One Half of the World Laughs At The Other, And Fools Are They All

One half of the world laughs at the other, and fools are they all. Everything is good or everything is bad according to who you ask. What one pursues another persecutes. He is an insufferable ass who would regulate everything according to his ideas. Excellences do not depend on a single person’s pleasure. So many people, so many tastes, all different. There is no defect that is not affected by some. We need not lose heart if something does not please someone, for others will appreciate it; nor need their applause turn our head, for there will surely be others to condemn it. The real test of praise is the approval of renowned people and of experts in the field. You should aim to be independent of any one opinion, of any one fashion, of any one century. – Baltasar Gracián