--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The imagination is to the effect as the…" description: "\"The imagination is to the effect as the shadow to the opaque body which causes the shadow.\" — Leonardo da Vinci" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/leonardo-da-vinci-330_body_the-imagination-is-to-the-effect-as-the_566006.jpg" --- # The imagination is to the effect as the shadow to the… ![“The imagination is to the effect as the shadow to the opaque body which causes the shadow.” quote by Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/leonardo-da-vinci-330_body_the-imagination-is-to-the-effect-as-the_566006.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/leonardo-da-vinci-330_body_the-imagination-is-to-the-effect-as-the_566006.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/leonardo-da-vinci-330_body_the-imagination-is-to-the-effect-as-the_566006.jpg) > “The imagination is to the effect as the shadow to the opaque body which causes the shadow.” [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He likens imagination to a shadow cast by an opaque body, suggesting that imagination is a reflection of unseen ideas. **In simple terms:** Imagination mirrors hidden ideas Key Takeaway Understand that imagination reveals underlying concepts. Themes creativity perception philosophy art science Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - artistic creation - scientific hypothesis - design thinking Key Concepts Shadow metaphor cognitive visualization creative process Questions to Reflect On - What unseen ideas shape your creative work? - How does perception influence imagination? A Different Perspective Imagination depends on unseen foundations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Opaque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opaque/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [A background can be painted in the same range of values as the foreground by reversing the light effect. In the shadow plane, paint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-dunn/a-background-can-be-painted-in-the-same-range-of-values-as-the/) [Harvey Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-dunn/) > [Things seem greater by imagination than they are in effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/things-seem-greater-by-imagination-than-they-are-in-effect/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [We are all afraid of something. But that shouldn't stop us from going on every day. We should not always walk in fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-m-marshall-iii/we-are-all-afraid-of-something-but-that-shouldn-t-stop-us-from-going/) [Joseph M. Marshall III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-m-marshall-iii/) > [Shadow is the obstruction of light. 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It blinks an opaque screen over your ability to learn.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/ready-comprehension-is-often-a-knee-jerk-response-and-the-most/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [I'm interested in when language fails, when it is opaque.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/i-m-interested-in-when-language-fails-when-it-is-opaque/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [I've got spider veins all over my legs, so I wear opaque tights all winter. 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Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“However, if application A is opaque and application B provides a rich set of observability tools, it’s very likely that application B will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-gregg/however-if-application-a-is-opaque-and-application-b-provides-a-rich/) Brendan Gregg ## More by Leonardo da Vinci > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [A painter should begin every canvas with a wash of black, because all things in nature are dark except where exposed by the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/a-painter-should-begin-every-canvas-with-a-wash-of-black-because-all/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Nothing can be love or hated unless it is first known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/nothing-can-be-love-or-hated-unless-it-is-first-known/) [Leonardo Da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [An arch consists of two weaknesses which, leaning one against the other, make a strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/an-arch-consists-of-two-weaknesses-which-leaning-one-against-the/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [But to me all sciences seem vain and full of error that are not born of experience, mother of all certainty, and do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/but-to-me-all-sciences-seem-vain-and-full-of-error-that-are-not-born/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“Time stays long enough for those who use it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/time-stays-long-enough-for-those-who-use-it/) [Leonardo Da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [It is ordained that to the ambitious, who derive no satisfaction from the gifts of life and the beauty of the world, life shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/it-is-ordained-that-to-the-ambitious-who-derive-no-satisfaction-from/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Be a mirror, absorb everything around you and still remain the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/be-a-mirror-absorb-everything-around-you-and-still-remain-the-same/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Your brain is much better than you think; just use it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/your-brain-is-much-better-than-you-think-just-use-it/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Necessity is a guardian in Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/necessity-is-a-guardian-in-nature/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/human-subtlety-will-never-devise-an-invention-more-beautiful-more/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/people-reveal-themselves-completely-only-when-they-are-thrown-out-of/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [To be a winner you must want to win but must know of the chance of losing and must not fear of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/to-be-a-winner-you-must-want-to-win-but-must-know-of-the-chance-of/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Nature is so delightful and abundant in its variations that among trees of the same kind there would not be found one which nearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/nature-is-so-delightful-and-abundant-in-its-variations-that-among/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Wisdom is the daughter of experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/wisdom-is-the-daughter-of-experience/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) [Explore all 664 Leonardo da Vinci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. 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You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. 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