1601–1658
Baltasar Gracián
Spanish Jesuit priest and writer from Aragon. His Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), known in English as The Art of Worldly Wisdom, packs 300 hard-edged rules for living among people into a pocket book.
Every line we carry
Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.
- Good, if brief, is twice as good.
Length rarely improves anything. A short speech, email or visit leaves people wanting more instead of less. Say it well and stop.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 105, our translation from the Spanish
- Time and I against any two.
Patience is an ally that outlasts stronger opponents. With time on your side you can wait out bigger rivals and let things ripen. Don't rush what time will win for you.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 55, our translation from the Spanish
- A wise man gains more from his enemies than a fool from his friends.
Enemies point out your weaknesses with no softening. The wise use that as free training. Fools waste even the help of friends.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 84, our translation from the Spanish
- The art of living long: live well.
Long life is less about tricks than about how you live each day. Sound habits and a clean conscience add years and fill them. Live well and the length takes care of itself.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 90, our translation from the Spanish
- Virtue is its own reward. Vice is its own punishment.
You don't need to wait for a judge. Doing right already pays you in peace and self-respect, and doing wrong already costs you. The verdict is built into the act.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 90, our translation from the Spanish
- Don't wait to be the setting sun.
Leave the stage while people still want you there. Hanging on past your peak turns admiration into pity. Choose your exit before it is chosen for you.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 110, our translation from the Spanish
- Leave things before they leave you.
Jobs, habits and roles all have a season. The wise walk away while it is still their choice. Read the signs and go on your own terms.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 110, our translation from the Spanish
- In good fortune, prepare for bad.
Good times are when savings, friends and skills are cheap to gather. Hard times make all of them expensive. Store up in summer for the winter.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 113, our translation from the Spanish
- Never complain. Complaining always costs you respect.
Complaints rarely bring sympathy and often bring contempt. They also teach others how to treat you badly. Fix it, endure it or leave it, but don't whine about it.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 129, our translation from the Spanish
- No one looks at the shining sun. Everyone looks at the eclipse.
A hundred good days go unnoticed and one bad day gets remembered. People watch for your failures more than your successes. Guard against the one big mistake.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 169, our translation from the Spanish
- Don't live in a hurry.
Rushing through life means eating the years before you taste them. Speed is not the same as living fully. Slow down enough to enjoy what you are doing.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 174, our translation from the Spanish
- Never lie. But don't tell every truth.
Honesty does not require saying every true thing you know. Some truths wound for no purpose and some are not yours to share. Stay truthful and use judgment about what to say.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 181, our translation from the Spanish
- No one is more than a man.
Titles, fame and money make some people look larger than life. Up close, everyone has limits and flaws. Don't be intimidated by anyone.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 182, our translation from the Spanish
- He has everything who doesn't care about what doesn't matter.
Most worry is spent on things that have nothing to do with us. Drop those and you get your whole life back. Care hard about the little that matters.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 192, our translation from the Spanish
- Words are the shadow of deeds.
Words follow actions the way a shadow follows a body. Without the deed, the words have nothing to stand on. Let your actions come first.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 202, our translation from the Spanish
- Saying is easy. Doing is hard.
Anyone can promise, plan and announce. The hard part is delivering. Talk less and do more.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 202, our translation from the Spanish
- Take on the easy as if hard, and the hard as if easy.
Easy tasks fail through carelessness and hard ones fail through fear. Treat the simple job with respect and the big one with confidence. Flip your instinct in both cases.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 204, our translation from the Spanish
- Don't turn one mistake into two.
The cover-up is usually worse than the error. Excuses and lies stack new mistakes on the first one. Own it, fix it and stop there.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 214, our translation from the Spanish
- Short of strength, use skill.
You won't always be the strongest in the room. Technique, timing and wit can beat raw power. Train your craft as hard as your muscle.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 220, our translation from the Spanish
- To know when to yield is to win.
Bending with the moment is not giving up. Those who give ground at the right time often end up ahead. Know when to push and when to wait.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 220, our translation from the Spanish
- If the lion's skin won't fit, wear the fox's.
When you can't win by force, win by cleverness. There is more than one road to the same goal. Change your method, not your aim.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 220, our translation from the Spanish
- Don't persist in a mistake and call it constancy.
Sticking with a bad decision is not loyalty or grit; it is stubbornness. Real constancy is to your goals, not your errors. Change course when you see you are wrong.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 261, our translation from the Spanish
- The wise do at the start what fools do at the end.
Fools and wise people often end up doing the same thing; the difference is timing. The wise do it early, by choice, and well. Do now what you'll be forced to do later.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 268, our translation from the Spanish
- Never act in passion. You'll get it all wrong.
Strong emotion makes every choice worse. Wait until the heat passes before you move. A cooler you will make the better call.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 287, our translation from the Spanish
- Be content to do. Leave the talking to others.
Doers don't need to narrate their achievements. If the work is good, others will talk about it. Keep your head down and build.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 295, our translation from the Spanish
- Even alone, act as if the whole world were watching.
Character is what you do when no one is looking. Assume everything will come out eventually, because it usually does. Live with nothing to hide.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 297, our translation from the Spanish
- Leave them hungry.
The best show ends while the audience still wants more. Satisfaction quickly turns into boredom. Give enough and stop before it is too much.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 299, our translation from the Spanish
- Think with the few. Speak with the many.
Your private judgment can go against the crowd, but there is no need to fight every popular opinion out loud. Keep your own counsel and pick your moments. Independent mind, diplomatic tongue.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 43, our translation from the Spanish
- Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit.
Knowing the right thing is useless if you are too afraid to do it. Wisdom needs courage to turn into action. Learn, then dare.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 4, our translation from the Spanish
- A fine retreat matters as much as a bold attack.
Knowing when to pull back is as much a skill as knowing when to charge. A clean exit saves what you have won. Leave the table while you are ahead.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 38, our translation from the Spanish
- What costs little is worth little.
Things gained without effort are rarely valued or kept. The cost is part of what makes something precious. Pay the price for what matters.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 18, our translation from the Spanish
- Average with effort beats brilliant without it.
Talent that doesn't work loses to ordinary ability that does. Effort compounds; raw gifts don't. Outwork your talent.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 18, our translation from the Spanish
- Even hares pluck the mane of a dead lion.
Once you show weakness, even timid people take liberties. Strength has to be kept up, not just once proved. Don't give way at the first push.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 54, our translation from the Spanish
- The winner owes no explanations.
Results speak louder than justifications. Win, and the argument about how is mostly over. Focus on getting it done.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 66, our translation from the Spanish
- Bad action does less harm than no decision.
Indecision lets problems grow while you watch. A flawed move can be corrected; a frozen one can't. Decide and adjust.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 72, our translation from the Spanish
- For the prepared, there are no accidents.
Most surprises are only surprising to people who didn't look ahead. Preparation turns shocks into problems you already planned for. Think about tomorrow today.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 151, our translation from the Spanish
- To win dirty is not victory but surrender.
Winning by low means is losing to your own worst side. The scoreboard says one thing but you know another. Fight fair or don't fight.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 165, our translation from the Spanish
- Don't go out to greet trouble. Go out to meet it and beat it.
There is a difference between inviting trouble and confronting it. Worrying in advance only welcomes it; facing it with a plan defeats it. Meet hard things head-on.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 178, our translation from the Spanish
- Have no careless days.
Luck likes to strike on the one day you let your guard down. Consistency protects you more than brilliance. Show up sharp every day.
Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647), aphorism 264, our translation from the Spanish