《智慧书·第四辑·一五一至二百》第4则
Do not Believe, or Like, lightly. Maturity of mind is best shown in slow belief. Lying is the usual thing; then let belief be unusual. He that is lightly led away, soon falls into contempt. At the same time there is no necessity to betray your doubts in the good faith of others, for this adds insult to discourtesy, since you make out your informant to be either deceiver or deceived. Nor is this the only evil: want of belief is the mark of the liar, who suffers from two failings: he neither believes nor is believed. Suspension of judgment is prudent in a hearer: the speaker can appeal to his original source of information. There is a similar kind of imprudence in liking too easily, for lies may be told by deeds as well as in words, and this deceit is more dangerous for practical life.
注释摘要
葛拉西安把标题和正文写成了一句话的两段：前半句告诫不要轻信，后半句追加不要轻喜。他在这里玩了一个概念主义的对举，信与喜在西班牙原文里共享同一个结构：两者都是一种过早把自己交出去的动作。相信是把判断交出去，喜欢是把好感交出去。他的核心论点是，思想的成熟首先表现为慢信——不是不信，而是让相信这件事变得不那么随便。 撒谎是常态，这句在十七世纪西班牙语境下的分量很…