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A just king must be the first to observe those laws that he has himself prescribed.

— Giovanni Boccaccio The Decameron (1350)

Ogni giusto re primo servatore dee essere delle leggi fatte da lui.

Original text (Italian)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Every just ruler must observe the laws made by himself. (tr. Harbottle and Dalbiac)

More quotes by Giovanni Boccaccio

In the affairs of this world, poverty alone is without envy.

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Nobility cannot descend to us as an inheritance, except as do virtue, knowledge, holiness, and such like things.

The ass gets back from the wall as good as he gives.

They boosted themselves with such nauseating self-praise as to make the stones jump out of the walls and flee.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Giovanni Boccaccio (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.