Leonardo da Vinci Quotes

There shall be wings! If the accomplishment be not for me, 'tis for some other. The spirit cannot die; and man, who shall know all and shall have wings.

I abhor the supreme folly of those who blame the disciples of nature in defiance of those masters who were themselves her pupils

Affective gestures pointing to things near either in time or space should be made with the hand not very far from the body of the person pointing; and if these things are distant, the hand of the painter should be more extended and the face turned toward the person to whom he is addressing the demonstration.

The lover is moved by the thing loved, as the sense is by that which perceives, and it unites with it and they become one and the same thing... when the lover is united with the beloved it finds rest there; when the burden is laid down there it finds rest.

The greatest geniuses sometimes accomplish more when they work less.

We, by our arts may be called the grandsons of God.

To be a winner you must want to win but must know of the chance of losing and must not fear of it.

Why are the bones of great fishes, and oysters and corals and various other shells and sea-snails, found on the high tops of mountains that border the sea, in the same way in which they are found in the depths of the sea?

I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men.

Being willing is not enough. We must do.

To speak of this subject you must... explain the nature of the resistance of the air, in the second the anatomy of the bird and its wings, in the third the method of working the wings in their various movements, in the fourth the power of the wings and the tail when the wings are not being moved and when the wind is favourable to serve as guide in various movements.

Learning never exhausts the mind.

I have wasted my hours.

All our knowledge hast its origins in our perceptions … In nature there is no effect without a cause … Experience never errs; it is only your judgments that err by promising themselves effects such as are not caused by your experiments … Science is the observation of things possible, whether present or past; prescience is the knowledge of things which may come to pass.

Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.

You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself.

When taking a selfie, remember the most natural pose is still best

Love, Fear, and Esteem, - Write these on three stones.

I have offended God and mankind because my work didn't reach the quality it should have.

The truth of things is the chief nutriment of superior intellects.

...The world wouldn't be the world, without trouble.

The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.

Patience serves us against insults precisely as clothes do against the cold. For if you multiply your garments as the cold increases, that cold cannot hurt you; in the same way increase your patience under great offenses, and they cannot hurt your feelings.

Necessity is a guardian in Nature.

Black is like a broken vessel, which is deprived of the capacity to contain anything.

To make a perfume, take some rose water and wash your hands in it, then take a lavender flower and rub it with your palms, and you will achieve the desired effect

Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.

It is easier to contend with evil at the first than at the last.

Your brain is much better than you think; just use it!

A bird is an instrument working according to mathematical law, which instrument it is within the capacity of man to reproduce with all its movements.

To speak ill of a good person is not truly good, all in all.

Do not reveal, if liberty is precious to you; my face is the prison of love.

A good painter has two main objects to paint, man and the intention of his soul. The former is easy, the latter hard as he has to represent it by the attitude and movement of the limbs.

Art is never finished, only abandoned.

Every part is disposed to unite with the whole, that it may thereby escape from its own incompleteness.

Principles for the Development of a Complete Mind: Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses- especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.

Among the great things which are found among us the existence of Nothing is the greatest.

Obstacles cannot bend me. Every obstacle yields to effort.

The deeper the feeling, the greater the pain

Vows begin when hope dies.

Abbreviators do harm to knowledge and to love.

The color of the object illuminated partakes of the color of that which illuminates it.

Perspective is nothing more than a rational demonstration applied to the consideration of how objects in front of the eye transmit their image to it, by means of a pyramid of lines. The Pyramid is the name I apply to the lines which, starting from the surface and edges of each object, converge from a distance and meet in a single point.

The young man should first learn perspective, then the proportions of objects. Next, copy work after the hand of a good master, to gain the habit of drawing parts of the body well; and then to work from nature, to confirm the lessons learned.

The function of muscle is to pull and not to push, except in the case of the genitals and the tongue.

Whatever you do in life, if you want to be creative and intelligent, and develop your brain, you must do everything with the awareness that everything, in some way, connects to everything else.

The painter's mind is a copy of the divine mind, since it operates freely in creating the many kinds of animals, plants, fruits, landscapes, countrysides, ruins, and awe-inspiring places.

The eye transmits its own image through the air to all the objects which face it, and also receives them on its own surface, whence the "sensus communis" takes them and considers them.