Baltasar Gracian Quotes
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Those who insist on the dignity of their office show they have not deserved it.
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A man of honour should never forget what he is because he sees what others are.
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Many have had their greatness made for them by their enemies.
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It is better to have too much courtesy than too little, provided you are not equally courteous to all, for that would be injustice.
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Always leave something to wish for; otherwise you will be miserable from your very happiness.
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Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy; in the one case that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other that it may not be dismayed.
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A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.
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To oblige persons often costs little and helps much.
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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.
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Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil.
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Hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one.
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True knowledge lies in knowing how to live.
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Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.
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Watchfulness is the only guard against cunning. Be intent on his intentions. Many succeed in making others do their own affairs, and unless you possess the key to their motives you may at any moment be forced to take their chestnuts out of the fire to the damage of your own fingers.
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Aspire rather to be a hero than merely appear one.
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Advice is sometimes transmitted more successfully through a joke than grave teaching.
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Little said is soon amended. There is always time to add a word, never to withdraw one.
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Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.
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Never have a companion that casts you in the shade.
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When desire dies, fear is born.
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Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment.
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He that has satisfied his thirst turns his back on the well.
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If to talk to oneself when alone is folly, it must be doubly unwise to listen to oneself in the presence of others.
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Hope is a great falsifier. Let good judgment keep her in check.