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作者:(西)巴尔塔沙·葛拉西安

出版社:新世界出版社

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智慧书

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版权信息

书名:智慧书

作者:(西)巴尔塔沙·葛拉西安

译者:秦传安

出版社:新世界出版社

出版时间:2013-09-01

ISBN:9787510440410

本书由北京紫云文心图书有限公司授权北京当当科文电子商务有限公司制作与发行。

版权所有 侵权必究(根据Joseph Jacobs 1892年英译本翻译)1. Everything is at its Acme.

Especially the art of making one's way in the world. There is more required nowadays to make a single wise man than formerly to make Seven Sages, and more is needed nowadays to deal with a single person than was required with a whole people in former times.

1. 万物皆臻极致

世间万物,皆臻极致,尤其是为人处世的技艺。现在要造就一个智者,比过去造就希腊七贤,所需尤多;如今要应付一个人,比从前应付整整一个民族,费力更大。2. Character and Intellect.

These are the two poles of our capacity;one without the other is but halfway to happiness. Intellect is not enough, character is also needed. On the other hand, it is the fool'smisfortune to fail in obtaining the position, employment, neighborhood, and circle of friends of his choice.

2. 性格与智力

性格与智力,乃是我们能力的两极;二缺其一,半途而废。仅有智力是不够的,性格同样不可或缺。从另一方面讲,愚鲁之人的不幸,正是在于他们在获取地位、职业、邻里和自己所选择的朋友圈子等等方面都很失败。3. Keep matters for a time in suspense.

Admiration at their novelty heightens the value of your achievements. It is both useless and insipid to play with your cards on the table. If you do not declare yourself immediately, you arouse expectation, especially when the importance of your position makes you the object of general attention. Mix a little with everything, and the very mystery arouses veneration. And when you explain, do not be too explicit, just as you do not expose your inmost thoughts in ordinary conversation. Cautious silence is the sacred sanctuary of worldly wisdom. A resolution declared is never highly thought of—it only leaves room for criticism. And if it happens to fail, you are doubly unfortunate. Besides, you imitate the divine way when you inspire people to wonder and watch.

3. 让事情暂时秘而不宣

充满惊喜的赞叹,会使你的成就升值。老早就亮出底牌,既无益又无趣。不要急于表露自己,这样你就能唤起人们的期许,尤其当你所处的位置关乎至重,足以使你成为人们普遍关注的目标时,则更是如此。对每件事情都要稍事含混,正是这一点点神秘才能引人崇拜。当你解释的时候,不要和盘托出,正如在平常的交谈中,你也不会将自己内心深处的想法袒露无遗。谨慎的沉默,是尘世智慧的庄严圣殿。将自己的决定公告周知,从来就不是什么高明的想法,那只不过是给批评留出了空间。如果它碰巧不成功,则是你双倍的不幸。此外,当你引起人们的惊奇和注视的时候,请仿效神的所作所为吧。4. Knowledge and Courage.

These are the elements of Greatness. They give immortality, because they are immortal. Each is as much as he knows, and the wise can do anything. A man without knowledge, a world without light. Wisdom and strength, eyes and hands. Knowledge without courage is sterile.

4. 知识与勇气

知识与勇气,是成就大事业的基本要素。这二者是不朽的,因此也带给你不朽。你是怎样的人,取决于你掌握了怎样的知识,智者可以无所不为。一个没有知识的人,拥有的只是一个没有光亮的世界。智慧和力量,正如眼和手。仅有知识而没有勇气,也将一事无成。5. Make people depend on you.

It is not he that adorns but he that adores that makes a divinity. The wise person would rather see others needing him than thanking him. To keep them on the threshold of hope is diplomatic, to trust to their gratitude is boorish;hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one. More is to be got from dependence than from courtesy. He that has satisfied his thirst turns his back on the well, and the orange once squeezed fall from the golden platter into the waste basket. When dependence disappears good behavior goes with it, as well as respect. Let it be one of the chief lessons of experience to keep hope alive without entirely satisfying it, by preserving it to make oneself always needed, even by a patron on the throne. But do not carry silence to excess or you will go wrong, nor let another's failing grow incurable for the sake of your own advantage.

5. 让别人依赖你

是内心的崇拜,而非外表的装饰,才使得神成为神。明智之士,更愿意让别人需要自己,而不是要别人感谢自己。让他们待在希望的门槛之前,是明智的策略;希求他们的感激之心,不过是乡愿而已。希望,有很好的记性;而感激,其记忆力总是很糟。我们从别人的依赖中,比之于从别人的谦恭中,所得更多。口渴之人,饱饮之后会离井而去;橘子一旦被榨干汁水,就会从金盘中沦落进垃圾篓里。依赖之心一旦不存在,良好举止和尊重敬畏也就随之化为乌有。让下面的策略成为人生历练的首要功课:不断维持别人的希望,使得他总是有所需求,通过这样的手段(哪怕是通过皇座上的守护神),从而保持他的希望之火不灭,而又得不到完全的满足。但是,不要过分地保持沉默,否则你就会误入歧途;也不要为了一己之私利,而听任他人的缺点过失日积月累,终致不可挽救。6. A Man at his Highest Point.

We are not born perfect:every day we develop in our personality and in our calling till we reach the highest point of our completed being, to the full round of our accomplishments, of our excellences. This is known by the purity of our taste, the clearness of our thought, the maturityof our judgment, and the firmness of our will. Some never arrive at being complete;somewhat is always awanting:others ripen late. The complete man, wise in speech, prudent in act, is admitted to the familiar intimacy of discreet persons, is even sought for by them.

6. 生命的最高点

我们并非生来就是完美的。我们的品格、我们的事业,每天都在发展,直至我们登上生命的最高点,事业有成、功德圆满。趣味的纯洁、思想的明净、判断力的成熟、意志力的坚定,这些,标志着你达到了生命的最高点。有些人永远无法臻至完美,总有所缺;而有些人则大器晚成,终成善果。完美之人,谨于言,慎于行,贤者亲之,智者友之。7. Avoid outshining your superiors.

All victories breed hate, and that over your superior is foolish or fatal. Preeminence is always detested, especially over those who are in high positions. Caution can gloss over common advantages. For example, good looks may be cloaked by careless attire. There are some that will grant you superiority in good luck or in good temper, but none in good sense, least of all a prince—for good sense is a royalprerogative and any claim of superiority in that is a crime against majesty. They are princes, and wish to be so in that most princely of qualities. They will allow someone to help them but not to surpass them. So make any advice given to them appear like a recollection of something they have only forgotten rather than as a guide to something they cannot find. The stars teach us this finesse with happy tact:though they are his children and brilliant like him, they never rival the brilliance of the sun.

7. 避免让你的上司相形见绌

一切胜利皆招人嫉恨,因而,超越你的上司是愚蠢的,甚至是致命的。太出类拔萃,总是遭人憎恶。只要小心谨慎,寻常优点尚可遮掩。比如,相貌出众可以通过不修边幅来加以掩饰。有许多人愿意承认你在好运道、好脾气方面稍胜一筹,但决没有一个人认可你见识过人,君王尤其如此——因为见识乃是王室的特权,任何人声称自己见识超群,就是对最高权威的冒犯。他们是君王,总希望自己在见识方面拥有最高贵的品质。他们愿意有人辅佐自己,却不愿意有人超过自己。所以,你在提出任何忠告的时候,都要显得好像是在提醒某些他们恰好忘了的事情,而并不是在指导那些他们没有认识到的事情。星星们机智圆滑地向我们面授机宜:虽然它们是太阳的孩子,而且也一样熠熠闪光,但它们决不和太阳争辉。8. Be without passions.

This is the highest quality of the mind. Its very eminence redeems us from being affected by transient and low impulses. There is no higher rule than that over oneself, over one's impulses;there is the triumph of free will. When passion rules your character do not let it threaten your position, especially if it is a high one. It is the only refined way of avoiding trouble and the shortest way back to a good reputation.

8. 不要被激情所左右

斯乃大智慧。它的卓尔不群,使我们免受短暂而低俗的冲动所影响。人生的最高法则,乃是超越自我、超越自我的情绪冲动,这是自由意志的胜利。当激情左右你的个性时,不要让它威胁到你的位置,尤其,如果这个位置很高的话。这是避免麻烦的不二法门,也是博取佳名的登堂捷径。9. Avoid the Faults of your Nation.

Water shares the good or bad qualities of the strata through which it flows, and man those of the climate in which he is born. Some owe more than others to their native land,because there is a more favourable sky in the zenith. There is not a nation even among the most civilized that has not some fault peculiar to itself which other nations blame by way of boast or as a warning. This is a triumph of cleverness to correct in oneself such national failings, or even to hide them:you get great credit for being unique among your fellows, and as it is less expected of you it is esteemed the more. There are also family failings as well as faults of position, of office or of age. If these all meet in one person and are not carefully guarded against, they make an intolerable monster.

