Pietro Metastasio
Pietro Metastasio
Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti...
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth3 January 1698
happiness grief would-be
If our inward griefs were written on our brows, how many who are envied now would be pitied. It would seem that they had their deadliest foe in their own breast, and their whole happiness would be reduced to mere seeming.
grief men envy
If the internal griefs of every man could be read, written on his forehead, how many who now excite envy would appear to be the objects of pity?
grief would-be inward
If our inward griefs were seen written on our brow, how many would be pitied who are now envied! [It., Se a ciascun l'interno affanno Si leggesse in fronte scritto, Quanti mai, che invidia fanno, Ci farebbero pieta!].
flower disease fruit
The canker which the trunk conceals is revealed by the leaves, the fruit, or the flower.
kindness men envy
If every man's internal care Were written on his brow, How many would our pity share Who raise our envy now?
warrior blow haste
An old warrior is never in haste to strike the blow.
ancestry birth virtue
High birth is an accident, not a virtue.
flower bees serpent
The bee and the serpent often sip from the selfsame flower.
sacrifice offering soul
Prepare thy soul calmly to obey; such offering will be more acceptable to God than every other sacrifice.
heart cry sin
Sharp and fell remorse, the offspring of my sin! Why do you, O God, lacerate my heart so late? Why, O boding cries, that scream so close to me,--why do I listen to you now, and never heard you before?
errors ignorant wonder
How full of error is the judgment of mankind! They wonder at results when they are ignorant of the reasons
cutting coward weapons
Cowards' weapons neither cut nor pierce.
life ocean passion
We are like vessels tossed on the bosom of the deep; our passions are the winds that sweep us impetuously forward; each pleasure is a rock; the whole life is a wide ocean. Reason is the pilot to guide us, but often allows itself to be led astray by the storms of pride.
light shining grace
Of all faults the greatest is the excess of impious terror, dishonoring divine grace. He who despairs wants love, wants faith; for faith, hope, and love are three torches which blend their light together, nor does the one shine without the other.