Baltasar GracianThinkers

Action is better than talk. One ought to be content to act, and leave the talking to others.

Admiration is the basis of Ignorance.

Ambition is often stoked by jealousy — Nothing arouses ambition so much in the heart as the trumpet-clang of another's fame.

Beauty is fleeting — a beautiful woman should break her mirror early.

Blame is like the lightning... it hits the highest.

Caution is wise — it is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterward.

Censure is like the lightning which strikes the highest mountains.

The City is a jungle — the truest wild beasts live in the most populous places.

Contempt is the subtlest form of revenge.

Courtesy is the polite witchery of great personages.