Love doesn't hide. It stays and fights. It goes the distance, that's why love is so strong. So it can carry you all the way home.

They merit more praise who know how to suffer misery than those who temper themselves in contentment.

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

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

With a goose-quill and a few sheets of paper, I mock myself of the universe. They say I am the son of a courtesan; it may be so, but I have the heart of a King. I live free, I enjoy myself, I can call myself happy.

I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for 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.