Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Alessandro Manzoni

Quote by Alessandro Manzoni

“Coloro i quali avevano impugnato così risolutamente, e così a lungo, che ci fosse vicino a loro, tra loro, un germe di male, che poteva, per mezzi naturali, propagarsi e fare una strage; non potendo ormai negare il propagamento di esso, e non volendo attribuirlo a que’ mezzi (che sarebbe stato confessare a un tempo un grand’inganno e una gran colpa), erano tanto più disposti a trovarci qualche altra causa, a menar buona qualunque ne venisse messa in campo.”

Quote by Alessandro Manzoni

Work

The Betrothed

This novel, a classic of Italian literature, delves into the lives of two young people, Renzo and Lucia, whose love is challenged by societal and political forces. Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, it explores themes of love, loyalty, and social class in a vivid and dramatic narrative. more

Author

Alessandro Manzoni
Alessandro Manzoni

Alessandro Manzoni, born on March 7, 1785, and died on May 22, 1873, was an important figure in the Romanticism movement of Italian literature. He is renowned for his poetry and novels, with his masterpiece 'I Promessi Sposi' being considered a classic of Italian literature. more

You May Also Like

“Damen felt Laurent start shaking against him, and realised that, silently, helplessly, he was laughing. There came the sound of at least two more sets of footsteps striding into the room, greeted with: 'Here he is. We found him fucking this derelict, disguised as the tavern prostitute.' 'This is the tavern prostitute. You idiot, the Prince of Vere is so celibate I doubt he even touches himself once every ten years. You. We're looking for two men. One was a barbarian soldier, a giant animal. The other was blond. Not like this boy. Attractive.' 'There was a blond lord's pet downstairs,' said Volo. 'Brained like a pea and easy to hoodwink. I don't think he was the Prince.' 'I wouldn't call him blond. More like mousy. And he wasn't that attractive,' said the boy, sulkily. The shaking, progressively, had worsened. 'Stop enjoying yourself,' Damen murmured. 'We're going to be killed, any minute.' 'Giant animal,' said Laurent. 'Stop it.”

“We humans have cooperative, selfless and loving moral instincts, the voice or expression of which we call our conscience—which is the complete opposite of competitive, selfish and aggressive instincts. As Charles Darwin said, "The moral sense… affords the best and highest distinction between man and the lower animals.”

“La cruda verità è questa: si può anche dire di voler rendere omaggio alla superiorità intellettuale, reale o presunta, e magari lo si fa pure davvero; ma la tendenza generale in tutto il mondo è quello di assegnare il predominio alla mediocrità. Nel mondo antico, nel Medioevo e, in misura via via decrescente, in tutto il periodo di transazione che va dal feudalesimo fino a oggi, l'individuo costituiva un potere a sé: e quando aveva o un gran talento o una posizione sociale elevata, era un potere considerevole. Oggi, gli individui si perdono nella folla.”

“Tutti avranno notato il gusto che hanno i gatti di fermarsi a oziare tra i due battenti di una porta socchiusa. Chi non ha detto a un gatto: "Ma entra, dunque!". Vi sono uomini che, posti davanti a un avvenimento imprevisto, hanno pure la tendenza a restare indecisi tra due risoluzioni, a rischio di farsi schiacciare qualora il destino chiuda bruscamente l'avventura. I più prudenti, per quanto gatti possano essere, e proprio perché son gatti, corrono talvolta maggior rischio degli audaci.”

“Sufism is the reconciliation of all opposites: the outer and the inner, the material and the spiritual, the finite and the infinite, the here and the hereafter, freedom and servanthood, the human and the divine. Enlightenment in this tradition does not prevent us from functioning in a practical and humble way in life, does not entitle us to special treatment, does not exclude us from the inevitable joys and griefs of life. The Sufi’s union with God does not cancel servanthood. What I found through Sufism far exceeded my hopes. As an example, one poet said to me: “All of my reading, study, and creative writing could not have prepared me for the poetry of Rumi.” And yet all Rumi’s poetry is just the wave on the surface of the ocean of Sufi spirituality. Perhaps it is consistent with the idea of Divine generosity that it should exceed in actuality the gift we had foreseen in our imagination. The Source is not only infinitely generous, it is infinitely creative, and its gifts surpass human imagination.”