Se... eu manejasse um arado, apascentasse um rebanho, cultivasse uma horta, remendasse uma veste, ninguém me daria atenção, poucos me observariam, raras pessoas me censurariam e eu poderia facilmente agradar a todos. Mas por... estar interessado na cultura do espírito, empenhar-me no aprimoramento do talento e ter-me tornado versado... nas vissicitudes do intelecto, eis que sou ameaçado, observado, assaltado, mordido, devorado; não falo de apenas um, nem de poucos; são muitos a assim agirem. Na verdade, quase todos.
Giordano Bruno, Sobre o infinito, o universo e os mundos
Original:
IF, O most illustrious Knight, I had driven a plough, pastured a herd, tended a garden, tailored a garment: none would regard me, few observe me, seldom a one reprove me; and I could easily satisfy all men. But since I would survey the field of Nature, care for the nourishment of the soul, foster the cultivation of talent, become expert as Daedalus concerning the ways of the intellect; lo, one doth threaten upon beholding me, another doth assail me at sight, another doth bite upon reaching me, yet another who hath caught me would devour me; not one, nor few, they are many, indeed almost all. If you would know why, it is because I hate the mob, I loathe the vulgar herd and in the multitude I find no joy.
from: On the Infinite Universe and Worlds
