The Wisdom of Gracian IX Flashcards
Live as circumstances demand.
Ruling, reasoning, everything must be opportune.
Act when you can, for time and tide wait for no one.
There are some so outlandishly misguided, that they expect all circumstances necessary for success to conform to their own whims, not the reverse.
But the wise know that the loadstar (guiding star) of prudence is to behave as circumstances demand.
To combine esteem and affection is a real blessing.
To maintain respect, don’t be greatly loved.
Love is more brazen than hate. Fondness and veneration don’t sit well together.
You should be neither greatly feared nor greatly loved.
Love leads to familiarity, and when this makes its appearance, esteem departs.
Be loved with appreciation rather than affection, for such love is a mark of great people.
Let your natural talents overcome the demands of the job, not the other way round.
However great the position, a person must show that they are greater still.
Real ability keeps on growing and dazzling with each new situation.
Someone who lacks spirit will soon be overwhelmed and will be broken eventually by their duties and reputation.
Nobility of spirit is beneficial here, and even sensible self-confidence.
Act as though always on view.
The insightful man is the one who sees that others see or will see him.
He knows that walls have ears, and that what’s badly done is bursting to come out.
Even when alone, he acts as though seen by everyone, knowing that everything will eventually be known.
He looks on those who will subsequently hear of his actions as witnesses to them already.
The person who wanted everyone to see him wasn’t daunted that others could see into his house from outside.
Leave people hungry.
Nectar should only ever brush the lips.
Desire is the measure of esteem.
What’s good, if sparse is twice as good. The second time around, there’s a sharp decline.
A surfeit of pleasure is dangerous, for it occasions disdain even towards what’s undisputedly excellent.
Hard won happiness is twice as enjoyable.
In a word, ‘a saint’, which says it once and for all.
Virtue links all perfections and is the centre of all happiness.
It makes a person prudent, circumspect, shrewd, sensible, wise, brave, restrained, upright, happy, praiseworthy, a true and comprehensive hero.
Three S’s make someone blessed: being saintly, sound and sage.
Virtue is the sun of the little world of man and its hemisphere is a clear conscience.
It is so fine, it gains the favour of both God and mankind.
Whilst someone is alive, it makes them worthy of love, when dead, of being remembered.
Introduction - About Baltasar Gracian
Baltasar Gracián y Morales, S.J. (Spanish: [baltaˈsaɾ ɣɾaˈθjan]; 8 January 1601 – 6 December 1658), better known as Baltasar Gracián, was a Spanish Jesuit and Baroque prose writer and philosopher. He was born in Belmonte, near Calatayud (Aragón). His writings were lauded by Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.[1]
