QuoteProject
The lie is so vile, that even if it were in speaking well of godly things, it would take off something from God's grace; and Truth is so excellent, that if it praises but small things they become noble.
Leonardo Da Vinci
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Lies diminish the value of even good things, while truth elevates the mundane to greatness.

In this quote, Leonardo Da Vinci emphasizes the destructive nature of falsehoods, suggesting that even lies that seem to promote virtuous ideals ultimately detract from their worth. Conversely, the power of truth is portrayed as transformative; when truth speaks about seemingly insignificant matters, it imbues them with nobility and meaning, highlighting the importance of honesty in all aspects of life.

Themes

TruthLieValueGraceNobility

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a discussion about the importance of honesty in personal relationships.

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

This is the pathless path - returning to where you were initially before you got lost. The deepest truth in you is where the journey leads - shedding, like taking off layers of an onion, until you come to your essence. The key to the spiritual journey is not acquiring something outside of yourself. Rather it is shedding the veils to come back to the deepest truth of your being.
Ram DassRead
Such is of the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.
J. R. R. TolkienRead
It is not Christianity, but priestcraft that has subjected woman as we find her.
Lucretia MottRead
With the aurora borealis flaming coldly overhead, or the stars leaping in the frost dance, and the land numb and frozen under its pall of snow, this song of the huskies might have been the defiance of life, only it was pitched in minor key, with long-drawn wailings and half-sobs, and was more the pleading of life, the articulate travail of existence. It was an old song, old as the breed itself--one of the first songs of the younger world in a day when songs were sad.
Jack LondonRead
Is death the last sleep? No, it is the last and final awakening.
Walter ScottRead
There are more important things than finding the murderer. And justice is a fine word, but it is sometimes difficult to say exactly what one means by it. In my opinion, the important thing is to clear the innocent. - Hercule Poirot
Agatha ChristieRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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