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Do Not Make Mistakes About Character. Better Be Cheated In The Price Than In The Quality Of Goods.

-Baltasar Gracian

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Do Not Make Mistakes

Baltasar Gracian

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Do Not Make Mistakes About Character. Better Be Cheated In The Price Than In The Quality Of Goods.

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He Who Puts Off Nothing Till Tomorrow Has Done A Great Deal.

Procrastination

Putting Things Off

Admiration Is The Basis Of Ignorance.

Nothing Arouses Ambition So Much In The Heart As The Trumpet-clang Of Another's Fame.

The Wise Are Always Impatient, For He That Increases Knowledge Increases Impatience Of Folly.

It Is A Great Deed To Leave Nothing For Tomorrow.

Passion Colors All That It Touches In Its Own Hues.

Don't Show Off Every Day, Or You'll Stop Surprising People. There Must Always Be Some Novelty Left Over. The Person Who Displays A Little More Of It Each Day Keeps Up Expectations, And No One Ever Discovers The Limits Of His Talent.

There Is None Who Cannot Teach Somebody Something, And There Is None So Excellent But He Is Excelled.

It Is A Great Piece Of Skill To Know How To Guide Your Luck Even While Waiting For It.

Knowledge And Courage Take Turns At Greatness.

Beauty And Folly Are Generally Companions.

Beautiful Women

If You Are Wise, Live As You Can; If You Cannot, Live As You Would.

A Single Lie Destroys A Whole Reputation For Integrity.

Never Have A Companion That Casts You In The Shade.

Few Are The Friends Of A Mans Self, Most Those Of His Circumstances.

A Beautiful Woman Should Break Her Mirror Early.

One Should Cultivate Good Habits Of Memory, For It Is Capable Of Making Existence A Paradise Or An Inferno.

Do Not Show Your Wounded Finger For Everything Will Knock Up Against It.

Mediocrity Obtains More With Application Than Superiority Without It.

The Truest Wild Beasts Live In The Most Populous Places.

Knowing How To Keep A Friend Is More Important Than Gaining A New One.

Leave Your Luck While Still Winning.

He Who Laughs At Everything Is As Big A Fool As He Who Weeps At Everything.

Without Courage, Wisdom Bears No Fruit.

The Best Skill At Cards Is Knowing When To Discard.

There Are Rules To Luck, Not Everything Is Chance For The Wise; Luck Can Be Helped By Skill.

It Is Profound Philosophy To Sound The Depths Of Feeling And Distinguish Traits Of Character. Men Must Be Studied As Deeply As Books.

For A Thing To Remain Undone Nothing More Is Needed Than To Think Of It Done.

Possession Hinders Enjoyment. It Merely Gives You The Right To Keep Things For Or From Others, And Thus You Gain More Enemies Than Friends.

Hope Is A Great Falsifier Of Truth.

To Overvalue Something Is A Form Of Lying.

Treat Your Enemies With Courtesy, And You'll See How Valuable It Really Is. It Costs Little But Pays A Nice Dividend: Those Who Honor Are Honored. Politeness And A Sense Of Honor Have This Advantage: We Bestow Them On Others Without Losing A Thing.

The Crutch Of Time Accomplishes More Than The Club Of Hercules.

Maturity Of Mind Is Best Shown In Slow Belief.

Surfeits Of Happiness Are Fatal.

Character And Intelligence Are The Poles You Talent Spins On, Displaying Your Gifts.

To Keep Is More Important Than To Make Friends.

The Wise Person Finds Enemies More Useful Than The Fool Does Friends .

The Sage Has One Advantage: He Is Immortal. If This Is Not His Century, Many Others Will Be.

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 Desires To Be Honored At All. He Allows You To Know Them But Not To Comprehend Them. No One Must Know The Extent Of His Abilities, Lest He Be Disappointed. No One Ever Has An Opportunity Of Fathoming Him Entirely. For Guesses And Doubts About The Extent Of His Talents Arouse More Veneration Than Accurate Knowledge Of Them, Be They Ever So Great.

Know How To Use Evasion. That Is How Smart People Get Out Of Difficulties.

Quit While You're Ahead. All The Best Gamblers Do.

