Theater of Machines, Part 1

The line that is drawn perpendicularly—that is, plumb-line straight downward—imagined in the mind through the point of the two pivots or the manner in which the balance hangs, is called the line of direction or alignment of the balance.

The descension descent of a heavy bodily thing that, in equal quantity, encompasses the least from the line of direction, or from the straight line that stretches directly against the centro center or middle point of the world, is called the worst descent.

The first figure on the copperplate N. 1

A decorative initial letter S.Let there be a corpus body A, and the straight descension descent to the centro center or middle point of the world be the line AB. Now I set these lines AC and AD as also being such descents or descensiones descents, which likewise desire to go downward as the first AB. So I now mark in these two worse descents an equal length AE and AF, and from these two points E and F, I draw both lines EG and FH at an equal distance to the horizon or lines of the plani plane. Since now this length AH is shorter than the length AG, I say that the descent AFD is worse, or does not go quite as much downward, as the descent AEC, for the reason that such a descent encompasses little distance from the line of the straight or correct descent AB in equal quantity—that is, taken in equal length upon each descent or line of the descent—and such is to be understood in all other descents.