It is better to help with intelligence than memory. The latter needs only recollection, the former requires thought. Many people fail to do what is appropriate to the moment because it does not occur to them. A friend’s advice on such occasions may enable them to see the advantages. It is one of the greatest gifts of mind to be able to offer what is needed at the right moment; for want of that many things fail to be performed. Share the light of your intelligence, when you have any, and ask for it when you have it not—the first cautiously, the last anxiously. Five no more than a hint. This finesse is especially necessary when it touches the interests of him whose attention you awaken. You should give but a taste at first, and then pass on more when that is not sufficient. If he thinks of no, go cleverly in search of yes. Most things are not obtained simply because they are not attempted.

THE ART OF WORLDLY WISDOM BY BALTHASAR GRACIAN
TRANSLATED BY JOSEPH JACOBS 1892