About the book
Baltasar Gracián Y Morales (1601-1658) was born in Calatayud, Aragon, Spain. His works aimed at instructing princes and, consequently, display a certain deviousness and preoccupation with the exercise of power.
300 aphorisms were extracted from his works and published as “The Art of Worldly Wisdom”, a manual for becoming wise “in the ways of the world”.
About this summary
The book has a curious format: the maxims are numbered and have a short title, but that’s about it; there are no chapters and no organisation by topic.
While this format makes the manual perfect for reading a few maxims at a time, it also makes it challenging to use it as a reference. Let’s say I want to reflect on a particular virtue, how do I find all the related maxims?
To help exactly with this kind of problem, I am sorting the maxims into the best categories I could think of!
Reading the Maxims
The book is widely available online in many translations, but my favourite is the one from 1992 by Christopher Maurer, which you can find here.
Categorisation of the Maxims
The first two categories are quite easy:
- Number and Title: The position and title given to the maxims in the book;
- Frequency of Reference: how often I use these maxims, if you aren’t sure about where to start, start reading the maxims from the “Often” category;
Picking the component virtues for worldly wisdom was quite challenging. In the end, I settled on the two Domains, Personal and Social, and on a number of Graces for each domain, as follows:
- Personal Graces: how to be a worldly wise person:
- Courage: fortitude and the ability to confront fear and uncertainty;
- Industry: being always employed in something useful and cutting off all unnecessary actions;
- Justice: wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty;
- Knowledge: being well informed with tasteful learning and witticisms;
- Judgement: discerning the appropriate course of action for a given situation, at the appropriate time;
- Resolution: resolving to perform what you ought, performing without fail what is resolved;
- Temperance: the practice of self-control, abstention, discretion and moderation;
- Tranquility: living fully, being present and undisturbed by trifles.
- Social Graces: how to act like a worldly wise person in the presence of others:
- Appearances: to have worth, and to know how to show it, is to be worth double;
- Friends: befriending intellectuals, cultivating friendships with teachers;
- Relations: influencing, competing, having manners and etiquette.
Below are the first 50 maxims!
PS: The table is interactive, you can click on the columns to sort the content :)
| # | Title | Frequency | Domain | Grace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | All has reached perfection, and becoming a true person is the greatest perfection of all | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 002 | Character and intelligence | Occasionally | Social | Relations |
| 003 | Keep matters in suspense | Occasionally | Social | Relations |
| 004 | Knowledge and courage take turns at greatness | Barely | Personal | Courage |
| 005 | Make people depend on you | Occasionally | Social | Relations |
| 006 | Reach perfection | Barely | Personal | Industry |
| 007 | Don’t outshine your boss | Often | Social | Relations |
| 008 | Not to be swayed by passions: the highest spiritual quality of all | Barely | Personal | Temperance |
| 009 | Avoid the defects of your country | Occasionally | Personal | Temperance |
| 010 | Fame and fortune | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 011 | Associate with those you can learn from | Occasionally | Social | Friends |
| 012 | Nature and art, material and labor | Barely | Personal | Industry |
| 013 | Act on the intentions of others: their ulterior and superior motives | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 014 | Both reality and manner | Often | Social | Appearances |
| 015 | Surround yourself with auxiliary wits | Often | Social | Friends |
| 016 | Knowledge and honorable intentions | Barely | Personal | Justice |
| 017 | Keep changing your style of doing things | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 018 | Application and capacity | Barely | Personal | Resolution |
| 019 | When you start something, don’t raise other people’s expectations | Occasionally | Social | Relations |
| 020 | A person born in the right age | Barely | Personal | Judgement |
| 021 | The art of success | Barely | Personal | Courage |
| 022 | Be well informed | Barely | Personal | Knowledge |
| 023 | Don’t have a single imperfection | Occasionally | Personal | Temperance |
| 024 | Temper your imagination | Barely | Personal | Tranquillity |
| 025 | Know how to take a hint | Occasionally | Social | Relations |
| 026 | Find each person’s ‘handle’ | Occasionally | Social | Relations |
| 027 | Better to be intensive than extensive | Often | Personal | Resolution |
| 028 | Be vulgar in nothing | Occasionally | Personal | Temperance |
| 029 | Be righteous and firm | Occasionally | Personal | Justice |
| 030 | Don’t occupy yourself with disreputable things | Barely | Personal | Temperance |
