《智慧书·第二辑·五一至一百》第4则
Know how to show your Teeth. Even hares can pull the mane of a dead lion. There is no joke about courage. Give way to the first and you must yield to the second, and so on till the last, and to gain your point at last costs as much trouble as would have gained much more at first. Moral courage exceeds physical; it should be like a sword kept ready for use in the scabbard of caution. It Is the shield of great place; moral cowardice lowers one more than physical. Many have had eminent qualities, yet, for want of a stout heart, they passed inanimate lives and found a tomb in their own sloth. Wise Nature has thoughtfully combined in the bee the sweetness of its honey with the sharpness of its sting.
注释摘要
这则格言的西班牙语原文里，露齿这个说法本身就是一个概念主义的双关。它首先指的是把牙齿亮出来，让对方看见你有咬人的能力；但同时，西班牙语里 enseñar los dientes 在那个时代的宫廷用语中也有让人见识你的机锋与锋利判断力的意思。所以标题从一开始就把两件事叠在一起：一是武力或反击的能力，二是智识上的锋利。配上的那句谚语 连兔子都敢拔死狮子的鬃毛，…