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lxxxi Renew your Brilliance. ’Tis the privilege of the Phœnix. Ability is wont to grow old, and with it fame. The staleness of custom weakens admiration, and a mediocrity that's new often eclipses the highest excellence grown old. Try therefore to be born again in valour, in genius, in fortune, in all. Display startling novelties, rise afresh like the sun every day. Change too the scene on which you shine, so that your loss may be felt in the old scenes of your triumph, while the novelty of your powers wins you applause in the new.
81．更新你的辉煌
这是凤凰再生的秘诀。卓越终归变朽，名声毕竟有尽。天长日久之后，再大的敬意也会销蚀，再显赫的成就到了老年也会被平庸所战胜。因此勇气、才华、幸福和其他一切都应该时时更新。要敢于重现你的辉煌，如同骄阳，屡屡射出晨光。收敛起来，意在使人们加倍怀念；重放光彩，为的是使他们鼓掌欢呼。
lxxxii Drain Nothing to the Dregs, neither Good nor Ill.
A sage once reduced all virtue to the golden mean. Push right to the extreme and it becomes wrong: press all the juice from an orange and it becomes bitter. Even in enjoyment never go to extremes. Thought too subtle is dull. If you milk a cow too much you draw blood, not milk.
82．并无全非也无完美
智者将所有的智慧概括为中庸。过正则误。橘子汁液挤干只会苦涩。即使欣喜时也不应走极端，滥用才华定会才思枯竭；如暴君一样去挤奶，得到的只会是血。 lxxxiii Allow Yourself some venial Fault.
Some such carelessness is often the greatest recommendation of talent. For envy exercises ostracism, most envenomed when most polite, It counts it to perfection as a failing that it has no faults; for being perfect in all it condemns it in all. It becomes an Argus, all eyes for imperfection: ’tis its only consolation. Blame is like the lightning; it hits the highest. Let Homer nod now and then and affect some negligence in valour or in intellect--not in prudence--so as to disarm malevolence, or at least to prevent its bursting with its own venom. You thus leave your cloak on the horns of Envy in order to save your immortal parts.
83．容许自己有可原谅的过错
轻率的举止有时是帮助他人看到你的才能的最好方式。妒嫉通常表现为对人的排斥，越文明的嫉妒行为，其罪行越大。嫉妒之所以控告完美的事物，正在于人们不能容忍完美；人们谴责彻底的完美。嫉妒使人变成百眼巨人阿各斯①，专在完美中寻找瑕疵，目的只是为了自慰。挑剔指责如同闪电，总是袭击最高的地方。正由于上述原因，所以即使是荷马，也难免有败笔之疏②，因而你要假装你的智慧或勇气——但不是审慎——也会犯粗枝大叶的错误。这样恶意才会平息下来，不再毒沫横飞。这就正如面对充满嫉妒的公牛时，你挥动红披风，以便脱生并得以不朽。
①希腊神话中长有许多眼睛的人，据说他有百只眼睛。
——译者注
②典出贺拉斯的《诗艺》，意思是即使荷马这样的大诗人，也有写得不尽如人意的地方。——泽者注
lxxxiv Make use of your Enemies.
You should learn to seize things not by the blade, which cuts, but by the handle, which saves you from harm: especially is this the rule with the doings of your enemies. A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends. Their ill-will often levels mountains of difficulties which one would otherwise not face. Many have had their greatness made for them by their enemies. Flattery is more dangerous than hatred, because it covers the stains which the other causes to be wiped out. The wise will turn ill-will into a mirror more faithful than that of kindness. and remove or improve the faults referred to. Caution thrives well when rivalry and ill-will are next-door neighbours.
84．要知道如何利用敌人 抓东西勿抓刀刃，刀刃伤身；但若抓刀柄，则刀可护身。此理亦适用于竞赛。智者在敌人身上发现的用处比愚人在朋友身上发现的用处更多。善意视为畏途的困难之山，却往往被恶意轻易铲平。许多人之所以伟大，多半是由他们的敌人促成的。奉承比憎恨更为险恶，因为憎恨纠正了奉承所掩饰的错误。审慎的人从他人邪恶的双眸中找到一面镜子。它比充满爱意的镜子更为真实，使人减少缺点或将其校正。每个人与恶毒对手对面相处时都会变得异常小心。 lxxxv Do not play Manille.
It is a fault of excellence that being so much in use it is liable to abuse. Because all covet it, all are vexed by it. It is a great misfortune to be of use to nobody; scarcely less to be of use to everybody. People who reach this stage lose by gaining, and at last bore those who desired them before. These Manilles wear away all kinds of excellence: losing the earlier esteem of the few, they obtain discredit among the vulgar. The remedy against this extreme is to moderate your brilliance. Be extraordinary in your excellence, if you like, but be ordinary in your display of it. The more light a torch gives, the more it burns away and the nearer ’tis to going out. Show yourself less and you will be rewarded by being esteemed more.
