{"product_id":"the-pocket-oracle-and-art-of-prudence-9780141442457","title":"The Pocket Oracle and Art of Prudence","description":"\u003cb\u003eA unique collection of advice for life and perhaps the first 'self-help' book ever written\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten over 350 years ago, \u003ci\u003eThe Pocket Oracle and Art of Prudence\u003c\/i\u003e is a subtle collection of 300 witty and thought-provoking aphorisms. From the art of being lucky to the healthy use of caution, these elegant maxims were created as a guide to life, with further suggestions given on cultivating good taste, knowing how to refuse, the foolishness of complaining and the wisdom of controlling one's passions. Baltasar Gracian intended these ingenious, pragmatic aphorisms to challenge the mind, and recognised that few would be capable of applying them. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In Jeremy Robbins's introduction to his penetrating new translation, he examines Gracian's place in Spanish literature and his previous works. Robbins also looks at the themes, contexts and contradictions of \u003ci\u003eThe Pocket Oracle\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as the brevity and subtlety of Gracian's cool-headed aphorisms. This edition also contains a chronology, suggested further reading and notes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBaltasar Gracián\u003c\/b\u003e was born in 1601 in Belmonte, Aragon and entered the Society of Jesus in 1619. Teaching in Jesuit colleges across the Kingdom of Aragon, he was also at one time confessor to the viceroy of Aragon and chaplain to the Spanish army. But it is as one of the great Spanish stylists and moralists that he is best known. He wrote a series of short moral tracts marked by their elliptical, epigrammatic style, as well as a three volume allegorical novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Critic\u003c\/i\u003e (1651-57). Published in 1647, \u003ci\u003eThe Pocket Oracle\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eArt of Prudence\u003c\/i\u003e influenced the vogue for the form in France, and was quickly translated into the major European languages. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e Jeremy Robbins\u003c\/b\u003e is Forbes Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of numerous studies on Spanish Baroque culture and a General Editor of the Bulletin of Spanish Studies.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penguin Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50409706750226,"sku":"9780141442457","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_68a4a706-f7b1-41ac-8073-85ec5994d73e.jpg?v=1729292665","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-pocket-oracle-and-art-of-prudence-9780141442457","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}