Baltasar Gracian Quotes
Knowledge and courage take turns at greatness.
Gracián, Baltasar. The Art of Worldly Wisdom. Translated by Joseph Jacobs, Macmillan and Co., 1892.
This line summarizes a principle of political leadership which demagogues understand intuitively and some other politicians learn. To galvanize or mobilize the public, set lofty, important objectives and goals and not small matters. Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, two of our greatest Presidents, were able to do this very well. Other presidents and many politicians try this with minor issues that they think important and great, but they are often unsuccessful because only a small part of the population—the true believers—agree with the importance and greatness.
This has been attributed to Mussolini, most recently when this quote was tweeted by Donald Trump who was accused of repeating the words of the fascist dictator. This phrase was first used as a slogan by Italian solders in 1918 at the Battle of the Piave River during World War I. It was also written on the walls of many homes in the area to encourage each other during the battle.
Baltasar Gracián y Morales, S.J., better known as Baltasar Gracián, was a Spanish Jesuit and baroque prose writer and philosopher. He was born in Belmonte, near Calatayud (Aragon). His writings were lauded by Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.
