To hear a prince's secrets is not a privilege but a burden. Many smash the mirror that reminds them of their ugliness. They cannot stand to see those who saw them.
• Maxim 237 (p. 134)
• Maxim 237 (p. 134)
“
No es favor del Príncipe, sino pecho, el comunicarlo. Quiebran muchos el espejo porque les acuerda la fealdad. No puede ver al que le pudo ver.
— Baltasar Gracián
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "No es favor del Príncipe, sino pecho, el comunicarlo. Quiebran muchos el espejo porque les acuerda la fealdad. No puede ver al que le pudo ver." in the context of "To hear a prince's secrets is not a privilege but a burden. Many smash the mirror that reminds them of their ugliness. They cannot stand to see those who saw them.
• Maxim 237 (p. 134)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Baltasar Gracián" (Quotes, The Art of Worldly Wisdom (1647): Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia, the title of which has been translated, as The Oracle, a Manual of the Art of Discretion and The Art of Worldly Wisdom, was a collection of maxims. Page numbers provided here are from The Art of Worldly Wisdom: A Pocket Oracle (1992), translated by Christopher Maurer,
See also Oráculo Manual y Arte de Prudencia)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Baltasar Gracián
Baltasar Gracián y Morales (8 January 1601 – 6 December 1658), most widely known as Baltasar Gracián, was a Spanish Jesuit author regarded as one of the most accomplished prose stylists of the Baroque era.
About Baltasar Gracián
Baltasar Gracián y Morales (8 January 1601 – 6 December 1658), most widely known as Baltasar Gracián, was a Spanish Jesuit author regarded as one of the most accomplished prose stylists of the Baroque era.
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