Men are ready to suffer anything from others or from heaven itself, provided that, when it comes to words, they are untouched.
Giacomo LeopardiHe who has the courage to laugh is almost as much a master of the world as he who is ready to die.
Giacomo LeopardiThat is why all great men are modest: they consistently measure themselves not in comparison to other people but to the idea of perfection ever present in their minds, an ideal infinitely clearer and greater than any common people have, and they also realize how far they are from fulfilling their ideal.
Giacomo LeopardiNo one is so completely disenchanted with the world, or knows it so thoroughly, or is so utterly disgusted with it, that when it begins to smile upon him he does not become partially reconciled to it.
Giacomo Leopardi