The text discusses the concept of balance in human movement and the influence of the mind and body on agility. It highlights the difference between individuals of varying physiques, emphasizing how the spirits within the body can be constrained by physical mass. Lastly, the positioning of weight in sculptural representations is examined, illustrating how balance affects form.
Various States of Action
Masterful draftsmanship, where the letters are created firmly and surely, yet they display the fluidity of a bold and skilled hand.
The act of creating or maintaining balance in the movement of human bodies occurs as swiftly as the will and thoughts, through the animal spirits acting on the limbs; which work without interrupting each other. Just as in a balance, the decrease of one weight always brings about the increase of another without delay, so must we note the effects on active movements; although some distinctions can still be observed in regard to the form of human bodies, and the spirits governing them as per the will. Thus, we see that some are completely sluggish and slow, while others are very swift in their actions. The overweight and heavy individuals are generally slower than the more agile people who are lean and supplied with quick blood. Even in a person of double flesh, sometimes the will is strong, and the soul and quick thought intend to do something agile, yet the animal spirits are somewhat compressed and hindered by the abundance of flesh and fat in the limbs, which must either flow agilely or propel each other forth; thereby arms and legs and other limbs are prevented from swiftly obeying the will of the person.
The Weight and Counterweight Can Be Properly Understood Through a Balance
When a person, instead of standing evenly on two feet, rests entirely or predominantly on one foot, it is found that their entire weight shifts around the central line.