People From Veneto

"Nor can We predict happier times for religion and government from the plans of those who desire vehemently to separate the Church from the state, and to break the mutual concord between temporal authority and the priesthood. It is certain that that concord which always was favorable and beneficial for the sacred and the civil order is feared by the shameless lovers of liberty."

"A man can enjoy a terrestrial paradise after eighty, but it is not to be obtained, except by strict temperance in food and drink, virtues acceptable to God, and friends to reason."

"It follows then that it is impossible to be a perfect doctor for another person. A person can’t have a better guide than himself or any prescription better than the regular living that I’ve described. I don’t mean to say that those who live this regular life don’t ever need a doctor or that we shouldn’t give him the respect he’s due. We should call a doctor when we get sick. But for simply staying healthy, it’s my opinion that we should consider this self-controlled, regular life as our doctor, since it keeps even weak people healthy and causes them to live well and hearty to the age of one-hundred and further."

"It is true, and cannot be denied, that man must at last die, however careful with himself he may have been; but yet, I maintain, without sickness and great pain, for in my case I expect to pass away quietly and peacefully, and my present condition ensures this to me, for, though at this great age, I am hearty and content, eating with a good appetite, and sleeping soundly. Moreover, all my senses are as good as ever, and in the highest perfection; my understanding clear and bright, my judgment sound, my memory tenacious, my spirits good, and my voice (one of the first things which is apt to fail us) has grown so strong and sonorous, that I cannot help chanting aloud my prayers, morning and night."

"No man should be a perfect physician to any but himself."

"A man cannot have a better guide than himself, nor any physic better than a regular life."

"It is universally agreed, that custom, in time, becomes a second nature, forcing men to use that, whether good or bad, to which they have been habituated; in fact, we see habit, in many instances, gain the ascendency over reason. This is so undeniably true, that, virtuous men, by keeping company with wicked, often fall into the same vicious course of life. Seeing and considering all this, I have decided to write on the vice of intemperance, in eating and drinking. Now, though all are agreed, that intemperance is the parent of gluttony, and sober living the offspring of abstemiousness, yet, owing to the power of custom, the former is considered a virtue, and the latter as mean and avaricious, and so many men are blinded and besotted to such a degree, that they come to the age of forty or fifty, burdened with strange and painful infirmities, which render them decrepit and useless, whereas, had they lived temperately and soberly, they would in all probability, have been sound and hearty, to the age of eighty and upwards."

"Some sensual unthinking persons affirm, that a long life is no great blessing, and that the state of a man, who has passed his seventy-fifth year, cannot really be called life; but this is wrong, as I shall fully prove; and it is my sincere wish, that all men would endeavour to attain my age [of eighty-three], that they might enjoy that period of life, which, of all others is most desirable."

"Our beneficent Creator is desirous, that, as he originally favoured human nature with longevity, we should all enjoy the full advantage of his intentions, knowing, that when a man has passed seventy, he may be exempt from the sensual strivings, and govern himself entirely by the dictates of reason."

"My friends and relations … urged … that the quantity [of food] I took was too little for one so advanced in years; against this, I urged that nature was content with little, and that with this small quantity, I had preserved myself for many years in health and activity, that I believed as a man advanced in years, his stomach grew weaker, and therefore the tendency should be to lessen the amount of food rather than to increase. I further reminded them of the two proverbs, which say; he who has a mind to eat a great deal, must eat but little; eating little makes life long, and, living long, he must eat much; and the other proverb was: that, what we leave after making a hearty meal, does us more good than what we have eaten."

"La verecondia delle donzelle è come l’acquavite. È perfetta sine a tanto che si tiene ben chiusa, ma se prende l’aria, vela subito via."

"Non si dice quattro, se non è nel sacco."

"One of the greatest ever."

"I said, ‘No, you have to play striker.’ Baggio went to another club. That year Baggio scored 25 [actually 22] goals – for Bologna! I lost 25 goals! Big mistake."

"He's a fantastic guy, he can play football like few others can, without a doubt the best player I've played with."

"I remember when I was six years old and there was only one idol for me: Roberto Baggio."

"He's without doubt the most skilful number ten in the modern game, the archetypal playmaker, if you like, who can create chances and score goals."

"There's not a team in the world that wouldn't like to have him in their line-up."

