Quotes By Baltasar Gracian

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

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.

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

To oblige persons often costs little and helps much.

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

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

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

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

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

Work is the price which is paid for reputation.

Respect yourself if you would have others respect you.

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

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

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

Let the first impulse pass, wait for the second.

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.

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

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

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.

Aspire rather to be a hero than merely appear one.

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

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.

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

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

Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil.

Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.

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

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