《智慧书·第三辑·一〇一至一五〇》第17则
Never talk of Yourself. You must either praise yourself, which is vain, or blame yourself, which is little-minded: it ill beseems him that speaks, and ill pleases him that hears. And if you should avoid this in ordinary conversation, how much more in official matters, and above all, in public speaking, where every appearance of unwisdom really is unwise. The same want of tact lies in speaking of a man in his presence, owing to the danger of going to one of two extremes: flattery or censure.
注释摘要
这则格言的标题和正文构成一个完整的主张：人绝不该谈论自己，因为这条路只有两个出口，每一个都对你很坏——夸自己便沦为虚荣，贬自己则显得心量狭窄；说话的人丢了体面，听话的人也不会舒服。 葛拉西安把这种自我言说诊断为一种必败的结构，而不是一种可以靠分寸感来挽救的修辞行为。你一旦开口讲自己，就进入了他设下的二分法：褒则骄，抑则卑。他根本不考虑是否存在第三种可能，比…