Quotes By Baltasar Gracian

I strive to be brief, and I become obscure.

Little said is soon amended. There is always time to add a word, never to withdraw one.

He that can live alone resembles the brute beast in nothing, the sage in much, and God in everything.

Even knowledge has to be in the fashion, and where it is not, it is wise to affect ignorance.

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

Hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one.

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

True knowledge lies in knowing how to live.

Never have a companion that casts you in the shade.

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.

He that communicates his secret to another makes himself that other's slave.

Evil report carries further than any applause.

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

When desire dies, fear is born.

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.

Nature scarcely ever gives us the very best; for that we must have recourse to art.

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.

Have friends. 'Tis a second existence.

Be content to act, and leave the talking to others.

There is always time to add a word, never to withdraw one.

Things do not pass for what they are, but for what they seem. Most things are judged by their jackets.

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

To oblige persons often costs little and helps much.

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

He that has satisfied his thirst turns his back on the well.

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

Respect yourself if you would have others respect you.

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

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

Work is the price which is paid for reputation.