Dante Alighieri

"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality."

"Art as far as it is able follows nature as a pupil imitates his master thus your art must be as it were God's grandchild."

"The fair request ought to be followed by the deed in silence."

"He who knows most grieves most for wasted time."

"The wisest are the most annoyed at the loss of time."

"Do not be afraid; our fate Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift."

"There is no greater sorrow Than to recall a happy time When miserable."

"And all the while one spirit uttered this,The other one did weep so, that, for pity,I swooned away as if I had been dying,And fell, even as a dead body falls."

"And he began, "What chance or destinyhas brought you here before your final day?And who is he who leads your pilgrimage"Up there in life beneath the quiet stars I lost my way," I answered, "in a valley,before I'd reached the fullness of my age. I turned my shoulders on it yesterday:this soul appeared as I was falling back,and by the road through Hell he leads me home."Follow your star and you will never fail to find your glorious port," he said to me"

"Heaven wheels above you, displaying to you her eternal glories, and still your eyes are on the ground"

"The path to paradise begins in hell."

"The experience of this sweet life."

"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality."

"Put off this sloth,' the master said, 'for shame!Sitting on feather-pillows, lying reclined Beneath the blanket is no way to fame -Fame, without which man's life wastes out of mind, Leaving on earth no more memorial Than foam in water or smoke upon the wind"

"For certain he hath seen all perfectness For certain he hath seen all perfectness. Who among other ladies hath seen mine: They that go with her humbly should combine To thank their God for such peculiar grace. So perfect is the beauty of her face That it begets in no wise any sign Of envy, but draws round her a clear line Of love, and blessed faith, and gentleness. Merely the sight of her inakes all things bow: Not she herself alone is holier Than all: but hers, through her, are raised above. From all her acts such lovely graces flow That truly one may never think of her Without a passion of exceeding love."

"This is Nimrod, because of whose vile plan the world no longer speaks a single tongue."

"I, answering in the end, began: 'Alas,how many yearning thoughts, what great desire,have lead them through such sorrow to their fate?"

"He who sees a need and waits to be asked for help is as unkind as if he had refused it."

"There is no greater sorrow than to recall in misery the time when we were happy."

"Here sighs and cries and shrieks of lamentation echoed throughout the starless air of Hell;at first these sounds resounding made me weep:tongues confused, a language strained in anguishwith cadences of anger, shrill outcriesand raucous groans that joined with sounds of hands,raising a whirling storm that turns itselfforever through that air of endless black,like grains of sand swirling when a whirlwind blows. And I, in the midst of all this circling horror,began, "Teacher, what are these sounds I hear?What souls are these so overwhelmed by grief"And he to me: "This wretched state of beingis the fate of those sad souls who lived a lifebut lived it with no blame and with no praise. They are mixed with that repulsive choir of angelsneither faithful nor unfaithful to their God,who undecided stood but for themselves. Heaven, to keep its beauty, cast them out,but even Hell itself would not receive them,for fear the damned might glory over them."And I. "Master, what torments do they sufferthat force them to lament so bitterly"He answered: "I will tell you in few words:these wretches have no hope of truly dying,and this blind life they lead is so abjectit makes them envy every other fate. The world will not record their having been there;Heaven's mercy and its justice turn from them. Let's not discuss them; look and pass them by..."