A high heart ought to bear calamities and not flee them, since in bearing them appears the grandeur of the mind and in fleeing them the cowardice of the heart.

I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies.

I am, indeed, a king, because I know how to rule myself.

With a goose-quill and a few sheets of paper, I mock myself of the universe. They say I am the son of a courtesan; it may be so, but I have the heart of a King. I live free, I enjoy myself, I can call myself happy.

Perugia is my true fatherland because there I grew to manhood.

What evil is there in seeing a man possess a woman? Why, the beasts would be more free than we!