85．勿做变牌
卓越的事物易被滥用。大家都垂涎于某物，就易为其烦恼。毫无用处是一件坏事，而利于万物却更糟。一些人因其常胜而败，即刻如同曾被人想望那样遭人蔑视。这种变牌存在于各种完美之中。他们失去了起初因独一无二而获得的名声并被轻视为平平。治愈极端的良药在于展示才华时以中庸为度。应极度追求完美，但展示要掌握分寸。火把愈亮，消耗愈多，持续愈短。欲获得真正的尊敬，须使人感到你是罕有人物。 lxxxvi Prevent Scandal.
Many heads go to make the mob, and in each of them are eyes for malice to use and a tongue for detraction to wag. If a single ill report spread, it casts a blemish on your fair fame, and if it clings to you with a nickname, your reputation is in danger. Generally it is some salient defect or ridiculous trait that gives rise to the rumours. At times these are malicious additions of private envy to general distrust. For there are wicked tongues that ruin a great reputation more easily by a witty sneer than by a direct accusation. It is easy to get into bad repute, because it is easy to believe evil of any one: it is not easy to clear yourself. The wise accordingly avoid these mischances, guarding against vulgar scandal with sedulous vigilance. It is far easier to prevent than to rectify.
86．阻止谣言
群众是一个多头的怪物，长着多双制造恶意的眼睛，多个滥施诽谤的舌头。有时泛起的谣言使最好的名声化为乌有。如果它如同绰号一样附在你的身上，你的美名会因此消失。群众通常会对突出的弱点，或一些可笑的瑕疵感兴趣——因为这都是窃窃私语的好话题。有时是嫉妒我们的对手狡猾地凭空造出了这些瑕疵。卑鄙的嘴巴讲出的玩笑比厚颜无耻的谎言更快地将声誉毁坏。获得坏名声相当容易，因为坏事易令人相信且难以抹掉。让审慎的人避免这些，注意那些庸俗傲慢无礼的言行，因为防病胜过治病百倍。
lxxxvii Culture and Elegance.
Man is born a barbarian, and only raises himself above the beast by culture. Culture therefore makes the man; the more a man, the higher. Thanks to it, Greece could call the rest of the world barbarians. Ignorance is very raw; nothing contributes so much to culture as knowledge. But even knowledge is coarse If without elegance. Not alone must our intelligence be elegant, but our desires, and above all our conversation. Some men are naturally elegant in internal and external qualities, in their thoughts, in their address, in their dress, which is the rind of the soul, and in their talents, which is its fruit. There are others, on the other hand, so gauche that everything about them, even their very excellences, is tarnished by an intolerable and barbaric want of neatness.
87．文化和教养 人生而为蛮人。文化使人超越动物之上。文化使我们成为真正的人——愈有文化，人愈伟大。希腊人据此看法将宇宙中其他人称为“蛮人”。无知等于粗野和愚鲁。没有什么比知识更能教化众生。但智慧本身若缺乏磨碾也会变得粗糙。不仅理解力，而且我们的欲望，尤其是我们的交谈，都需有教养。一些人在他们的内外天赋，在他们的概念、言行和身体饰物（如同树皮）以及他们精神的天赋（如同果实）中展现了一种自然的教养。另外一些人则是如此粗俗，用他们那令人难以忍受的粗野的邋遢玷污了一切，甚至玷污了他们的好品质。 lxxxviii Let your Behaviour be Fine and Noble.
A great man ought not to be little in his behaviour. He ought never to pry too minutely into things, least of all in unpleasant matters. For though it is important to know all, it is not necessary to know all about all. One ought to act in such cases with the generosity of a gentleman, conduct worthy of a gallant man. To overlook forms a large part of the work of ruling. Most things must be left unnoticed among relatives and friends, and even among enemies. All superfluity is annoying, especially in things that annoy. To keep hovering around the object or your annoyance is a kind of mania. Generally speaking, every man behaves according to his heart and his understanding.