9. 避免你与生俱来的缺陷

水质的好坏,与其流经之处的地层土质密切相关;人品的优劣,与其出生之地的风土气候互为表里。有些人比其他人更多地受惠于家乡故土,因为他们头顶有着更加宜人的丽日蓝天。即便是最文明的民族,也会有某些让其他民族差可自慰或者用以自警的特殊缺陷。纠正(甚至隐藏)你身上的民族弱点,就是一种智胜:你会因为在同胞当中出类拔萃而赢得更大的信任,你也会因为超出人们的预期而受到更大的尊重。还有家族的缺陷、身份的缺陷、职务的缺陷和时代的缺陷。如果所有这些缺陷同时出现在一个人身上,而又没有加以小心提防,那此人必定会成为一个令人无法忍受的怪物。10. Fortune and Fame.

Where the one is fickle the other is enduring. The first for life, the second afterwards;the one against envy, the other against oblivion. Fortune is desired, at times assisted:fame is earned. The desire for fame springs from man's best part. It was and is the sister of the giants;it always goes to extremes—horrible monsters or brilliant prodigies.

10. 财富和名声

一个变幻无常,一个持久不衰。前者利在生前,后者受益身后;财富当心嫉妒,名声须防遗忘。财富来自渴望,有时也要靠帮助;而名声却是挣来的。对名声的渴望,源自于人性中最优秀的部分。古往今来,名声一直是巨人的姐妹;它总是走极端:不是面目可憎的妖魔,便是超群出众的奇才。11. Cultivate those who can teach you.

Let friendly intercourse be a school of knowledge, and culture be taught through conversation:thus you make your friends your teachers and mingle the pleasures of conversation with the advantages of instruction. Sensible persons thus enjoy alternating pleasures:they reap applause for what they say, andgain instruction from what they hear. We are always attracted to others by our own interest, but in this case it is of a higher kind. Wise men frequent the houses of great noblemen not because they are temples of vanity, but as theatres of good breeding. There are gentlemen who have the credit of worldly wisdom, because they are not only themselves oracles of all nobleness by their example and their behaviour, but those who surround them form a well-bred academy of worldly wisdom of the best and noblest kind.

11. 结交可以为师者

让交朋结友成为一所知识的学校吧,教养乃是通过交往而习得的。因此,要让你的朋友成为你的老师,把教益融入交往的乐趣中。智者因此能享受到交互之乐:他所说出的,为他赢得喝彩;他所听到的,让他收获教益。我们根据自己的兴趣而被他人所吸引,但在这种情况下,这一兴趣是更高贵的那种。智者频繁出入豪门,并非因为那些地方是虚荣的神殿,而是因为它们是良好教养的舞台。有些谦谦君子,以人情练达而著称,因为他们不仅通过自己的榜样和举止而使自己成为一切高贵之士中的智者,而且,他们身边的那些人也同样拥有最优秀、最高贵的处世智慧,从而组成了一所培养良好教养的专门院校。12. Nature and Art.

They are material and workmanship. There is no beauty unadorned and no excellence that would not become barbaric if it were not supported by artifice:this remedies the evil and improves the good. Nature scarcely ever gives us the very best;for that we must have recourse to art. Without this the best of natural dispositions is uncultured, and half is lacking to any excellence if training is absent. Every one has something unpolished without artificial training, and every kind of excellence needs some polish.

12. 天资与技艺

天资与技艺,就好比材料与加工。所有美都经过修饰,一切卓越的品质,如果得不到技艺的支持,就会变得粗俗。技艺,可以使恶得到补救,使善得以改进。天资几乎永远不会将最优秀的品质赋予我们,所以我们必须求助于技艺。如果没有技艺,最优秀的天赋性情就得不到培养;如果缺乏磨炼,任何卓越的品质也会缺失大半。每个人都有其粗糙之处需要人工打磨,每种卓越的品质也都需要时时擦拭。13. Act sometimes on Second Thoughts, sometimes on First Impulse.

Man's life is a warfare against the malice of men. Sagacity fights with strategic changes of intention:it never does what it threatens, it aims only at escaping notice. It aims in the air with dexterity and strikes home in an unexpected direction, always seeking to conceal its game. It lets a purpose appear in order to attract the opponent's attention, but then turns round and conquers by the unexpected. But a penetrating intelligence anticipates this by watchfulness and lurks in ambush. It always understands the opposite of what the opponent wishes it to understand, and recognises every feint of guile. It lets the first impulse pass by and waits for the second, or even the third. Sagacity now rises to higher flights on seeing its artifice foreseen, and tries to deceive by truth itself, changes its game in order to change its deceit, and cheats by not cheating, and founds deception on the greatest candour. But the opposing intelligence is on guard with increased watchfulness, and discovers the darkness concealed by the light and deciphers every move, the more subtle because more simple. In this way the guile of the Python combats the far darting rays of Apollo.

13. 有时三思而行,有时一触即发

生活就是一场针对他人恶意的战争。智者作战,意图常作战略改变——他决不做自己扬言要做的事情,而只是盯住稍纵即逝的警告。他机警地瞄准悬而未决的目标,从出其不意的方向击中要害,始终设法隐藏自己的策略。他也暴露自己的意图,为的是吸引对手的注意,然后出其不意,攻其不备。但明察秋毫的对手,早就通过警觉和埋伏而预防着这一招。他总是做出与对手所希望的正好相反的理解,识别出每一次狡诈的伪装。他毫不理会最初的心血来潮,而是等待第二次,甚或第三次念头出现。在预见这样的谋略上,智者如今站得更高:他设法通过事实本身去欺骗,为了改变其欺诈手法而改变其策略,把欺骗建立在最诚实的基础之上,从而做到“不骗而骗”。但聪明的对手也会倍加警觉,小心防范,极力发现被光明所隐藏的黑暗,认真解读对方的一举一动,因为越简单的举动往往包含越狡诈的策略。对[1]付阿波罗从远处投掷的光束,巨蟒皮同使用的正是这种诡计。注释[1]皮同,希腊神话中保护特尔斐神谕祭礼的巨蟒,后被阿波罗杀死。14. The Thing Itself and the Way it is done.

"Substance"is not enough:"accident"is also required, as the scholastics say. A bad manner spoils everything, even reason and justice;a good one supplies everything, gilds a No, sweetens truth, and adds a touch of beauty to old age itself. The how plays a large part in affairs, a good manner steals into the affections. Fine behaviour is a joy in life, and a pleasant expression helps out of a difficulty in a remarkable way.

14. 事情本身与做事的方式

正如经院哲学家所言,仅有“实体”是不够的,还需要“偶然性”。糟糕的方式使万事皆糟,甚至包括理性和正义;好的方式补偿一切,它给“不”字镀金,让“真相”变得更赏心悦目,为衰朽的暮年增添美感。如何做事至关重要,好的方式让人心生好感。优美的举止,是人生的快乐;令人愉快的表情,以不同寻常的方式帮助你摆脱困境。15. Keep Ministering Spirits.

It is a privilege of the mighty to surround themselves with the champions of intellect;these extricate them from every fear of ignorance, these worry out for them the moot points of every difficulty. This is a rare greatness to make use of the wise, and far exceeds the barbarous taste of Tigranes, who had a fancy for captive monarchs as his servants. It is a novel kind of supremacy, the best that life can offer, to have as servants by skill those who by nature are our masters. Thisis a great thing to know, little to live:no real life without knowledge. There is remarkable cleverness in studying without study, in getting much by means of many, and through them all to become wise. Afterwards you speak in the council chamber on behalf of many, and as many sages speak through your mouth as were consulted beforehand:you thus obtain the fame of an oracle by others' toil. Such ministering spirits distil the best books and serve up the quintessence of wisdom. But he that cannot have sages in service should have them for his friends.[1]

15. 把“服役之灵”留在身边

让才智之士环绕左右是强者的特权,这些人让他摆脱每一次由无知所带来的恐惧,绞尽脑汁为他排忧解难。善用智士是一种罕见的雄[2]才大略,远胜过提格兰大帝的野蛮品味:他的爱好是俘获君王做自己的奴仆。有些人,就其天赋才能而言本该做我们的主人,但我们可以利用技巧让他成为我们的仆从,这才是新奇而独特的上上之策。“知”是大事,“活”是小事:没有知识就没有真正的生活。不学而有术,聚众而成多,借他人的智慧而为己用,这当中有非凡的智巧。然后,在立法机关的会议上你代表多数人发言,就好像有许多智者贤士借你之口说话,仿佛事先与你商量过一样:你就这样凭借别人的辛苦劳动而赢得了圣哲之名。这样一种“服役之灵”,汲取最优秀著作的精华,为你提供智慧的精粹。不过,如果不能让智者贤士成为你的仆从,那就应该让他们成为你的朋友。注释[1]此语出自《新约·希伯来书》第1章第14节:“天使岂不都是服役的灵,奉差遣为那将要承受救恩的人效力吗?”[2]即提格兰二世(?-前56年),亚美尼亚国王(约前95年-前86年在位)。在他执政时期,亚美尼亚王国达到极盛,一度成为其实力足以与罗马相抗衡的国家。16. Knowledge and Good Intentions.

They are together ensure continuance of success. A fine intellect wedded to a wicked will was always an unnatural monster. A wicked will envenoms all excellences:helped by knowledge it only ruins with greater subtlety. This is a miserable superiority that only results in ruin. Knowledge without sense is double folly.

