Baltasar Gracian
Baltasar Gracian
Baltasar Gracián y Morales, SJ, formerly Anglicized as Baltazar Gracian, was a Spanish Jesuit and baroque prose writer and philosopher. He was born in Belmonte, near Calatayud. His writings were lauded by Schopenhauer and Nietzsche...
NationalitySpanish
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth8 January 1601
CountrySpain
inspirational pleasing-others ruling
Be known for pleasing others, especially if you govern them. Ruling other has one advantage: you can do more good than anyone else.
wisdom forever waiting
Wisdom is immortal. She can wait forever, but you cannot.
expectations people each-day
Don't show off every day, or you'll stop surprising people. There must always be some novelty left over. The person who displays a little more of it each day keeps up expectations, and no one ever discovers the limits of his talent.
telling-the-truth caution
It requires as much caution to tell the truth as to conceal it.
giving people want
You have to appear wiser and more prudent than is required by the people you are dealing with if you want to give a high opinion of yourself.
wilderness without-friends
There is no wilderness like a life without friends.
wisdom intelligence sage
The sage has one advantage: he is immortal. If this is not his century, many others will be.
mistake character quality
Do not make mistakes about character. Better be cheated in the price than in the quality of goods.
greatness contribution mutual
Wisdom and courage make mutual contributions to greatness.
desert friendless
There is no desert like being friendless.
busy certain precious-time
There are certain inessential activities-moths of precious time-and it is worse to busy yourself with the trivial than to do nothing.
reality expectations people
Honorable beginnings should serve to awaken curiosity, not to heighten people's expectations. We are much better off when reality surpasses our expectations, and something turns out better than we thought it would.
skeletons keys leaving
No one demands more caution than a spy, and when someone has the skeleton key to minds, counter him by leaving the key of caution inside, on the other side of the keyhole.
philosophy mistake book
Do not make Mistakes about Character. That is the worst and yet easiest error. Better be cheated in the price than in the quality of goods. In dealing with men, more than with other things, it is necessary to look within. To know men is different from knowing things. It is profound philosophy to sound the depths of feeling and distinguish traits of character. Men must be studied as deeply as books.