The 80 best phrases of Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri was a renowned Italian poet born in the year 1265 in the famous city of Florence, Italy.
The most recognized work of this author was the so-called "The Divine Comedy". This work gave way to Renaissance thought and is currently considered one of the best ever written in universal literature.
Considered the father of the Italian language, which until then was called Volgare, Dante wrote during his career as a writer on politics, philosophy, and literature.
He fought in the battle of Campaldino where as one more citizen collaborated in the defense of his own city, making very clear his personal opinion on the need for separation between state and religion.
- It may interest you: "The 75 most famous phrases of Virgilio"
Great phrases and reflections of Dante Alighieri
Below you can enjoy the 80 best phrases of Dante Alighieri, with which you will surely discover a lot about him and his literature.
1. The devil is not as black as it is painted.
Many times people are not as evil as others make them out to be.
2. There is a gentle thought that sometimes makes me feel alive, because it is a thought of you.
Thinking of the person we love always makes our day.
3. With wine poetry flourishes in the hearts of men.
Alcohol can awaken inspiration in us, but it can also not.
4. For the one that makes my veins and my pulse tremble.
That person we love so much will always know how to make us nervous, no matter how hard we try, we cannot avoid it.
5. The sad souls of those who lived without fault and without praise.
We all experience good moments in life and also bad ones, life is an accumulation of circumstances.
6. We shouldn't be afraid of anything outside of things that have real power to hurt others. Everything else is not to be feared at all.
We must not let fear dominate our lives, but we must also respect what can hurt us.
7. Up, down, here and there he leads them; and no hope comforts them, no rest, more than less sorrow.
In this quote, Dante tells us about his descent into hell in his work "The Divine Comedy".
8. The best gift that God has given in his abundance was the autonomy of the will.
We are free to live our life as we wish, we must take advantage of our time!
9. The arrow of destiny, when expected, travels slowly.
No matter what, we will eventually reach our set destination. Do you think there is a fixed destiny for all of us?
10. The truth that seems like a lie must keep quiet while he can, because without being guilty, he is ashamed.
Talking too much can get us into more than one problem, it is better not to say something that can make us look ridiculous.
11. There is no way you can separate the heat from the fire or the beauty from the eternal.
There are things in the universe that are simply indivisible, they can never be separated.
12. It was the morning hour, when the sun took its place above the stars that shine with it, when the love of God himself first established the just movement of things.
Dawn is one of the most beautiful moments of the day, it is always worth living a new dawn.
13. Quick love is born towards that heart that is gentle.
Kindness is a quality that enhances any person.
14. I can well see that you nest in your own light, and that you give it off through your eyes, because when you laugh they shine; but not who you are, nor why you find yourself, dignified soul, in the degree of the sphere that other rays hide from men.
This quote refers to when Dante meets the former Cesar Justinian, on his journey through hell.
15. Nobody thinks about the amount of blood it costs.
Certain achievements may not be worth it, as too much must be sacrificed for them.
16. My hope is that we don't get to see the sky anymore. I have come to guide you to the other shore, to eternal darkness, in fire and ice.
The descent into hell can be quite tortuous, something that certainly no one would like to have to experience.
17. Oh, human race, born to fly, how then can a little gust of wind make you fall?
Human beings are capable of great works in our lives, we must always be the best version of ourselves.
18. Open your mind to what I manifest to you and hold it within; that science is not done, without retention of what has been understood.
The important thing about studying about something is to be able to fully understand the concept, because in this way we will always remember it
19. But you make a religious man who was born to gird a sword, and you make a king who likes sermons; and so your route is lost.
We must not get carried away by third parties, they may be in error. We must always act according to our principles.
20. Good is the domain of love, since it turns the understanding of its servants away from all vile things.
Love can help us improve our life to a great extent, a life with love is always led in another way.
21. However, what kind of person are you who dares to judge the events that occur a thousand miles away with your vision that only covers a short distance?
We should not judge others, perhaps we are not fully aware of what that person has been through.
22. Come in, but I warn you that he who looks behind comes back outside.
In order to reach paradise we must never look back. A place we will all reach one day.
23. Now our minds are like smoke, but soon they will be like fire.
Certain situations can greatly change a person's mood, even taking it to certain extremes.
24. Your apprehension makes illusions true, which incite desire, and the mood seduces pleasant.
Our predisposition to something can trigger a series of events that ultimately make that something a reality.
