《智慧书·第四辑·一五一至二百》第16则
Distinguish the Man of Words from the Man of Deeds. Discrimination here is as important as in the case of friends, persons, and employments, which have all many varieties. Bad words even without bad deeds are bad enough: good words with bad deeds are worse. One cannot dine off words, which are wind, nor off politeness, which is but polite deceit. To catch birds with a mirror is the ideal snare. It is the vain alone who take their wages in windy words. Words should be the pledges of work, and, like pawn-tickets, have their market price. Trees that bear leaves but not fruit have usually no pith. Know them for what they are, of no use except for shade.
注释摘要
这一则的标题与正文原是一句话被切开：标题说要把言辞之人和行动之人区分开来，正文旋即铺开一个近乎冷酷的诊断——言辞若无行动作保，不是空的，就是骗的。葛拉西安在此用了概念主义最爱的那种压缩式递进：“坏话无坏行已然够坏，好话配坏行则更坏。”这句话在西班牙语原文里是一个精心平衡的对句，两个“坏”在前后半句里换了位置，仿佛在翻转同一枚钱币，让读者看见正面是恶言，背面…