|
|
(Larger Image)
|
The Art of Worldly Wisdom: A Collection of Aphorisms from the Work of Baltasar Gracian
by Baltasar Gracian (Translator: Martin Fischer)
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Inner City Books/see Bookworld (1994-02-24)
ISBN: 1566191335
EAN: 9781566191333
Hardcover: 208 pages
SKU: 20380
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Hardcover. No Dust Jacket. All pages clean and free of marks.
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Book Description
1904. The translator, Mr. Jacobs, has endeavored to produce Gracian's Laconism and "Cultismo" in his own version, and even tried to retain Gracian's many paronomasias and jingles of similar sound. Jacobs may have here and there introduced others of his own to redress the balance for cases where he found it impossible to produce the same effect in English. In such cases, Jacobs generally gives the original in the Notes. Wherever possible he replaced Spanish proverbs and proverbial phrases by English ones, and throughout tried to preserve the characteristic rhythm and brevity of the proverb.
|
Customer Reviews
|
The "Art of War" for office politics
Rating  (4)
Date: 2006-10-16
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
These 300 maxims by the disobedient Jesuit of the 17th century are practical rules to live by if you would succeed in human society. While not rising (or sinking) to the level of Machiavellian, it must be stated that pragmatism is the guiding light behind this guide to advancement in life. It's not strictly immoral, and indeed Gracian urges the cultivation of virtue, but it also recognizes the fact that one's success depends on the approbation of a fickle, superficial and jealous humanity which sometimes has to be treated with guile, cunning and artifice when flattery, style and native talent just won't cut it. While the idealist might shrink from the book's subject matter, the realist will smile at its insightfulness.
|
|
So so! Definitely not on any priority list!
Rating  (3)
Date: 2006-05-11
0 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
I am afraid many supporters of Gracian will curse me for describing this "classic" as so so! How dare I criticize a Spanish masterpiece once translated by Schopenhauer! However, as a pragmatic self help book lover, I must say that the 300 maxims highly condensed in 171 content pages really do me little good. The maxims written nearly four centuries ago are alright, yet common sense nowadays, though common sense is not that common. Nevertheless, sorry to say that the absence of true core values behind those maxims (at least I cant grasp those, or at most per Maxim 300: In one word, be a saint), and many somehow contradictory maxims (perhaps I just dont understand them deep enough with the less than 100 words of elaboration for each maxim) really cut the value of the book. For sure it would be okay to read one, and re-read, which is necessary. But I am obliged to say that there are plenty of better alternatives to enhance your edge of survival in the world of concrete jungle.
|
|
The Art of Worldly Wisom, Balzecar
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-09-09
3 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
Excellent book with many useful ideas for living in todays world.
Noblesse Oblige' or Noblus Obligus:
With Honor; Obligation
The Art of Courtly (Noble) Conduct
|
|
after NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI and SUN TZU comes BALTASAR GRACIAN
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-05-10
13 out of 16 customers found this reveiw helpful
.
A very small book--literally the size of a credit card, and only half an inch thick--of three-hundred maxims, covering practically all of the wisdom one needs to go through life. Each maxim covering less than a tiny page, often only half. (The size of THIS PARTICULAR EDITION is NOT meant to make one feel cheated of what one paid for. It IS meant to be COMPACT, to carry in the pocket or bag, for frequent reference, in brief quiet moments. There are hardcover versions around.)Originally written in Spanish in 1637 by a Jesuit scholar, it has been translated into eight European languages. This one translated by another scholar and literary critic named Joseph Jacobs, who also collected folklores (including English and Celtic fairy tales, as well as the fables of Aesop).
This particular translation is known to preserve Gracian's epigrammatic style, including his word plays and puns, albeit later updated where necessary due to being unclear and/or dated in grammar and syntax, and revised in comparison with other known English versions. In contrast to Machiavelli, who put CRUDE REALITY into words, Gracian is more on the side of a little IDEALISM and NOBILITY in living one's life. Which is not to say he aims for ASPHYXIA; much is given to living a happy life, part of which is giving oneself a break and a breather. [NEGATIVE] A few maxims are of limited use for its obviousness--in essence, "sometimes go left, sometimes go right". (Uhm, aren't those ALL of the very choices from which one must pick? And doesn't EVERYBODY ALREADY know that.) The wisdom of everything else in the book in nonetheless undiminished. The brevity (not concise; some maxims are translated rather long-windedly) of the maxims does not mean that they are to be read as many in one stretch. After all, the benefits only start when wisdom is absorbed and lived out. Best to read through a dozen at most at a time; re-read and re-read, giving each time to sink into the heart and mind; only then move onto the next dozen or two. Quite ENLIGHTENING. Worth keeping one copy of. Or perhaps two--a hardcover edition, too, in one's library, work desk, coffee table or reception room . . . for anyone who might walk in or anyone being made to wait, and who could use the time literally wisely.
.
|
|
Well....it's very practical
Rating  (2)
Date: 2003-01-27
11 out of 26 customers found this reveiw helpful
Usually the beauty of a book like this is that the author has trancended the ego and offers insights from a spiritually elevated place, one to which we can all aspire. "The Art of Worldly Wisdom" at least acknowledges that much of what we want as ordinary humans is to get ahead; make more money, achieve fame, have more friends...basically have more than the next guy.
But the real challenge of life is the possibility of trancendance, the possibility of being something other than ordinary, the possibility of caring about something bigger than oneself. This book is enjoyable in that it tells it like it is, and with the abundance of feel good, sentimental, new-age quackery out there...that's refreshing. But in the final analysis it must be said that this book is nothing other than an eloquent reaction to fear. Listen to this bit of wisdom: "Let someone else take the hit. You will shield yourself from malevolence: sound policy in those who govern. Having someone else take the blame for failure and be the butt of gossip does not spring from a lack of ability, as malice thinks, but from superior skill. Not everything can turn out well, and you can't please everyone. So look for a scapegoat, someone whose own ambition will make him a good target." If that passes for wisdom, then I am the King of Siam reincarnated. I guess this is the supposedly "enlightened" self-interest that masquerades as a philosophy for living well in our culture. This guy has never made it out of the "I need" phase of spiritual developement. The book is interesting as a period piece, but Balthazar Gracian lives in a simple and selfish world. Do you?
|
|
|
|
|