Decameron- 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.3

1.1- One quote from this story that strikes me is:
"Ciappelletto was, by profession, a notary; he was very much ashamed when any of his legal documents (of which he drew up many) were discovered to be anything but fraudulent. He would have drawn up, free of charge, as many false ones as were requested of him, and more willingly than another man might have done for a large sum of money."

I think that this quote expresses Boccaccio's frustration with the corruption of the times. At the time Boccaccio was drafting this work, the church was a very corrupt institution. As seen in some of his other stories, clergymen were not faithful to their vows, the Pope was not an inspirational leader, and greed motivated many of the church's decisions. In fact, many would argue that similar conditions exist today.
I find this particular quote interesting because in it Boccaccio not only criticizes the church, but does so quite hyperbolically. He implies that the church acts like it does not for any particular purpose, but just for the simple fact that it is evil. As a matter of fact, later in the story he says that Cappelletto is probably the most evil man that ever lived. This opinion of the church is echoed in Boccaccio's other story about the Jew who converted to a Christian.

1.4- " Well, now! Why shouldn't I have a little fun when I can get it? Troubles and worries I can get every day!"

I chose this quote because it is reminiscent of a behavior displayed during the period of the plague. When the plague swept through Europe it destroyed 1/3 of the European population. One factor that contributed to this was the fact that Europeans didn't understand how the disease was transmitted and, once it was contracted, most died from it within a couple of weeks. This tragedy and sense of doom lead to two patterns of behavior. The first was the penitents. These were people who tried to use mortification of the flesh and prayer as a way to appeal to God and stop the plague. The other pattern of behavior was one that involved senseless debauchary. The mentality behind this was that seeing as doctors couldn't cure the disease, people should have as much fun as possible before they die. It is this behavior that Boccaccio is mirroring in this quote. Furthermore, he is likening the church to a terrible plague, and suggesting that a breaking of vows is the best way to suffer the church's policy.