El Discreto: The Complete Man (1646)

By Baltasar Gracián

Categories: Religion & Spirituality

El Discreto is a 1646 treatise by Baltasar Gracián, the Spanish Jesuit writer best known for The Art of Worldly Wisdom. This English edition, translated by M. San Pedro, was published by St. Vitus Dance in 2023. Gracián describes the qualities a person needs to become complete and admirable: judgment, wit, restraint, good taste, and the ability to read people and seize the right moment. Written in short chapters full of fables, allegories, and wordplay, it offers advice on character, ambition, and social life.

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