《智慧书·第四辑·一五一至二百》第49则
To find a proper Place by Merit, not by Presumption. The true road to respect is through merit, and if industry accompany merit the path becomes shorter. Integrity alone is not sufficient, push and insistence is degrading, for things arrive by that means so besprinkled with dust that the discredit destroys reputation. The true way is the middle one, half-way between deserving a place and pushing oneself into it.
注释摘要
葛拉西安这则格言的核心，是在理清“值不值得”与“主动争取”之间那条被宫廷社会长期扭曲的界线。他开门见山，把“功绩”（mérito，在西班牙原文里偏重内在的长处、配得）和“自以为是的僭越”（presunción）对立起来：通往真正尊重与地位的唯一道路是功绩，而预设自己能坐到某个位置、在没有根基时就伸手去要，在他看来一开始就走岔了。 这条格言的关键，在于中间那…