight of vlkures he suddenly fnterrupts hime to purmue a memory foun very eaily years ‘which Bad sprung t is mind “Seseems that I was always destined to beso deeply concerned ‘wih vultre; for Tteall as one of my very ealles memories that wale T was in my erale a vulture came down tome, and ‘opened my mud with itll and struck me many mes with Seal agnnet my lpe! © ‘What we have here then isa ehildhood memory; and cer- tainly one of the strangest sor Iti strange on account of is ‘content and on accouat of the age to which ii sasigned. That 4 pemon should be ble to retnin » memory of his suckling etd is perhaps not imposible, but itcannot by any means be regarded certain, What, however, tis memory of Leonardo's ancrts namely that a vulture opened the chills mouth with its tail—sounds 0 improbable, so fabulous, that another view fit which ata sagle eoke pos an end to both dificult, has ‘more to commend itt our jadgement. On thi view the seme ‘wih che Vulture would not bea memory of Leonardo’ bat phantasy, which he formed ata later date and anspoved en his fhildhoad* 2 Quato aver dicineamee del fio pares no dein, perch a prs erro dlle mint parse ‘Sse fo etl ce a io vial me ema nes cl ‘Sb cada emote felt pera cael coda Sento ule abi? (Gods Manoa Sve as gen by Sop (190,221) la the Garman txt reed quot Herds ania ofthe Tet rina and our won above ea renlrng of te German Thre ae [Bf wo imecuncee in he German “hoa be “ale ot ‘tie ie Eater’ Not py aad dt, mies, as St omisse ein fat rcies by Fes ave below fy) snes 6 te ypc a Bh {1910 be the ew pt ova bone He cj hat "Ai metiony of Leonardo¥ may very wl hae ad Bs fre, ‘nce calves memodes fe rach very much fre back an ‘amu supped th rp din quction ned ne a cee ave eae pc FS py een a tp ‘LEONARDO DA VINCI & “This often he way i which eildhood memories originate, (Quite unlike conscious memories Goma the ime of maturity, they are not fied at the moment of being expetienced and Mtcrvands repented, bor are only elicited ata later age when ‘Gildheod is alveady pas in the proves they are altered and falsied, and are pu imo the service of later tends, s0 that sencrally speaking they cannot be sharply daiaguised from DPhantass. Thar nature is peshaps bes istrated by a com> parison with the way ia which dhe writing of history originated Smiong the peoples of antiquity. As long as a nation was small land weak it gave no thought othe writing ofits history. Men filled the soil of dis Land, fought for their existence against this neighbour, and aed to gain esiicry ftom them and to Aoqite wealth [was an age of heroes, not of hitornns. Then teme another age, an age of rlecdon: men felt themselves to Derick and powerfl, and now feta aced to learn where they Id come fiom snd how they had developed. Hiscorical wing, ‘which had begun to keep a continuous record of the presen, how also cast glance back wo the past, gathered trations and Tegends, interpreted the aces of antiquity that survived in ‘customs and osges, and in this way ezeated a hiswry of the pst Tt was inevitable that this early hiory should have been a expreaion of present belie and wishes rather than @ wut Dlture of dhe pat for many things hed been dropped rom the fatio's memory, while other were distorted, and some re- ‘sine ofthe past were given a wrong interpretation inorder to Sir in with contemporary ideas. Mozcover people's motive for ‘writing hinory warnocobjectivecurity ut adesce tointuence toward leering the diel Un tural fe a saggson— arly tat he ther observed be lrg birds wt obec ‘hen ch may ealy have ha the gan fn ones beret ‘Sn repestey oid en stot afervard Aes soul Lege he ‘nina le coc of his nthe sory, sb ten a les Pt tse psf no take ea memory fa expen i ee He a et do am ot ety counter happier a genera rule an the hae EES Cetus tk cube 'wtich pope Comsrct ata ne de ae sachs tn trv bata evento hr ents neal ogo, Pod: Thre mt hove brn nase cre es fox binging to Prominence a eal event of a npr se or aborting nthe ‘Etta ay Lene did the ary of he bir, wich be dubbed ‘ue aa ots rearhable bebo.am {LEONARDO DA VENT thee contemporeie, to eacouage aunt uayine ens ut Ua holds evr up bere them. A ma’ contiowt tcmory of the events of his maturity in every way