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.
Baltasar GracianRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Helping others can provide them with clarity on their problems, allowing them to find solutions themselves.
This quote emphasizes the value of assisting others in navigating their challenges. By offering a perspective that may be difficult for them to see, you enable them to gain insight and ultimately empower them to solve their issues independently, which is the most meaningful form of assistance.
Themes
HelpClarityServiceEmpowermentInsight
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about community service, one could use this quote to encourage volunteers to allow others to find their own solutions.
More from Baltasar Gracian
All quotes →Advice is sometimes transmitted more successfully through a joke than grave teaching.
Baltasar GracianRead
It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards.
Baltasar GracianRead
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.
Baltasar GracianRead
The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause.
Baltasar GracianRead
Never participate in the secrets of those above you; you think you share the fruit, and you share the stones - the confidence of a prince is not a grant, but a tax
Baltasar GracianRead
Similar quotes
The ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence.
Robert J. ShillerRead
The men who start out with the notion that the world owes them a living generally find that the world pays its 'debt' in the penitentiary or the poor house.
William Graham SumnerRead
I endeavor to be wise when I cannot be merry, easy when I cannot be glad, content with what cannot be mended, and patient when there be no redress.
Elizabeth MontaguRead
I think this..."perfectionist gene" that too many young women have holds them back, and instead they should be really aiming for "good enough." You don't have to be perfect. Most men never think like that. They're just trying to figure out what's the opening and how they can seize it. They're not thinking about, Oh my gosh, I'm not perfect, my hair's not perfect today, I wore the wrong shoes. No.
Hillary ClintonRead
Even feigning surprise, pretending it was unexpected and saying a ritual thanks, is surely wiser than just expecting everything so carelessly.
Barbara KingsolverRead
The most important thing to do is really listen.
Itzhak PerlmanRead