The Art of Worldly Wisdom Flashcards
- It takes more to make one sage
Than it did to make seven in ancient times;
- Character and intelligence
One without the other brings only half of your success; and
- Keep Matters in
Suspense:
3.1: successes that are
Novel win admiration
3.2 By not declaring yourself immediately,
You will keep people guessing, especially if your position is important enough to awaken expectations.
3.3 Even when revealing yourself,
Avoid total frankness. Mystery by its arcaneness causes veneration
3.4 Once declared, resolutions
Are never esteemed, and lie open to criticism.
- Knowledge and courage take turns at greatness.
Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit.
4.1 You are as much as
You know, and if you are wise you can do anything.
- Make people
Depend on you.
5.1: He who is truly shrewd would rather
Have people need him than thank him.
5.2 Vulgar gratitude is worth less than
Polite hope, for hope remembers and gratitude forgets.
5.3 You will get more from dependence
Than from courtesy.
He who has already drunk turns his back on the well. A squeezed orange has no more juice.
5.4 When there is no longer dependence,
Manners disappear, and so does esteem.
Children thinking they don’t need you anymore act out
5.5 Experience teaches us to
Maintain dependence, and entertain it without satisfying it.
5.6 But don’t take dependence
Too far, such as leading other astray by your silence, or making their ills incurable for your own good (as many hacks do)
- Reach Perfection
No one is born that way, so perfect yourself daily.
6.1 Signs of the perfect person:
Elevated taste, pure intelligence, a clear will, and ripeness of judgement
6.3 Some people are never…and others…
Never complete, and others take a long time to form themselves.
6.2 Be…in speech and…in deeds.
Wise, prudent
