双语智慧书·要明白平庸者无处不在

206．要明白平庸者无处不在
　　要明白平庸者无处不在。哪怕是在科林斯(1)，在最显赫的家族，也不例外。每个人都可在自家门内进行验证。出身显赫的庸俗之人更糟糕，这种人有着所有庸俗之人的特点，就像一块玻璃碎片有整块玻璃碎片的特点一样，只不过是更有伤害性而已。他们说话不经过大脑，还经常无知地谴责别人。他们是无知之徒、愚蠢的主顾、造谣的老手。你不必理会他们的话，也不用顾及他们的想法。重要的是：认识粗俗就是为了远离它们，不管是主观的还是客观的。所有愚蠢都是粗俗，而粗俗之众又都由蠢人组成。


206．Know that there are vulgar people everywhere
　Know that there are vulgar people everywhere, even in Corinth itself, even in the highest families. Every one may try the experiment within his own gates. But there is also such a thing as vulgar opposition to vulgarity, which is worse. This special kind shares all the qualities of the common kind, just as bits of a broken glass: but this kind is still more pernicious; it speaks for blames impertinently, is a disciple of ignorance, a patron of folly, and past master of scandal. You need not notice what it says, still less what it thinks. It is important to know vulgarity in order to avoid it, whether it is subjective or objective. For all folly is vulgarity, and the vulgar consist of fools.
　　
(1) 指科林斯湾内伯罗奔尼撒半岛东北希腊南部的一个城市，在公元前7和6世纪是一个富裕的海上强国，以文化和教育扬名。