Leonardo da Vinci was possessed of a mind that makes the word "curious" sound almost anaemic, and it is interesting to think what he would have done were computers or research teams around during his time, President Mary McAleese said yesterday.
Launching a major exhibition featuring the great artist and thinker's "Codex Leicester" scientific manuscript at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Mrs McAleese added that the work it contained showed us the "feverishness of his passion".
The Codex Leicester contains da Vinci's observations on the nature and properties of water as well as other aspects of science and technology. Regarded as one of the most important of his scientific notebooks, it has been lent to the library by its owners, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda.
It forms the centrepiece of a new exhibition which also includes a range of material relating to the intellectual background of da Vinci's time.
In order to facilitate the exhibition, the library undertook a major renovation of one of its galleries to provide the optimum conditions for its public display.
In her speech, Mrs McAleese noted that 500 years ago, when he was sitting in his room in Milan putting sepia ink to the linen pages containing the codex, da Vinci addressed his words and his thoughts to the "reader".
"I wonder if it crossed his mind that 500 years later we would be his readers. It is something really very, very magical to have it here."
Thanking the library's director, Dr Michael Ryan, and all those involved in bringing the manuscript to Ireland, Mrs McAleese said she was confident that the decision would be "overwhelmingly endorsed" by the Irish public.
The new exhibition runs until August 12th. Admission is free but advance booking is essential, while a limited number of tickets are available for visitors to the library.