Della Casa, Giovanni -- Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners [Il Galateo overo de’ costumi], ch. 3 (1558) [tr. Peterson (1576)]

Dave — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 16:26:25 +0000

And when thou hast blowne thy nose, use not to open thy handkercheif, to glare uppon thy snot, as if yu hadst pearles and rubies fallen from thy braynes.

[Non si vuole anco, soffiato che tu ti sarai il naso, aprire il moccichino e guatarvi entro, come se perle o rubini ti dovessero esser discesi dal cielabro.]

Giovanni della Casa (1503-1556) Florentine poet, author, diplomat, bishop
Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners [Il Galateo overo de’ costumi], ch. 3 (1558) [tr. Peterson (1576)]

(Source (Italian)). Alternate translations:

It is moreover extremely indecent [...], when you have blown your nose, to draw aside and examine the contents of your handkerchief; as if you expected pearls or rubies to distil from your brain.
[tr. Graves (1774)]

And when you have blown your nose you should not open your handkerchief and look inside, as if pearls or rubies might have descended from your brain.
[tr. Einsenbichler/Bartlett (1986)]

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 10, Moving Pictures (1990)

Dave — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 14:48:41 +0000

The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door, the scream of fire engines, or the realization that today is the Monday which on Friday night was a comfortably long way off. A dog’s wet nose is not strictly speaking the worst of the bunch, but it has its own peculiar dreadfulness which connoisseurs of the ghastly and dog owners everywhere have come to know and dread. It’s like having a small piece of defrosting liver pressed lovingly against you.

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) English author
Discworld No. 10, Moving Pictures (1990)
(Source)

WIST Quotations

Della Casa, Giovanni -- Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners [Il Galateo overo de’ costumi], ch. 3 (1558) [tr. Peterson (1576)]

Pratchett, Terry -- Discworld No. 10, Moving Pictures (1990)