Balthasar Gracian is an outstanding Spanish writer of the 17th century. He successfully combined spiritual and worldly activities - he was a Jesuit and a philosopher at the same time. He left a legacy of magnificent books that compiled an anthology of Spanish literature and are still classical works of the Baroque era.
Biography
According to scarce information, Balthasar Gracian was born in 1601 in Belmonte, in Spain. He was the son of a poor rural doctor, and from an early age he was destined for the priest. It is known that in 1619 his uncle helped him enter the Jesuit school of Calatayud and Huesca. After graduating from school, Gracian Balthasar independently studied grammar and philosophy in the cities of Callatayuda and Girona, in 1623 he was lucky to become a student at the University of Zaragoza, where he devoted himself to the study of theology.
After graduating from university, the future writer becomes a teacher of rhetoric and grammar at Kalalyutud College. In 1631, he undergoes additional training at the school of the Jesuit Order, where he trained preachers and confessors.
Literary environment
In 1636, Balthasar Gracian began a new stage in his life. It was associated with moving to the city of Huesca, which at that time was the most important cultural center of the province of Aragon. The relocation was associated with a new appointment - in the local church Gracian was to serve as a preacher. It was here that new names arose in the field of culture, literature and art, and perhaps it was under the influence of such an atmosphere that Baltasar Gracian decided to write his first literary work.
Treatise "Hero"
Gracian called his first treatise "Hero." This literary work was written very quickly, literally a year after moving to Huesca. Invaluable help in writing a treatise to the future writer was provided by a rich and influential friend who had an excellent library. “Hero” is a wonderful example of medieval didactic prose, which, like in a mirror, reflects the virtues and moral qualities that those who seek to gain recognition among their peers should have. With the help of this work, Gracian begins to develop the theme of moral philosophy. The treatise was published under the name of Lorenzo Graciana, who was the cousin of Balthasar, because, according to the Order of the Order, the Jesuits did not have the right to publish their works, which did not pass internal censorship.
Pocket oracle
The most famous philosopher brought a collection of his own quotes and aphorisms, known under the name "Pocket Oracle." It contains aphorisms of Balthasar Gracian and Morales, which in a witty form suggest their own reader to be prudent and patient. For example, Gracian maxims are known, such as:
- "even a hare kicks a dead lion";
- "long roads of time lead to an auspicious occasion";
- "soon accomplished - soon collapsed";
- “you should not constantly poke fun: eternal fun is a hindrance for business”;
- "not to cope with the matter is less trouble than not to start business at all, because stagnant water spoils, and not flowing water."
There are a lot of such short moralizing arguments in the book. Balthasar Gracian, whose aphorisms were so lively and witty, quickly became famous and popular. Against the backdrop of dull theological literature, his sayings were the very gulp of living water that the Spanish enlightenment so lacked. The pocket oracle was very popular both in Spain and abroad - even during the life of Balthasar Gracian, a small literary work was translated into many European languages.
Top of talent
Both Gracian Balthasar himself and his critics deservedly considered the novel Carper to be the main work of this writer. In it, Gracian shows his own vision of what the surrounding world should be like. Literature of this kind was very common in the era of late antiquity, and now, after a thousand years, Balthasar decides to return to this form of narration. The protagonists personified nature and culture as symbols of careful reflection and spontaneous impulse. At the end of the story, it is concluded that nature is imperfect, and in the end, culture saves the world and leads to immortality. Like his other works, this novel will be signed in the name of another person.
Balthasar Legacy
Gracian devoted the last ten years of his life to writing the Criticon, a voluminous work that talks about the place of man in modern life. Secular work brought the author great fame and honor, but also greatly alarmed the Jesuit Order, whose leadership was dissatisfied with the literary work of the priest.
At the end of his life, the priest will write one single thing signed by his own name - Balthasar Gracian. Books released earlier were already circulating around the country, but formally their authors were other people. In the treatise "Reflections on the sacrament", the author, against the background of purely religious reflections, renounces his own literary works. This should have been done, as the patience of the leadership of the Jesuit order was drawing to a close. Nevertheless, the last part of Criticon, which undoubtedly belonged to Balthasar's pen, was soon published, and the author was brought to trial.
He is deprived of the right to preach and compose, sent to a provincial town, where he lives under the strict supervision of the Jesuit brothers. Gracian could not sustain such a life - he dies on December 6, 1658, having lived less than a year after a Jesuit court.