Pietro Aretino

“He who has not seen the Court of Rome has seen nothing.”

“Let us confess it: letters are a pastime; and they are not a pastime for a servile and plebeian mind.”

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

“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.”

“The secret of being a bore is to tell everything.”

“I am, in fact, a man of such repute that my printers will not dare to print what I write, and they are always setting up a thousand lies that I never write.”

“The world has come to such a pass that whoever wishes to spare his credit must cease to be a Christian.”