Baltasar Gracian Quotes
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Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment.
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Hope is a great falsifier. Let good judgment keep her in check.
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Respect yourself if you would have others respect you.
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Nature scarcely ever gives us the very best; for that we must have recourse to art.
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A bad manner spoils everything, even reason and justice; a good one supplies everything, gilds a No, sweetens a truth, and adds a touch of beauty to old age itself.
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One must pass through the circumference of time before arriving at the center of opportunity.
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Let him that hath no power of patience retire within himself, though even there he will have to put up with himself.
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It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards.
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Everything foreign is respected, partly because it comes from afar, partly because it is ready made and perfect.
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Many get the repute of being witty but thereby lose the credit of being sensible. Jest has its little hour, seriousness should have all the rest.
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Dreams will get you nowhere, a good kick in the pants will take you a long way.
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The heaven of the envied is hell for the envious. [...because they focus on what they don't have rather than being grateful for what they have, which is always better than some others.]
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Many pleasant things are better when they belong to someone else. When things belong to others, we enjoy them twice as much, without the risk of losing them, and with the pleasure of novelty.
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Be known for pleasing others, especially if you govern them. Ruling other has one advantage: you can do more good than anyone else.
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The sage never seems to know his own merits, for only by not noticing them can you call others' attention to them.
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Attain and maintain a reputation, for it is the usufruct of fame. A stiff climb, for it is the issue of excellence, as rare as mediocrity is common.
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There is no wilderness like a life without friends; friendship multiplies blessings and minimizes misfortunes; it is a unique remedy against adversity, and it soothes the soul.
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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.
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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.
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When a man's knowledge is deep, he speaks well of an enemy. Instead of seeking revenge, he extends unexpected generosity. He turns insult into humor, ... and astonishes his adversary who finds no reason not to trust him.
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La galantería y la honra tienen esta ventaja, que se quedan: aquélla en quien la usa, ésta en quien la haze.
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There are certain inessential activities-moths of precious time-and it is worse to busy yourself with the trivial than to do nothing.
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When you find Fortune favorable, stride boldly forward, for she favors the bold, and being a woman, the young.
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Know what is evil, no matter how worshipped it may be. Let the man of sense not mistake it, even when clothed in brocade, or at times crowned in gold, because it cannot thereby hide its hypocrisy, for slavery does not lose its infamy, however noble the master.