Giambattista Vico

"The dead speak only through the living."

"To be is to do - esse est agere."

"Imagination is the beginning of all creation."

"The greatest fruit of friendship is the ease and discharge of the fullness and swellings of the heart."

"Nations rise and fall according to divine providence."

"Custom is a second nature."

"Authority without wisdom is a calamity."

"The true history is that which is woven from the nature of human institutions."

"Poetry is the first operation of the human mind."

"Time is the measure of all things."

"The foundation of all science rests upon the clear perception of causes."

"Freedom without virtue is license."

"The study of the past is the key to understanding the present."

"Divine providence governs the course of human history."

"Laws are the guardians of human liberty."

"The barbarous ages produce the greatest works of imagination."

"Gentleness should not be confused with weakness."

"The heroic ages were ages of heroic virtues."

"Education forms the character of men."

"The mind cannot rest without understanding."

"Providence operates through human nature and human choice."

"All knowledge begins with wonder."

"The true is what serves the human good."

"Music is the companion of joy and the solace of sorrow."

"The strength of a state lies in its laws and customs."

"Man is the measure of his actions."

"Learning requires humility and patience."

"The greatest power is the power of mind over matter."

"Fortune favors the prepared mind."

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."