《智慧书·第三辑·一〇一至一五〇》第15则
Get used to the Failings of your Familiars, as you do to ugly faces. It is indispensable if they depend on us, or we on them. There are wretched characters with whom one cannot live, nor yet without them. Therefore clever folk get used to them, as to ugly faces, so that they are not obliged to do so suddenly under the pressure of necessity. At first they arouse disgust, but gradually they lose this influence, and reflection provides for disgust or puts up with it.
注释摘要
这一则的关键词是容忍，但容忍的对象很具体：不是敌人，也不是陌生人，而是familiars，也就是那些与我们有日常往来、免不掉要打交道的人。标题里那个比喻用得既直白又残酷——把别人的缺陷比作丑脸，把习惯的过程比作看多了也就不那么扎眼。葛拉西安在这里没谈爱，没谈理解，也没谈宽恕，他谈的是两害相权取其轻：有些人的性情如此糟糕，你跟ta们没法一起过日子，可又离不开…