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12 - Never Set To Work if You Have Any Doubts of its Prudence - The Art of Worldly Wisdom - Baltasar Gracian · The Philosophy Insights Collection

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  Never set to work at anything if you have any doubts of its prudence.
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  A suspicion of failure in the mind of the doer is proof positive of it
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  in that of the onlooker, especially if he is a rival. If in
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  the heat of action, your judgment feels scruples, it will afterwards, in
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  cool reflection, condemn it as a piece of folly. Action is dangerous where
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  prudence is in doubt, Better leave such things alone. Wisdom does not trust
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  to probabilities. It always marches in the mid day light of reason. How
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  can an enterprise succeed which the judgment condemns as soon as conceived? And if
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  resolutions past nam Khan by inner court often turn out unfortunately, what can we
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  expect of those undertaken by a doubting reason and a vacillating judgment ninety two Transcendent
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  wisdom I mean in everything, the first and highest rule of all deed and
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  speech. The more necessary to be followed, the higher and more numerous our
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  posts is. An ounce of wisdom is worth more than tons of cleverness.
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  It is the only sure way, though it may not gain so much applause.
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  The reputation of wisdom is the last triumph of fame. It is enough
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  if you satisfy the wise, for their judgment is the touchstone of true success.
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  Ninety three Versatility. A man of many excellences equals many men. By
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  imparting his own enjoyment of life to his circle, he enriches their life.
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  Variety in excellences is the delight of life. It is a great art to
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  profit by all that is good. And since Nature has made man in his
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  highest development and abstract of herself, so let art create in him a true
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  microcosm by training his taste and intellect. Ninety four Keep the extent of your
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  abilities unknown. The wise man does not allow his knowledge and abilities to be
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  sounded to the bottom. If he desires to be honored by all. He
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  allows you to know them, but not to comprehend them. No one must
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  know the extent of his abilities lest he be disappointed. No one ever has
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  an opportunity of fathoming him entirely, for guesses and doubts about the extent of
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  his talents arouse more veneration than accurate knowledge of them, be they ever so
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  great. Ninety five Keep expectation alive, keep stirring it up. Let much
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  promise more and great deeds. Herald Greater. Do not rest your whole fortune
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  on a single cast of the die. It requires great skill to moderate your
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  fore so as to keep expectation from being dissipated. Ninety six the highest discretion.
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  It is the throne of reason, the foundation of prudence. By its
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  means, success is gained at little cost. It is a gift from above
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  and should be prayed for as the first and best quality. Tis the main
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  piece of the panoply, and so important that its absence makes a man imperfect.
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  Whereas with other qualities, it is merely a question of more or less.
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  All the actions of life depend on its application, all require its assistance,
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  for everything needs intelligence. Discretion consists in a natural tendency to the most
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  rational course, combined with a liking for the surest. Ninety seven Obtain and
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  preserve a reputation. It is the usufrct of fame. It is expensive to
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  obtain a reputation, for it only attaches to distinguished abilities, which are as
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  rare as mediocrites are common. Once obtained, it is easily preserved. It
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  confers many an obligation, but it does more when it is owing to elevated
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  powers or lofty spheres of action. It rises to a kind of veneration and
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  yields a sort of majesty. But it is only a well founded reputation that
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  lasts permanently. Ninety eight Write your intentions in cipher. The passions are the
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  gates of the soul. The most practical knowledge consists in disguising them. He
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  that plays with cards exposed runs a risk of losing the stakes. The reserve
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  of caution should combat the curiosity of inquirers. Adopt the policy of the cuttlefish.
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  Do not even let your tastes be known, lest others utilize them,
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  either by running counter to them or by flattery them. Ninety nine Reality and
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  appearance. Things pass for what they seem, not for what they are.
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  Few see inside, many take to the outside. It is not enough to
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  be right if right seem false and ill one hundred A man without illusions,
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  a wise Christian, a philosophic courtier be all these not merely seem to be
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  them, still less affect to be them. Philosophy is nowadays discredited, but
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  yet it was always the chiefest concern of the wise. The art of thinking
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  has lost all its former repute. Seneca introduced it at Rome. It went
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  to court for some time, but now it is considered out of place there.
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  And yet, the discovery of deceit was always thought the true nourishment of
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  a thoughtful mind, the true delight of a virtuous soul. End of Section twelve e