"It is of little use to be satisfied with oneself if one does not satisfy others; and usually common contempt punishes personal satisfaction: whoever is paid by oneself owes it to everyone. Wanting to speak in order to hear your own voice is incongruous; and if speaking to oneself alone is madness, listening to oneself in front of others is double madness. The flaw of the great is to speak repeating every now and then "am I not right?" or that "eh?", which takes the heads of their listeners."
Baltasar Gracián, the Spanish philosopher (1601-1658), member of the Society of Jesus, professor of Philosophy at the University of Ghent, but also a preacher in Madrid, confessor of prominent personalities, and protected by enlightened aristocrats, known as "the Nietzsche of Spain", represents a unique example of disruptive and fruitful thinking in the history of European civilization.
"The Art of Worldly Wisdom" is the most translated text in the Spanish language (after "Don Quixote") and occupied Schopenhauer, who wished he had written it himself.
In our era, where changes are constant and social - as well as personal - choices are ambiguous, Gracián plays the role of a guide for the calm confrontation of events and life. It is no coincidence that Gracián's superiors forbade him to write and sent him to prison, after taking away his pen."