雙語智慧書·認(rèn)識你這個時代的偉人

203．認(rèn)識你這個時代的偉人
　　認(rèn)識你這個時代的偉人。偉人不多。世界上只有一只鳳凰，一個世紀(jì)才出一位杰出的將軍、一位完美的演說家、一位真正的哲人。幾百年才出一位真正偉大的君王。平庸之人不計其數(shù)，同時也無足輕重；各個領(lǐng)域的杰出者都鳳毛麟角，因?yàn)檫@需要完美無缺--所處層次越高，便越難卓爾不群。很多人想要像愷撒和亞歷山大一樣成為"大帝"，于是就自封頭銜，結(jié)果卻是白費(fèi)心機(jī)。若沒有偉大的功績，頭銜只不過是空氣。塞涅卡式的人物歷來不多，彪炳青史的也只有阿佩里斯(1)一人而已。


203．Know the great men of your age
　Know the great men of your age. They are not many. There is one Phonix in the whole world, one great general, one perfect orator, one true philosopher in a century, a really illustrious king in several. Mediocrities are as numerous as they are worthless; eminent greatness is rare in every respect, since it needs complete perfection, and the higher the species the more difficult is the highest rank in it. Many have claimed the title "Great," like Caesar and Alexander, but in vain, for without great deeds the title is a mere breath of air. There have been few Senecas, and fame records but one Apelles.
　　
(1) 公元前4世紀(jì)希臘人，曾任亞歷山大的宮廷畫家，在當(dāng)時很受歡迎，其畫像無一傳世。