The Art of Worldly Wisdom (Forgotten Books) [Paperback]

Baltasar Gracian Morales (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2008

Book Description:

"Part life-coach, part Machiavelli, part Yoda, Balthasar Gracian [1601-1658], a Jesuit priest, wrote this collection of pithy sayings four centuries ago. Gracian speaks to the twenty-first century as well as the seventeenth. It's only a matter of time before someone markets Gracian's life advice to busy executives, like Sun Tzu or the Book of Five Rings (if it hasn't been already). In the meantime, Gracian can be our little secret." (Quote from sacred-texts.com)

Table of Contents:

Publisher's Preface; Dedication; Preface; Testimonia; Introduction; Of Balthasar Gracian And His Works; Of Maxims; Of The "orÁculo Manual"; Bibliographical Appendix; To The Reader; The Art Of Worldly Wisdom; 1-49; 50-99; 100-149; 150-199; 200-249; 250-300

About the Publisher:

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org

Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

About the Author:

"Baltasar Gracian Morales (January 8, 1601 - December 6, 1658) was an Spanish Baroque prose writer. He was born in Belmonte, near Calatayud (Aragon).

The son of a doctor, in his childhood Gracian lived with his uncle, who was a priest. He studied at a Jesuit school in Zaragoza from 1616 to 1619 and at the age of 18 became a novice. He studied philosophy at the College of Calatayud in 1621 and 1623 and theology in Zaragoza. He was ordained in 1627 and took his final vows in 1635.

He assumed the vows of the Jesuits in 1633 and dedicated himself to teaching in various Jesuit schools. He spent time in Huesca, where he befriended the local scholar Vincencio Juan de Lastanosa, who helped him achieve an important milestone in his intellectual upbringing. He acquired fame as a preacher, although some of his oratorical displays, such as reading a letter sent from Hell from the pulpit, were frowned upon by his superiors. He was named Rector of the Jesuit college of Tarragona and wrote works proposing models for courtly conduct such as El heroe (The Hero), El politico (The Politician), and El discreto (The Discreet One). During the Spanish war with Catalonia and France, he was chaplain of the army that liberated Lleida in 1646.

In 1651, he published the first part of the Criticon (Faultfinder) without the permission of his superiors, whom he disobeyed repeatedly. This attracted the Society's displeasure. Ignoring the reprimands, he published the third part of Criticon in 1657, and as a result was sanctioned and exiled to Graus. He tried to leave the order but was unsuccessful. He died in 1658 and is buried in Tarazona near Zaragoza in the province of Aragon.

Gracian is the most representative writer of the Spanish Baroque literary style known as Conceptismo (Conceptism), of which he was the most important theoretician; his Agudeza y arte de ingenio (Wit and the Art of Inventiveness) is at once a poetic, a rhetoric and an anthology of the conceptist style.

The Aragonese village where he was born (Belmonte de Calatayud), changed its name to Belmonte de Gracian in his honour." (Quote from wikipedia.org)

Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: Forgotten Books (January 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605064920
• ISBN-13: 978-1605064925
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,649,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)