“ Just as eating against one's will is injurious to health, so study without a liking for it spoils the memory, and it retains nothing it takes in. ”
Leonardo da Vinci, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (1478 – 1519). copy citation
| Author | Leonardo da Vinci |
|---|---|
| Source | The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci |
| Topic | will memory study education |
| Date | 1478 – 1519 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Jean Paul Richter in 1888 |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5000/pg5000-images.html |
Context
“Life if well spent, is long. 1175. Just as food eaten without caring for it is turned into loathsome nourishment, so study without a taste for it spoils memory, by retaining nothing which it has taken in. 1176. Just as eating against one's will is injurious to health, so study without a liking for it spoils the memory, and it retains nothing it takes in. 1177. On Mount Etna the words freeze in your mouth and you may make ice of them. [Footnote 2: There is no clue to explain this strange sentence.]
Just as iron rusts unless it is used, and water putrifies or, in cold, turns to ice, so our intellect spoils unless it is kept in use.” source
Just as iron rusts unless it is used, and water putrifies or, in cold, turns to ice, so our intellect spoils unless it is kept in use.” source
Meaning and analysis