Some Would Be Sages If They Did Not Believe They Were So Already.

Tis By No Means The Least Of Life's Rules: To Let Things Alone.

We Live By Information, Not By Sight.

To Equal A Predecessor, One Must Have Twice They Worth.

Tis Much To Gain Universal Admiration; More, Universal Love.

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.

Nature Often Lets Us Down When We Most Need Her; Let Us Turn To Art.

You Should Avoid Making Yourself Too Clear Even In Your Explanations.

Do Not Make Mistakes About Character. That Is The Worst And Yet Easiest Error. Better Be Cheated In The Price Than In The Quality Of Goods. In Dealing With Men, More Than With Other Things, It Is Necessary To Look Within. To Know Men Is Different From Knowing Things. It Is Profound Philosophy To Sound The Depths Of Feeling And Distinguish Traits Of Character. Men Must Be Studied As Deeply As Books.

The Wise Have A Solid Sense Of Silence And The Ability To Keep A Storehouse Of Secrets. Their Capacity And Character Are Respected.

Know Or Listen To Those Who Know.

At Twenty A Man Is A Peacock, At Thirty A Lion, At Forty A Camel, At Fifty A Serpent, At Sixty A Dog, At Seventy An Ape, At Eighty A Nothing At All.

Know How To Choose Well. Most Of Life Depends Thereon. It Needs Good Taste And Correct Judgment, For Which Neither Intellect Nor Study Suffices.

To Oblige People Often Costs Little And Helps Much.

Politeness And A Sense Of Honor Have This Advantage: We Bestow Them On Others Without Losing A Thing.

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.

It Is A Great Misfortune To Be Of Use To Nobody; Scarcely Less To Be Of Use To Everybody.

Everything Foreign Is Respected, Partly Because It Comes From Afar, Partly Because It Is Ready Made And Perfect.

Advice Is Sometimes Transmitted More Successfully Through A Joke Than Grave Teaching.

He Who Finds Fortune On His Side Should Go Briskly Ahead, For She Is Wont To Favor The Bold.

Chance Has Something To Say, Even How To Write A Good Letter.

There Is No Need To Show Your Ability Before Everyone.

Human Condition

It Is Therefore An Excellent Device To Acquire Knowledge From Everybody.

Do Pleasant Things Yourself, But Unpleasant Things Through Others.

Pleasant Things

The Hossanas Of The Multitude Can Never Bring Satisfaction To The Discerning. Yet There Exist Those Chamaleons Of Popularity Who Find Their Joy, Not In The Sweet Breath Of Apollo, But In The Smell Of The Crowd. And Not In Mind: Do Not Be Taken In By What Are Miracles To The Populace, For The Ignorant Do Not Rise Above Marveling. Thus The Stupidity Of A Crowd Is Lost In Admiration, Even As The Brain Of An Individual Uncovers The Trick.

Fools Rush In Through The Door; For Folly Is Always Bold.

Keep Expectation Alive. Keep Stirring It Up. Let Much Promise More, And Great Deeds Herald Greater.

The Greatest Wisdom Often Consist In Ignorance.

Know How To Ask. There Is Nothing More Difficult For Some People, Nor For Others, Easier.

Begin With Another's To End With Your Own.

Exaggeration Is A Branch Of Lying.

Exaggeration Is

Exaggeration Is A Prodigality Of The Judgment Which Shows The Narrowness Of One's Knowledge Or One's Taste.

Exaggeration Is

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.

It Is Better To Have Too Much Courtesy Than Too Little, Provided You Are Not Equally Courteous To All, For That Would Be Injustice.

Wisdom Is Immortal. She Can Wait Forever, But You Cannot.

He That Has Satisfied His Thirst Turns His Back On The Well.

The Best Remedy For Disturbances Is To Let Them Run Their Course, For So They Quiet Down.

Friendship Multiplies Blessings And...soothes The Soul.

All Victories Breed, And That Over Your Superior Is Foolish Or Fatal.

What Is Not Seen Is As If It Was Not. Even The Right Does Not Receive Proper Consideration If It Does Not Seem Right.

There Is No Wilderness Like A Life Without Friends.

