“A sweet little mouth with lips like rubies.”
Una boccuccia piccolina, le cui labbra parevan due rubinetti.
Fourth Day, Conclusion
The Decameron (c. 1350)
Quotes from book
The Decameron
Giovanni Boccaccio
Original title
Il Decameron, cognominato Prencipe Galeotto
(Italian, 1351)
The Decameron , subtitled Prince Galehaut and sometimes nicknamed l'Umana commedia , is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio . The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio probably conceived of The Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. The various tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence , it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of classical early Italian prose.
“Shortly afterwards the moon rose with a very clear sky, and [he] kept watch.”
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)
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.”
Chi è reo e buono è tenuto
Può fare il male e non è creduto.
Fourth Day, Second Story
The Decameron (c. 1350)
