Hoyt & Roberts, comps. Hoyt’s New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations. 1922.
Purity
Quell’ onda, che ruina
Dalla pendice alpina,
Balza, si frange, e mormora
Ma limpida si fa.
That water which falls from some Alpine height is dashed, broken, and will murmur loudly, but grows limpid by its fall.
Metastasio—Alcide al Bivio.
Qual diverrà quel fiume,
Nel lungo suo cammino,
Se al fonte ancor vicino
É torbido così?
What will the stream become in its lengthened course, if it be so turbid at its source?
Metastasio—Morte d’ Abele. I.
Les choses valent toujours mieux dans leur source.
The stream is always purer at its source.
Pascal—Lettres Provinciales. IV.
Whiter than new snow on a raven’s back.
Romeo and Juliet. Act III. Sc. 2. L. 19.
Unto the pure all things are pure.
Titus. I. 15.