Ludovico Ariosto Quotes

Of them I thought it wiser not to treat.
So, leave the bitter and retain the sweet.

Natura inchina al male, e viene a farsi
L'abito poi difficile a mutarsi.

Qual d'acqua chiara il tremolante lume,
Dal sol percossa o da' notturni rai,
Per gli ampli tetti va con lungo salto
A destra et a sinistra, e basso et alto.

Sì secreto alcuno esser non puote,
Ch'al lungo andar non sia chi 'l vegga e note.

Dovea in memoria avere il signor mio,
Che l'oro e 'l premio ogni durezza inchina;
Ma, quando bisognò, l'ebbe in oblio,
Ed ei si procacciò la sua ruina.

Blind when I gave him such a trust, nor saw
How easily the fire consumes the straw.

Who seems most hideous when adorned the most.

My master ought to have remembered what
A glittering prize can do to bend the will,
Yet at the crucial moment he forgot
And all his fortune changed from good to ill.

There can be times at sea when a ship is tossed
by two different winds, one of which propels
it forward while the other one is crossed
or retrograde, and among the powerful swells
it turns and yaws as if the crew were lost.

Ma 'l populo facea come i più fanno,
Ch'ubbidiscon più a quei che più in odio hanno.

Whoever in a noble noose is caught,
Although his lady may but ill receive
His ardour and thus render him distraught,
And no reward for his devotion give,
Whence all his time and labour come to naught,
Yet, if his heart be worthily bestowed,
No lamentation to his grief is owed.

Molti diran che non si de' osservare
Quel ch'era ingiusto e illicito a giurare.

Che dona e tolle ogn'altro ben Fortuna;
Sol in virtù non ha possanza alcuna.

The higher up on Fortune's wheel you see
A wretch ascend, the sooner he will fall,
And where his head is now, his feet will be.

For it would be indeed a foolish plan,
Two living men to lose for one dead man.