Baltasar Gracián quotes

A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends. (Baltasar Gracián)
Respect yourself if you would have others respect you.
Baltasar Gracián
Silence is the sanctuary of prudence.
Baltasar Gracián
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.
Baltasar Gracián
Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit.
Baltasar Gracián
Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil.
Baltasar Gracián
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.
Baltasar Gracián
Never do anything when you are in a temper, for you will do everything wrong.
Baltasar Gracián
Politeness and a sense of honor have this advantage: we bestow them on others without losing a thing.
Baltasar Gracián
To overvalue something is a form of lying.
Baltasar Gracián
Knowing how to keep a friend is more important than gaining a new one. (Baltasar Gracián)
Imagination travels faster than sight. Deceit comes in through the ears, but usually leaves through the eyes.
Baltasar Gracián
It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards.
Baltasar Gracián
Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.
Baltasar Gracián
He that has satisfied his thirst turns his back on the well.
Baltasar Gracián
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.
Baltasar Gracián
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.
Baltasar Gracián
Let the first impulse pass, wait for the second.
Baltasar Gracián
True knowledge lies in knowing how to live.
Baltasar Gracián
When desire dies, fear is born.
Baltasar Gracián
We often have to put up with most from those on whom we most depend. (Baltasar Gracián)
The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause.
Baltasar Gracián
Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment.
Baltasar Gracián
Work is the price which is paid for reputation.
Baltasar Gracián
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.
Baltasar Gracián