Baltasar Gracian

Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.

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

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.

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

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

To find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.

Don't lie, but don't tell the whole truth.

Know how to keep anticipation alive: always strive to feed it, by letting the much promise more, and the one achievement be the announcement only of a greater. Put not all your reserves into the first throw; the great trick is to dole out strength, and to dole out mind, in such a fashion as to bring forward increasingly the fulfillment of what was expected of you.

Know how to choose well. Most of life depends thereon. It needs good taste and correct judgment, for which neither intellect nor study suffices.

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.

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

To be at ease is better than to be at business. Nothing really belongs to us but time, which you have even if you have nothing else.

Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit.

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

Hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one.

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.

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.

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.

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.