Baltasar Gracian's Quotes

Have friends. 'Tis a second existence.

I strive to be brief, and I become obscure.

It is better to have too much courtesy than too little, provided you are not equally courteous to all, for that would be injustice.

Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.

One must pass through the circumference of time before arriving at the center of opportunity.

Those who insist on the dignity of their office show they have not deserved it.

To be at ease is better than to be at business. Nothing really belongs to us but time, which even he has who has nothing else.

To equal a predecessor, one must have twice they worth.

To oblige persons often costs little and helps much.

We often have to put up with most from those on whom we most depend.

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.

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 or listen to those who know.

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.

A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.

Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil.

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.

Never have a companion that casts you in the shade.

Never do anything when you are in a temper, for you will do everything wrong.

The wise does at once what the fool does at last.

Respect yourself if you would have others respect you.

Better mad with the rest of the world than wise alone.

Dreams will get you nowhere, a good kick in the pants will take you a long way.

Always leave something to wish for; otherwise you will be miserable from your very happiness.

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.

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.

Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.

A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends.

It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck even while waiting for it.

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.

It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards.

It is good to vary in order that you may frustrate the curious, especially those who envy you.

Quit while you're ahead. All the best gamblers do.

A beautiful woman should break her mirror early.

A man of honour should never forget what he is because he sees what others are.

Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment.

Hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one.