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That water which falls from some Alpine height is dashed, broken, and will murmur loudly, but grows limpid by its fall.

— Pietro Metastasio Alcide al Bivio (1760)

Quell' onda, che ruina
Dalla pendice alpina,
Balza, si frange, e mormora
Ma limpida si fa.

Original text (Italian)

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

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Know that the slender shrub which is seen to bend, conquers when it yields to the storm.

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The canker which the trunk conceals is revealed by the leaves, the fruit, or the flower.

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What will the stream become in its lengthened course, if it be so turbid at its source?

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