《智慧书·第五辑·二〇一至二五〇》第3则
Know the great Men of your Age. They are not many. There is one Phoenix in the whole world, one great general, one perfect orator, one true philosopher in a century, a really illustrious king in several. Mediocrities are as numerous as they are worthless: eminent greatness is rare in every respect, since it needs complete perfection, and the higher the species the more difficult is the highest rank in it. Many have claimed the title "Great," like Caesar and Alexander, but in vain, for without great deeds the title is a mere breath of air. There have been few Senecas, and fame records but one Apelles.
注释摘要
这一则的标题与正文原本是一句完整的话：认识你时代的伟人，他们为数不多。开篇就是一个斩截的否定，然后才是正面的枚举。葛拉西安用的是概念主义常见的对仗叠喻，把同一个意思用不同领域反复加固：整个世界只有一个凤凰，一个世纪才出一位真正的哲人，好几百年才出一位真正杰出的国王。他的重点不在于列出多少种伟人，而在于让读者感受到那种极致稀少所产生的压迫感——平庸之辈多得数…