《智慧书·第一辑·一至五十》第47则
Avoid "Affairs of Honour" —one of the chiefest aims of prudence. In men of great ability the extremes are kept far asunder, so that there is a long distance between them, and they always keep in the middle of their caution, so that they take time to break through it. It is easier to avoid such affairs than to come well out of them. They test our judgment; it is better to avoid them than to conquer in them. One affair of honour leads to another, and may lead to an affair of dishonour. There are men so constituted by nature or by nation that they easily enter upon such obligations. But for him that walks by the light of reason, such a matter requires long thinking over. There is more valour needed not to take up the affair than to conquer in it. When there is one fool ready for the occasion, one may excuse oneself from being the second.
注释摘要
这则格言讨论的是荣誉纠纷，特别是那个时代上层社会中最极端的形式——决斗。葛拉西安的用词是“affairs of honour”，这个词组在十七世纪西班牙的语境中涵盖从口头争执到刀剑相向的所有以名誉受损为理由引发的对立。他不是在泛泛地讲不要与人争执，而是在讲一种具体的、危险的、同时又深受社会习俗鼓励的行为模式。 开头那句“能人把两端隔得很远”需要仔细看。葛拉…