《智慧书·第一辑·一至五十》第15则
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. "Tis 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. Tis 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.
注释摘要
这一则的标题与正文讲的是同一件事：权威人物应当有意识地在身边集结才智出众的人，让他们充当自己的智囊。Spirits 在这里不是幽灵或精灵，而是助手、代理人的意思，ministering 强调其服务功能。整段话的主张很清晰：真正高明的人不是事必躬亲，而是知道如何借用别人的头脑来扩展自己的能力边界。葛拉西安用了一个相当密集的悖论来概括这种关系——"to hav…