雙語智慧書·緘默是才能的標志

179．緘默是才能的標志
　　緘默是才能的標志。沒有秘密的內(nèi)心如同一封打開的信一般。只要地基堅固，城府深，秘密就能藏得很深--你的心中要有足夠掩藏要事的地下室。緘默是自控的結(jié)果，在這方面實現(xiàn)自控才是真正的勝利。你把秘密告訴了誰，就要向誰交付贖金。安穩(wěn)處世的智慧在于內(nèi)心的節(jié)制。在他人盤問你之時，在他人用反駁的方法刺探你內(nèi)心秘密之時，在他人諷刺你之時，緘默便遇到了險情--為了化解這些危險，謹慎之人愈加緘默。不要事先講出必做之事，也不要一味地按照必說的去做。



179．Reticence is the seal of capacity
　Reticence is the seal of capacity. A breast without a secret is an open letter. Where there is a solid foundation secrets can be kept profound: there are spacious cellars where things of moment may be hid. Reticence springs from self-control, and to control oneself in this is a true triumph. You must pay ransom to each you tell. The security of wisdom consists in temperance in the inner man. The risk that reticence runs lies in the cross-questioning of others, in the use of contradiction to worm out secrets, in the darts of irony: to avoid these the prudent become more reticent than before. What must be done need not be said, and what must be said need not be done.