Background Image

...

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.

-Baltasar Gracian

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

Know How To Play

Baltasar Gracian

...

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.

Views: 5

Topic

More From Baltasar Gracian

An Ounce Of Prudence Is Worth A Pound Of Cleverness.

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

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.

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

The Truest Wild Beasts Live In The Most Populous Places.

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

Mediocrity Obtains More With Application Than Superiority Without It.

A Single Lie Destroys A Whole Reputation For Integrity.

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.

Words Are Feminine; Deeds Are Masculine.

The Heaven Of The Envied Is Hell For The Envious.

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

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

Hope Is A Great Falsifier Of Truth.

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

Friends Provoked Become The Bitterest Of Enemies.

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

The Worthless Usually Live Long.

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.

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

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.

Knowledge And Courage Take Turns At Greatness.

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

Hurry Is The Weakness Of Fools.

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

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.

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

Nothing Is Good For Him For Whom Nothing Is Bad.

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

True Knowledge Lies In Knowing How To Live.

There Is No Desert Like Being Friendless.

Know Or Listen To Those Who Know.

Fortune Soon Tires Of Carrying Anyone Long On Her Shoulders.

There Is No Wilderness Like A Life Without Friends.

Without Friends

The Things We Remember Best Are Those Better Forgotten.

Hope Is A Great Falsifier. Let Good Judgment Keep Her In Check.

Peacemakers Not Only Live, They Rule Life.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Trust Your Heart

Yes And No Are Soon Said, But Give Much To Think Over.

Never Contend With A Man Who Has Nothing To Lose.

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

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

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.

Knowledge Without Courage Is Sterile.

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

The Path To Greatness Is Along With Others.

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.

Have Friends. 'tis A Second Existence.

Lies Always Come First, Dragging Fools Along By Their Irreparable Vulgarity. Truth Always Lags Last, Limping Along On The Arm Of Time.

Don't Take The Wrong Side Of An Argument Just Because Your Opponent Has Taken The Right Side.

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

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.

Friendship Multiplies The Good Of Life And Divides The Evil.

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

Be Known For Pleasing Others, Especially If You Govern Them. Ruling Other Has One Advantage: You Can Do More Good Than Anyone Else.

Pleasing Others

Without Courage, Wisdom Bears No Fruit.

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

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

Telling The Truth

Keep To Yourself The Final Touches Of Your Art.

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

Know The Great Men Of Your Age.

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.

Exaggeration Is A Branch Of Lying.

Exaggeration Is

The Wise Persono Would Rather See Others Needing Him Than Thanking Him.

Let The First Impulse Pass, Wait For The Second.

Share Weight And Woe, For Misfortune Falls With Double Force On Him That Stands Alone.

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

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.

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

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

Wise Men Appreciate All Men, For They See The Good In Each And Know How Hard It Is To Make Anything Good.

Make Your Friends Your Teachers And Mingle The Pleasures Of Conversation With The Advantages Of Instruction.

Maturity Of Mind Is Best Shown In Slow Belief.

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.

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

The Heaven Of The Envied Is Hell For The Envious. [...because They Focus On What They Don't Have Rather Than Being Grateful For What They Have, Which Is Always Better Than Some Others.]

Hear, See, And Be Silent.

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

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

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

A Wise Man Gets More Use From His Enemies Than A Fool From His Friends.

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

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

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

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

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

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

You Have To Appear Wiser And More Prudent Than Is Required By The People You Are Dealing With If You Want To Give A High Opinion Of Yourself.

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

Beauty And Folly Are Generally Companions.

Beautiful Women

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.

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

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

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 More Merit, The Less Affection.

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

Many People Who Pretend To Be Very Busy Have The Least To Do.

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

A Man Is Judged By His Friends, For The Wise And The Foolish Have Never Agreed.

Passion Colors All That It Touches In Its Own Hues.

Friendship Multiplies Blessings And...soothes The Soul.

When Desire Dies, Fear Is Born.

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.

To Overvalue Something Is A Form Of Lying.

Not He That Adorns But He That Adores Makes A Divinity.

We Live By Information, Not By Sight.

The Best Skill At Cards Is Knowing When To Discard.

Aspire Rather To Be A Hero Than Merely Appear One.

When You Find Fortune Favorable, Stride Boldly Forward, For She Favors The Bold, And Being A Woman, The Young.

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

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

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

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.

There Is No Revenge Like Oblivion, For It Is The Entombment Of The Unworthy In The Dust Of Their Own Nothingness.

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

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

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

Simple Happiness

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

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.

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.

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

Do Not Be Inaccessible. None Is So Perfect That He Does Not Need At Times The Advice Of Others. He Is An Incorrigible Ass Who Will Never Listen To Any One. Even The Most Surpassing Intellect Should Find A Place For Friendly Counsel. Sovereignty Itself Must Learn To Lean. There Are Some That Are Incorrigible Simply Because They Are Inaccessible: They Fall To Ruin Because None Dares To Extricate Them. The Highest Should Have The Door Open For Friendship; It May Prove The Gate Of Help. A Friend Must Be Free To Advise, And Even To Upbraid, Without Feeling Embarrassed.

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

Truth Is For The Minority.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Luck Can Be Assisted. It Is Not All Chance With The Wise.

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

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

The Truth Is Generally Seen, Rarely Heard.

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

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

Never Have A Companion That Casts You In The Shade.

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

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

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.

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

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

Do Pleasant Things Yourself, But Unpleasant Things Through Others.

Pleasant Things

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

Surfeits Of Happiness Are Fatal.

Rate The Intensive Above The Extensive. The Perfect Does Not Lie In Quantity, But In Quality.

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

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

Success Rarely Brings Satisfaction.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Hope Has A Good Memory, Gratitude A Bad One.

A Beautiful Woman Should Break Her Mirror Early.

Courtesy Is The Politic Witchery Of Great Personages.

The Greatest Wisdom Often Consist In Ignorance.

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

Respect Yourself If You Would Have Others Respect You.

I Strive To Be Brief, And I Become Obscure.

Self Improvement

Fortunate People Often Have Very Favorable Beginnings And Very Tragic Endings. What Matters Isn't Being Applauded When You Arrive - For That Is Common - But Being Missed When You Leave.

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

Always Act As If You Were Seen.

Maturity Is The Slowness In Which A Man Believes.

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

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

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

Evil Report Carries Further Than Any Applause.

A Man Of Honour Should Never Forget What He Is Because He Sees What Others Are.

Admiration Is The Basis Of Ignorance.

Many Get The Repute Of Being Witty But Thereby Lose The Credit Of Being Sensible. Jest Has Its Little Hour, Seriousness Should Have All The Rest.

There Is No Need To Show Your Ability Before Everyone.

Human Condition

Work Is The Price Which Is Paid For Reputation.

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

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.

To Oblige People Often Costs Little And Helps Much.

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

Deceit Comes In Through The Ears, But Usually Leaves Through The Eyes.

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

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

Cultivate Those Who Can Teach You.

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

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.

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.

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

Great Ability Develops And Reveals Itself Increasingly With Every New Assignment.

Put Yourself On View. This Brings Your Talents To Light.

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.

God Himself Chasteneth Not With A Rod But With Time.

It Is A Great Deed To Leave Nothing For Tomorrow.

Trending Author

Fantasia Barrino

Category