The Art of Prudence

In 1647, Baltasar Gracián wrote 300 maxims on power, reputation, and prudence. Here is the book, rebuilt for the working professional: his words, a plain reading, the practical moves, and the honest trade-off. Free, no login.

Browse all 300 maxims

#1 Everything is at its Acme
#2 Character and Intellect
#3 Keep Matters for a Time in Suspense
#4 Knowledge and Courage
#5 Create a Feeling of Dependence
#6 A Man at his Highest Point
#7 Avoid Victories over Superiors
#8 To be without Passions
#9 Avoid the Faults of your Nation
#10 Fortune and Fame
#11 Cultivate those who can Teach you
#12 Nature and Art
#13 Act sometimes on Second Thoughts, sometimes on First Impulse
#14 The Thing Itself and the Way it is Done
#15 Keep Ministering Spirits
#16 Knowledge and Good Intentions
#17 Vary the Mode of Action
#18 Application and Ability
#19 Arouse no Exaggerated Expectations on Entering
#20 A Man of the Age
#21 The Art of being Lucky
#22 A Man of Knowledge to the Point
#23 Be Spotless
#24 Keep the Imagination under Control
#25 Know how to take a Hint
#26 Find Out Each Man's Thumbscrew
#27 Prize Intensity more than Extent
#28 Common in Nothing
#29 A Man of Rectitude
#30 Have naught to do with Occupations of Ill-repute
#31 Select the Lucky and avoid the Unlucky
#32 Have the Reputation of being Gracious
#33 Know how to Withdraw
#34 Know your strongest Point
#35 Think over Things, most over the most Important
#36 In Acting or Refraining, weigh your Luck
#37 Keep a Store of Sarcasms, and know how to use them
#38 Leave your Luck while Winning
#39 Recognise when Things are Ripe, and then enjoy them
#40 The Goodwill of People
#41 Never Exaggerate
#42 Born to Command
#43 Think with the Few and speak with the Many
#44 Sympathy with great Minds
#45 Use, but do not abuse, Cunning
#46 Master your Antipathies
#47 Avoid "Affairs of Honour"
#48 Be Thorough
#49 Observation and Judgment
#50 Never lose Self-respect
#51 Know how to Choose Well
#52 Never be put out
#53 Diligent and Intelligent
#54 Know how to show your Teeth
#55 Wait
#56 Have Presence of Mind
#57 Slow and Sure
#58 Adapt Yourself to your Company
#59 Finish off Well
#60 A Sound Judgment
#61 To Excel in what is Excellent
#62 Use good Instruments
#63 To be the First of the Kind is an Excellence
#64 Avoid Worry
#65 Elevated Taste
#66 See that Things end Well
#67 Prefer Callings en Evidence
#68 It is better to help with Intelligence than with Memory
#69 Do not give way to every common Impulse
#70 Know how to Refuse
#71 Do not Vacillate
#72 Be Resolute
#73 Utilise Slips
#74 Do not be Unsociable
#75 Choose an Heroic Ideal
#76 Do not always be Jesting
#77 Be all Things to all Men
#78 The Art of Undertaking Things
#79 A Genial Disposition
#80 Take care to get Information
#81 Renew your Brilliance
#82 Drain Nothing to the Dregs, neither Good nor Ill
#83 Allow Yourself some venial Fault
#84 Make use of your Enemies
#85 Do not play Manille
#86 Prevent Scandal
#87 Culture and Elegance
#88 Let your Behaviour be Fine and Noble
#89 Know Yourself
#90 The Secret of Long Life
#91 Never set to work at anything if you have any doubts of its Prudence
#92 Transcendant Wisdom
#93 Versatility
#94 Keep the extent of your Abilities unknown
#95 Keep Expectation alive
#96 The highest Discretion
#97 Obtain and preserve a Reputation
#98 Write your Intentions in Cypher
#99 Reality and Appearance
#100 A Man without Illusions, a wise Christian, a philosophic Courtier
#101 One half of the World laughs at the Other, and Fools are they all
#102 Be able to stomach big slices of Luck
#103 Let each keep up his Dignity
#104 Try your Hand at Office
#105 Don't be a Bore
#106 Do not parade your Position
#107 Show no Self-satisfaction
#108 The Path to Greatness is along with Others
#109 Be not Censorious
