When evening comes, I return home and enter my study; on the threshold I take off my workday clothes, covered with mud and dirt, and put on the garments of court and palace. Fitted out appropriately, I step inside the venerable courts of the ancients, where, solicitously received by them, I nourish myself on that food that alone is mine and for which I was born; where I am unashamed to converse with them and to question them about the motives for their actions, and they, out of their human kindness, answer me. And for four hours at a time I feel no boredom, I forget all my troubles, I do not dread poverty, and I am not terrified by death. I absorb myself into them completely.
Letter from Niccolo Machiavelli to Francesco Vettori, 1513
Thanks for your blog.
ReplyDeleteI liked today's post so much I felt compelled to post a French translation of this inspiring quote on my own blog (here: http://tororoshiru.blogspot.com/2011/03/comfort-food.html)
... with, of course, a link to yours (hope you don't mind)
I'm glad you enjoyed this quote, a long time favorite of mine. I'm honored that you've linked to it. Thank you!
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