16. 知识与良好的意图

这二者确保你持续不断的成功。优秀的智力与邪恶的意愿相结合,终归是个怪胎。邪恶的意愿将会毒害所有卓越的品质,一旦得到知识的帮助,它只会带来更大的毁灭。如果只能导致毁灭,这样的优势也只能是可悲的优势。缺乏判断力的知识,是双倍的愚蠢。17. Vary your mode of action.

So as to distract attention, do not always do things the same way, especially if you have a rival. Do not always act on first impulse;people will soon recognize the uniformity and, by anticipating, frustrate your designs. It is easy to kill a bird on the wing that flies straight, not so one that twists and turns. Nor should you always act on second thoughts;people will discern the plan the second time. The enemy is on the watch, great skill is required to outwit him. The gamester never plays the card the opponent expects, still less the one he wants.

17. 不断改变你的行为方式

这样可以转移人们的注意力。不要老是以同样的方式行事,尤其当你有一个竞争对手时,更是如此。不要总是按照最初的想法采取行动,否则,别人很快就会认识到你行动的规律,并抢先一步挫败你的计划。捕杀直来直去的飞鸟并不困难,而要捕杀迂回飞行的鸟儿却非易事。也不要总是三思而后行,否则,等你思考到第二遍,别人就已经对你的计划了如指掌。对手一直在注视着你,要想以智取胜,必须技高一筹。高明的赌徒,从不按照对手的预期出牌,当然,更不会按照他自己的希望出牌。18. Application and Ability.

There is no attaining eminence without both, and where they unite there is the greatest eminence. Mediocrity obtains more with application than superiority without it. Work is the price which is paid for reputation. What costs little is little worth. Even for the highest posts it is only in some cases application that is wanting, rarely the talent. To prefer moderate success in great things than eminence in a humble post has the excuse of a generous mind, but not so to be content with humble mediocrity when you could shine among the highest. Thus nature and art are both needed, and application sets on them the seal.

18. 勤奋与才干

如果不是二者兼具,就不可能出类拔萃;二者相得益彰的地方,必有最杰出的成就。勤奋的庸人比懒惰的高才取得的成就更大。要功成名就,劳动是必须付出的代价。代价小的东西,其价值也小。即使是为了获取高位,在某些情况下也只需要勤奋,需要天才的情况则很少。与其在卑微的位置上出类拔萃,不如在大事上取得平凡的成就,这可以被大度者拿来做借口;但如果你能够在最高处发光发热,却满足于做一个卑微的庸才,就不能以此为借口了。因此,天资和技能都是需要的,而勤奋则让二者胜券在握。19. Arouse no Exaggerated Expectations on entering.

It is the usual ill-luck of all celebrities not to fulfil afterwards the expectations beforehand formed of them. The real can never equal the imagined, for it is easy to form ideals but very difficult to realise them. Imagination weds hope and gives birth to much more than things are in themselves. However great the excellences, they never suffice to fulfil expectations, and as men find themselves disappointed with their exorbitant expectations they are more ready to be disillusionized than to admire. Hope is a great falsifier of truth;let skill guard against this by ensuring that fruition exceeds desire. A few creditable attempts at the beginning are sufficient to arouse curiosity without pledging one to the final object. It is better that reality should surpass the design and is better than was thought. This rule does not apply to the wicked, for the same exaggeration is a great aid to them;they are defeated amid general applause, and what seemed at first extreme ruin comes to be thought quite bearable.

19. 事情刚开始不要唤醒过高的期望

不幸的是,所有知名人士后来通常都没有实现他们预先抱有的期望。现实决不能等同于想象,形成理想很容易,实现理想却很难。“想象”与“希望”结合,孕育出的东西总是远远超出实际。不管有多么优秀的品质,也不足以去实现期望,当人们发现自己因期望过高而失望的时候,他们感受到的,更多的是幻灭,而不是赞叹。希望,是一位了不起的真相伪造者,对它要小心加以提防,方法就是要确保结果能够超出期望。刚一开始,少量值得赞扬的努力就足以唤起好奇心,而不会担保最终的结果。更好的做法是,事实应该超出设计,结果必须好于想法。但这一方法并不适用于坏事,因为夸大坏事对它们是很大的帮助,它们会在普遍的喝彩声中被挫败,而起初看起来会带来极端毁灭的东西,等它们真正到来的时候,人们也会认为是完全可以忍受的。20. A Man of the Age.

The rarest individuals depend on their age. It is not every one that finds the age he deserves, and even when he finds it he does not always know how to utilize it. Some men have been worthy of a better century, for every species of good does not always triumph. Things have their period;even excellences are subject to fashion. The sage has one advantage:he is immortal. If this is not his century many others will be.

20. 生逢其时的人

卓尔不群的人,往往依赖于他们所处的时代。并非每个人都能生逢其时,即便是遇着了好时候,人们也并不总是懂得如何利用它。有些人值得生活在更好的时代,因为每一种善行并非总能取得成功。万事皆有其时,即使是杰出之士,也常常受制于时代的风尚。圣哲贤士有一个优势:他是不朽的。即便眼下生不逢时,也会有别的时代让他焕发光彩。21. The Art of being Lucky.

There are rules of luck:it is not all chance with the wise:it can be assisted by care. Some content themselves with placing themselves confidently at the gate of Fortune, waiting till she opens it. Others do better, and press forward and profit by their clever boldness, reaching the goddess and winning her favour on the wings of their virtue and valour. But on a true philosophy there is no other umpire than virtue and insight;for there is no luck or ill-luck except wisdom and the reverse.

21. 走运的诀窍

走好运也有规律可循,聪明人并非万事靠运气,处处留心可以助运气一臂之力。有些人满足于心安理得地把自己放置于命运的大门口,坐等命运之神为他开门。另一些人则更胜一筹,他们奋力向前,借助自己的机智和勇敢,走向命运女神,凭借美德和勇气的翅膀,赢得她的青睐。要判断一个人是不是真正的智者,只有美德和洞察力才是仲裁人,因为除了智慧与愚钝外,并没有所谓的幸与不幸。22. A Man of Knowledge to the Point.

Wise men arm themselves with tasteful and elegant erudition:a practical knowledge of what is going on, not of a common kind but more like an expert. They possess a copious store of wise and witty sayings, and of noble deeds, and know how to employ them on fitting occasions. More is often taught by a jest than by the most serious teaching. Pat knowledge helps some more than the seven arts, be they ever so liberal.

22. 博学者切中正题

智者用格调高尚、品味优雅和渊博知识来武装自己——这是一种对正在发生的事情明察秋毫的实践知识,而并非稀松平常的陈词滥调,他更像是一个行家里手。他拥有丰富的智慧、机智的谈吐以及高尚的行为,知道如何在合适的场合一显身手。他更多的是通过诙谐的笑谈来传授知识,而不是通过一本正经的说教。贴切适时的知识,对有些人的帮助比七艺还大,他们永远是这样慷慨。23. Be Spotless.

This is the indispensable condition of perfection. Few live without some weak point, either physical or moral, which they pamper because they could easily cure it. The keenness of others often regrets to see a slight defect attaching itself to a whole assembly of elevated qualities, and yet a single cloud can hide the whole of the sun. There are likewise patches on our reputation which ill-will soon finds out and is continually noticing. The highest skill is to transform them into ornament. So Caesar hid his natural defects with the laurel.

23. 白璧无瑕

这是完美的必要条件。人生在世,几乎无人没有缺点,或是身体上的,或是精神上的。尽管这些缺点可以轻而易举地加以救治,但人们总是听之任之。而有些敏锐的人,看到一个轻微的过失累及整体的高尚品质,常常为此扼腕。一片乌云,能够遮住整个太阳。我们的名誉,同样也有斑痕,心怀恶意者很快就会发现它们,并时时加以留意。最高超的技巧,就是要把它们转变为装饰。恺撒就是这样用桂冠来掩盖他与生俱来的缺陷。24. Keep the Imagination under Control.

We need sometimes correct, sometimes assist it. For it is all-important for our happiness, and even sets the reason right. It can tyrannize, and is not content with looking on, but influences and even often dominates life, causing it to be happy or burdensome according to the folly to which it leads. For it makes us either contented or discontented with ourselves. Before some it continually holds up the penalties of action, and becomes the mortifying lash of these fools. To others it promises happiness and adventure with blissful delusion. It can do all this unless the most prudent self-control keeps it in subjection.

24. 要控制你的想象力

有时要对它加以纠正,有时要对它施以援手。因为想象力对于我们的幸福,甚至对于我们保持正确的理智,都至关重要。它能够横行霸道,不满足于袖手旁观,而是要影响,甚至常常要支配你的生活,它带给我们的究竟是快乐还是重负,这要取决于它是否会把我们带向愚蠢。它既可以让我们对自己满意,也可以让我们对自己不满。在有些人面前,它不断提出行动的惩罚,最后变成那些蠢人痛苦修行的皮鞭。而对另外一些人,它则用幸福的幻觉预示着快乐和冒险。如果你不拿出最谨慎的自制力来征服它,上述这些它都能做到。25. Know how to take a hint.

