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.
inspirational motivational art
The great art of giving consists in this the gift should cost very little and yet be greatly coveted, so that it may be the more highly appreciated.
inspirational friendship thankful
True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island... to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.
inspirational motivational suicide
Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment.
inspirational business reality
To be at ease is better than to be at business. Nothing really belongs to us but time, which even he has who has nothing else.
inspirational wise knowledge
A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.
inspirational life doors
Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.
man spanish-philosopher
At 20 a man is a peacock, at 30 a lion, at 40 a camel, at 50 a serpent, at 60 a dog, at 70 an ape, and at 80 nothing.
argument opponent side taken wrong
Don't take the wrong side in an argument just because your opponent has taken the right side
conquered courage difficulty joking later yields
Like love, courage is no joking matter. If it yields once, it will have to yield again, and again. The same difficulty will have to be conquered later on, and it would have been better to get it over with.
duration favors fortune intensity pays
Fortune pays sometimes for the intensity of her favors by the shortness of their duration
integrity done shows
They make the greatest show of what they have done, who have done least.
along arm time truth
Truth always lags last, limping along on the arm of Time
spanish-philosopher
Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.