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141 " In Prosperity prepare for Adversity. It is both wiser and easier to collect winter stores in summer. In prosperity favours are cheap and friends are many. ’Tis well therefore to keep them for more unlucky days, for adversity costs dear and has no helpers. "
― Baltasar Gracián , The Art of Worldly Wisdom
142 " No one is born complete; perfect yourself and your activities day by day until you become a truly consummate being, your talents and your qualities all perfected. "
― Baltasar Gracián , How to Use Your Enemies
143 " Their intrinsic worth is not enough, for not all turn the goods over and look deep. Most run where the crowd is--because the others run "
― Baltasar Gracián
144 " The Truth, but not the whole Truth. Nothing demands more caution than the truth: ’tis the lancet of the heart. It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it. A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity. The deceit is regarded as treason and the deceiver as a traitor, which is worse. Yet not all truths can be spoken: some for our own sake, others for the sake of others. clxxxii "
145 " They make the greatest show of what they have done, who have done least. "
146 " Knowledge and courage contribute in turn to greatness. Since they are immortal, they immortalize. You are as much as you know, and a wise person can do anything. A person without knowledge is a world of darkness. Judgement and strength, eyes and hands; without courage, wisdom is sterile. "
147 " Some people belong entirely to others… They have not a day, not an hour to call their own, so completely do they give themselves to others. This is true even in matters of understanding. Some people know everything for others and nothing for themselves. "
148 " The envious man dies not only once but as many times as the person he envies lives to hear the voice of praise ... "
149 " Know the fortunate in order to choose them, and the unfortunate in order to flee from them. Bad luck is usually brought on by stupidity, and among outcasts nothing is so contagious. Never open the door to the least of evils, for many other, greater ones lurk outside. The trick is to know what cards to get rid of. The least card in the winning hand in front of you is more important than the best card in the losing hand you just laid down. When in doubt, it is good to draw near the wise and the prudent. Sooner or later they will be fortunate. "
150 " Only Truth can give true reputation: only reality can be of real profit. "
151 " A feigned doubt is curiosity's subtlest picklock, enabling it to learn whatever it wants. Even where learning is concerned, contradiction is the pupil's strategy to make the teacher put all their effort into explaining and justifying the truth: a mild challenge leads to consummate instruction. "
152 " Don't be brittle as glass in dealing with people. And especially with friends. Some people crack easily, revealing their fragility. They fill up with offence and fill others with annoyance. They reveal a nature so petty and sensitive that it tolerates nothing, in jest or in earnest. The slightest thing offends them, so insults are never necessary. Those who have dealings with them have to tread carefully, always attending to their sensibilities and adjusting to their temperaments, since the slightest snub annoys them. They are completely self-centred... "
153 " a misfortune cannot surprise a man who has already feared it. "
154 " When you are on the way to fortune associate with the eminent; when arrived, with the mediocre. cliii "
155 " There is no desert like living without friends. Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil. ’Tis the sole remedy against misfortune, the very ventilation of the soul. clix "
156 " Things of the first importance are few; let appreciation be rare. "
157 " Know how to wait. It shows a great heart with deep reserves of patience. Never hurry and never give way to your emotions. Master yourself and you will master others. Stroll through the open spaces of time to the center of opportunity. Wise hesitation ripens success and brings secrets to maturity. The crutch of Time can do more than the steely club of Hercules. (...) A wonderful saying: “Time and I can take on any two.” Fortune gives larger rewards to those who wait. "
― Baltasar Gracián , The Art of Worldly Wisdom (The Oracle) & The Critick (Timeless Wisdom Collection)
158 " Die Freiheit ist kostbarer als jedes Geschenk, das dich verleiten mag, sie aufzugeben. "
159 " This is the single advantage of power, that it enables the holder to do more good. "
160 " You are as much as you know, and a wise person can do anything. A person without knowledge is a world in darkness. "