Quotes By Baltasar Gracian

The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause.

Let the first impulse pass, wait for the second.

Let him that hath no power of patience retire within himself, though even there he will have to put up with himself.

Hope is a great falsifier. Let good judgment keep her in check.

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.

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

There is none who cannot teach somebody something, and there is none so excellent but he is excelled.

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

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

Aspire rather to be a hero than merely appear one.

Know or listen to those who know.

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.

Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil.

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

Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.

A beautiful woman should break her mirror early.

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

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

Luck can be assisted. It is not all chance with the wise.

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.

Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit.

Many have had their greatness made for them by their enemies.

Advice is sometimes transmitted more successfully through a joke than grave teaching.

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

Don't take the wrong side of an argument just because your opponent has taken the right side.

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

The things we remember best are those better forgotten.

A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.

Begin with another's to end with your own.

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