Without Friends

Display Startling Novelty-rise Afresh Like The Sun Every Day. Change Too The Scene On Which You Shine, So That You Rloss May Be Felt In The Old Scenes Of Your Triumph, While The Novelty Of Your Powers Wins Applause In The New.

An Ounce Of Prudence Is Worth A Pound Of Cleverness.

Maturity Is The Slowness In Which A Man Believes.

There Are Certain Inessential Activities-moths Of Precious Time-and It Is Worse To Busy Yourself With The Trivial Than To Do Nothing.

Watchfulness Is The Only Guard Against Cunning. Be Intent On His Intentions. Many Succeed In Making Others Do Their Own Affairs, And Unless You Possess The Key To Their Motives You May At Any Moment Be Forced To Take Their Chestnuts Out Of The Fire To The Damage Of Your Own Fingers.

All Men Are Idolators, Some Of Fame, Others Of Self-interest, Most Of Pleasure.

Man Is Born A Barbarian, And Only Raises Himself Above The Beast By Culture.

Wisdom And Courage Make Mutual Contributions To Greatness.

It Is A Novel Kind Of Supremacy, The Best That Life Can Offer, To Have As Servants By Skill Those Who By Nature Are Our Masters.

It Takes More To Make One Sage Today Than It Did To Make The Seven Of Greece. And You Need More Resources To Deal With A Single Person These Days Than With An Entire Nation In Times Past.

Harness The Imagination, For She Is The Whole Of Happiness.

Many Have Had Their Greatness Made For Them By Their Enemies.

Hear, See, And Be Silent.

The Liar Suffers Twice: He Neither Believes Nor Is Believed.

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.

Things Do Not Pass For What They Are, But For What They Seem. Most Things Are Judged By Their Jackets.

Nothing Is Good For Him For Whom Nothing Is Bad.

Know How To Keep Anticipation Alive: Always Strive To Feed It, By Letting The Much Promise More, And The One Achievement Be The Announcement Only Of A Greater. Put Not All Your Reserves Into The First Throw; The Great Trick Is To Dole Out Strength, And To Dole Out Mind, In Such A Fashion As To Bring Forward Increasingly The Fulfillment Of What Was Expected Of You.

You May Be Obliged To Wage War, But Not To Use Poisoned Arrows.

Truth Is For The Minority.

The Sole Advantage Of Power Is That You Can Do More Good.

Hurry Is The Weakness Of Fools.

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.

Let Him That Hath No Power Of Patience Retire Within Himself, Though Even There He Will Have To Put Up With Himself.

Help Others Solve Their Problems; Standing Farther Away, You Can Often See Matters More Clearly Than They Do. . . The Greatest Service You Can Render Someone Else Is Helping Him Or Her Help Themselves.

A Person Of Your Century: Great Persons Are Of Their Time. Not All Were Born Into A Period Worthy Of Them, And Many So Born Failed To Benefit By It. Some Merited A Better Century, For All That Is Good Does Not Always Triumph. Fashions Have Their Periods And Even The Greatest Virtues, Their Styles. But The Philosopher, Being Ageless, Has One Advantage: Should This Not Prove The Right Century, Many To Follow Will.

He That Communicates His Secret To Another Makes Himself That Other's Slave.

Knowledge Without Wisdom Is Double Folly.

You Can Cultivate Taste, As You Can The Intellect. Full Understanding Whets The Appetite And Desire, And, Later, Sharpens The Enjoyment Of Possession.

One Who Was Abhorred By All In Prosperity Is Adored By All In Adversity.

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.

A Brand New Mediocrity Is Thought More Of Than Accustomed Excellence.

Excellence Resides In Quality, Not In Quantity. The Best Is Always Few And Rare; Much Lowers Value.

Peacemakers Not Only Live, They Rule Life.

Friends Provoked Become The Bitterest Of Enemies.

Always Leave Something To Wish For; Otherwise You Will Be Miserable From Your Very Happiness.

When Everyone Covets Something, They Are Easily Annoyed By It.

Little Said Is Soon Amended. There Is Always Time To Add A Word, Never To Withdraw One.