It was once the art of arts to be able to discourse, now it is no longer sufficient. We must know how to take a hint, especially in disabusing ourselves. You cannot make yourself understood if you do not easily understand others. There are some who act like diviners of the heart and lynxes of intentions. The very truths that concern us most are only half spoken, but with attention we can grasp the whole meaning. When you hear anything favorable keep a tight rein on your credulity;if unfavourable, give it the spur.

25. 懂得如何见微知著

善于分析,曾经被认为是谋略的艺术,如今,这已经远远不够了。我们还必须懂得如何见微知著,尤其当我们正在解疑释惑的时候。倘若不能明察秋毫,也就无法洞若观火。有些人善于窥透别人的心灵、洞察他人的想法。对那些与我们密切相关的重大事实,人们总是话留半句、欲语还休;不过倘细加留意,我们还是能洞彻微言、悟其大义。好事宁信其无,坏事宁信其有。26. Find out each Man's Thumbscrew.

This is the art of setting their wills in action. It needs more skill than resolution. You must know where to get at any one. Every volition has a special motive which varies according to taste. All men are idolaters, some of fame, others of self-interest, most of pleasure. Skill consists in knowing these idols in order to bring them into play. Knowing any man's mainspring of motive you have as it were the key to his will. Have resort to primary motors, which are not always the highest but more often the lowest part of his nature:there are more dispositions badly organised than well. First guess a man's ruling passion, appeal to it by a word, set it in motion by temptation, and you will infallibly give checkmate to his freedom of will.

26. 找出每个人的软肋

这是让他们在行动中下定决心的技艺。光有决心并不够,还需要更多的技巧。你必须知道在什么地方可以接近什么人。每种选择,都有其特殊的动机,各人趣味不同,动机也就千差万别。所有人都是偶像崇拜者,有人好名,有人逐利,而大多数人则追求享乐。技巧就在于了解他们崇拜的偶像是什么,这样才可以把他们发动起来。了解任何一个人动机背后的动力是什么,就好像掌握了开启其意志力的钥匙。你要借助的手段,正是这种“原动力”,它并不总是其天性中最高尚的部分,反倒常常是最卑下的部分,因为组成这种原动力的,更多的是恶劣的倾向,而不是良好的意愿。首先要猜准他的主要爱好,用言辞去迎合这个爱好,用诱惑去调动这个爱好,那么,你必然会让他的自由意志束手就擒。27. Prize Intensity more than Extent.

Excellence resides in quality not in quantity. The best is always few and rare:much lowers value. Even among men giants are commonly the real dwarfs. Some reckon books by the thickness, as if they were written to try the brawn more than the brain. Extent alone never rises above mediocrity;it is the misfortune of universal geniuses that in attempting to be at home everywhere, are so nowhere. Intensity gives eminence, and rises to the heroic in matters sublime.

27. 宁精毋博

超群出众者,在质不在量。最好的总是很少,稀为贵,多则贱。即使在人群之中,巨人通常是真正的侏儒。有些人总是根据厚度来掂量书的价值,就好像它们被写出来就是为了测试膂力而非考验智力。仅有广博,终归平庸。试图样样皆通,结果样样稀松,这正是很多人的通病。强在一门,卓尔不群,它让勇者在实际事务中上升到卓越的顶点。28. Common in Nothing.

First, not in taste. It is great and wise to be ill at ease when your deeds please the mob! The excesses of popular applause never satisfy the sensible. Some there are such chameleons of popularity that they find enjoyment not in the sweet savours of Apollo but in the breath of the mob. Secondly, not in intelligence. Take no pleasure in the wonder of the mob, for ignorance never gets beyond wonder. While vulgar folly wonders wisdom watches for the trick.

28. 不要随波逐流

首先,在品位上不要随大流。当你的行为让乌合之众兴高采烈的时候,要惶恐不安,这才是伟大而明智的。过度的欢呼喝彩,决不会让明智之士感到心满意足。有一些沽名钓誉的反复无常之辈,他们不愿享受阿波罗的芬芳气息,却愿陶醉于乌合之众的恶浊呼吸。其次,在智力上也不要随大流。在乌合之众的惊叹中得不到任何乐趣,因为无知决不会超出惊叹之上。在粗俗的蠢才惊叹称奇的时候,智者却密切提防着狡诈的诡计。29. A Man of Rectitude.

He clings to the sect of right with such tenacity of purpose that neither the passions of the mob nor the violence of the tyrant can ever cause him to transgress the bounds of right. But who shall be such a Phoenix of equity? What a scanty following has rectitude! Many praise it indeed, but few devote themselves. Others follow it till danger threatens;then the false deny it, the politic conceal it. For it cares not if it fights with friendship, power, or even self-interest;then comes the danger of desertion. Then astute men make plausible distinctions so as not to stand in the way of their superiors or of reasons of state. But the straightforward and constant regard dissimulation as a kind of treason, and set more store on tenacity than on sagacity. Such are always to be found on the side of truth, and if they desert a party, they do not change from fickleness, but because the others have first deserted truth.

29. 正直之士

正直之士总是意志坚定地站在正义的一边,以至于无论是庸众的热情还是昏君的暴力都不能让他越出正义的雷池一步。但是,谁会是这样一只刚正不阿的凤凰呢?公正是多么缺少坚定的追随者啊!的确有许多人赞美公正,但身体力行者寥寥无几。而另一些人,在危险到来之前一直在追随它,等到面临危险的时候,装模作样者否认它,投机取巧者藏起它。因为,正直一旦与友谊、权力甚至自身利益发生冲突时,它是不会顾及这些的;那么,它就要面临被抛弃的危险。精明的人就会似是而非的区别对待,免得妨碍他们的上司或者所谓的国家理性。但正直忠诚之士总是视虚伪为背叛,他们更看重执著而不是精明。这样的人,总是站在真理的一边,即使他抛弃了他的团体,那也并不能归咎于他反复无常,而是因为其他人首先抛弃了真理。30. Have naught to do with Occupations of Ill-repute.

And have still less with fads that bring more notoriety than repute. There are many fanciful sects, and from all the prudent man has to flee. There are bizarre tastes that always take to their heart all that wise men repudiate;they live in love with singularity. This may make them well known indeed, but more as objects of ridicule than of repute. A cautious man does not even make profession of his wisdom, still less of those matters that make their followers ridiculous. These need not be specified, for common contempt has sufficiently singled them out.

30. 别跟声名狼藉的职业有任何关联

更要少跟那些带来恶名的时尚扯上关系。有许多善于幻想小团体,审慎之人避之唯恐不及。有一些趣味古怪的人,醉心于所有智者拒绝的事情。他们生活在古怪的爱好中,这的确可以让他们变得远近皆知,但更多的是让他们沦为嘲笑的对象,而不是为他们赢得美名。审慎之人甚至不会公开表露他们的智慧,更不会宣布那些让他们的追随者显得滑稽可笑的事。这些无须详细列举,因为公众的轻蔑已把它们一一挑出。31. Select the Lucky and avoid the Unlucky.

Ill-luck is generally the penalty of folly, and there is no disease so contagious to those who share in it. Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it. The greatest skill at cards is to know when to discard;the smallest of current trumps is worth more than the ace of trumps of the last game. When in doubt, follow the suit of the wise and prudent;sooner or later they will win the odd trick.

31. 选择幸运,避免不幸

厄运通常是对愚蠢的惩罚,对那些分担厄运的人来说,没有哪种疾病像厄运那么容易传染。即使是较小的不幸,也决不要向它敞开大门,因为另外的更大不幸总是会鬼鬼祟祟地尾随而至。牌场上最大的技巧就是懂得何时该垫牌,眼下最小的王牌,比终局最大的王牌更有价值。当你拿不准的时候,就跟明智审慎之士出牌;他们迟早会赢够线位墩数。32. Have the Reputation of being Gracious.

This is the chief glory of the high and mighty to be gracious, a prerogative of kings to conquer universal goodwill. That is the great advantage of a commanding position—to be able to do more good than others. Those make friends who do friendly acts. On the other hand, there are some who lay themselves out for not being gracious, not on account of the difficulty, but from a bad disposition. In all things they are the opposite of Divine grace.

32. 赢得和蔼可亲的美名

对人和蔼可亲,是位高权重者引以为荣的首要之事,是王者用来赢得全民善意的显著优势。能比他人做更多的义行善举,是身居高位者的巨大优势。交朋友就要交那些行友善事之人。另一方面,有些人故意摆出一副不可亲近的姿态,这倒并不是因为困难,而是由于糟糕的性格。在所有事情上他们都跟神的恩典唱对台戏。33. Know how to withdraw.

If it is a great lesson in life to know how to deny, it is still greater to know how to deny oneself as regards both affairs and persons. There are extraneous occupations that eat away precious time. To be occupied in what does not concern you is worse than doing nothing. It is not enough for a careful person not to interfere with others, he must see that they do not interfere with him. One is not obliged to belong so much to others as not to belong at all to oneself. So with friends, their help should not be abused or more demanded from them than they themselves will grant. All excess is a failing, but above all in personal relationships. A wise moderation in this best preserves the goodwill and esteem for all, for by this means that precious boon of courtesy is not gradually worn away. Thus you preserve your genius and freedom to select the best and never sin against the unwritten laws of good taste.

