Quotes from Pietro Metastasio

If the internal griefs of every man could be read, written on his forehead, how many who now excite envy would appear to be the objects of pity?

If every man's internal care Were written on his brow, How many would our pity share Who raise our envy now?

Prepare thy soul calmly to obey; such offering will be more acceptable to God than every other sacrifice.

Every noble acquisition is attended with its risks he who fears to encounter the one must not expect to obtain the other.

Love is a feeling that comes into our hearts of our own choice for neither force nor harshness can limit the heart's freedom.

The pilot who is always dreading a rock or a tempest must not complain if he remain a poor fisherman. We must at times trust, something to fortune, for fortune has often some share in what happens.

The bee and the serpent often sip from the selfsame flower.

Fortune is the best school of courage when she is fraught with anger, in the same way as winds and tempests are the school of the sailorboy.