雙語智慧書·分辨善言者與善行者

166．分辨善言者與善行者
　　分辨善言者與善行者。此辨別力很重要，正如辨別朋友是看中你本身還是趨附你地位一樣--他們有天壤之別。有惡言而無惡行，便已很可惡；若說得好卻做得糟，則更讓人不齒。言語就像風(fēng)一樣，不能充饑；禮節(jié)也只是文雅的欺騙，同樣不能充饑。用鏡子反射光線可讓鳥兒眩暈，不過想借此捕鳥只是一個美妙的幻想。只有虛榮的人才會接受空話作為報(bào)酬。言語應(yīng)該成為實(shí)踐的保證書，要像當(dāng)票似的，具有市場價(jià)格。只長樹葉而不結(jié)果實(shí)的樹通常都沒有樹心--要認(rèn)清它們，除了遮陰，別無他用。


166．Distinguish the man of words from the man of deeds
　Distinguish the man of words from the man of deeds. Discrimination here is as important as in the case of friends, persons, and employments, which have all many varieties. Bad words even without bad deeds are bad enough; good words with bad deeds are worse. One cannot dine off words, which are wind, nor off politeness, which is but polite deceit. To catch birds with a mirror is the ideal snare. It is the vain alone who take their wages in windy words. Words should be the pledges of work, and, like pawn-tickets, have their market price. Trees that bear leaves but not fruit have usually no pith. Know them for what they are, of no use except for shade.