33. 懂得放弃

如果说,生活中一门重要的课程是“学会如何拒绝”的话,那么,更重要的是懂得如何放弃(无论是事还是人)。有些无关紧要的工作,不过是空耗宝贵的时间而已。忙活一些与己无关的事,甚至比无所事事还要糟。对于一个谨慎之人来说,仅仅不管他人闲事是不够的,你还必须时刻留心:别让他人来管你的闲事。一个人没必要过分属于别人,那样的话你就不会完全属于自己。不要滥用朋友的帮助,也不要向他们提过分的要求。过犹不及,害人害已,尤其在私人关系方面,更是如此。适可而止,是友善和尊敬的最好保护,只有这样,珍贵友善的恩赐才不会日渐消磨。如此,才能保护好你的天赋和自由,以作出最优选择,并且,决不会违反关于优雅品位的不成文规则。34. Know your strongest quality.

Know your pre-eminent gift—cultivate it and it will assist the rest. Everyone would have excelled in something if he had known his strong point. Notice in what quality you surpass and take charge of that. In some people judgement excels, in others valor. Most do violence to their natural aptitude and thus attain superiority in nothing. Time enlightens us too late of what was first only a flattering of the passions.

34. 了解自己的特长

了解你尚未表现出来的才能——培养它,它就会惠及其余。每个人,如果清楚自己的强项之所在,那么他就能够在某些方面胜过别人。认识到你的优点,并善待之。有人长于判断,有人勇气过人。大多数人则自暴自弃,结果一事无成。时间终将会让我们懂得(懂得为时已晚):我们最初只是被激情的花言巧语所蒙蔽。35. Think over Things, most over the most Important.

All fools come to grief from want of thought. They never see even the half of things, and as they do not observe their own loss or gain, still less do they apply any diligence to them. Some make much of what imports little and little of much, always weighing in the wrong scale. Many never lose their common sense, because they have none to lose. There are matters that should be observed with the closest attention, and thereafter always kept well in mind. The wise man thinks over everything, but with a difference, most profoundly where there is some profound difficulty, and thinks that perhaps there is more in it than he thinks. Thus his comprehension extends as far as his apprehension.

35. 凡事要三思,尤其是重大事情

所有蠢人都是由于缺乏思考而招致不幸。他们甚至从来了解不到事情真相的一半,因为他们洞察不了自己的得失,所以很少勤勉用事。有些人把小之又小的事情看得重上加重,总是在错误的天平上权衡轻重。许多人从来不会丧失他们的判断力,因为他们根本就没有判断力。有些事情要仔细观察,并因此一直谨记在心。智者凡事都要三思,但也会区别对待,最深奥难懂的事情,往往意义也最深远,他多半会慎之又慎、思之再思。因此他的理解力扩展到了不能再扩展的程度。36. Before Acting or Refraining, weigh your Luck.

More depends on that than on noticing your temperament. If he is a fool who at forty applies to Hippocrates for health, still more is he one who then first applies to Seneca for wisdom. It is a great piece of skill to know how to guide your luck even while waiting for it. For something is to be done with it by waiting so as to use it at the proper moment, since it has periods and offers opportunities, though one cannot calculate its path, its steps are so irregular. When you find Fortune favourable, stride boldly forward, for she favours the bold and, being a woman, the young. But if you have bad luck, keep retired so as not to redouble the influence of your unlucky star.

36. 出手或收手之前,先掂量掂量你的运气

事情成败,更多的是取决于把握你的运气,而不是留意你的脾气。如果说年届四十还向希波克拉底要健康的人是傻瓜的话,那么这时候才向塞涅卡要智慧的人就更是傻瓜了。在等待幸运之神降临的时候,懂得如何去引导你的运气是一项大技巧。因为有些事情要靠运气才能做成,既然运气有它的周期和出现的时机,那么只有耐心等待才能在合适的时机用上它,虽说它的步伐是如此漫无规则以至于你没法推算它的行程。当你受到命运之神青睐的时候,要大胆地阔步向前,因为命运之神总是垂青于那些大胆的年轻人。但如果你时运不济,就要全身而退,免得让你的灾星变本加厉、威力倍增。37. Keep a Store of Sarcasms, and know how to use them.

This is the point of greatest tact in human intercourse. Such sarcasms are often thrown out to test men's moods, and by their means one often obtains the most subtle and penetrating touchstone of the heart. Other sarcasms are malicious, insolent, poisoned by envy or envenomed by passion, unexpected flashes which destroy at once all favour and esteem. Struck by the slightest word of this kind, many fall away from the closest intimacy with superiors or inferiors which could not be the slightest shaken by a whole conspiracy of popular insinuation or private malevolence. Other sarcasms, on the other hand, work favourably, confirming and assistingone's reputation. But the greater the skill with which they are launched, the greater the caution with which they should be received and the foresight with which they should be foreseen. For here a knowledge of the evil is in itself a means of defence, and a shot foreseen always misses its mark.

37. 储备一些讽刺挖苦的话,并懂得如何利用它

讥讽,是人类交往中最机智的暗器。常常可以抛出它以测试别人的心理状态,有了这样的暗器,你就有了最灵敏的心灵试金石。有些讽刺挖苦则心怀恶意、傲慢无礼,被妒忌浸染了毒汁,出其不意的寒光一闪,立刻就能摧毁所有的善意和尊重。亲密无间的关系(无论是与上级还是与部下),公众的含沙射影或个人的刻毒恶意都不能撼动其分毫,而这种讽刺挖苦,哪怕是片言只语,也能让许多人疏远这种关系。另一方面,还有一些讥讽能起到有利的作用,能让你的声望得到确认,并与时俱增。但是,投掷暗器的技巧越高明,接受暗器就要越小心,要有预知暗器的先见之明。认识到别人的恶意,本身就是一种防卫手段,鼠目寸光者总是漏过它的蛛丝马迹。38. Leave your Luck while Winning.

All the best players do it. A fine retreat is as good as a gallant attack. Bring your exploits under cover when thereare enough, or even when there are many of them. Luck long lasting was ever suspicious;interrupted seems safer, and is even sweeter to the taste for a little infusion of bitter sweet. The higher the heap of luck, the greater the risk of a slip, and down comes all. Fortune pays you sometimes for the intensity of her favours by the shortness of their duration. She soon tires of carrying any one long on her shoulders.

38. 功成身退,见好就收

高明的选手全都是这么干的。恰到好处的撤退,就像英勇顽强的进攻一样有益。当战利品已经足够(哪怕仍有很多)的时候,你要把它们藏起来,见好就收。幸运不间断,总是令人生疑;风水轮流转,似乎更有把握。在甜蜜中注入些许苦味,味道甚至更甜。幸运女神对你的眷顾,有时候是以持续的时间为代价,来交换青睐的程度。长时间把任何一个人背在肩上,都很快就会疲倦。39. Recognise when Things are ripe, and then enjoy them.

The works of nature all reach a certain point of maturity;up to that they improve, after that they degenerate. Few works of art reach such a point that they cannot be improved. It is an especial privilege of good taste to enjoy everything atits ripest. Not all can do this, nor do all who can know this. There is a ripening point too for fruits of intellect;it is well to know this both for their value in use and for their value in exchange.

39. 要认识到什么时候瓜熟蒂落,然后享用它

大自然的杰作,全都会在某个时间点上达到成熟;这之前一直在不断改进完善,这之后就开始衰败退化。很少杰作能够不经过改进完善而达到这个成熟点。良好品位的一个独特优势,就是懂得在事物成熟的时候去享用它。并非所有人都能做到这一点,所有能做到的人也并不都懂得这一点。智力果实也有这样一个成熟点;既要了解它们的使用价值,也要了解它们的交换价值,方是善策。40. The Goodwill of People.

This is much to gain universal admiration;more, universal love. Something depends on natural disposition, more on practice:the first founds, the second then builds on that foundation. Brilliant parts suffice not, though they are presupposed;win good opinion and this is easy to win goodwill. Kindly acts besides are required to produce kindly feelings, doing good with both hands, good words and better deeds, loving so as to be loved. Courtesy is the politicwitchery of great personages. First lay hand on deeds and then on pens;words follow swords;for there is goodwill to be won among writers, and it is eternal.

40. 赢得他人的善意

获得普遍赞誉固然重要,而受到普遍热爱则更重要。有的事情要靠天性,而更多的要靠实践:前者奠定基础,后者则在这个基础上构建。光有才华是不够的,尽管才华被认为是先决条件。赢得了好感,就不难赢得善意。此外,要让人产生友善的感情,需要友善的行为,要双手行善:善言和善行。爱人者,人爱之。谦恭有礼,是伟大人物精明的魅力之所在。先付诸行,后付诸笔;剑之所指,言亦随之。因为有的善意要在作家中赢得,这种善意是不朽的。41. Born to Command.

It is a secret force of superiority not to have to get on by artful trickery but by an inborn power of rule. All submit to it without knowing why, recognising the secret vigour of connatural authority. Such magisterial spirits are kings by merit and lions by innate privilege. By the esteem which they inspire, they hold the hearts and minds of the rest. If their other qualities permit, such men are born to be the prime motors of the state. They perform more by a gesture thanothers by a long harangue.

