This perenially popular book of advice on how to achieve personal and professional success is valued for its timeless insights on how to make ones way in the world. Written in the seventeenth century by a Spanish Jesuit scholar, the teachings are strikingly modern in tone and address universal concerns such as friendship, morality, effective leadership, and how to manage ones emotions. The Art of Worldly Wisdom is for anyone seeking to combine ethical behavior with worldly success.This edition includes an introduction by Willis Barnstone, former Distinguished Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature at Indiana University. Barnstone, a noted translator, critic, and poet, explores Gracians background and places him within his historical and literary context. Like Sun Tzus Art of War, Machiavellis Prince, and Lao Tzus Tao Te Ching, Gracians Art of Worldly Wisdom is one of those rare books that serve as enlightening guides and companions for life.