《智慧书·第四辑·一五一至二百》第12则
How to triumph over Rivals and Detractors. It is not enough to despise them, though this is often wise: a gallant bearing is the thing. One cannot praise a man too much who speaks well of them who speak ill of him. There is no more heroic vengeance than that of talents and services which at once conquer and torment the envious. Every success is a further twist of the cord round the neck of the ill-affected, and an enemy's glory is the rival's hell. The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied wins applause. The immortality of his fame is the measure of the other's torture: the one lives in endless honour, the other in endless pain. The clarion of Fame announces immortality to the one and death to the other, the slow death of envy long drawn out.
注释摘要
这则格言的标题是“如何战胜对手与诋毁者”，正文紧接着就把轻蔑这一选项推开了：光是不屑还不够，尽管那往往是明智的。葛拉西安在这里推崇的是一个极其巴洛克式的姿态——所谓“gallant bearing”，一种有风度、有气概的承担，而不是沉默的回避。这话不是写给遁世之人看的，而是写给必须在宫廷或城市的名誉竞技场里继续存活下去的人看的。 接着是一句很容易被错读的话…