Baltasar Gracian Quotes
Born: January 8, 1601
Baltasar Gracián, a 17th-century Spanish Jesuit and philosopher, carved his legacy as a master of worldly wisdom and mental fortitude. His seminal work, *The Art of Worldly Wisdom*, distills life into 300 aphorisms on resilience and razor-sharp focus. Gracián believed that true power lies not in brute force, but in disciplined patience and strategic restraint—a philosophy forged in the crucible of Baroque Spain’s political intrigue. His quotes resonate deeply because they strip away illusion, offering timeless tactics for navigating chaos with dignity and clarity. For those seeking unshakeable composure and a sharpened mind, Gracián remains an indispensable, authoritative guide.
Baltasar Gracian Quotes (64)
"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 Gracian"A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity."
— Baltasar Gracian"A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends."
— Baltasar Gracian"Know or listen to those who know."
— Baltasar Gracian"A beautiful woman should break her mirror early."
— Baltasar Gracian"Respect yourself if you would have others respect you."
— Baltasar Gracian"The wise does at once what the fool does at last."
— Baltasar Gracian"Always leave something to wish for; otherwise you will be miserable from your very happiness."
— Baltasar Gracian"Let him that hath no power of patience retire within himself, though even there he will have to put up with himself."
— Baltasar Gracian"Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose."
— Baltasar Gracian"The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause."
— Baltasar Gracian"Advice is sometimes transmitted more successfully through a joke than grave teaching."
— Baltasar Gracian"Never do anything when you are in a temper, for you will do everything wrong."
— Baltasar Gracian"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 Gracian"Quit while you're ahead. All the best gamblers do."
— Baltasar Gracian"Better mad with the rest of the world than wise alone."
— Baltasar Gracian"Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it."
— Baltasar Gracian"Dreams will get you nowhere, a good kick in the pants will take you a long way."
— Baltasar Gracian"Never have a companion that casts you in the shade."
— Baltasar Gracian"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."
— Baltasar Gracian"Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil."
— Baltasar Gracian"He that can live alone resembles the brute beast in nothing, the sage in much, and God in everything."
— Baltasar Gracian"It is good to vary in order that you may frustrate the curious, especially those who envy you."
— Baltasar Gracian"One must pass through the circumference of time before arriving at the center of opportunity."
— Baltasar Gracian"It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards."
— Baltasar Gracian"Nature scarcely ever gives us the very best; for that we must have recourse to art."
— Baltasar Gracian"Little said is soon amended. There is always time to add a word, never to withdraw one."
— Baltasar Gracian"The things we remember best are those better forgotten."
— Baltasar Gracian"He that communicates his secret to another makes himself that other's slave."
— Baltasar Gracian"Hope is a great falsifier. Let good judgment keep her in check."
— Baltasar Gracian