26+ Francesco Guicciardini Quotes On Education, Art And Analytical

Francesco Guicciardini was an Italian historian and statesman who served as a diplomat for the Republic of Florence during the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for his masterpiece, The History of Italy, which is considered one of the most influential works of Renaissance historiography. Guicciardini's works are noted for their realism and political insight, and his approach to historiography has been widely influential in the centuries since his death. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Francesco Guicciardini on education, life, art.

Top 10 Francesco Guicciardini Quotes

1. Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them.
2. We fight to great disadvantage when we fight with those who have nothing to lose.
3. Waste no time with revolutions that do not remove the causes of your complaints but simply change the faces of those in charge.
4. By numberless examples it will evidently appear that human affairs are as subject to change and fluctuation as the waters of the sea agitated by the winds.
5. One who imitates what is bad always goes beyond his model; while one who imitates what is good always comes up short of it.
6. To give vent now and then to his feelings, whether of pleasure or discontent, is a great ease to a man's heart.
7. Affairs that depend on many rarely succeed.
8. Ambassadors are the eye and ear of states.
9. To relinquish a present good through apprehension of a future evil is in most instances unwise ... from a fear which may afterwards turn out groundless, you lost the good that lay within your grasp.
10. The Return we reap from generous actions is not always evident.

Francesco Guicciardini Quotes About Affairs

There is no evil in human affairs that has not some good mingled with it. [It., Non e male alcuno nelle cose umane che non abbia congiunto seco qualche bene.] — Francesco Guicciardini

He is less likely to be mistaken who looks forward to a change in the affairs of the world than he who regards them as firm and stable. — Francesco Guicciardini

The affairs of this world are so shifting and depend on so many accidents, that it is hard to form any judgment concerning the future; nay, we see from experience that the forecasts even of the wise almost always turn out false. — Francesco Guicciardini

Experience has always shown, and reason also, that affairs which depend on many seldom succeed. — Francesco Guicciardini

Francesco Guicciardini Famous Quotes And Sayings

Even though many people prove to be ungrateful, do not let that stop you from benefiting others-for not only is beneficence in itself a noble and almost divine quality, it may also happen that while you practice it, you will encounter someone so grateful that he will make up for all the others' ingratitude. — Francesco Guicciardini

If you attempt certain things at the right time, they are easy to accomplish - in fact, they almost get done by themselves. If you undertake them before the time is right, not only will they fail, but they will often become impossible to accomplish even when the time would have been right. — Francesco Guicciardini

As it is our nature to be more moved by hope than fear, the example of one we see abundantly rewarded cheers and encourages us far more than the sight of many who have not been well treated disquiets us. — Francesco Guicciardini

Keep your eye fixed not so much on what they [people] ought in reason to do, as on what they are likely to do based on their disposition and habits. — Francesco Guicciardini

He who imitates what is evil always goes beyond the example that is set; on the contrary, he who imitates what is good always falls short. — Francesco Guicciardini

There is nothing so fleeting as the memory of benefits received. — Francesco Guicciardini

Ambition is not in itself an evil; nor is he to be condemned whose spirit prompts him to seek fame by worthy and honourable ways. — Francesco Guicciardini

I know no man who feels deeper disgust than I do at the ambition, avarice, and profligacy of the priesthood, as well because every one of these vices is odious in itself, as because each of them separately and all of them together are utterly abhorrent in men making profession of a life dedicated to God. — Francesco Guicciardini

...be more guided by hope than fear. — Francesco Guicciardini

Let no one trust so entirely to natural prudence as to persuade himself that it will suffice to guide him without help from experience. — Francesco Guicciardini

How much luckier than all the rest of mankind are the astrologers who, if they tell one truth among a hundred lies, obtain so much credit that even their lies are believed. — Francesco Guicciardini

It is a great matter to be in authority over others; for authority, if it be rightly used, will make you feared beyond your actual resources. — Francesco Guicciardini

Life Lessons by Francesco Guicciardini

1. Francesco Guicciardini's work emphasizes the importance of understanding the complexity of history, as well as the need to look beyond one's own perspective in order to gain a more complete understanding of the past.
2. Guicciardini's writings also emphasize the importance of analyzing the motivations and actions of historical figures in order to gain insight into the larger forces at work in history.
3. Lastly, Guicciardini's work stresses the importance of understanding the interconnectedness of events in order to gain a fuller understanding of the past.