QuoteProject
In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time.
Leonardo Da Vinci
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the transient nature of time and existence.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s quote highlights the duality of time, emphasizing that every moment is a transition between what has already occurred and what is yet to come. By likening the flow of time to rivers, he invites us to recognize the impermanence of our experiences and the continuous movement of the present, encouraging a deeper appreciation for each fleeting moment.

Themes

TimeTransiencePresentChangePhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used during a lecture on the nature of time in philosophy classes.

More from Leonardo Da Vinci

Vitality and beauty are gifts of Nature for those who live according to its laws.
Leonardo Da VinciRead
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.
Leonardo Da VinciRead
The smallest feline is a masterpiece.
Leonardo Da VinciRead
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

Similar quotes

The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. On this shore, we've learned most of what we know. Recently, we've waded a little way out, maybe ankle-deep, and the water seems inviting. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return, and we can, because the cosmos is also within us. We're made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.
Carl SaganRead
From where does this "I" arise? Seek for it within; it then vanishes. This is the pursuit of wisdom. When the mind unceasingly investigates its own nature, it transpires that there is no such thing as mind. This is the direct path for all. The mind is merely thoughts. Of all thoughts the thought "I" is the root.
Ramana MaharshiRead
Devout believers are safeguarded in a high degree against the risk of certain neurotic illnesses; their acceptance of the universal neurosis spares them the task of constructing a personal one.
Anatole FranceRead
There is no ship now that can bear me hence
J. R. R. TolkienRead
Revenge is a common passion; it is the sin of the uninstructed. The savage deems it noble;but the religion of Christ, which is the sublime civilizer, emphatically condemns it. Why? Because religion ever seeks to ennoble man; and nothing so debases him as revenge.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1St Baron LyttonRead
Everything you have is to give. Thou art a phenomenon of philosophy and an unfortunate man.
Ernest HemingwayRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.