Flattery and deceit are the darlings of great men, and so with these men spread the butter on thick, if you want to get something out of them, otherwise you'll come home to me with a full belly and an empty purse.

Nature without exercise is a seed shut up in a pod, and art without practice is nothing.

Why should I be ashamed to describe what nature was not ashamed to create?

I am, indeed, a king, because I know how to rule myself.

The art of war is like the art of the courtesan; indeed they might be called sisters, since both are slaves of desperation.

Telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies.

I am a free man. I do not need to copy Petrarca or Boccaccio. My own genius is enough. Let others worry themselves about style, and so cease to be themselves. Without a master, without a model, without a guide, I go to work and earn my living, my well-being and my fame.