Brunetto Latini

Brunetto Latini (Latin: Burnectus Latinus, Italian: Burnecto Latino; c. 1220–1294) was an Italian philosopher, scholar, notary, politician and statesman. He was a teacher and friend of Dante Alighieri.

Quotes

• Se aucuns demandoit porquoi ceste livre est escrit en romans selonc le patois de France, puis que nos somes Ytaliens, je diroie ce est por deus raisons: l’une que nos somes en France; l’autre por ce que la parleure est plus delitables & plus comunes a tous lingages.
  • If anyone should ask why this book is written in Romance according to the usage of the French, even though we are Italian, I would say that there are two reasons: one, that we are in France; the other, that French is more pleasant and has more in common with all other languages.
  • From the Introduction to Livre du Trésor, as translated by Paul Barrette and Spurgeon Baldwin (New York: Garland, 1993); French text edited by Spurgeon Baldwin (Arizona State University, 2003)