The Decameron (Day 1)

1.1
"Nor should we believe that such special grace descends upon us and within us through any merit of our own, but rather it is sent by His own kindness and by the prayers of those who, like ourselves, were mortal and who have now become eternal and blessed with Him, for they followed his will while they were alive" (Boccaccio, 25).

This quote is ironic in the fcat that Ciapelleto confessed himself to be a saint to the friar while approachine death, proclaiming that he could do no wrong, and professing that he the most commonplace sins were heinous. Meanwhile, none of the aforementioned claims were true, as Ciapelleto was am evil man during his life. Due to the lies told by Ciapelleto, after his death, his is reverred by all who know of his name as nothing more than a saintly man. The moral, in this instance, is that we, as a people, should not believe all we hear, because our modern culture could be dictated by an institution founded on the basis of lies, thus causing us to have inhumane ethics and morals.

1.2
"Now see here, Giannotto, you want me to become a christian. Well, I am willing to do so on one condition: first I want to go to Rome to observe the man you say is God's vicar on earth; I want to observe his ways and customs and also those of his brother cardinals; and if they seem to me to be such men that, between your words and their actions, I am able to comprehend that your faith is better than my own, just as you have worked to demonstrate it to me, I shall do what I told you; but if this is not the case, I will remain the Jew I am now" (Boccaccio, 39-40).

In contrast to the first story, Giannotto is able to convert to the Christian religion at the end of the tale, despite its faults, for he believes it will spread as more of a popular trend than anything. As opposed to what I previously stated for the first tale, this tale supports the theme that a person should conform to the standards of others only if they appear to be right and justifiable by the actions of others who seem to be right in th eyes of others, no matter who corrupt they may be.

1.3
"And let me say the same thing to you, my lord, concerning the three laws given to three peoples by God our Father which are the subject of the question you put to me: each believes itself to be the true heir, to possess the true law, and to follow the true commandments, but whoever is right, just as in the case of the rinfs, is still undecided" (Boccaccio, 45).

This quotes forms the basis of the whole tale, as the fact that Saladin belived he could trick Melchizedek was rooted in the fact that he was jewish. Thus, in response, Melchizedek proclaimed that a person's beliefs do not alter their opinions on anything, and do not make them more susceptible to trickery based upon what they believe to be right or wrong in a particular situation. Melchizedek justifies this by stating that no religion is actually right and the humanic relations are nothing more than humanic relations.