comparable to the first ind of bistorcal writing [rich was a chrouiele of cur ‘ent evens); while the memories that he has f his eblhood cones a ois and eb ae once {0 the history ofa nation's eat days, hich was compiled Titer and fr endenous reson? be If, then, Leonardo's sory about the vulture that visited him in is cradle is oaly a phantasy from a later pesiody one might suppose it could hal be worth wale spending misc tse on it One might be satisied with explaining ton the bas of his inclination, of which ie maker no rere, t9neyand hie p= ‘ccmupation withthe Aig of Beds ar preordained by dein. Yerin underracing this ory one would be commiting jut great am injustice os fone were catelely to reject the body of Tegends, uadiions and interpretations found in a aalio’'s ‘aly hisory. In spite ofall the estotions and miunder- sandings, they stil represen che reality of the past they are ‘what a people forms out of the experience of early days and under the dominance of moves that were once powefal and Sl operate tondays and ft were oxly pase, by a knowledge ‘ofall the forces at work, to undo these distortions, there would hoe no liticulty in dsloing the historia! truth yng behind the legendary material The same hos goed for the cildhood snemories or phantases ofan individual. What someone this Ihe remember ftom his childhood is nota matter ofindierence, fas 2 rule the reidual memores—vhich he himell doe not Undestand.clonepricelas pices of evidence about the mast important features in hi mental development” Ab we How 2 chap IV of The Pypatgy o Bary Lie (19018) dt ih etn mare ad rete, se non Send‘ ia 150; Fd mks Se me coaric isteal hha "ett le 1910] Since wrote he above work T have at serge orn art of nlite satery day eth of another man of ea nthe account 2s Le at Gee wice wh he ws sb dat (Det an Wa) he Ses ceipon inthe in ew page hat enrages ot ti schon, fn se al sah me ge pes ot eley cw ofthe window inc ter ey eed posses in the techniques af psycho-nalyls excellent metods for elping ws to bring thie concealed materil to ight, we may venture toil i the gap in Leonarde's life sony by analysing Tis childhood phantaty. And iin doingso weremain disatsied with the degre of certainty which we achieve, we shall have 10 ‘onsale outeives with the reflection that ao many other studies ofthis great and enigmatic man have met with no better fate, Ife examine with the ejes of « psychovanalyee Leonardo’ hantagy of the vulture it doesnot appear strange for long. We fem ta recall having come acs the tame sort of thing in ‘any place, for example in dreams that we may vente ‘wansace the phatay from i own special language io words that are generally understood. The translation i then seen to paint t an erotic content. A tll, ‘ad, i one of the most fanulareymbeld and eubetive expresions for the male organ, Jn Tealian no less than in oer languages; * she tuaton in the lec This inden he aly sane tate reports om the eit est of caldood, The ewe inconsequential ot one he way Evhich crrmondd wh the lod memare of tbr baa Sek at bese pricy ro he acne Ws tice and treet, ed wo de won he was et (This child in fact mentioned at s ister paint ia the book, whet {Cathe del on the mo nee feild) I hope ne able se ‘rerio space iby someting ch would ene n Eeping we ‘he cont of Gace sent and uae cote would make i trot of peatevation ad the lace be as vn in the story of Ts ie Ta sor acd ('A Cheed Roca ra Ding ad Wako? (iSt8) made tpl forthe throwing of the rosary {o be reoguaed ea walal act dete agua toute fe ‘Soden at he place inte bok ere be dsc the spose ie [nteoton a teugph ver thelet hat asec aca as et ong ‘april th Gomes dow sc wh hr fare menory of dildhood, preserved in daeuie sucha ey ‘Boaldbecncemad“irGocvenseawelasimiernardo'’ ithe ‘moter wat wou beso sure in that—{ln the 1919 tion the isnt the sbence in ts pase of an} eto of the Youn rote! tans and the feat slance of ty Sacto ‘whatever yung zat «= lean given a present for, ad Patches chat flows wah added 1325, ae aeration se Blane it lotane addon 1934 tthe Goetbe paper (1819), Sima By 17,158] YC th “Osea Reef the ate ofthe Rat Man Std« cso ba vt Ten fn oe na eg ‘Rovetsgcorag gn oue “Tore naan ene cn Seapets ee as Eee ea ene oa ot ee See ee Sco epg te ast Te ede eat ete oii ne shy SECS ET Sephora SUES mae al arere re Sie agitate ae Soe seas aimee ees SE SSS Ser ne aris nctiassasia ene SF aoeilTowat ey Sneed OREN ere ne “PT dete ln “non wanna demon SO eae ree uth Lee neti ge Spey st tela efatrtew SMELT IN Sacieaite tis po SONS Weta Se enas SUSIE Rete oP iene te Si ie a as Sav steate's Si ican a SRR tp atc lene toon ce a ys te ES lll Lean rrtes eo ectte seg Sup aie nines reine Hight ike sate meaning of ed, dated y Hod gress elo Garcia oe Scicpunam eh manera coltrane AND A. MEMORY OF HIS CHILDHOOD 8 ‘of wislul phantaryspostansousy.