Pietro Metastasio
Pietro Metastasio
Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Pietro Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti...
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth3 January 1698
hands heaven ruins
It is the just decree of Heaven that a traitor never sees his danger till his ruin is at hand.
grief men envy
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?
death mean evil
It is by no means a fact that death is the worst of all evils; when it comes it is an alleviation to mortals who are worn out with sufferings.
eye brightness sun
The eye that gazes upon the sun sees not the orb it looks upon, confounded by the excess of its brightness.
life ocean passion
We are like vessels tossed on the bosom of the deep; our passions are the winds that sweep us impetuously forward; each pleasure is a rock; the whole life is a wide ocean. Reason is the pilot to guide us, but often allows itself to be led astray by the storms of pride.
errors ignorant wonder
How full of error is the judgment of mankind! They wonder at results when they are ignorant of the reasons
heart cry sin
Sharp and fell remorse, the offspring of my sin! Why do you, O God, lacerate my heart so late? Why, O boding cries, that scream so close to me,--why do I listen to you now, and never heard you before?
ancestry birth virtue
High birth is an accident, not a virtue.
warrior blow haste
An old warrior is never in haste to strike the blow.
kindness men envy
If every man's internal care Were written on his brow, How many would our pity share Who raise our envy now?
grief would-be inward
If our inward griefs were seen written on our brow, how many would be pitied who are now envied! [It., Se a ciascun l'interno affanno Si leggesse in fronte scritto, Quanti mai, che invidia fanno, Ci farebbero pieta!].