《智慧书·第五辑·二〇一至二五〇》第50则
When to change the Conversation. When they talk scandal. With some all goes contrariwise: their No is Yes, and their Yes No. If they speak ill of a thing it is the highest praise. For what they want for themselves they depreciate to others. To praise a thing is not always to speak well of it, for some, to avoid praising what's good, praise what's bad, and nothing is good for him for whom nothing is bad.
注释摘要
这则格言的标题和正文构成一个完整的句子：该何时改变话题——当人们说起流言蜚语的时候。但接下去的解释并未停留在这一层，而是迅速转向一个更深的观察：有些人说话永远在反着来，他们的否定就是肯定，肯定就是否定。 这是一种巴洛克式的心理反转。葛拉西安在这里揭示的不是虚伪，而是一种在宫廷社会中常见的双层话语结构。有的人公开贬低某样东西，恰恰表示他们在私下里对它评价极高…