Sean D. Francis

Very few people would claim Baltasar Gracian was simple.   Maxim 13 is a very complex tightly woven strategic sentiment.  This isn’t about philosophy per se, it is one of those sentiments that seems kind of Machiavellian or Sun-Tzu-ian.  In a different translation than the free one that I use for the purpose of this blog [...]

It has been sometime since I visited the core purpose of this blog – the continued exploration of Baltasar Gracian’s The Art of Worldly Wisdom. As a person who strongly believes philosophy plays a vital role in understanding our world, I rely heavily on the concept of ‘the state of nature’. In many ways I [...]

If the ninth maxim Baltasar Gracian put forth is one of my favorites, the tenth gives me chills.  Not in an elated way but in a fearful way.  The tenth maxim speaks of the two things I seek and want the most, fortune and fame.  One of the reasons why I like Baltasar Gracian is [...]

Is it possible to love a maxim?  It is quite possibly  a silly thing, but I do really like this maxim.  I am a patriot.  I am an American in the truest sense of the word since I worship at the Temple of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.  Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, [...]

Many of Gracian’s maxims cause conflict in me and this one seems aimed at the core of my being.  Passion, I believe, is what drives people to personal success.  When you care about something to such an extent that it goes beyond a goal but is an emotion, the steps you need to take to [...]

I won’t lie and say that I don’t struggle trying to interpret the seventh maxim. This maxim is the second one that feels manipulative and less than ethical in the modern sense of the word. I am not a person who is willing to sell myself short in order to gain advancement in life. I [...]