#110 Do Not Wait Till You Are a Sinking Sun
#111 Have Friends
#112 Gain Good-will
#113 In Prosperity prepare for Adversity
#114 Never Compete
#115 Get used to the Failings of your Familiars
#116 Only act with Honourable Men
#117 Never talk of Yourself
#118 Acquire the Reputation of Courtesy
#119 Avoid becoming Disliked
#120 Live Practically
#121 Do not make a Business of what is no Business
#122 Distinction in Speech and Action
#123 Avoid Affectation
#124 Get Yourself Missed
#125 Do not be a Black List
#126 Folly consists not in committing Folly, but in not hiding it when committed
#127 Grace in Everything
#128 Highmindedness
#129 Never complain
#130 Do and be seen Doing
#131 Nobility of Feeling
#132 Revise your Judgments
#133 Better Mad with the Rest than Wise Alone
#134 Double your Resources
#135 Do not nourish the Spirit of Contradiction
#136 Post Yourself in the Centre of Things
#137 The Sage should be Self-sufficing
#138 The Art of letting Things alone
#139 Recognise unlucky Days
#140 Find the Good in a Thing at once
#141 Do not listen to Yourself
#142 Never from Obstinacy take the Wrong Side because your Opponent has anticipated you in taking the Right One
#143 Never become Paradoxical in order to avoid the Trite
#144 Begin with Another's to end with your Own
#145 Do not show your wounded Finger
#146 Look into the Interior of Things
#147 Do not be Inaccessible
#148 Have the Art of Conversation
#149 Know how to put off Ills on Others
#150 Know to get your Price for Things
#151 Think beforehand
#152 Never have a Companion who casts you in the Shade
#153 Beware of entering where there is a great Gap to be filled
#154 Do not Believe, or Like, lightly
#155 The Art of getting into a Passion
#156 Select your Friends
#157 Do not make Mistakes about Character
#158 Make use of your Friends
#159 Put up with Fools
#160 Be careful in Speaking
#161 Know your pet Faults
#162 How to triumph over Rivals and Detractors
#163 Never, from Sympathy with the Unfortunate, involve Yourself in his Fate
#164 Throw Straws in the Air
#165 Wage War Honourably
#166 Distinguish the Man of Words from the Man of Deeds
#167 Know how to take your own Part
#168 Do not indulge in the Eccentricities of Folly
#169 Be more careful not to Miss once than to Hit a hundred times
#170 In all Things keep Something in Reserve
#171 Waste not Influence
#172 Never contend with a Man who has nothing to Lose
#173 Do not be Glass in Intercourse, still less in Friendship
#174 Do not live in a Hurry
#175 A Solid Man
#176 Have Knowledge, or know those that have Knowledge
#177 Avoid Familiarities in Intercourse
#178 Trust your Heart
#179 Reticence is the Seal of Capacity
#180 Never guide the Enemy to what he has to do
#181 The Truth, but not the whole Truth
#182 A Grain of Boldness in Everything
#183 Do not hold your Views too firmly
#184 Do not be Ceremonious
#185 Never stake your Credit on a single Cast
#186 Recognise Faults, however high placed
#187 Do pleasant Things Yourself, unpleasant Things through Others
#188 Be the Bearer of Praise
#189 Utilise Another's Wants
#190 Find Consolation in all Things
#191 Do not take Payment in Politeness
#192 Peaceful Life, a long Life
#193 Watch him that begins with Another's to end with his own
#194 Have reasonable Views of Yourself and of your Affairs
#195 Know how to Appreciate
#196 Know your ruling Star
#197 Do not carry Fools on your Back
#198 Know how to transplant Yourself
#199 To find a proper Place by Merit, not by Presumption
#200 Leave Something to wish for
#201 They are all Fools who seem so besides half the rest
#202 Words and Deeds make the Perfect Man
#203 Know the great Men of your Age
#204 Attempt easy Tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy
#205 Know how to play the Card of Contempt
