"Things do not pass for what they are, but for what they seem. Most things are judged by their jackets."

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More quotes from: Baltasar Gracian

• "A bad manner spoils everything, even reason and justice; a good one supplies everything, gilds ..."
• "A beautiful woman should break her mirror early. "
• "A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity. "
• "A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends. "
• "Aspire rather to be a hero than merely appear one. "
• "At twenty a man is a peacock, at thirty a lion, at forty a camel, ..."
• "Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy; ..."
• "Begin with another's to end with your own. "
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• "Even knowledge has to be in the fashion, and where it is not, it is ..."
• "Fortune pays you sometimes for the intensity of her favors by the shortness of their ..."
• "Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil. "
• "Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment. "
• "Have friends. 'Tis a second existence. "
• "He that can live alone resembles the brute beast in nothing, the sage in much, ..."
• "He that communicates his secret to another makes himself that other's slave. "
• "He that has satisfied his thirst turns his back on the well. "
• "Hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one. "
• "I strive to be brief, and I become obscure. "
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• "It is better to have too much courtesy than too little, provided you are not ..."
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• "It is good to vary in order that you may frustrate the curious, especially those ..."
• "Let him that hath no power of patience retire within himself, though even there he ..."
• "Let the first impulse pass, wait for the second. "
• "Luck can be assisted. It is not all chance with the wise. "
• "Many have had their greatness made for them by their enemies. "
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• "Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose. "
• "Never do anything when you are in a temper, for you will do everything wrong. "
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• "Nothing arouses ambition so much in the heart as the trumpet-clang of another's fame. "
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• "Respect yourself if you would have others respect you. "
• "The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause. "
• "The wise does at once what the fool does at last. "
• "There is always time to add a word, never to withdraw one. "
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• "To equal a predecessor, one must have twice they worth. "
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