Wisdom Book

Chapter 17

start well and end well

There are some who are always inconstant in their actions, whose thoughts are capricious and whose actions are not consistent.They can't get credit for success for being anticlimactic in what they do.For them, no matter what, it is over before it reaches the end.There are people who are known for being impatient and who are Spanish, and people who are famous for being patient and who are Belgian.The latter can bring things to a close, while the former always brings things to a close.They try their best to overcome difficulties, but they are only limited to satisfying the process of conquest, but they don't know how to persist in victory to the end.They've proven that they can do it, they just don't want to.This is a flaw that indicates that such people are either capricious or acting recklessly.If something is worth doing, it should be done, and if it's not worth doing, why decide to do it?The wise hunter is not content to drive the game out of its hiding place, but to capture it at last,

don't be too meek
The cunning of the viper should be reconciled with the frankness of the dove.Honest people are always the easiest to fool.People who never lie are always easy to trust others, and people who never cheat are always easy to be deceived by others.Being easily fooled doesn't mean you're stupid, it could just be because you're kind.There are two kinds of people who are good at foreseeing danger: those who pay the price themselves and learn from it, and those who see others being deceived and gain insight into the mystery of deception.You should be prudent in anticipating difficulties and shrewd in coming out of them.Don't be too kind-hearted, lest others seize the opportunity to do you wrong.It is not a genius, not a devil, to combine the characteristics of a snake and a dove into your body.

Let others owe you a debt of favor

Some people are good at converting favors into favors. When they really receive favors, they make themselves appear to be granting favors.Some people are very shrewd, obviously they want something from others, but they seem to give others face and let others feel a sense of honor.They do things in a very cunning way, and when someone gives them a gift, it seems that someone else is paying a debt.They are so clever that they completely invert the relationship between giving and receiving, or at least make it difficult to tell who is indebted to whom.They trade cheap compliments for the best.You can be flattered by expressing your love for something.They do so with humility, turning what should be their gratitude into your gratitude to them.Their sneaky swapping of concepts on the word "thank you", changing the active voice into the passive voice, shows that they are not grammarians, but politicians.This kind of method is indeed wonderful, but the more clever method is: see through it on the spot, prevent him from turning his back on the customer, let them really pay and you really benefit,

Then prove that you are the smarter person.

Can't always look at things with the eyes of ordinary people
Have unique and unique insights, so as to prove your talent.Don't think too highly of people who never criticize you, it shows that they only love themselves, not you.Instead of being deceived by flattery and paying for it, reject it.Take it as an honor to be criticized by others, especially those who always call "good" "bad."When you do something that pleases everyone, you should be miserable because it's a sign that you're not getting things right.We must know that only a very few people can achieve perfection.

Don't fulfill demands that others didn't ask for

Don't fulfill what people don't ask for, and even if someone asks, it is foolish to be too eager to satisfy him.Justifying yourself before anyone else asks a question will get you into a lot of trouble, just as bleeding when you are perfectly healthy is tantamount to reintroducing your own disease.Unexpected justifications awaken dormant doubts.Even when aware of doubts in others, wise men do not show them, or they are asking for trouble.It should be the best way to dispel other people's doubts with firm and honest behavior.

Seek more knowledge, life should be simple
In terms of seeking knowledge, you should not be afraid of too much, and in terms of life, you should be frugal.Some people take the opposite view.Ease and leisure are better than unsatisfactory work.Time is the only home for the helpless and homeless, and nothing but it.Nothing really belongs to us.The history of life is precious, and it would be equally foolish to waste it on mechanically rigid work, or on something too illusory.Don't be jealous of other people's leisure because you are tired from work, it will make your life messy and exhausting.Some people apply this principle to seeking knowledge, but you should understand that if you lack knowledge, he will not be able to live.

don't be different
Some people believe only the latest news they hear, and thus go to irrational extremes.Their reason and their desires are made of wax, which imprints upon everything and erases all traces of the past.This kind of heart is easy to win, but also easy to lose.Everyone colors them their own, and they're like some kid who never grows up to be your soulmate.Because of the inconsistency of their judgments and emotions, their mind and will, like a limp, lean now one way and now the other.

