《智慧书·第五辑·二〇一至二五〇》第1则
They are all Fools who seem so besides half the rest. Folly arose with the world, and if there be any wisdom it is folly compared with the divine. But the greatest fool is he who thinks he is not one and all others are. To be wise It is not enough to seem wise, least of all to oneself. He knows who does not think that he knows, and he does not see who does not see that others see. Though all the world is full of fools, there is none that thinks himself one, or even suspects the fact.
注释摘要
这一则格言的标题与正文实为一体，后半句补足了前半句留下的缺口：不仅那些看似愚者的人是愚者，还有剩下那半数里的一半。葛拉西安一开篇就用这种几近悖论的比例来瓦解任何自外于愚蠢的安全感。这里他玩了一个概念主义式的压缩——看似愚者的人当然算愚者，可你以为自己不在那群人里、不在那另一半里？另一半之中仍有一半。这一层层往下切分的逻辑把所有人都逼到一个无处可逃的位置：愚…