《智慧书·第六辑·二五一至三百》第23则
Comprehend their Dispositions with whom you deal, so as to know their intentions. Cause known, effect known, beforehand in the disposition and after in the motive. The melancholy man always foresees misfortunes, the backbiter scandals; having no conception of the good, evil offers itself to them. A man moved by passion always speaks of things differently from what they are; it is his passion speaks, not his reason. Thus each speaks as his feeling or his humour prompts him, and all far from the truth. Learn how to decipher faces and spell out the soul in the features. If a man laughs always, set him down as foolish; if never, as false. Beware of the gossip: he is either a babbler or a spy. Expect little good from the misshapen: they generally take revenge on Nature, and do little honour to her, as she has done little to them. Beauty and folly generally go hand in hand.
注释摘要
这一段有一条紧凑的主线：先把别人的性情认清楚，才能知道他们到底想要什么。葛拉西安用一个因果关系的套子来展开──原因认清了，效果也就认清了，先在性情里看出原因，后在动机里看出效果。西班牙原文的“genio”包含性格与禀赋，“motivo”则是驱动行动的那一根弦。他不是在讲心理学，而是在讲一种宫廷社会的生存技能：在话说出口、事情做出来之前，就要从气质的倾向里读…