Be sure, from nature never to depart;
To copy nature is the task of art.
The noblest poets own her sovereign sway,
And ever follow where she leads the way.

— Marco Girolamo Vida De Arte Poetica (1527)

Praeterea haud lateat te nil conarier artem,
Naturam nisi ut assimulet, propiusque sequatur.
Hanc unam vates sibi proposuere magistram:
Quicquid agunt, hujus semper vestigia servant.

Original text (Latin)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Book II, line 455

Be sure, from nature never to depart;
To copy nature is the task of art.
The noblest poets own her sovereign sway,
And ever follow where she leads the way.

Notes from Wikiquote

More quotes by Marco Girolamo Vida

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Be sure, from nature never to depart;To copy nature is the task of art.The noblest poets own her sovereign sway,And ever follow where she leads the way.

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Notes from Wikiquote

More quotes by Marco Girolamo Vida

Attribution

Be sure, from nature never to depart;
To copy nature is the task of art.
The noblest poets own her sovereign sway,
And ever follow where she leads the way.