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Madonna Oretta
Cisti is the protagonist of Pampinea’s sixth tale (VI, 2). He is a working-class Florentine baker, although he has become quite wealthy and has an inherent nobility of character. He demonstrates both this nobility and the quick wit that is respected in The Decameron’s characters when he chastises Geri Spina’s servant for making his master look greedy and ungenerous.
Cisti Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Cisti or refer to Cisti. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Day 6: Second Tale
Quotes
I would assuredly curse Nature and Fortune alike, if I did not know for a fact that Nature is very discerning and that Fortune has a thousand eyes, even though fools represent her as blind. Indeed, it is my conviction that Nature and Fortune, being very shrewd, follow the practice so common among mortals, who, uncertain of what the future will bring, make provision for emergencies by burying their most precious possessions in the least imposing […] parts of their houses, whence they bring them forth in the hour of their greatest need […] In the same way, the two fair arbiters of the world’s affairs frequently hide their greatest treasure beneath the shadow of the humblest trades, so that when the need arises for it to be brought forth, its splendor will be all the more apparent.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Decameron LitChart as a printable PDF.
Cisti Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Cisti or refer to Cisti. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Day 6: Second Tale
Quotes
I would assuredly curse Nature and Fortune alike, if I did not know for a fact that Nature is very discerning and that Fortune has a thousand eyes, even though fools represent her as blind. Indeed, it is my conviction that Nature and Fortune, being very shrewd, follow the practice so common among mortals, who, uncertain of what the future will bring, make provision for emergencies by burying their most precious possessions in the least imposing […] parts of their houses, whence they bring them forth in the hour of their greatest need […] In the same way, the two fair arbiters of the world’s affairs frequently hide their greatest treasure beneath the shadow of the humblest trades, so that when the need arises for it to be brought forth, its splendor will be all the more apparent.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
