The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci

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Page 207 of 1565.
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It is impossible that an object mirrored on water should correspond
in form to the object mirrored, since the centre of the eye is above
the surface of the water.

This is made plain in the figure here given, which demonstrates that
the eye sees the surface _a b_, and cannot see it at _l f_, and at
_r t_; it sees the surface of the image at _r t_, and does not see
it in the real object _c d_. Hence it is impossible to see it, as
has been said above unless the eye itself is situated on the surface
of the water as is shown below [13].

[Footnote: _A_ stands for _ochio_ [eye], _B_ for _aria_ [air], _C_
for _acqua_ [water], _D_ for _cateto_ [cathetus].--In the original
MS. the second diagram is placed below line 13.]

Experiments with the mirror (208-210).

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