Description of the cause of this fall of the mountain [Footnote 30:  Ruina del monte.  Of course by an earthquake.  In a catalogue of earthquakes, entitled kechf aussalssaleb an auasf ezzel-zeleh, and written by Djelal eddin].

The mischief it did.

[32] Fall of snow.

The finding of the prophet [33].

His prophesy.

[35] The inundation of the lower portion of Eastern Armenia, the draining of which was effected by the cutting through the Taurus Mountains.

How the new prophet showed [Footnote 40:_Nova profeta, 1. 33, profeta_.  Mohammed.  Leonardo here refers to the Koran: 

In the name of the most merciful God.—­When the earth shall be shaken by an earthquake; and the earth shall cast forth her burdens; and a man shall say, what aileth her?  On that day the earth shall declare her tidings, for that thy Lord will inspire her.  On that day men shall go forward in distinct classes, that they may behold their works.  And whoever shall have wrought good of the weight of an ant, shall behold the same.  And whoever shall have wrought evil of the weight of an ant, shall behold the same. (The Koran, translated by G. Sale, Chapter XCIX, p. 452).] that this destruction would happen as he had foretold.

Description of the Taurus Mountains [43] and the river Euphrates.

Why the mountain shines at the top, from half to a third of the night, and looks like a comet to the inhabitants of the West after the sunset, and before day to those of the East.

Why this comet appears of variable forms, so that it is now round and now long, and now again divided into two or three parts, and now in one piece, and when it is to be seen again.

OF THE SHAPE OF THE TAURUS MOUNTAINS [Footnote 53-94:  The facsimile of this passage is given on Pl.  CXVII.].

I am not to be accused, Oh Devatdar, of idleness, as your chidings seem to hint; but your excessive love for me, which gave rise to the benefits you have conferred on me [Footnote 55] is that which has also compelled me to the utmost painstaking in seeking out and diligently investigating the cause of so great and stupendous an effect.  And this could not be done without time; now, in order to satisfy you fully as to the cause of so great an effect, it is requisite that I should explain to you the form of the place, and then I will proceed to the effect, by which I believe you will be amply satisfied.

[Footnote 36:  Tagliata di Monte Tauro.  The Euphrates flows through the Taurus range near the influx of the Kura Shai; it rushes through a rift in the wildest cliffs from 2000 to 3000 feet high and runs on for 90 miles in 300 falls or rapids till it reaches Telek, near which at a spot called Gleikash, or the Hart’s leap, it measures only 35 paces across.  Compare the map on Pl.  CXIX and the explanation for it on p. 391.]

[Footnote 54:  The foregoing sketch of a letter, lines 5. 18, appears to have remained a fragment when Leonardo received pressing orders which caused him to write immediately and fully on the subject mentioned in line 43.]