Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it. – Baltasar Gracian
One must pass through the circumference of time before arriving at the center of opportunity. – Baltasar Gracian
Things do not pass for what they are, but for what they seem. Most things are judged by their jackets. – Baltasar Gracian
To be at ease is better than to be at business. Nothing really belongs to us but time, which even he has who has nothing else. – Baltasar Gracian
At twenty a man is a peacock, at thirty a lion, at forty a camel, at fifty a serpent, at sixty a dog, at seventy an ape, at eighty a nothing at all. – Baltasar Gracian
Even knowledge has to be in the fashion, and where it is not, it is wise to affect ignorance. – Baltasar Gracian
It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck even while waiting for it. – Baltasar Gracian
It is better to have too much courtesy than too little, provided you are not equally courteous to all, for that would be injustice. – Baltasar Gracian
Nature scarcely ever gives us the very best; for that we must have recourse to art. – Baltasar Gracian
There is none who cannot teach somebody something, and there is none so excellent but he is excelled. – Baltasar Gracian
A bad manner spoils everything, even reason and justice; a good one supplies everything, gilds a No, sweetens a truth, and adds a touch of beauty to old age itself. – Baltasar Gracian
Fortune pays you sometimes for the intensity of her favors by the shortness of their duration. She soon tires of carrying any one long on her shoulders. – Baltasar Gracian