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"In riding to the hounds, in falconry,
In love or war," as anyone will tell you,
"For one brief joy a hundred woes."

— François Villon Le Grand Testament (The Great Testament) (1461)

"De chiens, d'oyseaulx, d'armes, d'amous,"
Chascun le dit a la vollee,
"Pour une joye cent doulours."

Original text (French)

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More quotes by François Villon

But whatever may be said about the life of work,
There is no treasure quite like living at one's ease.

Le Grand Testament (The Great Testament) (1461)

The breasts all shrivelled up and gone;
The haunches like the paps withdrawn.

But where are the snows of bygone years?

Le Grand Testament (The Great Testament) (1461)

Prince, I know all, in short,
I know pink cheeks from wan,
I know Death all-devouring,
I know all, save myself.

Brother men who after us live on,
Harden not your hearts against us.

All François Villon quotes →

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Attribution

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