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
annoyed greed
When everyone covets something, they are easily annoyed by it.
real real-friends existence
Have Friends. 'Tis a second existence.
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.