Baltasar Gracian: a man of peace

-- 192 --

A man  of peace, a man of years;
in order to live, let live; 
 
the peaceful not only live,
but they reign;

lend your ears, and your eyes,
but hold your tongue;

the day without strife,
makes the night with its sleep;

to live long, and to live in joy,
is to live twice, and the fruit of peace;

he has everything who gives no concern
to what does not concern him;

nothing more purposeless,
than to see purpose in everything,

for it is equally stupid to break the heart
over what is not your business,

as not to set your teeth
into that which is.

-- Balthasar Gracian --
The Art of Worldly Wisdom


I think the last four couplets, beginning with "he has everything,"  are the greatest source of misery that even well-meaning people bring upon us.   Minding one's own business may be the greatest aid to peace and contentment ever conceived by the wise among us.