One Deceit Needs Many Others, And So The Whole House Is Built In The Air And Must Soon Come To The Ground

Oh Life, You Should Never Had Begun, But Since You Did, You Should Never End

Censure Is Like The Lightning Which Strikes The Highest Mountains.

Let The First Impulse Pass, Wait For The Second.

There Must Be Something Good In A Thing That Pleases So Many; Even If It Cannot Be Explained, It Is Certainly Enjoyed.

The True Way Is The Middle One, Halfway Between Deserving A Place And Pushing Oneself Into It.

Even Knowledge Has To Be In The Fashion, And Where It Is Not, It Is Wise To Affect Ignorance.

Honorable Beginnings Should Serve To Awaken Curiosity, Not To Heighten People's Expectations. We Are Much Better Off When Reality Surpasses Our Expectations, And Something Turns Out Better Than We Thought It Would.

The Greatest Fool Is He Who Thinks He Is Not One And All Others Are.

There Is No Desert Like Being Friendless.

Trust Your Heart, Especially When It Is A Strong One.

Trust Your Heart

Fortune Pays You Sometimes For The Intensity Of Her Favors By The Shortness Of Their Duration. She Soon Tires Of Carrying Any One Long On Her Shoulders.

Knowledge Without Courage Is Sterile.

No' And 'yes' Are Words Quickly Said, But They Need A Great Amount Of Thought Before You Utter Them.

Some Are Satisfied To Stand Politely Before The Portals Of Fortune And To Await Her Bidding; Better Those Who Push Forward, Who Employ Their Enterprise, Who On The Wings Of Their Worth And Valor Seek To Embrace Luck, And To Effectively Gain Her Favor.

The Things We Remember Best Are Those Better Forgotten.

The Envious Die Not Once, But As Oft As The Envied Win Applause.

The Great Art Of Giving Consists In This The Gift Should Cost Very Little And Yet Be Greatly Coveted, So That It May Be The More Highly Appreciated.

The Wise Does At Once What The Fool Does At Last.

To Be At Ease Is Better Than To Be At Business.

Nature Scarcely Ever Gives Us The Very Best; For That We Must Have Recourse To Art.

Do Not Make Mistakes About Character. Better Be Cheated In The Price Than In The Quality Of Goods.

La Galantería Y La Honra Tienen Esta Ventaja, Que Se Quedan: Aquélla En Quien La Usa, ésta En Quien La Haze.

A Gilded No Is More Satisfactory Than A Dry Yes.

We Often Have To Put Up With Most From Those On Whom We Most Depend.

What The Multitude Says, Is So, Or Soon Will Be So.

Never Contend With A Man Who Has Nothing To Lose.

Fortune Soon Tires Of Carrying Anyone Long On Her Shoulders.

Most Do Violence To Their Natural Aptitude, And Thus Attain Superiority In Nothing.

The Worthless Usually Live Long.

Have Friends. 'tis A Second Existence.

It Requires As Much To Tell The Truth As To Conceal It.

Telling The Truth

Know How To Play The Card Of Contempt. It Is The Most Politic Kind Of Revenge. For There Are Many Of Whom We Should Have Known Nothing If Their Distinguished Opponents Had Taken No Notice Of Them. There Is No Revenge Like Oblivion, For It Is The Entombment Of The Unworthy In The Dust Of Their Own Nothingness.

Cunning Grows In Deceit At Seeing Itself Discovered, And Tries To Deceive With Truth Itselft.

Sometimes It Proves The Highest Understanding Not To Understand.

A Synonym Is A Word You Use When You Can't Spell The Other One.

The Heaven Of The Envied Is Hell For The Envious.

Mix A Little Mystery With Everything, For Mystery Arouses Veneration.

It Is Impossible To Live Without Brains, Either One's Own Or Borrowed.

Work Is The Price Which Is Paid For Reputation.

You Should Aim To Be Independent Of Any One Vote, Of Any One Fashion, Of Any One Century.

Many Of The Things That Bring Delight Should Not Be Owned. They Are More Enjoyed If Another's, Than If Yours; The First Day They Give Pleasure To The Owner, But In All The Rest To The Others: What Belongs To Another Rejoices Doubly, Because It Is Without The Risk Of Going Stale And With The Satisfaction Of Freshness. . . The Possession Of Things Not Only Diminishes Their Enjoyment, But Augments Their Annoyance, Whether Shared Or Not Shared.

