《智慧书·第一辑·一至五十》第35则
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 which should be observed with the closest attention of the mind, and thenceforth kept in its lowest depths. 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.
注释摘要
这一则的标题与正文构成一个完整的判断：凡事都要想，最重要的事要最用心地想。葛拉西安在此发展出一条关于“思”的阶梯式论述，从反面铺向正面。开篇一上来就把所有愚人的共同命运归到一个原因上：缺乏思考。他们连事情的一半都看不到，当然也就注意不到自己的得失，更谈不上用心去对待什么。接下来他把错置轻重也纳入这一批评：有人把无关紧要的事看得天大，把重大的事看得无足轻重，…