Acquired ingenuity: the conflation of prudence with 'ingenio' in the works of Baltasar Gracián

<p>Critics of the works of Baltasar Gracián tend to fall into two camps: those who view his works as optimistic and religiously orthodox, due to his belief in the moral perfectibility of man and in the possibility of salvation after death, and those who view his works as pessimistic and secula...