Background Image

...

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.

-Baltasar Gracian

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

The Hossanas Of The

Baltasar Gracian

...

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.

Views: 7

Topic

More From Baltasar Gracian

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

Let The First Impulse Pass, Wait For The Second.

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

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

Friendship Multiplies The Good Of Life And Divides The Evil.

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.

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

Admiration Is The Basis Of Ignorance.

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

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.

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

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

Always Act As If You Were Seen.

Fortune Soon Tires Of Carrying Anyone Long On Her Shoulders.

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

Know The Great Men Of Your Age.

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

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

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

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.

Success Rarely Brings Satisfaction.

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

Beauty And Folly Are Generally Companions.

Beautiful Women

The More Merit, The Less Affection.

To Oblige People Often Costs Little And Helps Much.

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

Never Have A Companion That Casts You In The Shade.

Friends Provoked Become The Bitterest Of Enemies.

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

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

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

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

Without Courage, Wisdom Bears No Fruit.

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

Know Or Listen To Those Who Know.

The Things We Remember Best Are Those Better Forgotten.

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

Nothing Is Good For Him For Whom Nothing Is Bad.

Politeness Is The Chief Sign Of Culture.

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

Words Are Feminine; Deeds Are Masculine.

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.

Sometimes It Proves The Highest Understanding Not To Understand.

Hope Has A Good Memory, Gratitude A Bad One.

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.

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

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

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.

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

Trust Your Heart

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

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.

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.

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

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

Hope Is A Great Falsifier Of Truth.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Telling The Truth

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

The Worthless Usually Live Long.

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

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

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

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

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

Mediocrity Obtains More With Application Than Superiority Without It.

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.

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

Hear, See, And Be Silent.

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

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.

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.

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

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

Have Friends. 'tis A Second Existence.

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

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

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

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.

True Knowledge Lies In Knowing How To Live.

The Truest Wild Beasts Live In The Most Populous Places.

Maturity Of Mind Is Best Shown In Slow Belief.

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.

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

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.]

Work Is The Price Which Is Paid For Reputation.

Censure Is Like The Lightning Which Strikes The Highest Mountains.

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.

A Gilded No Is More Satisfactory Than A Dry Yes.

Truth Is For The Minority.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It Is A Great Deed To Leave Nothing For Tomorrow.

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.

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

When Desire Dies, Fear Is Born.

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

Hurry Is The Weakness Of Fools.

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

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

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

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.

Passion Colors All That It Touches In Its Own Hues.

Peacemakers Not Only Live, They Rule Life.

Do Pleasant Things Yourself, But Unpleasant Things Through Others.

Pleasant Things

Friendship Multiplies Blessings And...soothes The Soul.

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

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

A Single Lie Destroys A Whole Reputation For Integrity.

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.

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.

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

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

God Himself Chasteneth Not With A Rod But With Time.

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.

The Heaven Of The Envied Is Hell For The Envious.

Knowledge Without Courage Is Sterile.

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

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

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

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

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

Simple Happiness

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

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

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

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

To Keep Is More Important Than To Make Friends.

Exaggeration Is A Branch Of Lying.

Exaggeration Is

Wisdom And Courage Make Mutual Contributions To Greatness.

Keep To Yourself The Final Touches Of Your Art.

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.

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

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

Aspire Rather To Be A Hero Than Merely Appear One.

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.

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

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

An Ounce Of Prudence Is Worth A Pound Of Cleverness.

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

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

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

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

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

Surfeits Of Happiness Are Fatal.

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 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.

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.

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

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

Knowledge And Courage Take Turns At Greatness.

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

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

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

There Is No Wilderness Like A Life Without Friends.

Without Friends

Knowledge Without Wisdom Is Double Folly.

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

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 Best Skill At Cards Is Knowing When To Discard.

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

There Is No Desert Like Being Friendless.

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

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

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

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

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

Exaggeration Is

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

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

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

Procrastination

Putting Things Off

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.

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.

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

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

Respect Yourself If You Would Have Others Respect You.

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

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.

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

There Is No Need To Show Your Ability Before Everyone.

Human Condition

I Strive To Be Brief, And I Become Obscure.

Self Improvement

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.

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

Maturity Is The Slowness In Which A Man Believes.

Many Would Be Wise If They Did Not Think Themselves Wise.

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

The Path To Greatness Is Along With Others.

The Truth Is Generally Seen, Rarely Heard.

Leave Your Luck While Still Winning.

Trending Author

Category