25. It is known that the ardent flame of love lasts a short time in a woman, when her looks and hands are unable to fan it continuously.
Time and distance can cool any love relationship. This is something we all discover at some point in life.
26. Love insists that he return, from the beloved, love.
Forgetting a person you once loved can be a really complicated thing.
27. Love beauty for delight, and virtue, for sovereign highness.
The search for beauty has been a constant objective, in the history of the human being itself.
28. We are not going to talk about them; rather watch and move on.
We must know when we should speak and when we should be silent, in certain matters it is better not to get involved.
29. Everything in her was always so bright that no one, sighing sweetly, will be able to forget her captivating grace.
Certain people are simply impossible to forget, they will remain in our memory forever.
30. We are lost and only half punished.
There can always be a new situation that is worse than the current one, we must be grateful for what we have.
31. Speak briefly and clearly.
Without a doubt this is the best way to explain something to someone.
32. The human race reaches its best state, the more freedom it has.
Freedom is an inalienable right of the human being, we cannot live in any other way.
33. High fantasy lacks strength; but already my will and my desire turned like wheels driven by the one who moves the sun and the stars.
Imagination can allow us to travel wherever we want, perhaps our fantasies may have no limits.
34. I am the way to the city of sorrow, I am the way to eternal pain, I am the way to go among the lost.
We all have our own path in life, but it will depend on us where it takes us.
35. So much honor your fortune reserves you, that one part and the other will hunger for you.
When our life smiles at us, everyone around us will want to be part of it.
36. Love, which does not absolve anyone loved from loving, seized me so tightly with its charm that, as you can see, it has not left me yet.
Love is a feeling that can accompany us throughout our lives, even if this love is not reciprocated.
37. In the center of the Universe, at the furthest point from God, among the ice that surrounds the shadows, is Lucifer, emperor of the kingdom of pain, pulling half a body out of the surface glacial.
The place that Dante tells us about in this quote is undoubtedly hell itself.
38. There is nothing to fear, nothing can deprive us of our destiny, it is a gift.
We will all reach our own destiny, whatever happens, because destiny for certain people, including Dante, is considered immovable.
39. They crave what they fear.
What we fear so much can be one of our most recurring thoughts.
40. My route has been established over an unexplored sea.
Traveling across the seas and oceans was, in another time, quite an odyssey.
41. All hope is abandoned by those who enter here.
When we cross the gates of hell, as Dante tells us, hope is something that leaves us.
42. I shed no tears, my heart was made of stone.
Those who have been through a lot in life are much more reluctant to share their emotions with others.
43. The rigid justice that hurts me uses the place where I sinned, so that it puts more sighs to flight.
Our memories can come to torment us severely, we will never forget certain things that we should not have done.
44. So honest and so gentle does my lady look, when she greets her, she surrenders herself, that she makes all tongues tremble and remain silent, and not even her eyes dare to look at her.
The vision of a person we love or whose beauty captivates us can leave us speechless on more than one occasion.
45. The wheels of heaven on high display their eternal glories for you, yet your eyes remain fixed on the earth.
Many times we are not really aware of everything we have, but when we lose it we realize how lucky we were.
46. He who listens well, takes notes.
If we pay attention to what is happening around us, we can learn many things that will be useful to us in the future.
47. You will know from experience how salty someone else's bread is, and how sad it is to go up and down the stairs in someone else's apartment.
We must learn to respect others, because they may be experiencing difficult situations in their lives.
48. Art, to the extent of its possibilities, follows nature, just as a pupil imitates his teacher; so must your art be. Granddaughter of God
Art was born because people tried to capture in it everything they lived, not in vain in prehistory man reflected in his art, especially hunting and animals.
49. Through me, you will visit the city of tears, through me, you will enter eternal pain, through me, you will walk among the lost people.
As Dante tells us, this is an inscription found at the very gates of hell.
50. You were not raised to live like beasts, but to pursue virtue and wisdom.
Human beings are undoubtedly a unique species within the animal kingdom, there is no other like us.
51. Beauty awakens the acts of the soul.
Beauty is something that Dante, like all of us, loved to behold.
52. That precious fruit for which men undertake an anxious search in different couples, will be given today to your hungry soul.
Love is something that human beings seek all their lives, we feel the need to love and be loved.
