Giovanni Boccaccio Quotes (27 quotes) | Quotes of famous people

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Giovanni Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio: 27 quotes13 likes

Famous Giovanni Boccaccio Quotes

“Dying more like animals than human beings.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Non come uomini, ma quasi come bestie, morieno.
First Day, Introduction
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“The power of the pen is far greater than those people suppose who have not proved it by experience.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Le forze della penna sono troppo maggiori che coloro non estimano che quelle con conoscimento provato non hanno.
Eighth Day, Seventh Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“Charming ladies, the beauty of a flock of white doves is better enhanced by a black crow than by a pure white swan.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Leggiadre donne, infra molte bianche colombe aggiugne più di bellezza uno nero corvo, che non farebbe un candido cigno.
Ninth Day, Tenth Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“To have compassion for those who suffer is a human quality which everyone should possess, especially those who have required comfort themselves in the past and have managed to find it in others.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Source: The Decameron

“You must read, you must persevere, you must sit up nights, you must inquire, and exert the utmost power of your mind. If one way does not lead to the desired meaning, take another; if obstacles arise, then still another; until, if your strength holds out, you will find that clear which at first looked dark.”

Giovanni Boccaccio

“While farmers generally allow one rooster for ten hens, ten men are scarcely sufficient to service one woman.”

Giovanni Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio Quotes

“Do as we say, not as we do.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Fate quello che noi diciamo e non quello che noi facciamo.
Third Day, Seventh Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“Who means ill, dreams ill.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Chi mal ti vuol, mal ti sogna.
Ninth Day, Seventh Story (tr. J. M. Rigg)
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“I propose to tell you a very brief tale about a love which…ran a smooth course to its happy conclusion.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Uno amore...a lieto fin pervenuto, in una novelletta assai piccola intendo di raccontarvi.
Fifth Day, Fourth Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“A sin that's hidden is half forgiven.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Peccato celato e mezzo perdonato. <br class="br">First Day, Introduction <br class="br"> J. M. Rigg's translation http://decameron.obdurodon.org/engdecameronviewreading.html: Sin that is hidden is half forgiven. <br class="br">The Decameron (c. 1350)

“People are more inclined to believe in bad intentions than in good ones.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

La gente è più acconcia a credere il male che il bene.
Third Day, Sixth Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“The nature of wit is such that its bite must be like that of a sheep rather than a dog, for if it were to bite the listener like a dog, it would no longer be wit but abuse.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Essere la natura de' motti cotale, che essi come la pecora morde deono cosi mordere l'uditore, e non come 'l cane: percio che, se come cane mordesse il motto, non sarebbe motto, ma villania.
Sixth Day, Third Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“And if his own joy knew no bounds, the girl was no less delighted on seeing him.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Se egli fu lieto assai, la letizia della giovane non fu minore.
Fifth Day, Third Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“They banish us to the kitchen, there to tell stories to the cat.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Ci cacciano in cucina a dir delle favole colla gatta.
Fifth Day, Tenth Story (tr. J. M. Rigg)
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“A kissed mouth doesn't lose its freshness, for like the moon it always renews itself.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Bocca baciata non perde ventura, anzi rinnuova come fa la luna.
Second Day, Seventh Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“It frequently happens that people grow tired of always eating the same food, and desire a change of diet.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Sempre non può l' uomo un cibo, ma talvolta desidera di variare.
Seventh Day, Sixth Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“The deceived has the better of the deceiver.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Lo ingannatore rimane a pié dello ingannato.
Second Day, Ninth Story (tr. J. M. Rigg)
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“An oak is not felled by a single blow of the axe.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Per lo primo colpo non cade la quercia.
Seventh Day, Ninth Story (tr. J. M. Rigg)
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“While superfluity engenders disgust, appetite is but whetted when fruit is forbidden.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Come la copia delle cose genera fastidio, cosl l'esser le desiderate negate moltiplica l'appetito.
Fourth Day, Third Story (tr. J. M. Rigg)
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“In the affairs of this world, poverty alone is without envy.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Sola la miseria è senza invidia nelle cose presenti.
Fourth Day, Introduction
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“Wrongs committed in the distant past are far easier to condemn than to rectify.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Le cose mal fatte e di gran tempo passate son più agevoli a riprendere che ad emendare.
Second Day, Fifth Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“They boosted themselves with such nauseating self-praise as to make the stones jump out of the walls and flee.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book Corbaccio

Se medesimi esaltando con parole da fare per istomacaggine le pietre saltar del muro e fuggirsi.
Il Corbaccio (c. 1355), "The Labyrinth of Love" (tr. Normand Cartier)

“A just king must be the first to observe those laws that he has himself prescribed.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Ogni giusto re primo servatore dee essere delle leggi fatte da lui.
Seventh Day, Tenth Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“A sweet little mouth with lips like rubies.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Una boccuccia piccolina, le cui labbra parevan due rubinetti.
Fourth Day, Conclusion
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“Shortly afterwards the moon rose with a very clear sky, and [he] kept watch.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

E poco appresso levatasi la luna, e 'l tempo essendo chiarissimo, [egli] vegghiava.
Fifth Day, Third Story (tr. J. M. Rigg)
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“Every person born into this world has a natural right to sustain, preserve, and defend his own life to the best of his ability.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Natural ragione è di ciascuno che ci nasce, la sua vita, quanto può, aiutare e conservare e difendere.
First Day, Introduction
The Decameron (c. 1350)

“He who is wicked and held to be good, can cheat because no one imagines he would.”

Giovanni Boccaccio book The Decameron

Chi è reo e buono è tenuto
Può fare il male e non è creduto.
Fourth Day, Second Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)