《智慧书·第三辑·一〇一至一五〇》第37则
The Sage should be Self-sufficing. He that was all in all to himself carried all with him when he carried himself. If a universal friend can represent to us Rome and the rest of the world, let a man be his own universal friend, and then he is in a position to live alone. Whom could such a man want if there is no clearer intellect or finer taste than his own? He would then depend on himself alone, which is the highest happiness and like the Supreme Being. He that can live alone resembles the brute beast in nothing, the sage in much and God in everything.
注释摘要
葛拉西安从一则古老的逸闻切入。他曾听人讲过斯提尔波的故事——德米特里围城之后，这位哲学家失去了一切，却说“我全部所有都在我身上”。这就是起首那句“He that was all in all to himself carried all with him when he carried himself”的来源。对葛拉西安来说，这不是一句漂亮话，而是一个理想…