A Prudent Man Will Think More Important What Fate Has Conceded To Him, Than What It Has Denied.

Never Lose Your Self-respect, Nor Be Too Familiar With Yourself When You Are Alone. Let Your Integrity Itself Be Your Own Standard Of Rectitude, And Be More Indebted To The Severity Of Your Own Judgment Of Yourself Than To All External Percepts. Desist From Unseemly Conduct, Rather Out Of Respect For Your Own Virtue Than For The Strictures Of External Authority.

There Is No Beauty Unaided, No Excellence That Does Not Sink To The Barbarous, Unless Saved By Art.

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.

The Sage Never Seems To Know His Own Merits, For Only By Not Noticing Them Can You Call Others' Attention To Them.

Attempt Easy Tasks As If They Were Difficult, And Difficult As If They Were Easy; In The One Case That Confidence May Not Fall Asleep, In The Other That It May Not Be Dismayed.

When You Counsel Someone, You Should Appear To Be Reminding Him Of Something He Had Forgotten, Not Of The Light He Was Unable To See.

True Friendship Multiplies The Good In Life And Divides Its Evils. Strive To Have Friends, For Life Without Friends Is Like Life On A Desert Island... To Find One Real Friend In A Lifetime Is Good Fortune; To Keep Him Is A Blessing.

If To Talk To Oneself When Alone Is Folly, It Must Be Doubly Unwise To Listen To Oneself In The Presence Of Others.

Do Not Be Held A Cheat, Even Though It Is Impossible To Live Today Without Being One. Let Your Greatest Cunning Lie In Covering Up What Looks Like Cunning.

The More Merit, The Less Affection.

Better Mad With The Rest Of The World Than Wise Alone.

To Be At Ease Is Better Than To Be At Business. Nothing Really Belongs To Us But Time, Which You Have Even If You Have Nothing Else.

There Are Friendships Merely For Pleasure, Some For The Exchange Of Ideas. Rarest Are Those Friends Of One's Inmost Self.

If There Is Nothing Left To Desire, There Is Everything To Fear, An Unhappy State Of Happiness.

They Make The Greatest Show Of What They Have Done, Who Have Done Least.

Keep To Yourself The Final Touches Of Your Art.

The Truth Is Generally Seen, Rarely Heard.

The Happy Are An Exception Who Enjoy Innocently Their Simple Happiness.

Simple Happiness

None Is So Perfect That He Does Not Need At Times The Advice Of Others.

Politeness Is The Chief Sign Of Culture.

Take Care To Make Things Turn Out Well. Some People Scruple More Over Pointing Things In The Right Direction Than Over Successfully Reaching Their Goals. The Disgrace Of Failure Outweighs The Diligence They Showed. A Winner Is Never Asked For Explanations.

Know The Great Men Of Your Age.

Aspire Rather To Be A Hero Than Merely Appear One.

The Path To Greatness Is Along With Others.

The Passions Are The Humors Of The Mind, And The Least Excess Sickens Our Judgment. If The Disease Spreads To The Mouth, Your Reputation Will Be In Danger.

It Is More Offensive To Outshine In Dignity Than In Personal Attractions.

Two Kinds Of People Are Good At Foreseeing Danger: Those Who Have Learned At Their Own Expense, And The Clever People Who Learn A Great Deal At The Expense Of Others.

To Find One Real Friend In A Lifetime Is Good Fortune; To Keep Him Is A Blessing.

Courtesy Is The Politic Witchery Of Great Personages.

A Wise Prince Must Never Take Things Easy In Times Of Peace.

Hope Has A Good Memory, Gratitude A Bad One.

Never Risk Your Reputation On A Single Shot, For If You Miss The Loss Is Irreparable.

Always Act As If You Were Seen.

Those Who Insist On The Dignity Of Their Office Show They Have Not Deserved It.

Words Are Feminine; Deeds Are Masculine.

It Is Good To Vary In Order That You May Frustrate The Curious, Especially Those Who Envy You.

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