雙語智慧書·活著并非全為自己，也不是全為他人

252．活著并非全為自己，也不是全為他人
　　活著并非全為自己，也不是全為他人。這兩種說法都專制得不可取。如果只為自己而活，就會想占有所有的東西。這種人不愿作出絲毫讓步，也不想損失一點點舒適。他們極少感恩，只靠自己的運(yùn)氣，但他們的支柱往往會倒塌。有時，應(yīng)該考慮一下別人，以便日后別人也考慮你。擔(dān)公職之人就應(yīng)做公仆，要么放棄職位不干，要么勇挑重?fù)?dān)--一位老嫗曾這樣對哈德良(1)說過。相反，有些人完全為別人而活，這很愚蠢，愚蠢常常走極端。沒有哪天、哪個鐘點屬于他們自己。他們始終為別人而活，簡直成了所有人的奴隸。甚至在求知方面，也是如此。有的人對別人的事情無所不知，對自己的事情卻一無所知。你若精明，就應(yīng)明白：別人找你并非要找你這個人，而是為了在你身上找到好處，或是通過你找到好處。


252．Neither belong entirely to yourself nor entirely to others
　Neither belong entirely to yourself nor entirely to others. Both are mean forms of tyranny. To desire to be all for oneself is the same as desiring to have all for oneself. Such persons will not yield a jot or lose a tittle of their comfort. They are rarely beholden, lean on their own luck, and their crutch generally breaks. It is convenient at times to belong to others, so that others may belong to us. And he that holds public office is no more nor less than a public slave, or let a man give up both berth and burden, as the old woman said to Hadrian. On the other hand, others are all for others, which is folly, that always flies to extremes, in this case in a most unfortunate manner. No day, no hour, is their own, but they have so much too much of others that they may be called the slaves of all. This applies even to knowledge, where a man may know everything for others and nothing for himself. A shrewd man knows that others, when they seek him, do not seek him, but their advantage in him and by him.
　　
(1) 羅馬皇帝（117-138在位），"羅馬五賢君"之一。據(jù)說，曾有一老婦人向哈德良申訴某事，皇帝說沒有時間處理，老婦人于是說："那么你就別占著位子。"哈德良覺得婦人說得有理，當(dāng)場審結(jié)了那個案子。