Faith in oneself is the best and safest course.

Taken at face value, the line commends self-reliance: trusting one’s own judgment and capacities is presented as both the “best” (most effective) and “safest” (least risky) path through uncertainty. Read in a Renaissance artistic context, it can be understood as advice to persist amid external pressures—patrons, rivals, critics—by grounding decisions in inner conviction rather than fluctuating approval. The phrasing also implies that while faith in others or in circumstance may fail, confidence rooted in one’s own disciplined skill and conscience offers a steadier guide. However, without a verifiable primary source, this interpretation remains thematic rather than text-specific.