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08 - Know How To Choose Well - The Art of Worldly Wisdom - Baltasar Gracian · The Philosophy Insights Collection

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  Know how to choose well. Most of life depends thereon. It needs good
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  taste and correct judgment, for which neither intellect nor study suffices. To be
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  choice, you must choose, and for this two things are needed to be
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  able to choose at all, and then to choose the best. There are
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  many men of feckoned and subtle mind, of keen judgment, of much learning,
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  and of great observation, who yet are at a loss when they come
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  to choose. They always take the worst, as if they had tried to
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  go wrong. Thus this is one of the greatest gifts from above. Fifty
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  two. Never be put out tis a great aim of prudence, never to
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  be embarrassed. It is the sign of a real man, of a noble
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  heart, For magnanimity is not easily put out. The passions are the humors
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  of the soul, and every excess in them weakens prudence. If they overflow
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  through the mouth, the reputation will be in danger. Let a man therefore
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  be so much and so great a master over himself, that neither in the
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  most fortunate nor in the most adverse circumstances, can anything cause his reputation injury
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  by disturbing his self possession, but rather enhance it by showing his superiority.
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  Fifty three Diligent and intelligent. Diligence promptly executes what intelligence slowly excogitates. Hurry
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  is the failing of fools. They know not the crucial point and set to
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  work without preparation. On the other hand, the wis more often fail from
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  procrastination. Foresight begets deliberation, and remiss action often nullifies prompt judgment. Celerity
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  is the mother of good fortune. He has done much who leaves nothing over
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  till tomorrow. Festina lente is a royal motto. Fifty four know how to
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  show your teeth. Even hairs can pull the mane of a dead lion.
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  There is no joke about courage. Give way to the first, and you
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  must yield to the second, and so on till the last. And to
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  gain your point at last costs as much trouble as would have gained much more
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  at first. Moral courage exceeds physical. It should be like a sword kept
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  ready for use in the scabbard of caution. It is the shield of great
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  place. Moral cowardice lowers one more than physical. Many have had eminent qualities,
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  yet for want of a stout heart. They passed inanimate lives and found
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  a tomb in their own sloth. Wise nature has thoughtfully combined in the bee
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  the sweetness of its honey with the sharpness of its sting fifty five weight.
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  It's a sign of a noble heart, dowered with patience. Never to be
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  in a hurry, never to be in a passion. First be master over
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  yourself. If you would be master over others, you must pass through the
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  circumference of time before arriving at the center of opportunity. A wise reserve seasons
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  the aims and matures the means. Times crutch affects more than the iron club
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  of Hercules. God himself chasteneth not with a rod, but with time.
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  He spake a great word, who said time, and iye against any two
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  charles. The fifth fortune herself rewards waiting with the first prize fifty six.
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  Have presence of mind, the child of a happy promptitude of spirit. Owing
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  to this vivacity and wide awakeness, there is no fear of danger or mischance.
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  Many reflect much, only to go wrong in the end. Others attain
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  their aim without thinking of it beforehand. There are natures of anti Paris fasis
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  who work best in an emergency. They are like monsters who succeed in all
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  they do off hand, but fail in aught they think over. A thing
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  occurs to them at once or never. For them, there is no court
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  of appeal. Celerity wins applause because it proves remarkable capacity, subtlety of judgment,
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  prudence in action. Fifty seven Slow and sure, early enough, If
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  well quickly done, can be quickly undone. To last, an eternity requires
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  an eternity of preparation. Only excellence counts. Only achievement endures. Profound intelligence
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  is the only foundation for immortality. Worth much costs much. The precious metals
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  are the heaviest. Fifty eight. Adapt yourself to your company. There is
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  no need to show your ability before everyone. Employ no more force than is
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  necessary. Let there be no unnecessary expenditure, either of knowledge or of power.
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  The skillful falconer only flies enough birds to serve for the chase. If
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  there is too much display to day, there will be nothing to show tomorrow.
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  Always have some novelty wherewith to dazzle, To show something fresh each day,
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  keeps expectation alive and conceals the limits of capacity. Fifty nine. Finish
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  off well in the house of fortune. If you enter by the gate of
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  pleasure, you must leave by that of sorrow, and vice versa. You
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  ought, therefore, to think of the finish, and attach more importance to
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  a graceful exit than to applause on entrance. Tis the common law of the
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  unlucky to have a very fortunate outset and a very tragic end. The important
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  point is not the vulgar applause on entrance that comes to nearly all, but
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  the general feeling at exit. Few in life are felt to deserve an honor
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  corps. Fortune rarely accompanies any one to the door. Warmly, as she
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  may welcome the coming she speeds, but coldly the parting guest sixty a sound
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  judgment. Some are born wise, and with this natural advantage, enter upon
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  their studies with a moety. Already mastered with age and experience. Their reason
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  ripens, and thus they attain a sound judgment. They abhor everything whimsical as
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  leading prudence astray, especially in matters of state, where certainty is so necessary.
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  Owing to the importance of the affairs involved, Such men deserve to stand
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  by the helm of state, either as pilots or as men at the wheel
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  end of section eight.