Better not to be at all
Than not to be noble.

Better not to be at all
Than not to be noble.

Let wealth and commerce, laws and learning die,
But leave us still our old nobility.

Let wealth and commerce, laws and learning die,
But leave us still our old nobility.

Ay, these look like the workmanship of heaven;
This is the porcelain clay of human kind,
And read more

Ay, these look like the workmanship of heaven;
This is the porcelain clay of human kind,
And therefore cast into these noble moulds.

Noble bold is an accident of fortune; noble actions characterize
the great.
[It., Il sangue nobile e un read more

Noble bold is an accident of fortune; noble actions characterize
the great.
[It., Il sangue nobile e un accidente della fortuna; le azioni
nobili caratterizzano il grande.]

Men of noble birth are noted to be envious towards new men when they rise. For the distance is altered, read more

Men of noble birth are noted to be envious towards new men when they rise. For the distance is altered, and it is like a deceit of the eye, that when others come on they think themselves go back.

Life ought to be a struggle of desire toward adventures whose nobility will fertilize the soul.

Life ought to be a struggle of desire toward adventures whose nobility will fertilize the soul.

Be noble in every thought
And in every deed!

Be noble in every thought
And in every deed!

Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.

Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.

Be aristocracy the only joy:
Let commerce perish--let the world expire.

Be aristocracy the only joy:
Let commerce perish--let the world expire.