Ethics and strategy: A communication response to Machiavelli's The Prince in Baltasar Gracián's A pocket oracle

- Baltasar Gracián's A pocket oracle can be considered a strategic communication book.
- This book offers a more ethical alternative in the proto-history of public relations to Machiavelli's Prince.
- The emphasis of Gracián's work on substance and good deeds as the basis of a good reputation is in agreement with contemporary ethical principles of the discipline.