| 031 | Know the fortunate in order to choose them, and the unfortunate in order to flee from them | Barely | Personal | Judgement |
| 032 | Be known for pleasing others | Often | Social | Relations |
| 033 | Know when to put something aside | Barely | Personal | Judgement |
| 034 | Know your best quality | Barely | Personal | Knowledge |
| 035 | Weigh matters carefully | Often | Personal | Judgement |
| 036 | Take the measure of your luck | Barely | Personal | Judgement |
| 037 | Know what insinuation is, and how to use it | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 038 | Quit while you’re ahead | Barely | Personal | Judgement |
| 039 | Know when things are at their acme, when they are ripe, and know how to take advantage of them | Occasionally | Personal | Judgement |
| 040 | Grace in dealing with others | Often | Social | Relations |
| 041 | Never exaggerate | Occasionally | Personal | Temperance |
| 042 | Born to rule | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 043 | Feel with the few, speak with the many | Often | Social | Relations |
| 044 | Sympathy with the great | Often | Social | Friends |
| 045 | Use, but don’t abuse, hidden intentions, and above all, don’t reveal them | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 046 | Temper your antipathy | Occasionally | Social | Relations |
| 047 | Avoid committing yourself to risky enterprises | Barely | Personal | Judgement |
| 048 | You are as much a real person as you are deep | Barely | Personal | Knowledge |
| 049 | A person of sharp observation and sound judgment | Barely | Personal | Judgement |
| 050 | Never lose your self-respect | Occasionally | Personal | Temperance |
| 051 | Know how to choose | Barely | Personal | Judgement |
| 052 | Never lose your composure | Barely | Personal | Temperance |
| 053 | Be diligent and intelligent | Barely | Personal | Resolution |
| 054 | Act boldly but prudently | Barely | Personal | Courage |
| 055 | Know how to wait | Barely | Personal | Judgement |
| 056 | Think on your feet | Barely | Personal | Courage |
| 057 | Thoughtful people are safer | Barely | Personal | Temperance |
| 058 | Adapt to those around you | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 059 | End well | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 060 | Good judgment | Barely | Personal | Judgement |
| 061 | Eminence in what is best | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 062 | Use the best instruments | Barely | Social | Friends |
| 063 | The excellence of being first | Barely | Personal | Resolution |
| 064 | Avoid grief | Barely | Personal | Tranquillity |
| 065 | Elevated taste | Barely | Social | Friends |
| 066 | Take care to make things turn out well | Often | Personal | Resolution |
| 067 | Choose an occupation in which you can win praise | Often | Social | Relations |
| 068 | Make others understand | Often | Social | Relations |
| 069 | Don’t give in to every common impulse | Barely | Personal | Temperance |
| 070 | Know how to say no | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 071 | Don’t be inconsistent, either because of temperament or out of affectation | Barely | Personal | Temperance |
| 072 | Be resolute | Barely | Personal | Resolution |
| 073 | Know when to be evasive | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 074 | Don’t be unfriendly | Often | Social | Relations |
| 075 | Choose a heroic model, and emulate rather than imitate | Barely | Personal | Industry |
| 076 | Don’t always be joking | Occasionally | Social | Relations |
| 077 | Adapt yourself to everyone else | Occasionally | Social | Relations |
| 078 | Skill at trying things out | Occasionally | Personal | Temperance |
| 079 | A jovial character | Often | Social | Relations |
| 080 | Be careful when you inform yourself about things | Social | Relations | |
| 081 | Renew your brilliance | Often | Social | Appearances |
| 082 | Neither all bad nor all good | Barely | Social | Appearances |
| 083 | Allow yourself some venial fault | Barely | Social | Appearances |
| 084 | Know how to use your enemies | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 085 | Don’t be the wild card | Barely | Social | Appearances |
| 086 | Head off rumor | Barely | Social | Relations |
| 087 | Culture and refinement | Occasionally | Personal | Knowledge |
| 088 | Deal with others in a grand way | Occasionally | Social | Appearances |
| 089 | Know yourself: your character, intellect, judgment, and emotions | Occasionally | Personal | Temperance |
| 090 | The art of living long: live well | Often | Personal | Justice |
| 091 | Never act unless you think it prudent to do so | Occasionally | Personal | Judgement |
| 092 | Transcendent wisdom, in every situation | Occasionally | Personal | Judgement |
| 093 | A universal man | Often | Social | Friends |
| 094 | Unfathomable gifts | Often | Social | Appearances |
| 095 | Keep expectations alive | Often | Social | Appearances |
| 096 | Good common sense | Occasionally | Personal | Judgement |
Related
Other Bookshelf Pages
- May 14, 2020: Superforecasting
- May 14, 2020: A Calendar of Wisdom
- July 04, 2019: 99 Bottles of OOP
- November 11, 2018: Made to Stick