《智慧书·第四辑·一五一至二百》第33则
Do not hold your Views too firmly. Every fool is fully convinced, and every one fully persuaded is a fool: the more erroneous his judgment the more firmly he holds it. Even in cases of obvious certainty, it is fine to yield: our reasons for holding the view cannot escape notice, our courtesy in yielding must be the more recognised. Our obstinacy loses more than our victory yields: that is not to champion truth but rather rudeness. There be some heads of iron most difficult to turn: add caprice to obstinacy and the sum is a wearisome fool. Steadfastness should be for the will, not for the mind. Yet there are exceptions where one would fail twice, owning oneself wrong both in judgment and in the execution of it.
注释摘要
这一则的标题与正文合在一起，是一句被折叠的论断：愚蠢的标志不在于判断错了，而在于判断错了还死抓着不放。葛拉西安在这里并不是在讲认识论，而是在讲审慎的自我经营。他所批评的“观点太坚定”，不是指一个人有原则，而是指一个人对任何临时的判断都摆出不容讨论的姿态，把自己的面子与说出口的话焊成了一块。 那句话写得极工整，是典型的概念主义对句：每一半都是前半句断言、后半…