« Farther investigation su that hesitation, which morality condemas with such severity, may be traced fo an origin of the most innocent kind, Tooly repeats in a. diferent form 2 situation in which we all, nce felt conrrable—when we were Solin our suckling days (or wets’) nipple of this experience—the fiat source of pleasure in our ie— oubtes remains jadelibly printed on us; and when ata later ‘date the child becomes famine with the cows udder whose Finegon that of nipple, but whoee shape and pstion under the belly make it rsemble a penis the preliminary stage has been reached which wil ater Enable him to frm the repellent sexual phan.” ‘Now we understand why Leonardo assigned the memory of us supped experience wth the vataze to his suckling period. ‘What the phaniagy conceals is merely a reminiscence of socking wer being ekled-ot his mother’ breast a scene of human Beauty that he like so many ars, underiook to depice with fis brush in the gube of the mother of God and her child ‘There i indeed another point which we donot yet undenstand and which we must not lose sight of: this reminiscence, which fas the sume importance for Both sexes, has been transformed by the man Leonardo into a ponive homescsual phantasy. For the time being we sal pu ande the question of what there may be to connect bomovexmality with sucking at dhe mother’s breast, anerely recalling that tradition does in fact represent Leonardo as anon with bomouezual feelings. Ta this connec ton, isievlevan o ou parse whesher the charge Brought against the young Leonardo (pp. 71-2] was jusied or not. What decide whether we describe someone as an invert snot his actual Behaviour, but hi mosiona attitude. ‘Our inter i next claimed by snotber usowligibefeaare of Leonardo's cildbood phantary. We interpret the phanasy ts one of bring suckled by his moder, aad we find his mother 2.0m thi pane compare sy Fragment of an Ants o Case of gta (10) [Sinod Bl, 7,51). Sie fw i ny cad Ser nemo 1.82 shove) 2 [ete sas of le ns, Str B10, [he 1910 ety" homeoLEONARDO DA VINCE replaced bya vulture, Where does thi vulture come from ad how does it happen tobe found in it present place? ‘Atthispoint a thought comes tothe mind frm such a remote ‘quarter that it would be tempting to sett aide Inthe hiero= lypis ofthe ancient Egyptians the moter is epresnied by picture of a vulture The Egyptian alo worstipped a Mother Geddes who was represented as baving 4 vultures head or ele several Read of which at least one wat awalture's® ‘This yoddes’s name was pronounced Mut. Can the sala to he sound of our werd tute [mother] be merely a con dence? Theve is then, some real connection Between vulture snd mothee—but what helps that to? For have we ay night, ‘o expect Leonard to know aft, seeing thatthe Get ma who sceetde in reading hiesoplyphie was Frangais Champlin (1790-1633}2" Te would be interesting to enquite how it could be thatthe ancient Egyptians came to choose the vulture as a symbol ‘othertood. Now the religion and civilization ofthe Egyptians were objects of scenic eurinty evento the Greeks and the Romans: and long before we outelves were able to read the ‘monuments of Egypt we had at our disposal certain pics of information about them derived from the extant waitings of ‘lasical antiquity. Some of thee writings were y wel-inowmn suhory, mich as Strabo, Plutarch and Arsmianas Marcellin; ‘wile oiers bear unfaniar names and age uiceta in thei source of origin and ther date of eompziton, like the = aytica of Horapolo Nilows and the book of eiestal priest ‘wisdom which has come down tous under the aame of the ged