《智慧书·第五辑·二〇一至二五〇》第9则
Keep Yourself free from common Follies. This is a special stroke of policy. They are of special power because they are general, so that many who would not be led away by any individual folly cannot escape the universal failing. Among these are to be counted the common prejudice that any one is satisfied with his fortune, however great, or unsatisfied with his intellect, however poor it is. Or again, that each, being discontented with his own lot, envies that of others; or further, that persons of to-day praise the things of yesterday, and those here the things there. Everything past seems best and everything distant is more valued. He is as great a fool that laughs at all as he that weeps at all.
注释摘要
这则格言的标题与正文首句咬合得极紧，一如葛拉西安惯常的写法：前半句提出命令，后半句立刻给出理由。他要我们避免的是那些“共同的”蠢行，恰恰因为它们无处不在。原句里“policy”一词在西班牙原文中对应的是 arte de gobierno，直译是治理之术，跟治国、治人有关。葛拉西安用一个政治术语来讨论私人生活，这本身就是一个信号：在他看来，一个人管理自己的名…