5 Chapter 4 Moving On

Chapter 4 Moving On Milan had a famous university. But it was not a center for famous artists like Florence was. But Ludovico Sforza was very interested in the arts. The duke liked to give big parties. He like to put on pageants. He also wanted someone to design new weapons for him. (The city-states were often at war with one another.)

米兰有一所著名的大学。 但它不像佛罗伦萨那样是著名艺术家的中心。 但是Ludovico Sforza对艺术非常感兴趣。 公爵喜欢举办盛大的宴会。 他喜欢举办选美比赛。 他还希望有人为他设计新武器。 (这些城邦之间经常发生战争。)

All of this interested Leonardo. He wrote a letter to the duke. In it, he listed everything he was good at. Some of it was bragging. He said he could design buildings and bridges, warships and huge cannons. Nobody knows if Leonardo ever sent the letter. There also is a story about a present that Leonardo gave the duke. The duke loved music. Leonardo did, too. So he made a lute. (This was like a violin, with strings and a bow.) It was made of silver—and was in the shape of a horse's skull! It had to be played upside down. Whether this is true or not, one thing is certain: The duke did eventually hire Leonardo. So off Leonardo went to Milan. Whatever the duke wanted, Leonardo would create. He worked for the duke for many years, until the duke was forced from power.

这一切都引起了列奥纳多的兴趣。 他给公爵写了一封信。 在书中，他列出了自己擅长的一切。 其中一些是吹牛。他说他能设计建筑、桥梁、战舰和大炮。 没人知道达芬奇是否寄出过这封信。 还有一个关于列奥纳多送给公爵的礼物的故事。 公爵喜欢音乐。列奥纳多也是如此。 于是他做了一把琵琶。(这就像一把小提琴，有弦和弓。)它是用银做的，形状像马的头骨!它必须倒着玩。 不管这是真的还是假的，有一件事是肯定的:公爵最终雇佣了莱昂纳多。 于是莱昂纳多去了米兰。 公爵想要什么，列奥纳多就会创造什么。 他为公爵工作了许多年，直到公爵被迫下台。

When the duke's nephew was married, there was a huge feast. Leonardo was in charge of the party after the feast. He built incredible stage sets. They were for a play known as The Feast of Paradise. What a spectacle it must have been: A mountain was split in two; inside it was a beautiful model of the heavens. Actors in fancy costumes represented the different planets. The twelve signs of the zodiac were lit by torches. Everything turned around and around.

公爵的侄子结婚时，举行了一场盛大的宴会。 宴会后的晚会由列奥纳多负责。 他搭建了令人难以置信的舞台布景。 他们是为了一部名为《天堂盛宴》的戏剧。 那一定是多么壮观的景象啊:一座山被劈成两半;里面是一个美丽的天空模型。 穿着奇装异服的演员们代表着不同的星球。 黄道十二宫的十二个星座由火把点燃。 一切都转了又转。

THE UNIVERSE IN THE SECOND CENTURY A.D., THERE WAS A FAMOUS GREEK ASTRONOMER NAMED PTOLEMY. HE BELIEVED THAT THE EARTH WAS THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE OTHER

在公元二世纪的宇宙中，有一位著名的希腊天文学家叫托勒密。 他相信地球是宇宙的中心。 另一个

PLANETS AND THE SUN MOVED AROUND THE EARTH. PEOPLE ACCEPTED THIS BELIEF UNTIL THE MIDDLE OF THE 1500S. A POLISH ASTRONOMER NAMED NICOLAUS COPERNICUS SAID THE EARTH WAS NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. THE SUN DID NOT REVOLVE AROUND IT. INSTEAD, THE EARTH—AND ALL THE OTHER PLANETS—REVOLVED AROUND THE SUN. HE WAS RIGHT. BUT IT TOOK MANY YEARS BEFORE THIS FACT WAS ACCEPTED.

行星和太阳围绕地球运行。 直到16世纪中期，人们才接受了这种观点。 一位名叫尼古拉·哥白尼的波兰天文学家说，地球不是宇宙的中心。 太阳并没有绕着它转。 相反，地球和所有其他行星都围绕太阳旋转。 他是对的。但人们花了很多年才接受这个事实。

Some of Leonardo's work was much more practical. He found a better way to heat the water for the duchess's bath. He also built a series of canals. Another project was something Leonardo worked on for years and was never able to finish; even at the end of his life, he was still dreaming about his "horse." The duke wanted a giant statue of a horse. The statue was to honor the memory of his father. He didn't want it to just be big—he wanted it to be huge. The biggest ever. For years, Leonardo made sketches of how the horse statue might look. He studied the horses in the duke's stables. He made wax models. He even cut into the muscles and bones of dead horses. He wanted to know horses inside and out.

列奥纳多的一些作品更加实用。 他找到了一个更好的方法来加热公爵夫人洗澡的水。 他还修建了一系列运河。 另一个项目是列奥纳多做了很多年却一直没能完成的;即使在他生命的尽头，他仍然梦见他的“马”。 公爵想要一个巨大的马雕像。 这座雕像是为了纪念他的父亲。 他想要的不仅仅是大——他想要的是大。 有史以来最大的。多年来，列奥纳多一直在画马雕像的草图。 他研究了公爵马厩里的马。 他制作蜡像。他甚至切开死马的肌肉和骨头。 他想彻底了解马。