# Newsletters > Balthasar Gracian's The Art of Worldly Wisdom >  Aphorism #203 Know the great Men of your Age.

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Aphorism #203 Know the great Men of your Age.

They are not many. There is one PhÂnix in the whole world, one great general, one perfect orator, one true philosopher in a century, a really illustrious king in several. Mediocrities are as numerous as they are worth-less: eminent greatness is rare in every respect, since it needs complete perfection, and the higher the species the more difficult is the highest rank in it. Many have claimed the title "Great," like CÃ¦sar and Alexander, but in vain, for without great deeds the title is a mere breath of air. There have been few Senecas, and fame records but one Apelles. 


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