Quotable- Giacomo Leopardi on Boredom, Modesty and Human Frailty

Good morning!

Quotes of the week this week are both from Italian Writer, Poet and Philosopher Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi. Fundamentally, they both address human frailties and inadequacies- real and perceived-

"Boredom is the most sublime of all human emotions because it expresses the fact that the human spirit, in a certain sense, is greater than the entire universe. Boredom is an expression of a profound despair at not finding anything that can satisfy the soul's boundless needs."

-Giacomo Leopardi

"That is why all great men are modest: they consistently measure themselves not in comparison to other people but to the idea of perfection ever present in their minds, an ideal infinitely clearer and greater than any common people have, and they also realize how far they are from fulfilling their ideal."

- Giacomo Leopardi