Vitality and beauty are gifts of Nature for those who live according to its laws.
Man and the animals are merely a passage and channel for food, a tomb for other animals, a haven for the dead, giving life by the death of others, a coffer full of corruption.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the interconnectedness of life and death within the ecosystem, emphasizing the cycle of life where living beings are both consumers and consumed.
Leonardo Da Vinci's quote reveals a profound observation about the natural world and humanity's place within it. It explains how every living being serves as a link in a larger chain of existence, where life is sustained by the death of others. This perspective challenges us to consider the ethical implications of our role as consumers and our impact on the environment, highlighting the inherent cycles of life and decay that define our ecosystem.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on sustainability, this quote can highlight the importance of understanding our consumption habits.
More from Leonardo Da Vinci
All quotes →Small rooms or dwellings set the mind in the right path, large ones cause it to go astray.
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.
The smallest feline is a masterpiece.
For, verily, great love springs from great knowledge of the beloved object, and if you little know it, you will be able to love it only little or not at all.
It is a far worthier thing to read by the light of experience than to adorn oneself with the labors of others.
Similar quotes
Ponder the significance of the responsibility the Lord has given to us. The Lord has counseled, "Let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds." (D&C 43:34.) You cannot do that when your minds are preoccupied with the cares of the world.
God pursues us into whatever dark place we've landed and behind whatever locked door holds us in. He holds our unwashed and dirty hands and models how He wants us to pursue each other And He says to ordinary people like me and you that instead of closing our eyes and bowing our heads, sometimes God wants us to keep our eyes open for people in need, do something about it, and bow our whole lives to Him instead.
A lady asked Dr. Franklin Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy - "A republic," replied the Doctor, "if you can keep it."
I find it most true that the greatest temptation outside of hell is to live without temptations; if water stands, it rots; faith is the better for the sharp winter storm in its face and grace withers without adversity. The devil is but God's master fencer to teach us to handle our weapons.
Philosophy is a kind of journey, ever learning yet never arriving at the ideal perfection of truth.
The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic.