--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 41 Never exaggerate. It isn’t wise to use…" description: "\"“41 Never exaggerate. It isn’t wise to use superlatives. They offend the truth and cast doubt on your judgment. By exaggerating, you squander your prai..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/baltasar-gracian-1090_lack-of-knowledge_41-never-exaggerate-it-isn-t-wise-to-use_2200430.jpg" --- # 41 Never exaggerate. It isn’t wise to use superlatives… ![“41 Never exaggerate. It isn’t wise to use superlatives. They offend the truth and cast doubt on your judgment. By exaggerating, you squander your praise and reveal a lack of knowledge and taste. Praise awakens curiosity, which begets desire, and later, when the goods seem overpriced, as often…” quote by Baltasar Gracián](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/baltasar-gracian-1090_lack-of-knowledge_41-never-exaggerate-it-isn-t-wise-to-use_2200430.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/baltasar-gracian-1090_lack-of-knowledge_41-never-exaggerate-it-isn-t-wise-to-use_2200430.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/baltasar-gracian-1090_lack-of-knowledge_41-never-exaggerate-it-isn-t-wise-to-use_2200430.jpg) > ““41 Never exaggerate. It isn’t wise to use superlatives. They offend the truth and cast doubt on your judgment. By exaggerating, you squander your praise and reveal a lack of knowledge and taste. Praise awakens curiosity, which begets desire, and later, when the goods seem overpriced, as often happens, expectation feels cheated and avenges itself by running down the praised and the praiser. The prudent show restraint, and would rather fall short than long. True eminences are rare, so temper your esteem. To overvalue something is a form of lying. It can ruin your reputation for good taste, and—even worse—for wisdom.”” [Baltasar Gracián](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive praise and exaggeration erode credibility and lead to disappointment; modesty preserves trust and wisdom. **In simple terms:** Overpraise damages trust; modesty protects reputation. Key Takeaway Practice restraint in praise. Themes honesty reputation humility Mood cautious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - public speaking - leadership - writing - marketing - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology communication ethics Questions to Reflect On - When have you overpraised something and faced backlash? - How can you balance encouragement with realism? A Different Perspective Exaggeration can sometimes be used strategically to motivate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lack of knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-of-knowledge/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [It is human to exaggerate the merits of the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-human-to-exaggerate-the-merits-of-the-dead/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is no one who does not exaggerate!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-no-one-who-does-not-exaggerate/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It is the essence of truth that it is never excessive. Why should it exaggerate? There is that which should be destroyed and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-is-the-essence-of-truth-that-it-is-never-excessive-why-should-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Sadly, it seems that I have the proclivity to create plenty of devils, but most of the time I don’t even go looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/sadly-it-seems-that-i-have-the-proclivity-to-create-plenty-of-devils/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“Never exaggerate. It is a matter of great importance to forego superlatives, in part to avoid offending the truth, and in part to avoid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/never-exaggerate-it-is-a-matter-of-great-importance-to-forego/) [Baltasar Gracián](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [We have no idea how much the government knows and how much the CIA even knows about average citizens. The government is not supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/we-have-no-idea-how-much-the-government-knows-and-how-much-the-cia/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [Every vice is only an exaggeration of a necessary and virtuous function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-vice-is-only-an-exaggeration-of-a-necessary-and-virtuous/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Tis a rule of manners to avoid exaggeration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/tis-a-rule-of-manners-to-avoid-exaggeration/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The world loves to tell you how difficult things are, and the world's not exaggerating. But difficult doesn't mean impossible, and out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/the-world-loves-to-tell-you-how-difficult-things-are-and-the-world-s/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [No matter how you feel about your extended family or family gatherings you will be attending. This is because now the ultimate reason for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/no-matter-how-you-feel-about-your-extended-family-or-family/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [I never could tell a joke. I just started talking to the audience, and when the drunks would yell, "Hey, when do the broads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-never-could-tell-a-joke-i-just-started-talking-to-the-audience-and/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [It is only a short step from exaggerating what we can find in the world to exaggerating our power to remake the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/it-is-only-a-short-step-from-exaggerating-what-we-can-find-in-the/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [I've told you for the fifty-thousandth time, stop exaggerating. Losers are people who are afraid of losing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/i-ve-told-you-for-the-fifty-thousandth-time-stop-exaggerating-losers/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [I think I am generally prone to exaggerating characters, taking them to a ridiculous extent. But you do also meet those people in real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-davis/i-think-i-am-generally-prone-to-exaggerating-characters-taking-them/) [Julia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-davis/) > [In the age of social media, everyone's a newspaper columnist, exaggerating what they think and feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/in-the-age-of-social-media-everyone-s-a-newspaper-columnist/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) ## More by Baltasar Gracián > [To be at ease is better than to be at business. Nothing really belongs to us but time, which even he has who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/to-be-at-ease-is-better-than-to-be-at-business-nothing-really-belongs/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [There are friendships merely for pleasure, some for the exchange of ideas. Rarest are those friends of one's inmost self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/there-are-friendships-merely-for-pleasure-some-for-the-exchange-of/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [What is not seen is as if it was not. Even the Right does not receive proper consideration if it does not seem right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/what-is-not-seen-is-as-if-it-was-not-even-the-right-does-not-receive/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [What the multitude says, is so, or soon will be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/what-the-multitude-says-is-so-or-soon-will-be-so/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/a-synonym-is-a-word-you-use-when-you-can-t-spell-the-other-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [It is good to vary in order that you may frustrate the curious, especially those who envy you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-is-good-to-vary-in-order-that-you-may-frustrate-the-curious/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/hope-has-a-good-memory-gratitude-a-bad-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Knowing how to keep a friend is more important than gaining a new one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/knowing-how-to-keep-a-friend-is-more-important-than-gaining-a-new-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Leave your luck while still winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/leave-your-luck-while-still-winning/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Superiority is always detested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/superiority-is-always-detested/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [“We have eyelids but not earlids, for the ears are the portals of learning, and Nature wanted to keep them wide open.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/we-have-eyelids-but-not-earlids-for-the-ears-are-the-portals-of/) [Baltasar Gracián](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [The wise persono would rather see others needing him than thanking him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/the-wise-persono-would-rather-see-others-needing-him-than-thanking-him/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [No one demands more caution than a spy, and when someone has the skeleton key to minds, counter him by leaving the key of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/no-one-demands-more-caution-than-a-spy-and-when-someone-has-the/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [Keep the extent of your abilities unknown.The wise man does not allow his knowledge and abilities to be sounded to the bottom, if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/keep-the-extent-of-your-abilities-unknown-the-wise-man-does-not-allow/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) [Explore all 288 Baltasar Gracián quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) ## More Exaggerate quotes > [People exaggerate the value of things they haven't got everybody worships truth and unselfishness because they have no experience with them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/people-exaggerate-the-value-of-things-they-haven-t-got-everybody/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I don't exaggerate - I just remember big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chi-chi-rodriguez/i-don-t-exaggerate-i-just-remember-big/) [Chi Chi Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chi-chi-rodriguez/) > [We can exaggerate about many things; but we can never exaggerate our obligation to Jesus, or the compassionate abundance of the love of Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-faber/we-can-exaggerate-about-many-things-but-we-can-never-exaggerate-our/) [Frederick William Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-faber/) > [It's nonsense to say money doesn't buy happiness, but people exaggerate the extent to which more money can buy more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/it-s-nonsense-to-say-money-doesn-t-buy-happiness-but-people/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [All losers exaggerate because they want you to know how bad they feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-caro/all-losers-exaggerate-because-they-want-you-to-know-how-bad-they-feel/) [Mike Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-caro/) > [People in life, when they have a tendency to exaggerate or lie or whatever, you always sort of notice that their voice goes up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/people-in-life-when-they-have-a-tendency-to-exaggerate-or-lie-or/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [It has something to do with the facts and the law and who the judges are. So I think lawyers sometimes exaggerate their role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-abrams/it-has-something-to-do-with-the-facts-and-the-law-and-who-the-judges/) [Floyd Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-abrams/) > [We weaken what we exaggerate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/we-weaken-what-we-exaggerate/) [Jean-Francois de La Harpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/) > [“If you use the term 'over-exaggerate,' you know the definition neither of 'exaggerate' nor of 'over.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-ulyate/if-you-use-the-term-over-exaggerate-you-know-the-definition-neither/) [Rodney Ulyate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-ulyate/) > [Do I exaggerate? Boy, do I, and I'd do it more if I could get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/do-i-exaggerate-boy-do-i-and-i-d-do-it-more-if-i-could-get-away-with/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [My name is Bruce Feiler, and I'm an explainaholic. I first heard this word used to describe Isaac Asimov, and I knew instantly that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/my-name-is-bruce-feiler-and-i-m-an-explainaholic-i-first-heard-this/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [my good qualities are under your protection, and you are to exaggerate them as much as possible; and, in return, it belongs to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/my-good-qualities-are-under-your-protection-and-you-are-to-exaggerate/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I exaggerate when I’m angry, but I’ve never gone around telling people things that aren’t true about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/i-exaggerate-when-i-m-angry-but-i-ve-never-gone-around-telling-people/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [One of the things that I'm realizing is that in voice-over work, you have to actually do more work with your facial muscles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-valley/one-of-the-things-that-i-m-realizing-is-that-in-voice-over-work-you/) [Mark Valley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-valley/) > [I don't think most men do hate women at all - I think most men are trying their best and facing a culturation into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/i-don-t-think-most-men-do-hate-women-at-all-i-think-most-men-are/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) Browse all 102 Exaggerate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“41 Never exaggerate. 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