Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity.
In plain words
Things left unused go bad. So do people who stop trying.
Where these words come from
- 85% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
- The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Richter's translation (1883), Prolegomena and General Introduction to the Book on Painting; Wikiquote-sourced.
- The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Richter ed.)
- 1883 · a maxim on the value of constant use and practice
More from Leonardo da Vinci
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There have never been people who know but do not act.
Wang YangmingIf I am happy in spite of my deprivations, if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith, so thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life,—if, in short, I am an optimist, my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing.
Helen KellerAs sinners stand up in meeting and testify to the goodness of God, so one who is called afflicted may rise up in gladness of conviction and testify to the goodness of life.Helen KellerNight fled before the day of thought, and love and joy and hope came up in a passion of obedience to knowledge.Helen KellerWith the first word I used intelligently, I learned to live, to think, to hope.Helen KellerI have had a glimpse of the shore, and can now live by the hope of reaching it.Helen Keller
Wang YangmingIf I am happy in spite of my deprivations, if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith, so thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life,—if, in short, I am an optimist, my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing.Helen KellerAs sinners stand up in meeting and testify to the goodness of God, so one who is called afflicted may rise up in gladness of conviction and testify to the goodness of life.Helen KellerNight fled before the day of thought, and love and joy and hope came up in a passion of obedience to knowledge.Helen KellerWith the first word I used intelligently, I learned to live, to think, to hope.Helen KellerI have had a glimpse of the shore, and can now live by the hope of reaching it.Helen Keller