Original text (French)
As great as kings may be, they are what we are: they can err like other men.
Oh, how sweet it is to pity the fate of an enemy, when we have no longer anything to fear from him!
He who is insulted has a right to be outraged, as unpunished audacity only increases!
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.
To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.
Not for the body, but for the heart; companion and company are needed.
Love seldom haunts the breast where learning lies,
And Venus sets ere Mercury can rise.
Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Pierre Corneille (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.