Hermes Tvismegitoe We lear foin thee sources that the vulture was regarded asa symbol of motherhood because only female vultures were: believed to exit; there were, ie Wd thought, no males ef this species A counterpart to this ree striction to one sex was al known to the natural history of " Horapollo Fimghin 1, 10) ‘Meee 88 adder «ia Soyyafotw. ("To dete a mctes hey Celnctes vane’) ‘Neeser (104-7), Lanes (1685, Haren (1908), A por ere of $a yb me, 8 Os nos? (-Tary'ay cat po ate yar ha ever exited bat alle een? Sele De Nate dant, 48} Gd hy wos Rr (8, 280 A MEMORY OF HIS GRDHOOD auciquity: in the cise of the earabacut beetle, which the ‘gypsane worshipped aa dvin, fe was thought that only males inte” “ow then were vultaressappsc tobe impregnated ial of ‘hem wer female? This a pent fly explained Sn a poage Jn Horapolla At certain ne these bird pate n midi, ten thee vagina and are impregnated bythe wind ‘We have now unexpectely reached a postion where we ean take somthing ar very probable which only a sorte before ‘wehad to reject a sbwurd, Tis quite posible tha Leonardo was Tamir withthe ene able which wee reeponble fr the ‘ulte Beng ised by the Bgypans aes pictorial representae Uonofth ida of mother, He asa wide reader and inert embraced all baaches of ierature und iaring. [athe Codex ‘Aanieus we finda catalogue of ll the books he posewed at 4 particular date and in addition numerous ottngs on other inoks that hs sd berowed Som Gens, andi we may jee by dhe exact from his notes by Richer (1853) the extent of his reading ean hardly be overestimated. Favly works on ‘ata kor were well epost among them in adon {© contemporary books nd alo hem were ad im pint St the dine, Milan wasn fact the leading yin Teal for che new at of printing . ‘On proceding rhe we come sce poe of feta which can turn the probabiiy that Leonardo knew the able ofthe vulture into a eainey. The learned editor and come mentator on Horpolla has the ftlowing note on the txt already quoted above [Leemars, 1885, 172: "Caeterum banc 2 Ptr: Vet searbs nrsata e parnt Aegyp seals nn tian” (Jue ed Gately male sna eae m0 the yp conhol at ‘ale hse wee tobe oun rad at cian abe {0 Farha etence which bia ct a by Lec (835, 178) oC esol Mi Higa. Lema (185, 1), The wor pls Nii Teac vote cctv a er ot Ses Sats et ie eno mi nem ih te wr aa ‘Te fre a the tert ipl at hat we vel ae ee ‘ye wre peegasion by the wa} ne (8 2). ae (i.© EBONARDO DA. viNer {abutau de vutuibus copie ample! sunt Fates Becesiasih ut ita argumento ex rerum natura piito refuarent com get Virgins partum negabant aque spud omnes fe Ios Ta So the fable ofthe single wx of vultures and their mode of conception emsined something very fr from an unimportant snecdot like the analogous ale of te scaabacus beet had been seized on by the Fates of the Church 0 that chey could have at their dspoal » proof drawn fom natural history to confont thse who doubted sacred history. If vultres ‘were decribed in the best accounts of antiquity as depending Gn the ind for impregnation, why could wot the sate thing Ihave aio happened om one ocaton vith human female? Since the fble ofthe vulture could be tured to this account ‘alos ache Fathers of the Church made a practice of tling it, and thus it can hardly be doubred sat Leonardo 10 came to know of i hrough fs being favoured by 50 wide @ Patronage "We cam now recorstt the origin of Leonardo's vulture ania. He once happened to read in one of the Father orn 5 book on natural fisony the statement that ll vultures were females and could reproduce cher Kind without any aivance from a male: and at that point a memory sprang to hs rind, which was transformed into the phantasy we have been di ‘cng, but which meant sghly that fe aio had Been sch ‘Trulirecild—he had bad a other, bat no father. With ths ‘memory was asocite, in the only way fa which imprestons ftp great an age can find expreson, aa echo of the pleasure he hat hal at his meser’s brea. The asin anade by the Fathers ofthe Carch tothe des of de Bleed Virgin and er ehilé—an ides cheribed by every attest have played ia part ia helping the phantay to appear valuable and important {> him, Indeed in this way he was able to identify hinsl with the child