《智慧书·第三辑·一〇一至一五〇》第16则
Only act with Honourable Men. You can trust them and they you. Their honour is the best surety of their behaviour even in misunderstandings, for they always act having regard to what they are. Hence 'tis better to have a dispute with honourable people than to have a victory over dishonourable ones. You cannot treat with the ruined, for they have no hostages for rectitude. With them there is no true friendship, and their agreements are not binding, however stringent they may appear, because they have no feeling of honour. Never have to do with such men, for if honour does not restrain a man, virtue will not, since honour is the throne of rectitude.
注释摘要
标题“只与有荣誉的人打交道”，正文的第一句便将它翻译成一个极简的行动原则，而整则应被读作对这句话的逐层证明。葛拉西安在此设下了一个严格的二分：一边是“有荣誉的人”，另一边是“毁了的人”（the ruined），非此即彼，不存在中间地带。他说，你可以信任有荣誉的人，他们也可以信任你，理由在于他们的“荣誉”构成了行为的“最佳担保”（the best suret…