Have a good sense of what each job requires
It is much work to govern men, and even more fools or madmen. It takes double intelligence to rule those who have none.
Half the world is laughing at the other half, and folly rules over all
It is an insufferable fool who measures all things by his own opinion.
Perfection does not mean pleasing one person alone: tastes are as abundant as faces and just as varied.
Perfection does not mean pleasing one person alone: tastes are as abundant as faces and just as varied.
Reality and appearance
Things pass for what they seem, not for what they are. Only rarely do people look into them, and many are satisfied with appearances.
Don't be the wild card (the one that can be anything its holder pleases)
Be excessive in your perfection but moderate about showing it.
Renew your brilliance
Custom wears down our admiration, and a mediocre novelty can conquer the greatest eminence in its old age.
Make others understand
One of the greatest gifts is to seize up quickly what matters.
Most of the time things are not obtained because they were not attempted.
Most of the time things are not obtained because they were not attempted.
Elevated taste
Even the greatest excellences tremble before the person of refined taste, and the most perfect lose their confidence.
Born to rule
They seize the respect, the heart, and even the minds of others.
People like this have a lordly character: kings of merit, lions by natural right.
People like this have a lordly character: kings of merit, lions by natural right.
Know the fortunate in order to choose them, and the unfortunate in order to flee them
Never open the door to the least of evils, for many other, greater ones lurk outside.
Be vulgar in nothing
The discreet never gorge themselves on vulgar applause.
The crowd admires common foolishness and places no stock in excellent counsel.
The crowd admires common foolishness and places no stock in excellent counsel.
Better to be intensive than extensive
Perfection isn’t quantity, but quality. Very good things have always been small and rare; muchness brings discredit.
Know how to take a hint
The truths that matter most to us are always half spoken, fully understood only by the prudent.
Don't have a single imperfection
Few people live without some moral flaw or character defect, and they give in to it when it would be easy to cure.
Be well informed
The discreet arm themselves with a store of courtly, tasteful learning: not vulgar gossip, but a practical knowledge of current affairs.
When you start something, don't raise other people's expectations
When you start something, don’t raise other people’s expectations. What is highly praised seldom measures up to expectation. Reality never catches up to imagination.
No matter how excellent something is, it never satisfies our preconceptions. The imagination feels cheated, and excellence leads more often to disappointment than to admiration.
Hope is a great falsifier. Let good judgment bridle her, so that enjoyment will surpass desire.
What was feared as ruinous comes to seem tolerable.
No matter how excellent something is, it never satisfies our preconceptions. The imagination feels cheated, and excellence leads more often to disappointment than to admiration.
Hope is a great falsifier. Let good judgment bridle her, so that enjoyment will surpass desire.
What was feared as ruinous comes to seem tolerable.
Application and capacity
The mediocre people who apply themselves go further than the superior people who don’t. Work makes worth.
Surround yourself with auxillary wits
We have little to live and much to know, and you cannot live if you do not know.
Not to be swayed by passions: the highest spiritual quality of all
Let your superiority keep you from succumbing to vulgar, passing impressions.
No mastery is greater than mastering yourself and your own passions: it is a triumph of the will.
No mastery is greater than mastering yourself and your own passions: it is a triumph of the will.
Don't outshine your boss
Most people do not mind being surpassed in good fortune, character, or temperament, but no one, especially not a sovereign, likes to be surpassed in intelligence.
Reach perfection
Perfect yourself daily, both personally and professionally, until you become a consummate being, rounding off your gifts and reaching eminence.
Keep matters in suspense
Once declared, resolutions are never esteemed, and they lie open to criticism. If they turn out badly, you will be twice unfortunate. Don’t let everyone look inside you.
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