A Pocket Mirror for Heroes

Baltasar Gracian utilizes EXTRAORDINARY literary prowess to groom the individual intro a paragon of perfection,as he outlines the base aspects of the individuality and how to obviate them on the road to becoming a"hero"in an age marked by vileness,baseness and vulgarity. Expanding from the aphorisms of his previous"Art of Worldly Wisdom"Gracian here employs aphorisms,analogies,personifications and narratives to convey how to better ones personality and their station in life!!! This gentleman HAD to have been among the 3 SMARTEST denizens to ever walk the Earth!!!

This is such a nice reading. Do not rush. Many things in the book are having hidden/symbolic meanings. I read one short essay and then spend some time meditating and absorbing the wisdom. I love Gracian. El Criticon is my favorite. Kindle edition is very practical allowing you to carry the book through many travels: inwards and outwards.

Good but not as good as “The Art of Worldly Wisdom “ by the same author and translator. That one is a must.

I like to reference this and the art of worldly wisdom as the Bible so that should enlighten you to what I think of it lol.

This small book is a great moral compass full of wisdom. Highly recommended.

This is a very interesting and insightful book. Written in the 1600’s and yet it contains so much practical advice for our times.

Excellent translator. Excellent book.

The most readable and insightful book

This book is a gift to us English-speakers who cannot read Gracian in the original. This small volume takes his Oracle to the next level. No longer constrained by the style of that book Gracian writes with passion and eloquence about what it takes to survive and to win in a dangerous and unpredictable world.Nothing in life is achievable without a fight, laments Gracian. For those who intend to hold on for the long term here are some principles that will help us to 'militate against malice' and achieve our aims despite the fickleness of both friends and fortune.Gracian teaches us how to blindside envy, attract the attention of the discerning, choose a career, set our priorities, develop safeguards in our contacts with people, keep our heads when all others lose theirs. He is the ultimate worldly philosopher, the kind of mentor or friend most of us would love to have: practical, refined, spirited, aware of both the higher and lower spheres of human nature, and passionate about teaching us how to have a fighting chance.Despite his hard-bitten realism Gracian is never a pessimist or an a-moralist. He believes that the good and the noble deserves to triumph and holds that virtue is a prerequisite for greatness. He is not the right mentor for the unscrupulous, or for the dog who would eat dog.Thanks and congratulations go to Christopher Maurer for his masterful and sensitive translation of this Spanish classic. He truly allows Gracian's style and erudition to come forth.Buy this book and carry it with you alongside the Oracle!

The perfect compliment to A Pocket Oracle - Also Gracian, also translated by Maurer.Get them both and fill yourself with timeless wisdom.

Quality of book and pages are really good.

Not good like other book of same auther