Christ, he comforter and saviour nt of his one ‘woman alone ‘Our aim in dsecting a childhood phantasy ist separte the 2 Put sory stew the ve was cael taken wp by the atl fhe Cd rd iy ato Et ae fom them ode daw dt Vig th Te art hee mene! in scot alo tem) AND A MEMORY OF IS cIMEDHOOD st real memory that 8 cinta Hon de Tales ode that SBotfy and dior ie fa Leonard case we balcwe that we ow Hoo thereal cote ofthe phan: dhe eplacerent ot LEttotier by the wire nice thatthe id was sare of Tis ahersauene and fnnd isi love with his moter "The cto Lcmar'illesate i inary ith i ‘rue pansy, fe was only om ths accoune tate could Compare Kine a yusve child, Bor the net relable et ‘hat we poms abou hi yuh ha by the Smee was Sve Ihe tn Den ese fata aber bois We are cme ley ignorant whea that bappene whether i was a fo pont afer is ith or wheter was afew weds Bere the ‘Eawingap ofthe lanb-repter[p.8l], Ie bere that the {ntepretaton of te vale panty come is: Leonard beams cola spent the cel Bint es of ie not by he Side of ts ther and stepnobe, but wi is poor, ae, eal mother so Gat he had tine to fel the sence of fis {Sten Tis seems a slender a yt a smear Garing com Clon to have emerged fom our peyeho analyte eft bt Sn ucance wil lees awe Cnne ot veges 1 cerning i relforced when we conde the Greamsances ‘hati in fet operate in Lord's ldbod, Ta the sme ‘ear that Leonardo was born the mare tlm i athe, Ser Fire da Ving; maried Dona Aber, lny of good iy Stas to the clones of hs mariage thatthe boy ved is reepton into bi aber fr rater he gandiaer) fouse—aa vet which had taken plc y the ne he Wa ive Ye gi eee ans Nav rt atte Eartofa mariage to pot an Tegitmate pig note cae ff the young ie wo al expt to Be Dlesed wide len her owas Years of diappaaunent toa suy fst have Slander fe was doit oaopt te legitimate child ‘eho bad probably grown ep an atracdve young Doy—ab ompencaon fr Oo absent of the lgiate iten that in een hoped fx rin b with te oterretaon of the ‘re phantasy iat least tree years of Leonard's iy ad hep Beal caged ie be could exchange the ary Teron of his mother or panel couple. And by then wae {bolts In the fst tre or our year of Ue crtas pres ‘one come al a way fneacing toe ste worse® ESONARDO DA VIN! setae which cam never be deprive of cs peste ies cpio. “ wesvancy fe ue thatthe unintlighte memories ofa person's eluhood andthe pants tht selon tem vray femphasze dhe most imporeaot lesen in his mental develop” tent, then falloms thatthe et shih the vale phastasy Conti, namely that Leonardo spent theft yes of i fe lone wih his mother, wll have been of ecive infact in the formation of his ener Hi. An stable eft of is tate fafa was that the cikd—who wet confonted in his early Iie wi ane problem more than eter cilsea~began to ‘brood on this idle with special intensity, and so at a tender age became a nacache,ormented ashe was bythe great ques tion of where babies come fom and wht the father has to do wit ther erign! Tt was a vage srpicion that his researches And the history of his elildbood ere connected in dhs way hich ste prompted Km to exam tha he ad been dined fiom the fist to investigue the problein ofthe fight of rcs sce be had been vised by a vltore ashe lay in his erde Tater on it wil not he dil show how his carey about the ight of beds was derived from the seal reeaches of his shildhood. 1 [CE Te Sxl Tei of Cen (18089) m Thy Leonardo's childhood phantasy we Bave taken the element ofthe vulture to represent the real content fis memory, while the contextin which Leonard bimelf placed his phantasy has ‘thrown Bight ight on the importance which that cotent had Tor his ater fe, In pocoeding with our work of incespretation ‘we now coe up against the strange problem of why this com> Tent has boeasecat into 9 homerexsal situation. ‘The mother two sukles her ehild—or to put it beter, at whose breast the ‘ld sucks—has been turned into a valcure that puts its tal {nto the chi’s mouth, We bie asertd [p. 05] tha, aecord> ing to the ussal way in which language makes use of sub- stitutes the vultures “od? cannot possibly signify anything other than a male genital, a pens. But we do not understand Ihow imaginative activity cam have suceceded in endowing pre~ ‘ely this