Books Quote by Ross King

“A stylus was a metal-tipped drawing instrument widely used by artists before the invention of the pencil (graphite was not discovered until in 1504,…

— Ross King

“Quite amazing how determined kings and emperors have been to destroy books. But civilization is built on such desecrations, is it not? Justinian the…

— Ross King

“In fact, the figure in The Last Supper is not a woman: only the most partisan reading can place Mary Magdalene in the scene.…

— Ross King

“…Because every ruler celebrated his conquests by setting torch to the nearest library. Did not Julius Caesar incinerate the scrolls in the great library…

— Ross King

“It’s amazing — and poignant — to think that Leonardo (da Vinci)did consider himself as something of a failure. He didn’t believe that he…

— Ross King

“And as I surveyed the clutter of his study I was pleased to see that he was a man after my own heart. All…

— Ross King

“That one of history’s greatest brains struggled with amo, amas, amat should be consolation to anyone who has ever tried to learn a second…

— Ross King

“Buttresses were one of the prime structural features of Gothic architecture: by accommodating the thrust of the vaults transferred to them from strategic points,…

— Ross King

“Yes, a great library — a library as magnificent as this one — was a dangerous arsenal, one that kings and emperors feared more…

— Ross King

“While running simple errands I often became hopelessly confused in the maze of crowded, filthy streets that began twenty paces beyond the north gate…

— Ross King

“The Black Death was a faithful visitor to Florence. It arrived, on average, once every ten years, always in the summer.”

— Ross King

“At times Leonardo was troubled by his lack of achievement. As a young man he appears to have developed a reputation for melancholia. “Leonardo,”…

— Ross King