Help others solve their problems; standing farther away, you can often see matters more clearly than they do. . . The greatest service you can render someone else is helping him or her help themselves.
Baltasar GracianRead
Keep the extent of your abilities unknown.The wise man does not allow his knowledge and abilities to be sounded to the bottom, if he desires to be honored at all. He allows you to know them but not to comprehend them. No one must know the extent of his abilities, lest he be disappointed. No one ever has an opportunity of fathoming him entirely. For guesses and doubts about the extent of his talents arouse more veneration than accurate knowledge of them, be they ever so great.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that one should keep their true abilities and knowledge concealed to maintain respect and admiration from others.
The quote by Baltasar Gracian emphasizes the importance of discretion regarding one's abilities and knowledge. By not revealing the full extent of what one can do, they create an air of mystery that earns them more respect and awe than if they were fully known. This protects the individual from disappointment and ensures that others remain intrigued and respectful, as uncertainty about someone's capabilities can foster admiration.
Themes
AbilitiesWisdomKnowledgeMysteryAdmiration
In practice
Example use cases
A mentor might use this quote to guide their students on the importance of humility.
More from Baltasar Gracian
All quotes →It is a novel kind of supremacy, the best that life can offer, to have as servants by skill those who by nature are our masters.
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Advice is sometimes transmitted more successfully through a joke than grave teaching.
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It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards.
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Two kinds of people are good at foreseeing danger: those who have learned at their own expense, and the clever people who learn a great deal at the expense of others.
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The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause.
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