Library / Philosophy

The Pocket Oracle and Art of Prudence

Baltasar Gracián

Learn to say no without losing anyone. Three hundred Spanish Golden Age aphorisms on dealing with people, when to show yourself and when to hold back.

Reading: 12 chapters
Format: Text + tutor
Price: $4.99

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About the book

A work to return to, not to consume.

In 1647 Baltasar Gracián published three hundred short aphorisms, each with a title and a few lines of commentary, on the art of living among people. How not to show all your cards, when to wait and when to act, how to refuse without offending, how not to depend on luck, how to choose friends, how to recognize and work on your own main flaw, how to finish what you start. His Spanish is dense, witty and full of wordplay, which is why it rewards slow reading. This edition presents the original Spanish with modernized spelling alongside a ChaTutor English translation, in twelve chapters of twenty-five aphorisms each. It has been translated into many languages and is still read as a manual of social intelligence, as useful at work as in the family.

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Everything is now at its peak, and being a person most of all.

Baltasar Gracián · — Chapter 1

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Inside the book

Chapters

01
Aphorisms 1–2512 min read
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02
Aphorisms 26–5012 min read
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03
Aphorisms 51–7513 min read
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04
Aphorisms 76–10010 min read
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05
Aphorisms 101–12514 min read
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06
Aphorisms 126–15014 min read
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07
Aphorisms 151–17514 min read
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08
Aphorisms 176–20013 min read
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09
Aphorisms 201–22513 min read
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10
Aphorisms 226–25013 min read
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11
Aphorisms 251–27512 min read
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12
Aphorisms 276–30011 min read
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The author

Baltasar Gracián

Baltasar Gracián (1601–1658) was an Aragonese Jesuit, born in Belmonte, near Calatayud, and one of the great prose writers of the Spanish Golden Age. He taught and preached in several cities in Aragon and Catalonia. He wrote on prudence, wit and court life, and his novel El Criticón is a summit of Baroque prose. He published several works under a pen name and without his order's permission, which led to sanctions.

Questions

Is the English a modern translation?

Yes. The English is our own ChaTutor translation of the original Spanish, which you can read side by side. The tutor helps you unpack each aphorism in today's words.

Am I really talking with Baltasar Gracián?

No. The conversation is an AI recreation* inspired by the text: it is not Baltasar Gracián and it can be wrong. Use it to think the book through, not as the author's own word.

How much does it cost?

The book costs US$4.99, or it comes included in ChaTutor Plus. You can read the opening of chapter 1 without signing up. A free account unlocks the whole chapter, the tutor and a full book free every week.

Is the book complete?

Yes: the complete text, chapter by chapter, in English and Spanish.

* AI recreation. Not the author; it may contain errors.