The Chivalry Guild Letters

The Chivalry Guild Letters

Wise as Serpents, Innocent as Doves

The Art of Worldly Wisdom

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Chivalry Guild
Aug 30, 2025
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Baltasar Gracián (1601-1658)

In the 2010s a wave of sophomore Machiavellianism swept through American culture. Robert Greene’s amusingly amoral books (The 48 Laws of Power, The 33 Strategies of War, The Art of Seduction) were teaching corporate strivers and self-help enthusiasts to outmaneuver, deceive, bamboozle, seduce, lie, fool, and manipulate their …

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