《智慧书·第二辑·五一至一百》第6则
Have Presence of Mind. The child of a happy promptitude of spirit. Owing to this vivacity and wideawakeness there is no fear of danger or mischance. Many reflect much only to go wrong in the end: others attain their aim without thinking of it beforehand. There are natures of Antiperistasis who work best in an emergency. They are like monsters who succeed in all they do offhand, but fail in aught they think over. A thing occurs to them at once or never: for them there is no court of appeal. Celerity wins applause because it proves remarkable capacity; subtlety of judgment, prudence in action.
注释摘要
这则的标题 Have Presence of Mind 与正文的第一句合在一起，才完整说出了葛拉西安的意思：所谓“有急智”，指的是一种来自精神之快活的、幸运的迅捷。他把这种能力称为“a happy promptitude of spirit”的孩子——并不是说它产生于后天的训练，而是把它当作某种天赋气质所生的自然结果。因为有了这种活跃与清醒，当事人几乎感受…