《智慧书·第一辑·一至五十》第29则
A Man of Rectitude 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—for others. 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.
注释摘要
这一则的西班牙原文标题是“Hombre de rectitud”，英文译作“A Man of Rectitude”，所指的既是一种品格，也是一种几乎不可能维持的立场。葛拉西安在这里用的“rectitud”不是今天心理学意义上的“本真”或“忠于自我”，而是严格地指向道德上的正直——一个在行动中只认“理当如此”而不因处境改弦更张的人。正文紧随其后把这句话补全：…