Balthasar Gracian: 3 books

My attention was first drawn to the Oráculo Manual by Mr. (now Sir Mountstuart) Grant Duff's admirable article on Balthasar Gracian in the Fortnightly Review of March 1877. I soon after obtained a copy of Schopenhauer's excellent version, and during a journey in Spain I procured with some difficulty...

Balthasar Gracian was a Jesuit priest and philosopher. The Art of Worldly Wisdom is perhaps his most famous work, and contains 300 aphorisms accompanied with commentary. A table of contents is included to allow easy navigation to each maxim.

Dear Mrs. Lewis, This little book were not worthy of being associated with your name, did it not offer an ideal of life at once refined and practical, cultured yet wisely energetic. Gracian points to noble aims, and proposes, on the whole, no ignoble means of attaining to them. The Spanish Jesuit sees clear, but he looks upward.