88．豪爽地对待别人
立志要高远。伟大的人从来不小气。当和别人交谈时，尤其当谈论的主题令人不快时，你无须兼顾各种细节。要注意一些事情，但要随意一点。把谈话变成琐碎的询问是不好的。要表现出一种彬彬有礼的、高贵的宽宏大量。那是一种风度，支配别人的一大要诀在于假装对事情漠不关心。要学会忽视发生在你的好友、熟人、特别是你的敌人中的大多数事情。过分的谨小慎微是令人不快的。如果这是你性格的一部分，你会非常令人讨厌。对不愉快的事情耿耿于怀等于是有神经病。要记住，人们通常按本性行事：与他们的心胸和能力有关。 lxxxix Know Yourself
--in talents and capacity, in judgment and inclination. You cannot master yourself unless you know yourself. There are mirrors for the face but none for the mind. Let careful thought about yourself serve as a substitute. When the outer image is forgotten, keep the inner one to improve and perfect. Learn the force of your intellect and capacity for affairs, test the force of your courage in order to apply it, and keep your foundations secure and your head clear for everything.
89．明察自我
明察你的性格、智慧、判断和情感。如果你不了解你自己，你就不能控制你自己。镜子可以用来照脸，但是，唯一可以用来观察自己的精神的是明智的自我反思。当你不再担心自己的外部形象时，试着去修正和改善内在形象。为了明智地处理事情，要精确地估计你的审慎和才智，判断一下你会怎样迎接挑战，测量一下你的深度和才智。
xc The Secret of Long Life
Lead a good life. Two things bring life speedily to an end: folly and immorality. Some lose their life because they have not the intelligence to keep it, others because they have not the will. Just as virtue is its own reward, so is vice its own punishment. He who lives a fast life runs through life in a double sense. A virtuous life never dies. The firmness of the soul is communicated to the body, and a good life is long not only in intention but also in extension.
90．活得久、过得好的艺术
有两件事导致生命过早结束：愚蠢和堕落。有些人因为不知道如何去挽救生命而丧生；另外一些人则是因为不想去挽救生命而丧生；正如美德是它自身的回报，邪恶是它自身的惩罚。在邪恶中度过一生的人，他的生命加倍地短暂；而行善的人则获得永生。精神的力量传给了肉体，美好的生活既有好意，也有延伸。 xci Never set to work at anything if you have any doubts of its Prudence.
A suspicion of failure in the mind of the doer is proof positive of it in that of the onlooker, especially if he is a rival. If in the heat of action your judgment feels scruples, it will afterwards in cool reflection condemn it as a piece of folly. Action is dangerous where prudence is in doubt: better leave such things alone. Wisdom does not trust to probabilities; it always marches in the mid-day light of reason. How can an enterprise succeed which the judgment condemns as soon as conceived? And if resolutions passed nem. con. by inner court often turn out unfortunately, what can we expect of those undertaken by a doubting reason and a vacillating judgment?
91．三思而后行
如果一个人在做某件事时预感到会失败，旁观者会很清楚地看到这一点；当旁观者是敌人时，他会看得更清楚。当你的判断在感情冲动中动摇时，冷静下来之后发现那愚蠢无比。当你在怀疑其是否明智时去承担一件事情是非常危险的。更安全的方法是什么也不干。审慎不会把宝押在可能性上，它始终在如日中大的理智控制之下；当某件事在酝酿时就遭到了审慎的谴责，它怎么可能会有一个好结局呢？即使是经过认真审查一致通过的决议也会出错，对于那些遭到理智的怀疑和非议的事，我们又能期望什么呢？ xcii Transcendant Wisdom.
I mean in everything. The first and highest rule of all deed and speech, the more necessary to be followed the higher and more numerous our posts, is: an ounce of wisdom is worth more than tons of cleverness. It is the only sure way, though it may not gain so much applause. The reputation of wisdom is the last triumph of fame. It is enough if you satisfy the wise, for their judgment is the touchstone of true success.
92．在任何情况下须具超凡智慧
这是言行举止的最高准则，你的职位越高，这条准则就越有必要。一盎司审慎抵得上一磅才智。稳步前进比赢得粗俗的喝采更为重要。审慎的声誉是你能赢得的最高赞誉。如果你使审慎的人感到满意，那就够了，他的赞同几乎就等于成功的试金石。 xciii Versatility.
A man of many excellences equals many men. By imparting his own enjoyment of life to his circle he enriches their life. Variety in excellences is the delight of life. It is a great art to profit by all that is good, and since Nature has made man in his highest development an abstract of herself, so let Art create in him a true microcosm by training his taste and intellect.
93．通才
各方面都很完美，他就能和许多人媲美，他令生活时时刻刻充满乐趣，并把欢乐传递给朋友们。多样化和完美使生活充满快乐。懂得如何爱恋美好的事物是一种艺术。既然自然使人成了整个自然世界的精华，就让艺术通过训练人的品味和智慧成为一个宇宙吧。 xciv Keep the extent of your Abilities unknown.
The wise man does not allow his knowledge and abilities to be sounded to the bottom, if he desires to be honoured by all. He allows you to know them but not to comprehend them. No one must know the extent of his abilities, lest he be disappointed. No one ever has an opportunity of fathoming him entirely. For guesses and doubts about the extent of his talents arouse more veneration than accurate knowledge of them, be they ever so great.