53. In the middle of our life path, I found myself on a piece of wood, lost outside the straight path.
Life can take many turns and on certain occasions we can even get lost.
54. It is so bitter, and death is a little more so.
Death is something that no one wants to have to go through.
55. The weapons of divine justice lose their edge before the confession and regret of the delinquent.
Feeling repentant is the first step to one day be able to earn forgiveness.
56. Open your mind to what I am going to reveal to you, and keep it inside: he who listens, but does not retain what he has heard, does not learn anything.
We must make our own all those other people's thoughts from which we can learn.
57. Keep the firmness of the tower, whose top does not tremble neither by storms nor by winds.
Showing ourselves strong in life is something that can sometimes be complicated, but we must do it if we want to be victorious.
58. There was a time when we used to be men, although now we have become trees.
In the Divine Comedy, spendthrifts suffer the curse of turning into trees.
59. The most perfect things are also the most susceptible to receive both appreciation and mistreatment.
A great quote that brings us a great metaphor, the nail that sticks out gets hit more times.
60. A powerful fire is just the continuation of a small spark.
The smallest actions can trigger very complicated situations. Something commonly called the butterfly effect.
61. Pride, envy and greed. These are the sparks that have set fire to the hearts of all men.
Without a doubt, three qualities that can cloud anyone's judgment and that we should not get carried away.
62. The path that leads to Paradise begins in Hell.
In order to reach the top we must always start from the bottom, life can be compared to climbing a mountain.
63. If you, free as you are, have remained here below; it is unlikely that even a living flame will continue to burn above.
We are all responsible for where we are in life and aware of where we would like to be.
64. The greater the strength and the better the free nature you are subject to; and she raises your mind, in which heaven can do nothing.
Freedom is something that the human being needs to fully develop his life. We are born to be free by nature.
65. Without you having uttered it, I have understood your desire better, than you have any true thing; because I see her in the truthful mirror that makes a reflection of herself in other things, but the others in it are not reflected.
The truth is something that must prevail in our life, with it we can go very far. As they say, lies have very short legs.
66. After your damages will come the crying caused by the just punishment.
In hell, as we all know, sinners are punished for all eternity.
67. Who knows about pain, knows everything.
When we have suffered a lot in life, few things will come to surprise us.
68. At the peak moment, the ability that gives me the ability to describe fails.
Descriptions are something that any writer must master, but on the contrary they can also be somewhat complicated at times.
69. In his will, resides our peace.
For all believers, peace in the world is because of God's will.
70. Old fame in the world calls the blind, people are greedy, envious and arrogant: always get rid of their customs.
Even if other people have inappropriate behaviors, we should not fall into the same habits.
71. Aristotle is the teacher of all those who know.
Aristotle was a genius in ancient times and teacher of Alexander the Great himself.
72. Lust can occupy a place that can be forgiven when you are on the path of learning to love.
Lust can on occasion lead us to perform acts of which we are not proud. Over time we will learn not to get carried away by it.
73. Don't be stopped by fear, as much as it might, it won't stop you from going down this rock.
We must put fear aside in order to be fully efficient in what we do.
74. Your fame is like a flower that dies as soon as it sprouts and is withered by the same sun that gave birth to the ungrateful earth.
Fame can be ephemeral, we can have it today, but maybe not tomorrow.
75. To whom much is given, much is expected of him.
The one who is continually rewarded is usually the one who is most expected when the time comes.
76. Now you already know how much my love for you burns deep inside me, when forgetting our emptiness, I face shadows and solid things.
Love can lead us to perform those acts of which we did not believe ourselves capable of. Love is a very great incentive in anyone's life.
77. Overcome laziness with courage that wins any fight, if with the serious body it doesn't prevent it.
Laziness is, according to the Old Testament, a Capital Sin. We should not be lazy in our life.
78. In the depth of such grief, the tongue moves in vain; the language of our memory and our senses lacks its own vocabulary for such pain.
Certain emotional pains may not be able to be explained with simple words, because there may not be words that can accurately describe them.
79. Whoever paints there has no one to guide him, but a guide, and from that originates the virtue that gives the nests their shape.
We must set an example with our own way of acting, in this way we will be able to make the world a better place.
80. The wiser you get, the more annoying it is to waste your time.
Our time in life is really a very limited commodity, we should not waste our time.