There is nothing which deceives us as much as our own judgement.

— Leonardo da Vinci

The smallest feline is a masterpiece.

— Leonardo da Vinci

They will say that I, having no literary skill, cannot properly express that which I desire to treat of, but they do not know that my subjects are to be dealt with by experience rather than by words. And [experience] has been the mistress of those who wrote well. And so, as mistress, I will cite her in all cases. Though I may not, like them, be able to quote other authors, I shall rely on that which is much greater and more worthy: on experience, the mistress of their masters.

— Leonardo da Vinci

Time abides long enough for those who make use of it.

— Leonardo da Vinci

Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.

— Leonardo da Vinci

To become an artist you have to be curious.

— Leonardo da Vinci

To me, it seems that those sciences are vain and full of error which are not born of experience, mother of all certainty, first-hand experience which in its origins, or means, or end has passed through one of the five senses. And if we doubt the certainty of everything which passes through the senses, how much more ought we to doubt things contrary to these senses – rubella ad ESS sense – such as the existence of God or of the soul or similar things over which there is always dispute and contention. And in fact it happens that whenever reason is wanting men to cry out against one another, which does not happen with certainties. For this reason we shall say that where the cry of controversy is heard, there is no true science, because the truth has one single end and when this is published, argument is destroyed forever.

— Leonardo da Vinci

To such an extent does nature delight and abound in variety that among her trees there is not one plant to be found which is exactly like another; and not only among the plants, but among the boughs, the leaves and the fruits, you will not find one which is exactly similar to another.

— Leonardo da Vinci

Truth at last cannot be hidden. Dissimulation is of no avail. Dissimulation is to no purpose before so great a judge. Falsehood puts on a mask. Nothing is hidden under the sun.

— Leonardo da Vinci

Water is the driving force in nature.

— Leonardo da Vinci