To some degree in the lineage of Aurelius' "Meditations" and Machiavelli's "The Prince," this work is a collection of 300 aphorisms that deliver advice on dealing with others, whether truthfully or through artifice. Being as this is a 17th century work and several of the 300 are repetitive in nature, I find "aphorism" to be misleading. I would be more apt to call them maxims. But, that's semantics. Unfortunately, this is more of a handbook or field guide to life in becoming and/or controlling your own being. It's not really a book to be read end-to-end and then shelved. Still, it meanders and while some of the text is apropos, some is dated. It's worth a glance, but I wouldn't try to pattern my life after it.