41. 天生帅才

有一种君临万物的神秘力量,它的获得,靠的不是狡诈的欺骗,而是与生俱来的统治能力。所有人都莫名其妙地臣服于这种力量,认可这种天生权威的神秘魄力。这种君临万物的气度,以其卓越品质而为王者,以其先天优势而为雄狮。他们凭借自己赢得的尊重,使其他人心悦诚服。这样的人,如果还拥有其他一些品质的话,天生就是国家的主发动机。他一个手势完成的事情,比别人长篇大论解决的问题还要多。42. Sympathy with great Minds.

It is an heroic quality to agree with heroes. This is like a miracle of nature for mystery and for use. There is a natural kinship of hearts and minds:its effects are such that vulgar ignorance scents witchcraft. Esteem established, goodwill follows, which at times reaches affection. It persuades without words and obtains without earning. This sympathy is sometimes active, sometimes passive, both alike felicific;the more so, the more sublime. This is a great art to recognise, to distinguish and to utilise this gift. No amount of energy suffices without that favour of nature.

42. 与大智慧共鸣

英雄所见略同,这是一种英雄的品质。它就像是大自然的奇迹,因为它既神秘又有用。人类的心灵和头脑,有一种自然的亲缘关系,它的作用如此之大,以至于粗俗无知的人也能察觉其魔力。它让我们赢得尊重,赢得善意,有时候甚至赢得爱。它不言而劝,不挣而得。这种共鸣有时是积极的,有时是消极的,二者都能带来快乐:共鸣越大,快乐越强烈。认识、辨别、利用这种天赋,是一门大技巧。没有大自然的这种恩赐,再多的能量也不够。43. Use, but do not abuse, Cunning.

One ought not to delight in it, still less to boast of it. Everything artificial should be concealed, most of all cunning, which is hated. Deceit is much in use;therefore our caution has to be redoubled, but not so as to show itself, for it arouses distrust, causes much annoy, awakens revenge, and gives rise to more ills than you would imagine. To go to work with caution is of great advantage in action, and there is no greater proof of wisdom. The greatest skill in any deed consists in the sure mastery with which it is executed.

43. 善用但不要滥用诡诈

你不应该以此为乐,更不要以此自夸。一切假东西都要藏起来,特别是大多数诡诈,都招人憎恨。骗人的伎俩,人们用得很多,因此我们要倍加小心,但不要做得太让人能看出来,因为提防之心容易让人产生不信任,从而招致更大的麻烦,也容易唤起报复,其所导致的后果比你所能想象的还要糟。在行动中小心从事有很大的优势,这是智慧最有力的证据。在任何行动中,最大的技巧就在于稳妥可靠地实施技巧。44. Master your Antipathies.

We often allow ourselves to take dislikes, and that before we know anything of a person. At times this innate yet vulgar aversion attaches itself to eminent personalities. Good sense masters this feeling, for there is nothing more discreditable than to dislike those better than ourselves. As sympathy with great men ennobles us, so dislike to them degrades us.

44. 控制你的憎恶感

我们常常听任自己去憎恶他人,甚至在对此人没有任何了解之前。有时候一些杰出之士也带有这种与生俱来、却低级粗俗的厌恶情绪。良好的判断力可以控制这种情绪,因为,厌恶比自己更优秀的人,是最丢脸不过的事情。与伟大人物共鸣使我们受人尊敬,而憎恶他们则让我们贬低自己。45. Observation and Judgment.

A man with these rules things, not they rule him. He sounds at once the profoundest depths;he is a phrenologist by means of physiognomy. On seeing a person he understands him and judges of his inmost nature. From a few observations he deciphers the most hidden recesses of his nature. Keen observation, subtile insight, judicious inference:with these he discovers, notices, grasps, and comprehends everything.

45. 观察与判断

一个明察善断的人能支配事物,而不是被事物所支配。他能迅速探测到事物的最深处,他能够透过表象看本质。即使是不了解的人,他看上一眼就能对他深藏不露的本性作出判断。通过少量的观察,他能破译出其天性中隐藏最深的奥秘。敏锐的观察力、深刻的洞察力和明智的判断力,他就是凭借这些,来发现、关注、掌握和分析所有的事情。46. Never lose Self-respect.

Never lose self-respect or be too familiar with oneself. Let your own right feeling be the true standard of your rectitude, and owe more to the strictness of your own self-judgment than to all external sanctions. Leave off anything unseemly more from regard for your own self-respect than from fear of external authority. Pay regard to that and there is no need of Seneca's imaginary tutor.

46. 决不要丢掉自尊

不要丢掉自尊,也不要对自己太随便。要让你自己的正义感成为你自身正直的真正标准,更多的在于你对自己的判断是否严格,而不在于外部的清规戒律。避开任何有失体统的事情,更多的是由于看重自己的自尊,而不是由于害怕外部的权威。看重你的自尊吧,那你就不需要塞涅卡所谓的“假想的监护人”了。47. Know how to Choose well.

Most of life depends on this. You need good taste and correct judgement, for which neither intellect nor study suffices. To be choice, you must choose well, and for this two things are needed:to be able to choose at all, and then to choose the best. There are many people with fertile andsubtle minds, of keen judgement, of much learning, and of great observation who still are at a loss when they come to choosing. They always take the worst as if they were determined to go wrong. Thus, knowing how to choose well is one of the greatest gifts.

47. 懂得如何正确地选择

生活中大多数事情取决于选择。这需要良好的品位和正确的判断,仅靠才智或学问是不够的。要想出类拔萃,你就必须选择正确,因此有两件事情必不可少:先是要有能力作出选择,然后是要选择最好的。许多人足智多谋、判断敏锐、学识渊博、经验丰富,可到了该要做出选择的时候却不知所措。他们总是选择最差的,就好像是铁了心要误入歧途一样。因此,懂得如何正确地选择是最大的才能之一。48. Never be upset.

It is a great aim of prudence never to be embarrassed. This is the sign of a real person, of a noble heart, for magnanimity is not easily put off balance. The passions are the humors of the soul, and every excess in them weakens prudence. If they overflow through the mouth, the reputation will be in danger. Let us therefore be so great a master overourselves that neither in the most fortunate nor in the most adverse circumstances can anything cause our reputation injury by disturbing our self-possession but rather enhance it by showing superiority.

48. 决不心烦意乱

决不要局促不安,这是审慎的重要目的。这也是心灵真正高贵者的标志,因为襟怀博大的人是不容易失去平衡的。不要放纵激情,对它的每一次放纵都是对审慎的削弱。如果让激情从你的口中溢出,你的名声也就岌岌可危了。因此,不管是吉星高照还是倒霉背运,我们都要最大限度地控制自己,别让我们的名望因为失去冷静而受到任何损害,而是要通过展示我们的优越使我们的声誉得到提升。49. Be diligent and intelligent.

Diligence promptly executes what intelligence carefully thought through. Haste is the failing of fools—they know not the obstacles and set to work without preparation. On the other hand, the wise more often fail from procrastination—foresight begets deliberation, and delay often nullifies prompt judgement. Promptness is the mother of good fortune. He has done much who leaves nothing until tomorrow.“Make hasteslowly”is a magnificent motto.

49. 勤奋与才智

勤奋能让才智细心思考周详的事情得以迅速完成。匆匆忙忙正是蠢人的缺点——他们对障碍熟视无睹,未经准备就仓促动手。另一方面,智者又常常因为拖延而失败——深谋远虑导致从容不迫,拖延迟缓常常抵消了迅速的判断。敏捷是幸运之母。不把事情留到明天的人做得更多。“慢慢地抓紧”是一句至理名言。50. Know how to wait.

It is a sign of a noble heart to be endowed with patience, never to be in a hurry, never to be given over to passion. First be master over yourself if you would be master over others. You must pass through the circumference of time before arriving at the center of opportunity. A wise reserve seasons the aims and matures the means. Time's crutch effects more than the iron club of Hercules. God himself chastens not with a rod but with time.“Time and I against any two”is a great saying. Fortune rewards the first prize to those who wait.

50. 懂得如何等待

懂得等待,正是一颗被赋予了耐性的高贵心灵的标志。决不仓促行事,决不听任激情的摆布。要想控制别人,先要控制自己。在到达机会的圆心之前,你必须先通过时间的圆周。审慎的节制,可以使目标更适应,使手段更成熟。时间的拐杖比赫拉克勒斯的铁棍更管用。上帝惩戒人,用的并不是棍棒,而是时间。“与时间携手,一人抵两人”是一句至理名言。命运之神总是把最高的奖赏授予那些耐心等待的人。51. Have Presence of Mind.

This is the child of a happy readiness of spirit. Owing to this vivacity and alertness there is no fear of danger of accident. Many reflect much only to go wrong in the end and others attain their aim without thinking about it beforehand. There are paradoxical characters who work best in an emergency. They are like monster who succeed in all they do offhand, but fail in everything they think over. Something occurs to them at once or never—for them there is no court of appeal. Promptness wins applause because it proves remarkable capacity:subtlety of judgement, prudence in action.

