Life Advice from a Shrewd 17th Century Spanish Priest

I’ll have whatever Baltasar Gracián was having.

Photo by Biel Morro on Unsplash

You may think the title is a very odd combination of words. I thought so too, when I read this blurb on the back of a Penguin Little Black Classic:

A seventeenth-century Spanish priest’s shrewd maxims on using guile and pragmatism to succeed in a dangerous world.

What was the title of the book?

‘How to Use Your Enemies’

Obviously, it was a must-buy.

Having read the book — and not being disappointed — I decided that it was a book the internet- — and Medium — simply must know more about.

Not to say that I think you lot are shrewd (gasp) — or, 17th century Spanish priests…

But I learned some things from this book, so I reckon you can too:

18 Quotes from ‘How to Use Your Enemies’ by Baltasar Gracián

Photo by Benigno Hoyuela on Unsplash

№1 — ‘Knowledge and courage contribute in…