Tao Te Ching
Giovanni Boccaccio dʒoˈvanni bokˈkattʃo
1313 – 1375 CE
Close student, friend and collaborator with the “Father of the Renaissance,” Petrarch; Boccaccio became a popular poet/writer, “the first Greek humanist in Western Europe,” and promoted the ancient literature, philosophy, and history which set the stage for the Renaissance. His book on classical mythology became a key reference for 400+ years and challenged Christian belief that only the Bible was relevant, that there was only harm in “pagan” writings. In an early nod to feminist proposition, he wrote the first collection devoted to the biographies of famous women. Living through a tumultuous time of political intrigue, the executions of his friends, bitter poverty and bad health; he resisted many of the era’s superstitious and setting-sun forces; translated works by Homer, Euripides, and Aristotle; and helped launch one of history’s most influential shifts, the Renaissance.
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Artists Christian Historians / Journalists Humanism Poets Renaissance Roman / Italian Translators
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Western
Renaissance (1304 – 1576 CE)Unlisted Sources
On Famous Women
Quotes by Giovanni Boccaccio (10 quotes)
“To be human it is to have compassion for the unhappy.”
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“Heaven would indeed be heaven if lovers were there permitted as much enjoyment as they had experienced on earth.”
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“Read, persevere, sit up nights, inquire, exert the utmost power of your mind. If one way does not lead to understanding, take another; if obstacles arise, then still another; persist until you find clarity in what at first looked dark.”
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“Kissed lips don’t lose their fortune; but, on the contrary, like the moon, quickly renew themselves.”
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“In the affairs of this world, poverty alone is without envy.”
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“Great poets show how the sacred fire of Venus may be made to burn in the coldest breast.”
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“A young woman is flighty, eager for many lovers; she rates her beauty beyond what the mirror shows and is proud… She know neither virtue nor intelligence and is always giddy like a leaf in the wind.”
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“When he goes to the court of Rome and sees the lewd and wicked life of the clergy, not only will he never become a Christian, but, were he already a Christian, he would infallibly turn Jew again.”
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“Not only the Queen of Ethiopia and Egypt, but also the queen of Arabia, Sheba had a grand palace on a very large island located near the Nile river. From there, she crossed the deserts of Arabia, through Ethiopia and Egypt and up the coast of the Red Sea, finally coming to Jerusalem to see the great King Solomon.”
from On Famous Women
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