Books like The Art of Worldly Wisdom

This book wasn't quite what I expected, yet it was still a good experience. If you have - or will - read Machiavelli's "The Prince", Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War" and/or Castiglione's "The Book Of The Courtier", this is another good book to this type of books. There's is also some certainty that the author read "The Prince" (since it came out earlier than this book, which came out in 1647); the fact that the author of this present book was a Jesuit no doubt helped, since I do know Jesuits have been thought of as cunning, both in positive and negative sense.So: this book is a series of 300 witty, thought-proviking aphorisms (which are nicely shown in the contents list), with some helpful notes at the end - you can't expect everyone to be familiar with Greek/Roman classic texts (including Aesop's tales) and the Bible. The name hints at the size of the first printing of this books - pocket-fitting and densely printed (sometimes hard to read because of this). It is for the 17th Century Baroque Spanish upper society, Spain being then in decline, away from being the world power, with France and Rococo soon taking their place.Some of the text clearly shows that certain aphorisms can be grouped together, and some themes do pop up again as one keeps reading. The style is laconic, which I like since it keeps the message clearly floating. Translation keeps out most world-play and puns, since they don't translate well.The author stresses the importance of taking ever-changing circumstances into account, as aphrosim's tips may not apply on every occasion. In everything, though, prudence is the main key that keep one afloat in the changes and risks of the society. There is more value in difficulty than easy - there is challenge this way. Disillusion is sometimes good, it helps in looking behind appearances, where danger and opportunities may hide. One has to realise that others are playing the game, too.There were a few standout aphorisms for me: 1o1, 110, 183, 249, 273, 297 really felt close to me. Sometimes making me think of the state of the world now, how to know when to fold 'em, not to hold to opinions too stubbornly, remember to already live and not leave living to old age, and the "act as though always on view" sounds interesting.The last aphorism gives the whole lot a nice twist; it might make you read the text again, which may not be hard work since the book is quite slim :) The book is quite easy to read, even if you don't really notice that Christianity still sort of flows underground in the text, most of the time... it might feel like the book's general message veers very close to Machiavelli, yet in the end staying slight apart.A suprisingly good book, with something for everyone, even when not living like they once did.