Baltasar Gracian

Surfeits of happiness are fatal.

— Baltasar Gracian

Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.

— Baltasar Gracian

Maturity is the slowness in which a man believes.

— Baltasar Gracian

Put a grain of boldness into everything you do.

— Baltasar Gracian

Always act as if you were seen.

— Baltasar Gracian

Leave your luck while still winning.

— Baltasar Gracian

Hope is a great falsifier of truth.

— Baltasar Gracian

Evil report carries further than any applause.

— Baltasar Gracian

Respect yourself if you would have others respect you.

— Baltasar Gracian

Never do anything when you are in a temper, for you will do everything wrong.

— Baltasar Gracian

“Be open to suggestion, no one is so perfect that they may not need advice from time to time.”

— Baltasar Gracián

All men are idolators, some of fame, others of self-interest, most of pleasure.

— Baltasar Gracian

Courtesy is the politic witchery of great personages.

— Baltasar Gracian

He that communicates his secret to another makes himself that other's slave.

— Baltasar Gracian

Oh life, you should never had begun, but since you did, you should never end

— Baltasar Gracian

The greatest fool is he who thinks he is not one and all others are.

— Baltasar Gracian

He that can live alone resembles the brute beast in nothing, the sage in much, and God in everything.

— Baltasar Gracian

No man's abilities are so remarkably shining as not to stand in need of a proper opportunity, a patron, and even the…

— Baltasar Gracian

There must be something good in a thing that pleases so many; even if it cannot be explained, it is certainly enjoyed.

— Baltasar Gracian

Fortune pays you sometimes for the intensity of her favors by the shortness of their duration. She soon tires of carrying any…

— Baltasar Gracian

What is not seen is as if it was not. Even the Right does not receive proper consideration if it does not…

— Baltasar Gracian

Let him that hath no power of patience retire within himself, though even there he will have to put up with himself.

— Baltasar Gracian

At 20 a man is a peacock, at 30 a lion, at 40 a camel, at 50 a serpent, at 60 a…

— Baltasar Gracian

One should cultivate good habits of memory, for it is capable of making existence a Paradise or an Inferno.

— Baltasar Gracian

“Do not live by certain fixed rules, except those that relate to the cardinal virtues. Nor let your will subscribe fixed conditions,…

— Baltasar Gracián

“Look beneath the surface. Things are usually very different from how they initially appeared, and ignorance, which didn't look beneath the surface,…

— Baltasar Gracián

Folly consists not in committing Folly, but in being incapable of concealing it. All men make mistakes, but the wise conceal the…

— Baltasar Gracian

Watchfulness is the only guard against cunning. Be intent on his intentions. Many succeed in making others do their own affairs, and…

— Baltasar Gracian

Do not commit yourself to anybody or anything, for that is to be a slave, a slave to every man Above all,…

— Baltasar Gracian

When a man's knowledge is deep, he speaks well of an enemy. Instead of seeking revenge, he extends unexpected generosity. He turns…

— Baltasar Gracian

Take care to make things turn out well. Some people scruple more over pointing things in the right direction than over successfully…

— Baltasar Gracian

Do not carry a spirit of contradiction, for it is to be freighted with stupidity and with peevishness, and your intelligence should…

— Baltasar Gracian

“Say farewell to luck when winning. It is the way of the gamblers of reputation. Quite as important as a gallant advance…

— Baltasar Gracián

Do not make Mistakes about Character. That is the worst and yet easiest error. Better be cheated in the price than in…

— Baltasar Gracian

“Do not enter where too much is anticipated. It is the misfortune of the over-celebrated that they cannot measure up to excessive…

— Baltasar Gracián

“Recognize things when they are at their best, in their season, and know how to enjoy them then. The works of nature…

— Baltasar Gracián

Many of the things that bring delight should not be owned. They are more enjoyed if another's, than if yours; the first…

— Baltasar Gracian

“41 Never exaggerate. It isn’t wise to use superlatives. They offend the truth and cast doubt on your judgment. By exaggerating, you…

— Baltasar Gracián

“Never exaggerate. It is a matter of great importance to forego superlatives, in part to avoid offending the truth, and in part…

— Baltasar Gracián

“Harness the imagination: Sometimes curbing her, sometimes giving her rein, for she is the whole of happiness. She sets to rights even…

— Baltasar Gracián