Quote by Giovanni Boccaccio: “It is better to endure a little pain than to suffer forever.”

This aphorism encourages facing temporary hardship to avoid prolonged, inescapable misery. It advocates for pragmatic decision-making, suggesting that confronting discomfort directly, even if difficult, is a wiser choice than delaying it and ultimately worsening one's long-term situation.

The Black Death forced people to confront mortality, and Boccaccio's tales often explore the pragmatic choices individuals make to survive and find happiness amidst suffering.

Italian writer and poet of the fourteenth century best known for the Decameron, a collection of one hundred stories framed by a group of young people sheltering from the Black Death. He was a foundational figure of Renaissance literature and a close friend of Petrarch.