
Monday, November 11, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
DIA 1.2.5, 190

It has been remarked that when a danger presses, man rarely remains at his habitual level; he elevates himself well above or falls below. So does it happen to peoples themselves. Instead of elevating a nation, extreme perils sometimes succeed in pulling it down; they stir up its passions without guiding them, and far from enlightening its intelligence, cloud it. But it is more common to see, among nations as among men, extraordinary virtue born of the very imminence of danger.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Inf. XXIII.46-51

My leader in a moment snatched me up,
Like a mother who, awakened by the hubbub
Before she sees the flames that burn right near her,
Snatches up her child and flees,
And, more concerned for him than for herself,
Does not delay to put a shift on.
Letter to Vettori, 3 Aug 1514

I have abandoned, then, the thoughts of affairs great and serious; I do not any more take delight in reading ancient things or in discussing modern ones; they are all turned to soft conversations, for which I thank Venus and all Cyprus.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Saturday, September 21, 2013
DIA 1.1.8, 106

Separated by 1,300 leagues of sea from their enemies, aided by a powerful ally, the United States owed victory much more to its position than to the valor of its armies or to the patriotism of its citizens.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
De Cive I.2

I hope no body will doubt, but that men would much more greedily be carried by nature, if all fear were removed, to obtain dominion, than to gain society.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Emile IV, 218

You see that the truth has not been adulterated and there was no need to take advantage of one's pupil instead of instructing him. (Courtesy of MS.)
SOL 19.20

Necessity and perhaps the nature of the climate have given the Chinese an unthinkable avidity for gain, and the laws have not dreamed of checking it. Everything has been prohibited if it is a question of acquisition by violence; everything has been permitted if it is a matter of obtaining by artifice or industry. Therefore, let us not compare the morality of China with that of Europe.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
DIA 1.1.4, 55

They are the cause and end of all things; everything comes out of them and everything is absorbed into them.
Monday, September 16, 2013
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