Chapter 4 Proverbs 21~40

twenty one.The path to success Good luck has its own rules, and for a wise man, everything depends on chance.Luck works with the help of effort.Some people approach the gate of fate with confidence, waiting for good luck to come.Some people are more flexible, they are prudent and bold, striding into the door of destiny.Relying on the wings of virtue and courage, they deal with luck with extraordinary courage, and finally they can seize the opportunity and get their wish.But the true philosopher has but one plan of action: virtue and prudence, for good fortune and bad fortune often depend on our prudence or recklessness.

twenty two.be well informed A well-thought-out person is often full of economics and liberal learning: not trivial talk, but practical knowledge.Once they speak, they are full of wit and wit; once they act, they are as bold as a rainbow.Words and deeds must always be timely.Advice can sometimes be made more effective by being humorous and joking than by serious instruction.For some people, the casual wisdom conveyed in small talk is slightly better than the elegant seven arts. twenty three.White walls and slight blemishes can be concealed All men in the world have some moral blemish or defect of character which they leave unaltered, though they could easily overcome it.Prudent people can't help but lament when they see a rare genius often suffer from a small defect: a cloud covers the whole sun.Flaws are like moles on the face, and the most malicious people are the best at noticing them.It takes great skill to make this mole a beauty spot, as Caesar used to cover his flaws with laurels.

①Caesar covered up his baldness with a wreath of laurels. twenty four.limit your imagination With the imagination you must sometimes constrain it and sometimes inspire it.All happiness and joy depends on the imagination, so it should be controlled very wisely.Sometimes the imagination is like a tyrant, not content with brooding, but bursts into action, and dominates your life, making it pleasant or unpleasant, making you melancholic or overly self-satisfied.For some, imagination brings nothing but sorrow, because it always haunts fools.For others, imagination promises bliss and adventure, pleasure and lucrative lure.The imagination can do anything if we don't restrain it with prudence and common sense.

25．Observing the details and knowing the work has its own way Knowing how to reason was once considered the pinnacle of all arts.But reasoning with light is not enough now, we must also have the ability to see foreknowledge, especially in matters where we are easily deceived.You can only be wise if you learn to notice the small things.Some people are very good at prying into other people's hearts, and they have a clear understanding of other people's intentions.Prudent people, though they know very well about our most important inside information, always say to keep half and half.Therefore, you would rather believe in nothing that seems beneficial to you; you would rather believe in something that seems unfavorable to you.

26．Look for weaknesses in others as an excuse If you want to seduce others, you have your own skills, but determination alone will not do.So you must know how to read into the hearts of others.Everyone will have their own special favorites according to their own tastes.Everyone has idols to worship.Some people have the same name, some people value money, and most people like to have fun.The trick here is to figure out which idolized thing can attract which kind of people, which is equivalent to getting the key to open the door of other people's desire.It is this "momentum" that you're looking for, and it doesn't always have to be something noble or important.Rather: usually it is something base, for there are always more rebels than conformists in the world.You have to weigh his character traits first, and then test his weaknesses.As long as you tempt him with his favorite things, he will definitely be hooked.

27．It's better to be good than to be rich Perfection is about quality, not quantity.The good things in the world are often small and hard to find, and too much will be shameless.The same is true of men: great men are often dwarfs.Some people praise books simply because they are huge tomes, as if they were written not to exercise our minds but to exercise our arms.If you only rely on broad knowledge, you will inevitably become a mediocre person. There are so-called generalists who always want to be good at all aspects of their studies, but they often end up being poor in all aspects of their studies.If you specialize in your studies, you will bear fruit; if you engage in important affairs, you will gain a good reputation.

28．Everything needs to be refined Of course, the taste must be refined.Those who do not wish to be kitsch are very wise.Careful people are never easily captured by secular applause.Some people are so vain that they are like chameleons that depend on people’s breath, willing to swallow the turbid air exhaled by everyone, but they are unwilling to patronize the gentle breeze of Apollo.Don't have a herd mentality in terms of knowledge.There is no need to dwell on the wonders of the mediocrity: they are nothing but low-brow stuff.Most of the things that the common people worship are popular stupid things, and they don't pay much attention to the vision of high truth.

29．be upright Be steadfast in the company of reason, and never be led astray by passion or fear.But where can we find such an upright Phoenix-like figure?There are few things above uncompromising integrity.Everyone praises this virtue, but few practice it.Even if some people put it into practice, they retreat when there is a crisis.In times of crisis, hypocrites discard it, and politicians cunningly remake it.Integrity is a virtue that is not afraid of losing friendships, power, or even its own interests, so many people would rather not have it.The so-called smart people speak plausibly, confuse the public, and talk about "thinking about the overall situation", "thinking about safety" and so on, while the truly honest and honest people always regard deception as a kind of treachery and are willing to do it. The upright and upright people don't want to be the so-called smart people, so they always stand with the truth.If he disagrees with others, it is not because he is capricious, but because others have abandoned the truth.

30．don't do things that hurt your reputation Do not engage in things that will injure your reputation, let alone those fanciful things that bring contempt instead of reputation.The manifestations of willfulness are many and varied, and none of them should be present to a sane man.There are people who have all kinds of tastes and are open to everything that a sensible man rejects.Any kind of eccentricity they take pleasure in, though it makes them known, is more often a laughingstock than a compliment.Even in the pursuit of wisdom, prudent minds should avoid affectation and publicity, especially where they tend to appear comical.There is no need to enumerate such cases one by one. So far, many common examples of ridicule are sufficient to illustrate the problem.

