雙語智慧書·不與令自己黯然失色之人為伍

152．不與令自己黯然失色之人為伍
　　不與令自己黯然失色之人為伍。他越讓你黯然失色，你越不該與他為伍。他的品質(zhì)越出眾，他的名聲也就越出眾。他總是拉第一小提琴，你老是位居其后。即便你獲得些許報酬，也不過是他剩下的殘茶剩飯而已。明月獨掛天空能與群星爭輝；可太陽一出，它便黯然失色，甚至消失不見。所以，不要與令你黯然失色者為伴，而要與能令你增色的人為伍。馬歇爾(1)詩中有位聰明的法普拉，就是因此而顯得光彩照人的，因為她那些女仆都丑陋而又邋遢。但是，一個人不要以榮譽為代價以示對他人的尊敬，也不要被狐朋狗友拖入險境。創(chuàng)業(yè)之時，應(yīng)與才俊交往；成功之后，應(yīng)與凡人為伴。


152．Never have a companion who casts you in the shade
　Never have a companion who casts you in the shade. The more he does so, the less desirable a companion he is. The more he excels in quality the more in repute: he will always play first fiddle and you second. If you get any consideration, it is only his leavings. The moon shines bright alone among the stars; when the sun rises she becomes either invisible or imperceptible. Never join one that eclipses you, but rather one who sets you in a brighter light. By this means the cunning Fabula in Martial was able to appear beautiful and brilliant, owing to the ugliness and disorder of her companions. But one should as little imperil oneself by an evil companion as pay honour to another at the cost of one's own credit. When you are on the way to fortune associate with the eminent; when arrived, with the mediocre.
　　
(1) 西班牙裔古羅馬諷刺詩人。