51. 沉着镇定

这是精神上准备就绪的产物。由于有了这样的轻松愉快和机智敏捷,我们不再害怕出现意外的危险。许多人思前想后,不料最后还是犯错;而有些人并没有提前思考周详,却实现了自己的目标。有一些怪人在紧急情况下反而干得最好。他们就像是一些怪才,所有的即兴之举都能顺利成功,而在每一件深思熟虑的事情上却总是功败垂成。有的事情,他们要么是立刻想到,要么是永远也不会想到——对他们来说,没有上诉法院。机智敏捷总是能赢得喝彩,因为它原本就是一种非凡的能力:判断敏锐,行动谨慎。52. Slow and Sure.

Things are done quickly enough if done well. If just quickly done they can be quickly undone. To last an eternity requires an eternity of preparation. Only excellence counts, only achievement endures. Profound intelligence is the only foundation for immortality. What is worth much costs much. The precious metals are the heaviest.

52. 慢而稳

事情做得好,也就相当于做得快。如果只求成事快,败事亦快。要想结果维持长久,准备工作就要做得长久。只有卓越是有价值的,只有成就是持久的。博大精深的聪明才智,是不朽的唯一基础。成本越大,价值越高。最贵的金属,分量最重。53. Adapt yourself to those around you.

There is no need to show your ability before everyone. Employ no more force than is necessary. Let there be no unnecessary expenditure either of knowledge or of power. The skillful falconer only flies enough birds to serve for the chase. If there is too much display today there will be nothing to show tomorrow. Always have some novelty with which to dazzle. To show something fresh each day keeps expectations alive and conceals the limits of capacity.

53. 要适应周围的人

没有必要在每个人面前展示你的才能。需要多大的力,就用多大的力。不要有多余的支出,无论是知识还是能力。熟练的养鹰者,只放养够他们追猎的鹰。如果今天显露得太多,明天就没什么可展示的了。始终要留一些新奇的东西让人眼前一亮。每天展示一点儿新鲜玩艺儿,就可以让人总是有所期望,并隐藏能力的限度。54. Have sound judgement.

Some are born wise and with this natural advantage enter upon their studies with half their journey to success already mastered. With age and experience their reason ripens, and thus they attain a sound judgement. They abhor everything whimsical as leading prudence astray, especially in matters of state, where certainty is so necessary, owing to the importance of the affairs involved. Such people deserve to stand at the helm of government either as navigators or as helmsmen.

54. 要有健全的判断力

有些人天生聪明,带着这种与生俱来的优势着手学习,他们也就成功地掌握了一半。随着年龄和阅历的增长,他们的理性会变得成熟,从而获得了健全的判断力。他们憎恶每一件会把谨慎带入歧途的异想天开的事情,尤其是在国事上,由于事关重大,国事总是需要万无一失。这样的人应该执掌政府之舵,或做领航员,或为操舵手。55. To Excel in what is Excellent.

It is a great rarity among excellences. You cannot have a great person without something preeminent. Mediocrity never wins applause. Eminence is some distinguished post distinguishes one from the vulgar mob and ranks us with theexceptional. To be distinguished in a small post is to be great in little—the more comfort the less glory. To be excellent at great things is a royal characteristic—it excites admiration and wins goodwill.

55. 在杰出的事情上杰出

这是非常罕见的卓越品质之一。如果不在某些方面出类拔萃,你就不可能成为一个伟大的人。平庸之人决不可能赢得喝彩。在超群出众的位置上成就突出,将让你区别于凡夫俗子,让你跻身杰出者的行列。在微不足道的位置上超群出众并没有什么了不起——成就来得越轻松,荣誉也就越小。在大事上出类拔萃,有王者的特征:它激发赞佩,赢得善意。56. Use good Instruments.

Some would have the subtlety of their wits proven by the poorness of their instruments. This is a dangerous satisfaction and deserves a fatal punishment. The excellence of a minister never diminished the greatness of his lord. All the glory of exploits reverts to the principal actor, also all the blame. Fame only does business with principals. She does not say,“This had good, that had bad servants,”but,“This was a good artist, that a bad one.”Therefore, let your assistants beselected and tested, for you have to trust them an immortality of fame.

56. 使用好工具

有人喜欢使用粗劣的工具,想以此证明自己才智的聪明。这是一种危险的满足,应该受到致命的惩罚。臣僚的杰出无损于君王的伟大。丰功伟业的所有荣耀,都要归属于为首的行动者,所有的过失也是如此。声望女神只跟首脑打交道。她不会说,这有优秀的仆人,那有差劲的仆人。而是说,这是优秀的艺术家,那是差劲的艺术家。因此,要挑选并考验你的助手,因为你不得不把自己不朽的名声寄托在他们身上。57. Avoid Worry.

Such prudence brings its own reward. It escapes much, and is thus the midwife of comfort and so of happiness. Neither give nor take bad news unless it can help. Some people's ears are stuffed with the sweets of flattery, others with the bitters of scandal, while some cannot live without a daily annoyance no more than Mithridate without poison. It is no rule of life to prepare for yourself lifelong trouble in order to give a temporary enjoyment to another, however near and dear. You should never spoil your own chances in order toplease another who advises but keeps out of the affair, and in all cases where to oblige another involves disobliging yourself, this is a standing rule that it is better he should suffer now than you afterwards and in vain.

57. 避免烦恼

这样的谨慎,总会带给你奖赏。它能让你忘掉很多事情,因此也是舒适和快乐的助产士。不要给他人带去坏消息,也别给自己带来坏消息,除非它有所助益。有些人耳朵里塞满了甜蜜的阿谀奉承,有些人听到的尽是辛辣的流言蜚语,还有一些人,每天要是没有烦恼,就[1]像米特拉达梯没有毒药一样,没法活下去。为了给他人(不管有多么亲密)带来暂时的快乐而为自己准备毕生的烦恼,这并不是生活的准则。绝对不要为了取悦那些仅仅给你忠告、自己却置身事外的人而委屈自己,在所有为了满足他人而为难自己的情况下,要记住这样一条常规:与其让自己以后徒然受屈,不如让别人眼下暂时受苦。注释[1]米特拉达梯六世(前132-前63),本都国王。据说他为了防止被人毒害,而每天服用一点毒药以便使身体产生抗毒能力。58. Cultivate taste.

You can train it like the intellect. Full knowledge whets desire and increases enjoyment. You may know a noble spirit by the elevation of his taste. Only a great thing can satisfy a great mind. Big bites for big mouths, lofty things for lofty spirits. Before their judgement the bravest tremble, the most perfect lose confidence. Few things are of the first importance, so let appreciation be rare. Taste can be imparted by personal intercourse;it is great good luck to associate with the highest taste. But do not profess to be dissatisfied with everything;this is the extreme of folly, and more odious if from affectation than if from unreachable ideals. Some would have God create another world and other ideals to satisfy their fantastic imagination.

58. 培养高雅的趣味

趣味就像才智一样,也可以培养。丰富的知识,可以刺激欲望、增加快乐。你可以通过一个人的高雅品位来了解他的高贵精神。只有大事情才能满足大智慧。大块的食物是为大嘴准备的,高尚的事情是为高贵的灵魂准备的。在他们的看法面前,最勇敢的人也会惶恐颤栗,最完美的人也会失去自信。非常有价值的事情少之又少,因此不要滥加赞赏。品位可以通过私人交往而传授,结交品位高雅的人实属大幸。但是,不要对每件事情都表示不满,这是极端愚蠢的;如果这种不满是出于装模作样而不是由于没有达到你的理想,则更加令人讨厌。有些人希望上帝创造另一个世界和另外的理想,为的是满足他们虚幻的想象。59. See to it that things end well.

Some regard more the rigor of the game than the winning of it, but to the world the discredit of the final failure does away with any recognition of previous diligence. The victor need not explain. The world does not notice the details of the measures employed, but only the good or bad result. You lose nothing if you gain your end. A good end gilds everything, however unsatisfactory the means. Thus at times it is part of the art of life to transgress the rules of the art if you cannot end well otherwise.

59. 注重结果

有些人更注重比赛的严酷,而不大在乎它的输赢,但对世界而言,最终的失败所带来的耻辱,把先前的勤奋所带来的赞赏全都一笔勾销了。胜利者无须解释。世人不会注意其所使用的方法的细节,而只关心结果的好坏。只要达到了目标,你就不会失去任何东西。好的结局使所有事情都有了光彩,尽管手段有多么令人不满。因此,如果不违反规则就不能实现好的结果的话,那么犯规有时候也是规则的组成部分。60. It is better to help with Intelligence than with 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. Give no more than a hint. The 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 simply because they are not attempted.

60. 与其借助于记忆,不如借助于智力

前者只需要回想,而后者则需要思考。许多人没能在合适的时机做本该做的事,仅仅因为他们没有想到。在这种场合下,一位朋友的忠告或许就能让他们认识到有利的条件。能够在正确的时机提出什么东西是需要的,这是最了不起的才能之一,因为,缺乏这种才能,很多事情就没法完成。如果你有才智,就让他人分享你的才智之光;如果没有,就去寻求分享他人的才智之光——前一种情况要小心谨慎,后一种情况要焦急不安。只需给出一点暗示。当触及到你唤起其关注的人的利益的时候,就尤其需要策略了。最开始,你应该只让他尝点味道,然后,当这点味道不够的时候再传递更多的东西。如果他没有想到,要明智地寻求赞同。大多数事情都不简单,仅仅是因为没有努力尝试。61. Do not give way to every common impulse.

