The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracian

The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracian

This perennially popular book of advice on how to achieve personal and professional success is valued for its timeless insights on how to make one's way in the world. Written in the seventeenth century by a Spanish Jesuit scholar, these teachings are strikingly modern in tone and address universal concerns such as friendship, morality, managing emotions, and effective leadership. The Art of Worldly Wisdom is for anyone seeking to combine ethical behavior with worldly success.

This edition of The Art of Worldly Wisdom includes an informative introduction by Willis Barnstone, Distinguished Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature at Indiana University. Barnstone, a noted translator, critic, and poet, explores Gracian's background and places him within his historical and literary context.

Baltasar Gracián y Morales was born in 1601 in Belmonte, Spain. He studied at a Jesuit school in Zaragosa and became a novice at the age of eighteen. After being ordained in 1627, he joined the Jesuits in 1633. He taught philosophy and theology at Jesuit schools in Aragon, Gandia, and Huesca before moving to the Jesuit College of Tarragona. There he served as rector until he was banished by the Jesuit Provost General for publishing the third part of his novel Criticón in 1657 without proper permission. Gracián died in Tarragona in 1658.