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11 - Renew Your Brilliance - The Art of Worldly Wisdom - Baltasar Gracian · Logic Library

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