He is great who never allows himself to be influenced by the impressions of others. Self-reflection is the school of wisdom;to know one's current disposition and to allow for it, even going to the other extreme so as to find a balance between nature and art. Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement. There are some whose humors are so monstrous that they are always under the influence of one or other of them in place of their real inclinations. They are torn asunder by such disharmony and get involved in contradictory obligations. Such excesses not only destroy firmness of will, all power of judgement gets lost and desire and knowledge pull in opposite directions.

61. 不要屈从于每一次低俗的冲动

从不让自己被他人的印象所影响的人是了不起的。自省是智慧的学校。了解一个人眼下的性情趋向,甚至走向另一个极端,以便在天性和技巧之间找到平衡。自我认识是自我改进的起点。有些人的脾气很怪,他们总是受到这个人或那个人的影响,而不是服从于自己真正的性格倾向。他们被这样的不协调撕得粉碎,陷入矛盾之中不能自拔。这样的毫无节制不仅摧毁了坚定的意志,使判断力丧失殆尽,而且,使愿望和知识也会背道而驰。62. Do not vacillate.

Do not let your actions be abnormal either from disposition or affectation. A wise person is always consistent in his best qualities, and because of this he gets the credit of trustworthiness. If he changes, he does so for good reason and after good consideration. In matters of conduct change is hateful. There are some who are different every day—their intelligence varies, still more their will, and with this their fortune. Yesterday's white is today's black;today's no was yesterday's yes. They always give the lie to their own credit and destroy their credit with others.

62. 不要摇摆不定

不要让你的行动因为性格倾向或矫揉造作而反常。智者总是在其最好的品质上始终如一,他因为这一点而深受信赖。即使要改变,他也是出于更好的理由并经过慎重的考量。在行为操守的问题上,变化无常是令人憎恶的。有些人天天在变,随着运气的改变,他们的聪明才智也在变,他们的意志更是在变。昨日之白,已成今日之黑;今日之非,乃是昨日之是。他们总是给自己的信用赋予谎言,摧毁别人对他们的信任。63. Be resolute.

Bad execution of your designs does less harm than irresolution in forming them. Streams do less harm flowing than when dammed up. There are some people so infirm of purpose that they always require direction from others, and this not on account of any perplexity, for they judge clearly, but for their sheer incapacity for action. It takes some skill to find out difficulties but more to find a way out of them. There are others who never get bogged down;their clear judgement and determined character fit them for the highest callings, their intelligence tells them where to insert the thin end of the wedge, their resolution how to drive it home. They soon get through anything, and when they have done with one sphereof action, they are ready for another. Wedded to fortune, they make themselves sure of success.

63. 要坚决果断

形成计划时的优柔寡断,比执行计划时的举措失当更有害。对河流来说,堵塞比流动更有害。有些人是如此优柔寡断,以至于他们总是需要从别人那里得到指示。这并非由于困惑(他们判断得很清楚),而是因为他们完全没有能力付诸行动。找出困难当然需要技巧,但要找到摆脱困境的出路则需要更大的技巧。另外有些人从不陷入困境。他们明察秋毫的判断力和他们坚决果断的性格,使得他们适合从事最高级的职业,他们的聪明才智告诉他们该在什么地方插入楔子,他们的坚定果断让他们懂得如何把楔子敲进去。他们能够很快完成任何事情,每当一个动作完成,他们就已经准备好了去做另一个动作。一旦结合了运气,他们就有把握大功告成。64. Know how to use evasion.

That is how smart people get out of difficulties. They extricate themselves from the most intricate labyrinth by some witty application of a bright remark. They get out of a serious contention by an airy nothing or by raising a smile. Most of the great leaders are well grounded in this art. When youhave to refuse something, often the most courteous way is to just change the subject. And sometimes it proves the highest understanding to act like you do not understand.

64. 要懂得避重就轻

这正是聪明人摆脱困境的高招。他们通过对轻描淡写的巧妙运用,而从最复杂的迷宫中脱身而出。他们通过一句轻松的琐屑言辞,或者通过脸上浮现出的一丝笑意,而摆脱严肃的争论。大多数伟大的领袖人物在这门艺术上都有很扎实的基础。当你不得不拒绝某件事情的时候,最礼貌的方式常常不过是转变话题。有时候,装作不理解实际上是最高级的理解。65. Do not be unapproachable.

The most wild beasts live in the most populous places. To be inaccessible is the fault of those who distrust themselves, whose honors change their manners. It is no way to earn people's goodwill by being ill-tempered with them. What a sight it is to see one of those unsociable monsters who make a point of being proudly impertinent! Their servants, who have the misfortune to be obliged to speak with them, enter as if prepared for a fight with a tiger:armed with patience and with fear. To obtain their high position these unapproachablepeople must have ingratiated themselves with everyone, but having arrived there they seek to compensate themselves by irritating all. It is a condition of their position that they should be accessible to all, yet from pride or spite they are so to none. A civil way to punish such people is to let them alone, depriving them of the chance of improvement by granting them no opportunity for intercourse.

65. 不要难以接近

最野性的兽类生活在人口最稠密的地方。难以接近是那些不信任自己的人的毛病,他们的荣誉改变了他们的举止风度。脾气不好的人没办法赢得人们的善意。看着一个不善交际的怪物,装腔作势地做出傲慢无礼的姿态,是一幅怎样的景象啊。不得不和他们说话的倒霉仆人,走近他们的时候,就好像是要准备跟一只老虎搏斗一样:他们不得不用耐性和恐惧武装自己。这些不可接近的人,要想获得高位,就不得不亲自去讨好每一个人,但一旦到达了那个位置,他就会想方设法激怒所有人,以此来补偿自己。他们获得这个位置的条件,就是要对所有人来说都容易接近,但由于骄傲自负或者心怀怨恨,他们反倒对任何人来说都不容易接近。要惩罚这样的人,文明的方式就是不理他,不给他们交往的机会,从而剥夺他们改进自己的可能性。66. Chose a heroic ideal.

Emulate rather than imitate. There are exemplars of greatness, living texts of honor. Let everyone have before his mind the best in his profession, not so much to follow him as to spur himself on. Alexander wept not on account of Achilles being dead and buried, but over himself because his fame had not yet spread throughout the world. Nothing arouses ambition so much in the heart as the trumpet call of another's fame. The same thing that sharpens envy nourishes a generous spirit.

66. 选择远大的理想

努力迎头赶上,胜于亦步亦趋的模仿。有许多伟大的榜样,都是活生生的关于荣誉的教科书。每个人都要把本行业里最优秀的人记在[1]心中,不是要追随他,而是为了鞭策自己。亚历山大之所以落泪,不是哭阿喀琉斯的死和葬,而是哭自己,因为自己的名声至今还没有传扬天下。要想唤醒一个人的雄心壮志,没有什么比得上他人的名声所吹响的号角更有用了。使一个人的嫉妒之心得以加剧的东西,同样也滋养着慷慨大度的精神。注释[1]据罗马历史学家普鲁塔克记载,亚历山大曾在阿喀琉斯墓前因妒忌而哭泣。67. Be all things to all people.

Be a discreet Proteus, learned with the learned, saintly with the sainted. It is the great art to gain everyone's support;general agreement gains goodwill. Notice people's moods and adapt yourself to each, genial or serious as the case may be. Follow their lead, glossing over the changes as cunningly as possible. This is an especially indispensable art for people who are dependant on others. But this skill in the art of living calls for great cleverness. He only will find no difficulty who has a universal genius in his knowledge and universal ingenuity in his wit.

67. 要因人而异

[1]

要做言行谨慎的普罗特斯,在博学者的面前博学,在圣洁者的面前圣洁。赢得每个人的支持是一门大学问,与大家保持普遍一致,就能赢得普遍的善意。留意人们的心境,让自己适应每个人。根据不同的场合,或者和善亲切,或者严肃庄重。遵从他们的引领,尽可能巧妙地掩饰你的改变。对于那些寄人篱下的人来说,这是一门尤其不可或缺的技艺。但这种随机应变的技巧也需要大智慧。只有那些在知识上有普遍才能、在智慧上有普遍机智的人,才可以不费力气地掌握这种技巧。注释[1]普罗特斯,希腊神话中的海神,可以任意改变自己的外形。68. The art of undertaking things.

Fools rush in through the door—for folly is always bold. The same simplicity that robs them of all attention to caution and deprives them of all sense of shame at failure. But prudence enters with more deliberation. Its forerunners are caution and care;they advance and discover whether you can also advance without danger. Every rush forward might have been freed from danger by caution, but fortune sometimes helps in such cases. Go cautiously where you suspect depth. Sagacity goes cautiously forward while discretion covers the ground. Nowadays there are unsuspected depths in human intercourse, you must therefore plumb the waters as you go.

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