《智慧书·第四辑·一五一至二百》第24则
Do not live in a Hurry. To know how to separate things is to know how to enjoy them. Many finish their fortune sooner than their life: they run through pleasures without enjoying them, and would like to go back when they find they have overleaped the mark. Postilions of life, they increase the ordinary pace of life by the hurry of their own calling. They devour more in one day than they can digest in a whole lifetime; they live in advance of pleasures, eat up the years beforehand, and by their hurry get through everything too soon. Even in the search for knowledge there should be moderation, lest we learn things better left unknown. We have more days to live through than pleasures. Be slow in enjoyment, quick at work, for men see work ended with pleasure, pleasure ended with regret.
注释摘要
这则格言的标题与正文合在一起，才构成他的完整意思：不要活在匆忙里，因为懂得把事物分开，才懂得享受它们。分开与享受，在这里是同一种能力的两个面向。所谓分开，不是把生活切割成互不相干的碎片，而是知道在什么时候进入一件事，又在什么时候从中抽身；知道一件乐事该占据多大的时间份额，也知道一项事务该在何处收束。匆忙的人恰恰丧失的，就是这种分隔的感知力。他们把所有东西堆…