Quotes by Baltasar Gracián

Cautious silence is the refuge of good sense

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

It requires as much caution to tell the truth as to conceal it.

Respect yourself is you would have others respect you.

The great art of giving consists in this the gift should cost very little and yet be greatly coveted, so that it may be the more highly appreciated.

Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.

The best skill at cards is knowing when to discard.

There are rules to luck, not everything is chance for the wise; luck can be helped by skill.

Say farewell to luck when winning. It is the way of the gamblers of reputation. Quite as important as a gallant advance is a well-planned retreat. Lock up your winnings when they are enough, or when great. Continuous luck is always suspect; more secure is that which changes. Though half bitter and half sweet, it is more satisfying to the taste. The more luck pyramids, the greater the danger of slip and collapse. For luck always compensates her intensity by her brevity. Fortune wearies of carrying anyone long upon her shoulders.

Rivalry discovers that courtesy overlooks.

“One should cultivate good habits of memory, for it is capable of making existence a Paradise or an Inferno.”