Don't start life at the end

Many people pursue pleasure when they are young, and then try to make progress when they are old, and they wear themselves out as a result.Life should not put the cart before the horse, do the most important thing first, and then spare time to deal with the incidental things.Some people just want to succeed but don't want to struggle.There are those who learn the unimportant knowledge, and save until the last the knowledge that will bring them fame.Some people become vain as soon as they acquire a little wealth.Whether seeking knowledge or living, the method is the most essential thing.

Know when to rebel and obey

When will you be obedient?It is when people attack us maliciously, some people like to turn everything upside down, when they say "yes", they are really saying "no", when they say "no", they are really saying "yes".When they want to rate something highly, they usually rate it nothing.Because they want to get certain things, they will desperately depreciate the value of these things in the eyes of others. Praise is not all good words. Some people will praise bad things because they don't want to praise good things.For those who say everything is good, everything is bad.

Good at using humanity
When manpower is used, it is assumed that divine power does not exist.When using divine power, human power is regarded as non-existent.The truth in it can only be figured out with heart and experience, and cannot be expressed concretely with words.

Life is not all for yourself, nor is it all for others
Living is not entirely for others, nor is it entirely for oneself.Both views are vulgar and arbitrary.If you only live for yourself, you will want to have everything for yourself.Such a person will give nothing, and will not let the easy life suffer in any way.They don't know what gratitude is and are always so sure of their luck that they develop a false sense of security.Sometimes you might as well consider others more, and the advantage is that others will consider you for you in the future.If you hold public office, you must be a good public servant.As an old woman said to Hadrian, take up the responsibility or give up the position.On the other hand, some people live entirely for others, which is a very stupid way to live.They don't have a day, or even an hour, to belong to themselves, so that they become the slaves of others. The same is true in seeking knowledge. Some people know everything about other people's affairs, but they don't know anything about their own affairs.A wise man knows that the reason why others ask him for advice is that he is their interest, and their interest lies in what you can do for them.

① Hadrian (76-138): Emperor of Rome, one of the "Five Sages of Rome",

don't express your thoughts too clearly

Most people have a problem: despising what they already know, and exalting what they don't know well.For an object to be valuable, it should be difficult to obtain, so that people value it highly.If you want people to think highly of you, keep them puzzled by your thoughts, and be smarter and more careful in your dealings with them than they expect.But enough should be done in this regard.Just stick to common sense when interacting with wise people, but for most people, you need to let them guess what you think, and don't give them the opportunity to criticize you.Many people do not know why they praise others. This is because they admire mysterious things, and when they hear others praise, they naturally start to praise.

Don't do it for the sake of minor misfortunes

Fortune and energy come together, misfortunes never come singly.Both good and bad will follow one after another, so don't be indifferent to small disasters.People always try to avoid misfortune, but to approach happiness.Even the simple white dove knows how to fly to the whitest loft.The unhappy man has nothing: he has lost himself, his reason, his luck.When misfortune is fast asleep, don't wake it up.A misfortune or two may be all right, but some deadly misfortune will follow.Happiness is never perfect, and misfortune never ends forever.We must be patient enough to face disasters from heaven, and we must deal with man-made disasters with a prudent attitude.

Don't be kind too much once, but often

Do not give favors too much, but do them often.Do good and do good, and don't make it impossible for others to reciprocate.Giving too much is not giving, but selling.It's not good to drain other people's gratitude, if other people are grateful but can't reciprocate, they will cut you off.With many people, if you give them too much favor for them to accept, you will lose them.Since they can't pay back, they will back down, even at the expense of becoming your enemy.A statue does not want to see the sculptor who shaped it, nor does the beneficiary want to see the benefactor.Giving others things that are not valuable but what they need is a clever way of showing favor, and it can make you more liked by more people.

(End of this chapter)