# Newsletters > Balthasar Gracian's The Art of Worldly Wisdom >  Aphorism #50 Never lose Self-respect,

## Admin

Aphorism #50 Never lose Self-respect,

or be too familiar with oneself. Let yourown right feeling be the true standard of your rectitude, and owe more to the strictness of your own self-judgment than to all external sanctions. Leave off anything unseemly more from regard for your own self-respect than from fear of external authority. Pay regard to that and there is no need of Seneca's imaginary tutor.

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## Jane Jane

Since none of us are privy to Seneca's imaginary civil or other cases we must discipline ourselves. 
If we know ourselves well, which I believe is much harder to do than one thinks, but if we make ourselves a serious but detached study and see both our good points and our bad and behave in a way that brings out the good and keeps the negative as much out of use as possible,well then we have a good chance of succeeding well in life. For the man or woman that can discipline one's self and chastise oneself while knowing oneself intimately and not in a familiar careless manner instead of listening to others who may or may not have a correct view of your character at all-this person will be able to focus on what matters in life and not be either flattered by others and fall, or be beaten down by others and give up or go a wrong direction.

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