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Cosimo de' Medici Quotes

Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici, called "the Elder" and posthumously "Father of the Fatherland" , was an Italian banker and politician, the first member of the Medici family that de facto ruled Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. Despite his influence, his power was not absolute; Florence's legislative councils at times resisted his proposals throughout his life, and he was always viewed as primus inter pares rather than an autocrat. His power derived from his wealth as a banker, and he was a great patron of learning, the arts and architecture. Wikipedia  

✵ 27. September 1389 – 1. August 1464
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Cosimo de' Medici: 3   quotes 5   likes

Famous Cosimo de' Medici Quotes

“We read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends.”

Cosimo de' Medici

Attributed to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence, in Apothegms by Francis Bacon, (1624) No. 206

“All those things [meaning works of art] have given me the greatest satisfaction and contentment because they are not only for the honor of God but are likewise for my own remembrance. For fifty years, I have done nothing else but earn money and spend money; and it became clear that spending money gives me greater pleasure than earning it.”

Cosimo de' Medici

Attributed to Cosimo de' Medici by Salviati; as cited in Taylor, F.H. (1948). The taste of angels, a history of art collecting from Rameses to Napoleon. Boston: Little, Brown. pp. 65–66.

“There is in gardens a plant which one ought to leave dry, although most people water it. It is the weed called envy.”

Cosimo de' Medici

Attributed to Cosimo de' Medici in: Jean Lucas-Dubreton (1961). Daily Life in Florence in the Time of the Medici. p. 58

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