bind wae is & mother with the estingushing ark ‘of matculiigy and in view of this absurdity we are ata loos Fw to reduce tht eration of Leonardo's phantasy to aay ional meaning Tloweve, we should not despair as we reflect onthe mater ‘of apparently absurd dreams that we have In the past com pelled to lve up their meaning. Is there say ream why a Inenory of childhood should offer us more dificuly than = Grea? ‘Remembering that tis unsntifatory when a peculiar fetare is found sng, fetus hasten to add another to it which is even socestiking . "The vulturesheaded Egyptian goddess Mut, a figure with ‘out any pertonal charactor according to Dredle’s article in Roscher's lexicon, was often merged with other mother god deoes of a more erongly Masked individuality, like Isis and Hlathor, but at the same time she maintained her separate cxsience and cult, A special featare ofthe Egyptian pantheon (ar that te individual gee didnot disappear in the proces of ‘yicretzation, Alongside the fusion of gods the individust 2 [Ct sme sr roach by Freud i The nee of Drs (0, Sard By 8135-6) Pyo {DONARBO DA VIN? vines connie xin flpendence, Now sts Yuleeaded moter goddes wat tally rprecoted by the Beypians with a pha hor body wos Tele ao the ‘eas indicated, but abo tad a mole organ ina ate of Tn the goddes Mu, thes, we fad the sme combination of sata and masculine character sin Leonard's ae tis of the ware Are we epithe coasdnce By assuming that fom aiding hs Boole ep 89) Leese ie co leant of the adrogynas rare‘ the sara {oltre Such posity more than quesonbles it appear that the oarers to whith be had acer contined go naar Sion abot ds remarkable ator, Iis mote plausible to see ihe cerapondenee back to. commen factor operate in ath cas but il oko Myiolog can teach us that an androgynous srt, & combination of male aad female ex characte, wate Bote ot onty of Mot ut aloof eter diss Hae Ib and Tator~ihough perhaps of thee only insofar a they 400 had maternal totare and base sigan ith Mat (Ger, 1903) 1 teach us furs tha other Egyptian die $e eh tito wom he ra we ro sived-—were originally conceived of 28 te hema an thatthe sme wa tre Gary of tie ek gone of he acted with Douay bat tote we wer Taal ee i" lave. Nythology may then oe he espe Bion siat headin ts pl tothe mde bey i tended to denote the primal erentive ne of nace, sd hat A thse hermapivode vies are eopecons ef Sea ‘Oat only s combinaesoftmale and female ements an give 2 ory reparation of ine perfeton, But ome of aes ‘annideradone gts us an explanation of the paling peyehor lei! fact tnt the harman nano doa not ogg a ‘owing a Sgr whi ted fo cry te eae ot ‘iemother with the maskf male potency wiih the oppote sh evrying mera, ‘Tatil aecal eos provide the explanation. There wat 2 Se he ato ie Lanne (62, Pat CXOOXVI- oki, atm or oe oes ee eer mogin re cont etree See a ie Win Se ce ee eee es Heeb eae a apse ae ane eee ieee an ae en er ea Ae re ae een aie ere Sore i ee a en Mea BAR mated hon st dad pie erm meee eee at ne es ovate cette ueaeamtl Popeye nie cere ee Sree eee ees Sey pl et ie a ai apes © an So et Pearce eel aes ee Haber por rT ee pee et a ce Ba etc oe ae rela ed ee ae no aes Toe ea tae ee cee eva Co rw mc ee ee eee nite hema fester comes? vigceeeat tai ieee Sml Mein a plant a te ett apa cg ea ay So a aang ttn em nog otras tad me raeiacer remem sora ip ot aang tcp Enel Seiegaerumsata% onAnno vat ns he ld come nde te oan of he cae shertnples~ata ne vies eileen alte he begs Ay sais doe ean ae Inde stb’ Me aot o poh saan Stn al pokity Ww cmpare tes Si auton fr aio tht em eu arte ins ‘engin ber go oan wii beaks obs ee ‘With the dicoveny wich ot made al ler, at nem etm! have pes ng tars no to oppose td ge pace 3 flag Sf logan WA eae bey cantons betasesfpoehtalinpener ent {et permanesthatmcaniy Bae fortrs eos that bar once wnpy Gil to wma pas eS {tur cs om aaa a ot ly i a eed ‘Spt of hie ul recede ee Norcgines Fethinicrmesnce bet tena eee toputl winks tebor ney settee de Spa pd nto re nine hae urea pa aad pay epee ee ‘ey ost a aol castration on he Banal gee ones Pups witeot ac app unions ae ie efeilressxnuy al payee ee havin bom hide Ueda ene teibe aoe en yeu clint af asec enn ad he eal cont To enone ae BEE Bilson