# Newsletters > Balthasar Gracian's The Art of Worldly Wisdom >  Aphorism #107 Show no Self-satisfaction.

## Admin

Aphorism #107 Show no Self-satisfaction.

You must neither be discontented with yourself--and that were poor-spirited--nor self-satisfied--and that is folly. Self-satisfaction arises mostly from ignorance: it would be a happy ignorance not without its advantages if it did not injure our credit. Because a man cannot achieve the superlative perfections of others, he contents himself with any mediocre talent of his own. Distrust is wise, and even useful, either to evade mishaps or to afford consolation when they come, for a misfortune cannot surprise a man who has already feared it. Even Homer nods at times, and Alexander fell from his lofty state and out of his illusions. Things depend on many circumstances: what constitutes triumph in one set may cause a defeat in another. In the midst of all incorrigible folly remains the same with empty self-satisfaction, blossoming, flowering, and running all to seed.

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## quasimodo1

To Admin: You know if you put this quote, or aphorism, in slightly different language...it would neatly fit into Machiavelli, Discourse On Princes. But then Machiavellian thinking can be very usefull. quasi

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