Balthasar Gracian - Aphorism #198

Aphorism #198: Know how to transplant Yourself

     There are nations with whom one must cross their borders to make one's value felt, especially in great
     posts. Their native land is always a stepmother to great talents: envy flourishes there on its native soil,
     and they remember one's small beginnings rather than the greatness one has reached. A needle is
     appreciated that comes from one end of the world to the other, and a piece of painted glass might outvie
     the diamond in value if it comes from afar. Everything foreign is respected, partly because it comes from
     afar, partly because It is ready made and perfect. We have seen persons once the laughing-stock of their
     village and now the wonder of the whole world, honoured by their fellow-countrymen and by the
     foreigners [among whom they dwell]; by the latter because theycome from afar, by the former because
     they are seen from afar. The statue on the altar is never reverenced by him who knew it as a trunk in the
     garden.

Balthasar Gracian

Aphorism #150: Know to get your Price for Things

        Their intrinsic value is not sufficient; for all do not bite at the kernel or look into the interior.

        Most go with the crowd, and go because they see others go. It is a great stroke of art to bring

        things into repute; at times by praising them, for praise arouses desire at times by giving them a

        striking name, which is very useful for putting things at a premium, provided it is done without

        affectation. Again, it is generally an inducement to profess to supply only connoisseurs, for all

        think themselves such, and if not, the sense of want arouses the desire. Never call things easy or

        common: that makes them depreciated rather than made accessible. All rush after the unusual,

        which is more appetising both for the taste and for the intelligence.

When I read Siddhartha, at the bottom of each page there was an offer for subscription to daily updates - one for a daily sonnet by Shakespeare, and one for a daily aphorism from Balthasar Gracian's The Art of Worldly Wisdom (Oraculo manual y arte de prudencia). I subscribed to both.

Today's update from the Balthasar newsletter I found particularly interesting because it still applies to marketing and consumerism today - it's a gem of wisdom we all perceive in our daily lives, but perhaps couldn't have put quite as concisely and adroitly as the Jesuit priest did. I only recently subscribed to this newsletter, but I was already aware that this work is considered as relevant today as it was in the seventeeth century. In the words of the website, "While Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince are generally concerned with affairs of the state, The Art of Worldly Wisdom ranks among the most notable and popular works of philosophical advice. Gracian influenced other such timeless and notable authors as Nietzsche, La Rochefoucauld, Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire, and Schopenhauer, who translated his works to German."

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