Quote
By Leonardo da Vinci
You do ill if you praise, and still worse if you reprove in a matter you do not understand.
- Source
- The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci, compiled and edited from the original manuscripts by Jean Paul Richter, vol. 2, 1883 · Richter no. 1177, p. 294
- Read at
- Internet Archive (scan of the 1883 first edition, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington; English translation by Jean Paul Richter)
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About this quote
From Leonardo's notebooks, in the English translation by Jean Paul Richter (The Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci, London: Sampson Low, 1883, no. 1177, in the chapter on morals). Leonardo wrote it in Italian (Mai fai se lodi, e peggio se tu ripredi la cosa, quando bene tu non la intendi). The popular version says "censure"; Richter says "reprove".