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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.

-Baltasar Gracian

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Watchfulness Is The Only

Baltasar Gracian

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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.

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

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

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Passion Colors All That It Touches In Its Own Hues.

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To Overvalue Something Is A Form Of Lying.

Fortune Soon Tires Of Carrying Anyone Long On Her Shoulders.

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

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

Hear, See, And Be Silent.

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

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

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

Words Are Feminine; Deeds Are Masculine.

Sometimes It Proves The Highest Understanding Not To Understand.

Surfeits Of Happiness Are Fatal.

Never Contend With A Man Who Has Nothing To Lose.

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

To Keep Is More Important Than To Make Friends.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Evil Report Carries Further Than Any Applause.

Know The Great Men Of Your Age.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Mediocrity Obtains More With Application Than Superiority Without It.

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The Worthless Usually Live Long.

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

Begin With Another's To End With Your Own.

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

Never Have A Companion That Casts You In The Shade.

It Is A Great Deed To Leave Nothing For Tomorrow.

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

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

Hope Is A Great Falsifier Of Truth.

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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.

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

Admiration Is The Basis Of Ignorance.

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

Work Is The Price Which Is Paid For Reputation.

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

Nothing Is Good For Him For Whom Nothing Is Bad.

Know Or Listen To Those Who Know.

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

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

Knowledge Without Wisdom Is Double Folly.

A Single Lie Destroys A Whole Reputation For Integrity.

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

Friendship Multiplies Blessings And...soothes The Soul.

The Truest Wild Beasts Live In The Most Populous Places.

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

God Himself Chasteneth Not With A Rod But With Time.

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.

We Live By Information, Not By Sight.

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

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

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

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

Always Act As If You Were Seen.

The Heaven Of The Envied Is Hell For The Envious.

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

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

Trust Your Heart

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.

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

A Gilded No Is More Satisfactory Than A Dry Yes.

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.

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.

The Truth Is Generally Seen, Rarely Heard.

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

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.

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

The More Merit, The Less Affection.

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

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.

Censure Is Like The Lightning Which Strikes The Highest Mountains.

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

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

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

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

Without Courage, Wisdom Bears No Fruit.

I Strive To Be Brief, And I Become Obscure.

Self Improvement

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

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

Exaggeration Is A Branch Of Lying.

Exaggeration Is

Knowledge And Courage Take Turns At Greatness.

Success Rarely Brings Satisfaction.

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