Pier Paolo Vergerio,
de Ingenuis Moribus et Liberalibus Adulescentiae Studiis (§2):
“Anyone is allowed by law to change their name (as long as it does not involve fraud) or to move their home. But if someone is not trained in the liberal arts from youth, or if they be infected by corrupt methods of education, they may not entertain the hope of easily casting aside the bad lessons or learning the good ones straightaway. Therefore, we ought to lay the foundations of living well and form the mind for virtue at an early age, when it is soft and ready easily to admit any impression whatsoever. For whatever form the mind takes now will be preserved through the rest of life.”
Nam et mutare sibi nomen, dum id sine fraude fiat, unicuique per leges licet et transferre, quando libeat, domicilium nemo prohibetur. Artibus vero bonis, nisi quis ab adulescentia fuerit institutus aut si perversis infectus exstiterit, non facile de se speret in aetate provectiori posse aut has abicere aut illas continuo sibi parare. Iacienda sunt igitur in hac aetate fundamenta bene vivendi et conformandus ad virtutem animus, dum tener est et facilis quamlibet impressionem admittere: quae ut nunc erit, ita et in reliqua vita servabitur.
