Sean D. Francis

At the sixth maxim, I believe we hit upon one of Gracian’s great themes.  We are not perfect.  We have not reached the acme of our selves. A Man at his Highest Point.  We are not born perfect: every day we develop in our personality and in our calling till we reach the highest point [...]

Baltasar Gracian should not be confused with a man who is all about love and kindness. In the 5th Maxim we begin to see the stirrings of a more cold and manipulative view of how to live life. It can be said that the purpose of this book is to help a person be a [...]

iv Knowledge and Courage are the elements of Greatness. They give immortality, because they are immortal. Each is as much as he knows, and the wise can do anything. A man without knowledge, a world without light. Wisdom and strength, eyes and hands. Knowledge without courage is sterile. Greatness is a bizarre trait.  Is it [...]

Baltasar was quite clear with the third maxim. iii Keep Matters for a Time in Suspense. Admiration at their novelty heightens the value of your achievements, It is both useless and insipid to play with the cards on the table. If you do not declare yourself immediately, you arouse expectation, especially when the importance of [...]

The second maxim in Baltasar Gracian’s book, The Art of Worldly Wisdom is a frustratingly short one. ii Character and Intellect: the two poles of our capacity; one without the other is but halfway to happiness. Intellect sufficeth not, character is also needed. On the other hand, it is the fool’s misfortune, to fail in [...]

Since this blog takes its name and tagline from the works of Baltasar Gracian, I thought I could also utilize this space as sort of a virtual discussion and meditation on his work, The Art of Worldly Wisdom.  I do prefer the direct translation of the title, though: A Manual of the Art of Discretion. [...]