Latest / The Philosophy Insights Collection / 11 - Renew Your Brilliance - The Art of Worldly Wisdom - Baltasar Gracian
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- Renew your brilliance tis the privilege of the phoenix. Ability is wont to grow old, and with it fame. The staleness of custom weakens admiration, and a mediocrity that's new often eclipses the highest excellence grown old. Try therefore, to be borne again in valor ingenious, in fortune, In all display, startling novelties rise afresh like the sun every day. Change to the scene on which you shine, so that your loss may be felt in the old scenes of your triumph, while the novelty of your powers wins you applause in the new. Eighty two. Drain nothing to the dregs, neither good nor ill. A sage once reduced all virtue to the golden mien. Push right to the extreme and it becomes wrong. Press all the juice from an orange, and it becomes bitter. Even in enjoyment, never go to extremes. Thought too subtle is dull. If you milk a cow too much, you draw blood, not milk. Eighty three, Allow yourself some venial fault. Some such carelessness is often the greatest recommendation of talent. For envy exercises. Ostracism most envenomed when most polite it counts a two perfection as a failing. That it has no faults. For being perfect in all, it condemns it in all it becomes an argus all eyes for imperfection 'tis its only consolation. Blame is like the lightning. It hits the highest Let Homer nod now and then and affect some negligence in valor or in intellect, not in prudence, so as to disarm malevolence, or at least to prevent its bursting with its own venom. You thus leave your cloak on the horns of envy. In order to save your immortal parts eighty four of your enemies, you should learn to seize things not by the blade which cuts, but by the handle, which saves you from harm. Especially, is this the rule with the doings of your enemies. A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends. Their ill will often levels mountains of difficulties which one would otherwise not face. Many have had their greatness made for them by their enemies. Flattery is more dangerous than hatred, because it covers the stains which the other causes to be wiped out. The wise will turn ill will into a mirror more faithful than that of kindness, and remove or improve the faults referred to. Caution thrives well when rivalry and ill will are next door neighbors. Eighty five Do not play Manville. It is a fault of excellence that, being so much in use, it is liable to abuse. Because all covet is it, all are vexed by it. It is a great misfortune to be of use to nobody, scarcely less to be of use to everybody. People who reach this stage lose by gaining, and at last bore those who desired them. Before. These manils wear away all kinds of excellence, losing the earlier esteem of the few, they obtain discredit among the vulgar. The remedy against this extreme is to moderate your brilliance. Be extraordinary in your excellence, if you like, but be ordinary in your display of it. The more light a torch gives, the more it burns away, and the narratives to going out. Show yourself less, and you will be rewarded by being esteemed more. Eighty six prevent scandal. Many heads go to make the mob, and in each of them are eyes for malice to use, and a tongue for detraction to wag. If a single ill report spread, it cast a blemish on your fair fame, and if it clings to you with a nickname, your reputation is in danger. Generally, it is some salient defect or ridiculous trait that gives rise to the rumors. At times, these are malicious additions of private envy to general distrust. For there are wicked tongues that ruin a great reputation, more easily by a witty sneer than by a direct accusation. It is easy to get into bad repute because it is easy to believe evil of anyone. It is not easy to clear yourself. The wise accordingly avoid these mischances. Guarding against vulgar scandal with sedulous vigilance, it is far easier to prevent than to rectify. Eighty seven. Culture and elegance. Man is a born barbarian and only raises himself above the beast by culture. Culture therefore makes the man, the more a man, the higher. Thanks to it, Greece could call the rest of the world barbarians. Ignorance is very raw. Nothing contributes so much to culture as knowledge, But even knowledge is coarse if without elegance. Not alone must our intelligence be elegant, but our desires and above all our conversation. Some men are naturally elegant in internal and external qualities, in their thoughts, in their address, in their dress, which is the rind of the soul, and in their talents, which is its fruit. There are others, on the other hand, so ghosh that everything about them, even their very excellencies, is tarnished by an intolerable and barbaric want of neatness. Eighty eight. Let your behavior be fine and noble. A great man ought not to be little in his behavior. He ought never to pry to minutely into things, least of all in unpleasant matters. For though it is important to know all, it is not necess necessary to know all about all. One ought to act in such cases with the generosity of a gentleman. Conduct worthy of a gallant man to overlook. Forms a large part of the work of ruling. Most things must be left unnoticed among relatives and friends, and even among enemies. All superfluity is annoying, especially in things that annoy To keep hovering around the object of your annoyance is a kind of mania. Generally speaking, every man behaves according to his heart and his understanding. Eighty nine. Know yourself in talents and capacity, in judgment, and inclination. You cannot master yourself unless you know yourself. There are mirrors for the face, but none for the mind. Let careful thought about yourself serve as a substitute. When the outer image is forgotten, Keep the inner one to improve and perfect Learn the force of your intellect and capacity for affairs. Test the force of your courage in order to apply it, and keep your foundation secure and your head clear for everything. Eighty The secret of long life lead a good life. Two things bring life speedily to an end, folly and immorality. Some lose their life because they have not the intelligence to keep it, others because they have not the will. Just as virtue is its own reward, so is vice its own punishment. He who lives a fast life runs through life. In a double sense, a virtuous life never dies. The firmness of the soul is communicated to the body, and a good life is long not only in intention, but also in extension. End of Section eleven.