《智慧书·第一辑·一至五十》第32则
Have the Reputation of being Gracious. "Tis 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.
注释摘要
这则格言的核心，藏在英文译本的 gracious 一词与原文的对照之中。西班牙语标题用的很可能是 afable 或 agradable，但在正文里，葛拉西安真正在说的是一个掌权者主动施惠的能力——不是性格上的随和可亲，而是有意识地让自己成为恩惠的源头。标题与正文合起来的意思大致是：你要获得乐于施恩的名声，这是高位者最辉煌的荣耀，是君王才有的特权：以善意征服…