30+ Pietro Aretino Quotes (Satirical, Bawdy And Observant)

Pietro Aretino was an Italian poet, playwright, and satirist from the 16th century. He is best known for his works of satire, which often mocked and criticized the powerful and influential members of society. He is also remembered for his infamous Sonetti Lussuriosi, a series of poems depicting sexual acts.

Top 10 Pietro Aretino Quotes

1. 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.
2. I am, indeed, a king, because I know how to rule myself.
3. Telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies.
4. Perfumed and gallant words make our ears belch.
5. If you want to annoy your neighbors, tell the truth about them.
6. I keep my friends as misers do their treasure, because, of all the things granted us by wisdom, none is greater or better than friendship.
7. Flee laziness which while it produces an immediate delight, ends in the sorrow of repentance. And know that nature without exercise is a seed shut up in the pod, and art without practice is nothing.
8. They merit more praise who know how to suffer misery than those who temper themselves in contentment.
9. Life is a toy made of glass; it appears to be of inestimable price, but in reality it is very cheap.
10. There is no food more satiating than milk and honey; and just as such foods produce disgust for the palate, so perfumed and gallant words make our ears belch.

Pietro Aretino Short Quotes

• The best thing for a man to do is to be born and, being born, to die at once.
• Even when I'm railed at, I get my quota of renown.
• Age has a good mind and sorry shanks.
• A man who permits his honor to be taken, permits his life to be taken.
• 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?
• Why should the eyes be denied what delights them most?
• What evil is there in seeing a man possess a woman? Why, the beasts would be more free than we!
• We are the buffoons of our children.
• Learning is the property of those who fear to do disagreeable things.

Pietro Aretino Famous Quotes And Sayings

And there is quite a different sort of conversation around a fire than there is in the shadow of a beech tree.... Four dry logs have in them all the circumstance necessary to a conversation of four or five hours, with chestnuts on the plate and a jug of wine between the legs. Yes, let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. — Pietro Aretino

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

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. — Pietro Aretino

He who has not been at a tavern knows not what a paradise it is. O holy tavern! O miraculous tavern! - holy, because no carking cares are there, nor weariness, nor pain; and miraculous, because of the spits, which themselves turn round and round! — Pietro Aretino

Poetry is a whim of Nature in her lighter moods; it requires nothing but its own madness and, lacking that, it becomes a soundless cymbal, a belfry without a bell. — Pietro Aretino

Angry men are blind and foolish, for reason at such a time takes flight and, in her absence, wrath plunders all the riches of the intellect, while the judgment remains the prisoner of its own pride. — Pietro Aretino

Anger represents a certain power, when a great mind, prevented from executing its own generous desires, is moved by it. — Pietro Aretino

Desire is poison at lunch and wormwood at dinner; your bed is a stone, friendship is hateful and your fancy is always fixed on one thing. — Pietro Aretino

What evil is there in seeing a man possess a woman? Why, the beasts would be more free than we! It seems to me that that which is given us by nature for our own preservation ought to be worn round the neck as a pendant and in the hat for a medal. — Pietro Aretino

Nothing, it appears to me, is of greater value in a man than the power of judgment; and the man who has it may be compared to a chest filled with books, for he is the son of nature and the father of art. — Pietro Aretino

Life Lessons by Pietro Aretino

1. Pietro Aretino's work emphasizes the importance of speaking truth to power and standing up for what is right, even if it is unpopular.
2. He also demonstrates the value of using humour and satire to make a point, as well as the power of art to bring about social change.
3. Finally, his work serves as a reminder that creativity and courage can be used to challenge the status quo and create a better world.