"One games stands out in particular, one against Ancona which we won 5–1. Baggio scored four goals in the first 20 minutes and killed the game off. I don't think I've seen a better performance from any player in any game I've ever played in. For half an hour, he was on fire. As footballers go, he's a genius."

"Baggio is the greatest little player I've ever seen."

"He has the kind of skill people dream about."

"Roberto Baggio was the best player I ever played against; he made football look very easy."

"I had the good fortune to have seen [Giuseppe] Meazza, and I thought of him when I saw Baggio play. Baggio has fantasy."

"Roby is a great nine and a half."

"Baggio on the bench? It's something that I will never understand in my lifetime."

"He looks like a wet rabbit."

"I have lost three World Cups, all on penalties. [...] If you'll allow me this, it really gets on my nerves."

"The angels sing in his legs."

"More productive than Maradona; he [Baggio] is without doubt the best number 10 in the league.""

"Penalties are only missed by those who have the courage to take them. (Italian: I rigori li sbaglia solo chi ha il coraggio di tirarli.)"

"Baggio. Oh yes, oh yes…oh yes! What a goal by Baggio! That's the goal they’ve all been waiting for!"

"I knew what I had to do and my concentration was perfect. But I was so tired that I tried to hit the ball too hard."

"Roberto Baggio was the best Italian fantasista; he was better than Meazza and Boniperti, and he was amongst the greatest of all time, right behind Maradona, Pelé, and maybe Cruyff. Without the injury problems and the difficulties with his knees, he would have been the very best player in history."

"The only way of setting the Will free is to deliver it from wilfulness."

"Neither in science itself, nor in that lower class of the arts which arise out of its practical application, has any individual work an enduring ultimate value, unless from its execution; and this would be altogether independent of its scientific value, and would belong to it solely as a work of art. In science its main worth is temporary, as a stepping-stone to something beyond. Even the Principia, as Newton, with characteristic modesty entitled his great work, is truly but the beginning of a natural philosophy, and no more an ultimate work than Watt's steam-engine or Arkwright's spinning-machine. It may have a lasting interest from its execution, or from accidental circumstances, over and above its scientific value: but, as a scientific treatise it was sure to be superseded; just as the mechanical inventions of one generation, whatever ingenuity they may betoken at the time, are superseded and thrown into the background by those of another. Thus in science there is a continual progress, a pushing onward: no ground is lost; and the lines keep on advancing. We know all that our ancestors knew, and more: the gain is clear, palpable, indisputable. The discoveries made by former ages have become a permanent portion of human knowledge, and serve as a stable groundwork to build fresh discoveries atop of them: as these in their turn will build up another story, and this again another."

"A lawyer's brief will be brief, before a freethinker thinks freely."

"A weak mind sinks under prosperity, as well as under adversity."

"If then I am addressing one of that numerous class, who read to be told what to think, let me advise you to meddle with the book no further. You wish to buy a house ready furnished: do not come to look for it in a stonequarry. But if you are building up your opinions for yourself, and only want to be provided with materials, you may meet with many things in these pages to suit you."

"Half the failures in life arise from pulling in one's horse as he is leaping."

"Be what you are. This is the first step towards becoming better than you are."

"A Faith that sets bounds to itself, that will believe so much and no more, that will trust thus far and no further, is none. It is only Doubt taking a nap in an elbow chair. The husband, whose scepticism is prurient enough to contemplate the possibility of his wife's proving false, richly deserves that she should do so."

"The craving for sympathy is the common boundary-line between joy and sorrow."

"Nothing is further from Earth than Heaven: nothing is nearer than Heaven to Earth."

"Libero è il voto, e inviolato il dritto: Ma la vittoria è di chi tira dritto."

"Povero chi si fida ad un marrano: Terra nevosa non mena più grano. Povera chi si fida a un disertore : Di ramo seco non germoglia fiore."

"Quando la gente non avea farina, Lo re diceva : Mangiate pollame."

"Lenta germoglia e lenta si matura La rovere del bosco, e a lungo dura. II vento la disfronda e la flagella: Ma il vento passa e lei si rinnovella."

"Ha due ali la vita : il gaudio e il duolo; L’amor la impenna, e Dio dirige il volo."

"Troppi taglian la pianta per i frutti, E traggono lor pro dal mal di tutti."

"Lavare i nostri panni in casa."