1153

Science, its principles and rules.

Experience never errs; it is only your judgments that err by promising themselves effects such as are not caused by your experiments.

Experience does not err; only your judgments err by expecting from her what is not in her power. Men wrongly complain of Experience; with great abuse they accuse her of leading them astray but they set Experience aside, turning from it with complaints as to our ignorance causing us to be carried away by vain and foolish desires to promise ourselves, in her name, things that are not in her power; saying that she is fallacious. Men are unjust in complaining of innocent Experience, constantly accusing her of error and of false evidence.

Taken from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci edited by Jean Paul Richter, 1880.

Notebooks of Leonoardo da Vinci
XIX: Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.
. . .
1133
The powers of Nature.
1134,
1135,
1136,
1137,
1138,
1139
Psychology.
1140,
1141,
1142,
1143,
1144,
1145,
1146,
1147
Science, its principles and rules.
1148,
1149,
1150,
1151,
1152,
1153,
1154,
1155,
1156,
1157,
1158,
1159,
1160,
1161
What is life?.
1162,
1163
Death.
1164
How to spend life.
1165,
1166,
1167,
1168,
1169,
1170,
1171,
1172,
1173
. . .