《智慧书·第四辑·一五一至二百》第11则
Know your pet Faults. The most perfect of men has them, and is either wedded to them or has illicit relations with them. They are often faults of intellect, and the greater this is, the greater they are, or at least the more conspicuous. It is not so much that their possessor does not know them: he loves them, which is a double evil: irrational affection for avoidable faults. They are spots on perfection; they displease the onlooker as much as they please the possessor. 'Tis a gallant thing to get clear of them, and so give play to one's other qualities. For all men hit upon such a failing, and on going over your qualifications they make a long stay at this blot, and blacken it as deeply as possible in order to cast your other talents into the shade.
注释摘要
这一则讲的是人与自己最偏爱的那几个缺点的关系。葛拉西安先从一句看似宽慰的话说起：最完美的人也免不了有缺点，而且——这里他用了一对精心编排的比喻——要么是“娶了它们”，要么是“与它们有染”。两个比喻恰好构成天主教道德神学里合法婚姻与非法私通的对照：前者意味着被社会认可的持存关系，后者意味着明知不该却更令人沉迷的隐秘依恋。他不是随便挑了两个词，他要说的恰恰是人…