《智慧书·第二辑·五一至一百》第27则
Be all Things to all Men —a discreet Proteus, learned with the learned, saintly with the sainted. It is the great art to gain every one's suffrages; their goodwill gains general agreement. Notice men's moods and adapt yourself to each, genial or serious as the case may be. Follow their lead, glossing over the changes as cunningly as possible. This is an indispensable art for dependent persons. But this savoir faire calls for great cleverness. He only will find no difficulty who has a universal genius in his knowledge and universal ingenuity in his wit.
注释摘要
这则格言的标题直接借用了《哥林多前书》第九章里使徒保罗的话，“向什么样的人，我就作什么样的人”。把使徒的牧灵策略变成一个宫廷生存术语，这在十七世纪西班牙的读者那里不会引起惊讶，但放在整部《智慧书》里，它仍然算调门相当硬的一句。 “a discreet Proteus”这个用法值得先拆开。普洛透斯是希腊神话里那位能随时变形的海神，被抓住才肯吐露真相。葛拉西安…