31．Know the lucky to make friends; know the unlucky to break "Bad luck is usually beckoned by stupidity, and for those unlucky it's especially easy to have a chain reaction. So you can't open the door even to lesser evils, because there are more great evils lurking outside. The trick here is to know What cards to throw away. The smallest card in the winner's hand sitting before you is much more important than the best card in the loser's hand. If in doubt, it's best to associate with wise and prudent people, Sooner or later these people will get lucky. 32．let everyone know you are empathetic

This is especially important if you are someone else's boss.With it, the monarch can easily gain the favor of everyone.One advantage of being a master is that it is easier than any other person to do good.The so-called friends are nothing more than those who can help you do things.Some people just deliberately don't want to please others, not because it is troublesome to please others, but because such people have a bad temper and are stubborn.In everything, they have to contradict the norms of communication shared by humans and gods. 33．know when to say no to something One of the greatest lessons in life is to know how to say no, the most important of which is refusing to do something for yourself or to do something for someone else.Some activities are not so important that they waste precious time.And the worse thing is to be busy with trivial things, which is worse than doing nothing.To be truly discreet, it is not enough to meddle in other people's business, you also have to keep others from meddling in yours.Don't have a strong sense of belonging to others, otherwise you will not belong to yourself.You don't abuse friendship, and you don't ask friends for things they don't want to give.Too much is bad, especially when dealing with other people.As long as you can achieve moderation and restraint, you will always be favored and respected by others.It is precious to be able to be reasonable, and it will benefit you forever.Be free and passionate about the best, and never spoil your own good taste. 34．To know your strengths To understand your strengths and talents, cultivate it and then develop other strengths.If all people knew exactly what they were good at, then they could all achieve excellence in something.First figure out what kind of talent you have, and then do your best to develop it.Some people are discerning and decisive, and some people are courageous.Most people use their talents blindly and get nowhere in anything.They were blinded and flattered by their enthusiasm, and when the truth came out in the future, it was too late. 35．When things happen, we must carefully weigh and consider Be especially thoughtful about important matters.The reason why fools fail is because of lack of thinking.They are always half-baked at thinking about things, seeing neither their advantages nor their disadvantages, and so they are always unwilling to take pains to do them.Some people put the cart before the horse when they think about it, they are indifferent to the big things that they should pay attention to, but they are in a hurry about the trivial things that shouldn't be paid attention to.There are many people who will never lose their minds, because they have no minds to lose their minds.There are some things we have to think about carefully and keep in mind.A wise person examines everything in detail, especially esoteric or suspicious matters, and sometimes can see through the phenomenon to its essence.Their thinking is more human than ordinary thinking. 36．Be aware of your own fortune In order to act, but also to devote oneself wholeheartedly, one must have a certain grasp of one's own fortunes.This is more important than figuring out your temper and knowing your physical traits.It is foolish to seek health from Hippocrates, the physician, at the age of forty; it is even more foolish to seek wisdom from Seneca.It takes great skill to control Fortune, and although you will never understand her erratic behavior, you can wait for it to turn, because sometimes Fortune likes to slow down; You are quite friendly.If she has a soft spot for you, you must go boldly, for she often loves the bold; she sometimes loves the young like a showy woman.If you're out of luck, hold off.Step back and introspect, so as not to be overturned by the car behind.If you've got her under control, you've won your first big victory. 37．Be good at listening to the undertones and make good use of them This is the most subtle thing about dealing with people.This technique can be used to test other people's wit and spy on other people's minds.There's an insinuation of viciousness, sloppiness, jealousy that runs the gamut, the poison of passion implied, the invisible thunderbolt that can ruin you.Some people are destroyed only because of a vicious insinuation.Those who are good at wielding power have no fear of the intrigue of many and the malice of one.Another kind of favorable insinuation does the opposite and adds to our popularity.But since these flying ghosts have bad intentions when they fly towards us, of course we have to deal with them cautiously when the darts come, and take precautions patiently when there are no darts.It is better to be prepared and know yourself and your enemy.If we first have the heart of defense, we will be able to defuse the blow at any time when it comes. 38．Retire after success All good gamblers do this.A good retreat is just as clever as a good advance.Once you've had enough success -- and even more to come -- it's time to call it quits.A flurry of good fortune is always suspicious.It is safer to have good luck mixed with bad luck, which can also make people enjoy bittersweet pleasure.When luck strikes too hard and too fast, it is likely to fall over and knock everything apart.Lady Luck sometimes compensates us, trading continuity for our nervousness.If she had to carry someone on her back for a long time, she would get tired. 39．To know when things have peaked or matured and how to take advantage of them Everything in nature develops to perfection.As long as they have not reached the state of perfection, they will continue to be replenished; and once the state of perfection has been achieved, they will gradually decline.As for the work of man, there is no one who can reach perfection.People with good taste know how to appreciate everything that is perfect.Appreciation is something that not everyone knows; even if it is a little bit, not everyone can understand the samadhi.Even the fruit of the understanding has this highest degree of maturity, but you have to take the time to value it and use it. 40．Be virtuous in dealing with people To gain universal respect is a great thing, but to gain kindness is much more important.To achieve these goals, on the one hand, it depends on luck, but more importantly, it depends on hard work.The beginning of a career may depend on luck, but if you want to succeed, you must rely on hard work.People often think that as long as you have a reputation, you can easily gain people's favor, but in fact, talent alone is not enough.Whether you have a good heart depends on whether you have good deeds.Do all good deeds: good words and good deeds.If you want others to love yourself, you must first love others.One of the ways great men attract crowds is through etiquette.Actions come before words.Disarm the armor first, and write later, because literati and scholars also talk about morality, and this kind of morality will never die.