Vitality and beauty are gifts of Nature for those who live according to its laws.
Leonardo Da VinciRead
You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself...the height of a man's success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment. ...And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Self-mastery is essential for success; without control over oneself, one cannot achieve control over others.
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-discipline and self-control as fundamental to achieving success. Da Vinci suggests that the level of a person's success is directly related to their ability to master themselves, while failures stem from a lack of personal discipline. Furthermore, he implies that true authority and respect cannot be attained without first establishing authority over one's own actions and desires.
Themes
Self-MasterySuccessDisciplineControlPersonal Growth
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speaker might use this quote to encourage audiences to focus on their self-discipline as a key to success.
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.
Leonardo Da VinciRead
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.
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The smallest feline is a masterpiece.
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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.
Leonardo Da VinciRead
It is a far worthier thing to read by the light of experience than to adorn oneself with the labors of others.
Leonardo Da VinciRead
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