#206 Know that there are vulgar Natures everywhere
#207 Be Moderate
#208 Do not die of the Fools' Disease
#209 Keep Yourself free from common Follies
#210 Know how to play the Card of Truth
#211 In Heaven all is Bliss
#212 Keep to Yourself the final Touches of your Art
#213 Know how to Contradict
#214 Do not turn one Blunder into two
#215 Watch him that acts on Second Thoughts
#216 Be Expressive
#217 Neither Love nor Hate, for ever
#218 Never act from Obstinacy but from Knowledge
#219 Do not pass for a Hypocrite
#220 If you cannot clothe Yourself in Lionskin use Foxpelt
#221 Do not seize Occasions to embarrass Yourself or Others
#222 Reserve is proof of Prudence
#223 Be not Eccentric
#224 Never take Things against the Grain
#225 Know your chief Fault
#226 Take care to be Obliging
#227 Do not be the Slave of First Impressions
#228 Do not be a Scandal-monger
#229 Plan out your Life wisely
#230 Open your Eyes betimes
#231 Never let Things be seen half-finished
#232 Have a Touch of the Trader
#233 Let not the proffered Morsel be distasteful
#234 Never trust your Honour to another, unless you have his in Pledge
#235 Know how to Ask
#236 Make an Obligation beforehand of what would have to be a Reward afterwards
#237 Never share the Secrets of your Superiors
#238 Know what is wanting in Yourself
#239 Do not be Captious
#240 Make use of Folly
#241 Put up with Raillery, but do not practise it
#242 Push Advantages
#243 Do not be too much of a Dove
#244 Create a feeling of Obligation
#245 Original and out-of-the-way Views
#246 Never offer Satisfaction unless it is demanded
#247 Know a little more, live a little less
#248 Do not go with the last Speaker
#249 Never begin Life with what should end it
#250 When to change the Conversation
#251 Use human Means as if there were no divine ones, and divine as if there were no human ones
#252 Neither belong entirely to Yourself nor entirely to Others
#253 Do not Explain overmuch
#254 Never despise an Evil, however small
#255 Do Good a little at a time, but often
#256 Go armed against Discourtesy
#257 Never let Matters come to a Rupture
#258 Find out some one to share your Troubles
#259 Anticipate Injuries and turn them into Favours
#260 We belong to none and none to us, entirely
#261 Do not follow up a Folly
#262 Be able to Forget
#263 Many things of Taste one should not possess oneself
#264 Have no careless Days
#265 Set those under you difficult Tasks
#266 Do not become Bad from sheer Goodness
#267 Silken Words, sugared Manners
#268 The Wise do at once what the Fool does at last
#269 Make use of the Novelty of your Position
#270 Do not condemn alone that which pleases all
#271 In every Occupation if you know little stick to the safest
#272 Sell Things by the Tariff of Courtesy
#273 Comprehend their Dispositions with whom you deal
#274 Be Attractive
#275 Join in the Game as far as Decency permits
#276 Know how to renew your Character
#277 Display yourself
#278 Avoid Notoriety in all Things
#279 Do not contradict the Contradicter
#280 Be Trustworthy
#281 Find Favour with Men of Sense
#282 Make use of Absence to make yourself more esteemed or valued
#283 Have the Gift of Discovery
#284 Do not be Importunate
#285 Never die of another's Ill-luck
#286 Do not become responsible for all or for every one
#287 Never act in a Passion
#288 Live for the Moment
#289 Nothing depreciates a Man more than to show he is a Man like other Men
#290 'Tis a piece of good Fortune to combine Men's Love and Respect
#291 Know how to Test
#292 Let your personal Qualities surpass those of your Office
#293 Maturity
#294 Be moderate in your Views
#295 Do not affect what you have not effected
#296 Noble Qualities
#297 Always act as if your Acts were seen
#298 Three Things go to a Prodigy
#299 Leave off Hungry
#300 In one word, be a Saint