Leonardo’s phrase presents truth as something that becomes clearer with the passage of time. Immediate appearances, assumptions or incomplete evidence may obscure what is actually the case, while later observation and accumulated knowledge can expose errors and provide a fuller understanding.

The statement reflects an epistemological idea: reliable knowledge may require patience, investigation and repeated testing. Time itself does not automatically produce truth, but it can create opportunities for new evidence to appear, claims to be examined and mistaken conclusions to be corrected. In historical matters especially, distance from events can sometimes allow records, consequences and competing accounts to be compared more carefully.

The quote can therefore be applied when evidence is incomplete or disputed. It encourages restraint in reaching final conclusions and recognises that understanding may improve as further information becomes available and earlier claims are tested against it.