Illness Reflections: Da Vinci's Insights

At the start of 2026, I fell ill again. The familiar feeling of shortness of breath returned, and only drinking plenty of warm water could slightly ease the discomfort of labored breathing. Throughout the day, a heavy sense of drowsiness lingered, presumably due to the side effects of the medication.

While lying in bed, drowsy yet clear-minded, a thought struck me: many life truths, when comprehended through personal reflection and connecting the dots of people and events around us, are often more profound and genuine than simply reading life maxims summarized by others.

Recently, I have been immersed in the world of Leonardo da Vinci. Whether it’s dramas about him or the notebooks he wrote by hand. The deeper I delve, the more I regret not encountering his words earlier: if I had read his writings sooner, I might have developed the habit of recording my inner thoughts much earlier.

Da Vinci’s notebooks contain many insightful remarks, each resonating deeply with me. Verified and revised, the accurate expressions are as follows:

1. The intelligence of a child depends on whether the parents loved each other when conceiving him.

2. Sexual organs are ugly.

3. A painter should learn by following rules, never overlooking anything not yet firmly remembered; he should remain solitary, focusing on research and contemplation, especially when storing materials for memory.

4. Haste is the mother of folly. It praises brevity as if the hasty have a short life and lack the time to thoroughly understand a single thing.

5. Love for anything arises from knowledge; the more thorough the knowledge, the stronger the love. And the thoroughness of knowledge comes from a comprehensive understanding of all parts of a thing. These parts together constitute the whole that is worthy of love.

6. Those who possess the most fear losing the most.

7. I believe that vulgar people with bad habits and lack of reason are unworthy of having such a delicate body and complex internal structure, for they are far from those with originality and excellent rationality. They are merely bags that hold food, allowing it to pass through. In fact, apart from their voice and appearance, they have no other commonalities with humans and can only be regarded as channels for food to flow through.

8. Humans are eloquent, but most of what they say is empty and false.

9. Those who indulge their whims are no different from beasts.

10. Excellent people are innately eager to learn.

Looking back, I can’t help but sigh: if I had read Da Vinci’s works in my childhood, I might not have been deeply troubled and confused by "repetitiveness" in my creations. This insight has also made me determined to recommend Da Vinci’s books to future generations. I hope they can draw strength from them and avoid some of the detours I took.