94．深不可测的天才
审慎的人如果想得到别人的尊敬的话，就不应该让别人看出他有多大的智慧和勇气。让别人知道你，但不要让他们了解你；没有人看得出你天才的极限，也就没有人感到失望。让别人猜测你的天才究竟有多大，甚至怀疑你的天才，比显示你的天才——无论你的天才多么伟大——更能让你赢得别人的崇拜。 xcv Keep Expectation alive.
Keep stirring it up. Let much promise more, and great deeds herald greater. Do not rest your whole fortune on a single cast of the die. It requires great skill to moderate your forces so as to keep expectation from being dissipated.
95．让期望永存
不断地培养他人对你的期望，让期望越来越多，让人们由于你的伟大业绩而盼望更伟大的业绩。不要一开始就展示你的全部所有。隐瞒你的力量和知识是你的诀窍，你要慢慢地向成功前进。 xcvi The highest Discretion.
It is the throne of reason, the foundation of prudence: by its means success is gained at little cost. It is a gift from above, and should be prayed for as the first and best quality. ’Tis the main piece of the panoply, and so important that its absence makes a man imperfect, whereas with other qualities it is merely a question of more or less. All the actions of life depend on its application; all require its assistance, for everything needs intelligence. Discretion consists in a natural tendency to the most rational course, combined with a liking for the surest.
96．好的判断力
好的判断力是理性的要素，谨慎的基石，有了它你才能轻松地获得成功。它是上天的恩赐，它是第一位的，也是最好的。出色的判断力是我们的甲胄，缺了它，人们会说我们脑袋不灵；没有它，我们会失去很多。我们生命中的一切行动都要靠它的指导和认可，因为一切都依赖于智力。它天生就倾向于一切最符合理性最得体的事情。 xcvii Obtain and preserve a Reputation.
It is the usufruct of fame. It is expensive to obtain a reputation, for it only attaches to distinguished abilities, which are as rare as mediocrities are common. Once obtained, it is easily preserved. It confers many an obligation, but it does more. When it is owing to elevated powers or lofty spheres of action, it rises to a kind of veneration and yields a sort of majesty. But it is only a well-founded reputation that lasts permanently.
97．成名并保持你的名声
我们喜欢名声，但是名声来之不易，因为它产生于卓越，而卓越是稀有的，正像平庸是很平常的一样，一旦获得它，就很容易保持。它要兑现许多承诺，它要做出许多的事迹。它若来自于高贵的出身和崇高的行为，则具一种威严气象。货真价实的名声是真正持久的名声。
xcviii Write your Intentions in Cypher.
The passions are the gates of the soul. The most practical knowledge consists in disguising them. He that plays with cards exposed runs a risk of losing the stakes. The reserve of caution should combat the curiosity of inquirers: adopt the policy of the cuttlefish. Do not even let your tastes be known, lest others utilise them either by running counter to them or by flattering them.
98．隐藏你的意图
激情是精神的大门。最实用的知识存在于掩饰之中。亮出自己牌的人可能会输掉。不要让别人的关注战胜你的谨慎和小心。当你的对手像山猫一样窥视你的思想时，你要像乌贼喷墨一样掩饰它，不要让任何人发现你的意图，不要让别人预见到它，也不要别人阻碍或夸耀你的意愿。 xcix Reality and Appearance.
Things pass for what they seem, not for what they are. Few see inside; many take to the outside. It is not enough to be right, if right seem false and ill.
99．真相与表象
世间的事物，其表象与真相往往不同。很少有人透过表象看真相，多半只满足于浮光掠影的表象。要做正人君子，而脸上又凶相毕露，岂能奏效！ c A Man without Illusions, a wise Christian, a philosophic Courtier.
Be all these, not merely seem to be them, still less affect to be them. Philosophy is nowadays discredited, but yet it was always the chiefest concern of the wise. The art of thinking has lost all its former repute. Seneca introduced it at Rome: it went to court for some time, but now it is considered out of place there. And yet the discovery of deceit was always thought the true nourishment of a thoughtful mind, the true delight of a virtuous soul.
100．不沉浸于幻觉和欺骗
不沉浸于幻觉和欺骗者是有德有智之君子，是高贵的哲学家。但不要只重表面，也不要炫耀你的美德。哲学已不受人尊敬，尽管它是追求智慧的主要方式。人们不再尊重关于谨慎的科学。塞内加把它引入罗马，一度曾使贵族们争相效仿，但现在人们觉得它毫无用处，令人讨厌。然而不虚伪是谨慎的主要因素，也是正直者的一桩快事。
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