Francesco Guicciardini Quotes


Even though many people prove to be ungrateful, do not let that stop you from benefiting others-for not only is beneficence in itself a noble and almost divine quality, it may also happen that while you practice it, you will encounter someone so grateful that he will make up for all the others' ingratitude.


Citations

Guicciardini, Francesco. Maxims and Reflections of a Renaissance Statesman. Translated by Mario Domandi, Harper & Row, 1965.

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Francesco Guicciardini
Francesco Guicciardini
  • Born: March 6, 1483
  • Died: May 22, 1540
  • Nationality: Italian
  • Profession: Historian, Statesman

Francesco Guicciardini was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. In his masterpiece, The History of Italy, Guicciardini paved the way for a new style in historiography with his use of government sources to support arguments and the realistic analysis of the people and events of his time.