雙語智慧書·做人須八面玲瓏

77．做人須八面玲瓏
　　做人須八面玲瓏。要做一個言行謹(jǐn)慎的普羅特斯(1)。與學(xué)者交往，應(yīng)顯示自己的學(xué)識；在圣人面前，要顯得圣潔。這是博取他人支持的秘訣，因?yàn)楂@得眾人的好感就能贏得普遍的支持。留意人們的心情，調(diào)整自己，親切或者嚴(yán)肅，視情況而定。效仿他們，并盡量巧妙地掩飾你的變化。如你有求他人，這一個技巧就不可缺少。但是，這一處世技巧對人的聰明程度要求很高，只有博聞強(qiáng)識、靈活智巧的人才能運(yùn)用自如。


77．Be all things to all men
　Be all things to all men－a discreet Proteus, learned with the learned, saintly with the sainted. It is the great art to gain everyone's suffrages; their goodwill gains general agreement. Notice men's moods and adapt yourself to each, genial or serious as the case may be. Follow their lead, glossing over the changes as cunningly as possible. This is an indispensable art for dependent persons. But this savoir faire calls for great cleverness. He only will find no difficulty who has a universal genius in his knowledge and universal ingenuity in his wit.
　　
(1) 是希臘神話中的海神，他能任意改變自己的外形。