"Cats of a good breed mouse better when they are fat than starving; and likewise honest men who possess some talent, exercise it to far nobler purport when they have the wherewithal to live abundantly; wherefore princes who provide such folk with competences . . . are watering the roots of genius; for genius and talent, at their birth, come into this world lean and scabby."
Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), Italian artist
Autobiography, I:56
translated by John Addington Symonds
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