De Decamerone Van Boccaccio
1527
De Decamerone Van Boccaccio
1527
Translated by J. K. (Jacques Karel) Rensburg
De Decamerone, written by Giovanni Boccaccio and first published in 1527, is a collection of one hundred novellas set against the backdrop of the Black Death in 14th-century Florence. The narrative follows ten young men and women who retreat to a villa to escape the plague, where they share stories over ten days. This work is notable for its exploration of human nature, love, and folly, providing a vivid portrayal of medieval Italian society. The collection showcases Boccaccio's dramatic skill and serves as a significant cultural artifact from the period.
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“To have compassion for those who suffer is a human quality which everyone should possess, especially those who have required comfort themselves in the past and have managed to find it in others. ””
— Giovanni Boccaccio
“Nothing is so indecent that it cannot be said to another person if the proper words are used to convey it.””
— Giovanni Boccaccio
“Kissed mouth don’t lose its fortune, on the contrary it renews itself just as the moon does.””
— Giovanni Boccaccio
“Wrongs committed in the distant past are far easier to condemn than to rectify.””
— Giovanni Boccaccio
“it is obvious that all vices have a grievous effect on those who indulge them and often on others too. But I believe that the one which can transport us with the most unbridled haste into danger is anger. This is nothing other than a sudden thoughtless impulse, provoked by some perceived offence, which banishes reason and clouds the eyes of the mind, rousing the soul to blazing fury.””
— Giovanni Boccaccio
“Let this grisly beginning be none other to you than is to wayfarers a rugged and steep mountain.””
— Giovanni Boccaccio
“The scholar, as wise as he was full of wrath, knowing that threats only serve as weapons to the person so threatened, kept all his resentment within his own breast [...]””
— Giovanni Boccaccio
“No-thing less splendid than a golden sepulchre would have suited so noble a heart.””
— Giovanni Boccaccio
“Senseless creatures, you don't see how much evil is concealed under a little good appearance.””
— Giovanni Boccaccio
