Cosimo Medici

"I have not the least doubt that the greatest and noblest pleasure which we are capable of enjoying in this life, is the pleasure which springs from the practical exercise of the social and benevolent affections."

"The great tradition of public service goes by the board."

"Money is like manure, if you pile it up it smells, but if you spread it around it does a lot of good."

"Patience is the virtue of asses."

"We read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends."

"Art is the most noble of enterprises."

"The greater the man, the more distasteful is dignity."

"Magnificence is appropriate to those who have lasting power and riches."

"To be everywhere at once is to be nowhere."

"A state is as fragile as it is magnificent."

"The study of history is the beginning of political wisdom."

"Florence is the most beautiful city, and beauty is worth any cost."

"Knowledge is power, but wisdom is knowing how to use it."

"The pursuit of excellence is the pursuit of truth."

"I desire that my house should be a haven of peace and harmony."

"Learning never exhausts the mind."

"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits."

"The best investment is in the minds of men."

"Courage is the most important of all virtues, because without courage you cannot practice any other virtue consistently."

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

"Without great solitude, no serious work is possible."

"The greatest glory of Florence can be neither arms nor buildings, so much as the wit of her children."

"Do not despair; to be resigned is sometimes to be prepared."

"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well."

"A kind and compassionate act is often its own immediate reward."

"The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of cities, but the kind of man the country turns out."

"Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants and contented mind."

"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides."

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

"Strength does not come from winning; strength comes from struggle."