《智慧书·第三辑·一〇一至一五〇》第42则
Never from Obstinacy take the Wrong Side because your Opponent has anticipated you in taking the Right One. You begin the fight already beaten and must soon take to flight in disgrace. With bad weapons one can never win. It was astute in the opponent to seize the better side first: it would be folly to come lagging after with the worst. Such obstinacy is more dangerous in actions than in words, for action encounters more risk than talk. 'Tis the common failing of the obstinate that they lose the true by contradicting it, and the useful by quarrelling with it. The sage never places himself on the side of passion, but espouses the cause of right, either discovering it first or improving it later. If the enemy is a fool, he will in such a case turn round to follow the opposite and worse way. Thus the only way to drive him from the better course is to take it yourself, for his folly will cause him to desert it, and his obstinacy be punished for so doing.
注释摘要
这则格言的完整意思是：绝不要因为对手抢先占了正确的立场，你就出于固执而偏要去选那个错误的一边。标题和正文首句合在一起，已经把一整句话讲完了。葛拉西安在这里拆解的不是观点之争，而是对抗中的一种心理陷阱——人一旦发现对手占据有理有利的位置，便本能地想对立，仿佛站在同一侧就是认输。文中的武器（weapons）是说论据、理由和行动方案，拿坏武器开战意味着你已经把劣…