we renue ung or aaa a ‘Through ang ake of pneron the ak a {Sth nda oft sod ree ee ‘icf se estonia Ito take ed tivy othe tad Ute our te tnd ont at ‘Eich stan bun chideton ne ened gree stare tt ier ony wih route Ga he me es Sve tnay obey tc cncaand o pepe de “hci 1 ye wate m acy ogee bce Fim ae of Lan ate la mae aga Sohn ten asn ano oy fener pu oped oles i a i a) el aa SEIS fn chery eee fete ey ce Ea Faces BS st ars oy AND A MEVORY OF HIS CHILDHOOD oT feel chat their dignity as human beings autfers and s degraded in the proves, What i to be found among ue in the way of soother view of sexual He confined wo the uncultivated lower ‘srataofsociety; among the higher and more refined classes itis ‘concealed, since it considered culturally inferior, and it veo ttre (o put Ital into practice only inthe fae ofa bad con science. In the primaeval days of the buman race it was a Aierene story. The laborious compilations of the student of tivlintion provide convincing evidence that originally the fide were the pide and hope of Uving beings; they were ‘worshipped as gods and transmitted the divine nature of their Tuuctious to all newiy learaed husnan actives. Asa real of the sublimation of ther basic nature there arse innumerable dni; and atthe time when the connecdon between oficial religions and sexual activity was already hidden fom the fgeneralconeciowines, secret cults devoted themselves to ep {hg i alive among a numberof initiates Ta the couse of eul- fural development #0 much ef the divine and sacred was Uldiately extracted fom sexuality tht the eshaurted ermant fal into contempt. But in view of the indelfbity that i char- scteside ofall mental aces, iis surely not surprising that ‘ven the most pimlive form of geitalvorship can be shown to have exited in very recent dimes and that che language, ‘stoms and superstidons of mankind today contain survivals fiom every phate ofthis proces of development.» Tpresive analogies from biology have prepared us to Sind ‘atthe indidaal’s mental development repeats the course of Ihoman development in an abbreviated farm; and the con clusions which peycho-analyic reearch nto the eld’ ind hha reached concering the high value set om the genitals in intaney will uot therefore strike ns a improbable. ‘The cil’s sesumpton that is mother has a penis thos the common fouree fiom which are derived the androgynousl-formed fhother goddene such ae the Eayptian Mist and the vulture ‘eedé in Leonardo's childiood phantasy I isin fet only due 10-4 misindertancing that we deribe thee representations fof gods as hermaphroite in the medical sense of the word. In ‘one of them is heres combination ofthe tre genital of both sewee—a combination which, to the abhorrence of ll beholder, YE Kesh [768% "H0NANDO DA vinet 1 od in soe cao of alérmatin ll chat hs ayy 3 the theme ong he ben seed tothe brea wise ‘Be mark ofa mater, jase ewan present i the es dene it other's by.‘ fm foe me bey, a ‘ere reat of piace phat, ls een pescyed or ihe ft by mytolgy: We can noe provide be flowing traction athe phen pve ote fale aa Loe no's phantasy That wa tne when yd envoy was Gircted to my moti, and hen Tl beleved she Sal's iilongahey on! Hes ones cones Ecny seal reotarchey wi in ur opinion had 4 dee fee on the whol of hi ae “ "ACs point «He refecton wl end us that we sotto ft tid yer wt he wy the value as ese tr llloed phaay bas been xpaned, Something ars Some Mcgee ego yo ena, fe mom sing tare fer all ws that changed 2 ihernother brea ng sled that ins posto, fd th ino» saon hoe mcs undeudly h ‘eal When we remem the Moral pebebiy ef La sro having behowed in is ems ene vn wae cudavaly Komosnual the queton is reed upon ws wheter iis nla das net inate the erence seul eam Setweea Lesa ladon with mothe in chlo! aa fi lar mani, if dea! (abitsted), bomowmaaiys We ‘tool not ventre infers eomecton tts Cones fos dato reminscece we dit ot know fo ie vehi ty of Homnenal patent ht suk ane en drs xt edi et tne and neta one “omer men, who hve in at tines ulcn vgs sn aint he tin ing yon ey a fein, are fend of repre thence, teh eit thee plement eae Cte tt Serle, aan intermedia sel sg ab ed ses They ar thy claim, sen who ae inne compl by ongais decanters in mca and he bed