培根论自私 英文

【#文档大全网# 导语】以下是®文档大全网的小编为您整理的《培根论自私 英文》，欢迎阅读！

培根论自私的聪明 英文

OF WISDOM FOR A MAN’S SELF OF WISDOM FOR A MAN’S SELF

An ant is a wise creature for itself; but it is a shrewd thing in an orchard or garden. And certainly, men that are great lovers of themselves waste the public. Divide with reason between self-love and society; and be so true to yourself as you are not false to others; specially to your king and country.

It is a poor centre of a man’s actions, himself. It is right earth. For that only stands fast upon his own centre; whereas all things that have affinity with the heavens move upon the centre of another

The referring of all to a man’s self is more tolerable in a sovereign prince; because themselves are not only themselves, but their good and evil is at the peril of the public fortune. But it is a desperate evil in a servant to a prince or a citizen in a republic. For whatsoever affairs pass such a man’s hands, he crooks them to his own ends: which must be often eccentric to the ends of his master or state. Therefore let princes or states choose such servants as have not this mark; except they mean their service should be made but the accessaory. What makes the effect more pernicious is that all proportion is lost. It were disproportion enough, for the servant’s good to be preferred before the master’s; but yet it is a greater extreme when a little good of the servant shall carry things against a great good of the master’s. And yet that is the case of bad officers, treasurers, ambassadors, generals, and other false and corrupt servants; which set a bias upon their bowl of their own petty ends and envies to the overthrow of their master’s great and important affairs. And for the most part the good such servants receive is after the model of their own fortune; but the hurt they sell for that good is after the model of their master’s fortune.

And certainly, it is the nature of extreme self-lovers as they will set an house on fire, and it were but to roast their eggs; and yet these men many times hold credit with their masters, because their study is but to please them and profit themselves; and for either respect, they will abandon the good of their affairs.

Wisdom of a man’s self is in many branches thereof a deprived thing. It is the wisdom of rats that will be sure to leave a house somewhat before it falls. It is the wisdom of the fox that thrusts out the badger who digged and made room for him. It is the wisdom of crocodiles that shed tears when they would devour. But what is specially to be noted is that those which (as Cicero says of Pompey) are sui amantes sine rivali are many times unfortunate. And whereas they have all their time sacrified to themselves they become in the end themselves sacrifices to inconstancy of fortune whose wings they


thought, by their self-wisdom, to have pinioned.

注1：波兰天文学家哥白尼约于1536年、即33岁时撰写了《天体运行论》，建立了太阳中心论，用“地动说”否定了在西方统治一千多年的地心说，使自然科学从神学中解放出来，但因此被教会烧死。

An ant is a wise creature for itself; but it is a shrewd thing, in an orchard, or garden. And certainly, men that are great lovers of themselves, waste the public.

Divide with reason between self-love, and society: and be so true to thy self, as thou be not false to others; specially to thy king, and country. It is a poor centre of a man\'s actions, himself.

It is right earth. For that only stands fast upon his own centre; whereas all things that have affinity with the heavens, move upon the centre of another, which they benefit. The referring of all to a man\'s self, is more tolerable in a sovereign prince; because themselves are not only themselves; but their good and evil, is at the peril

of the public fortune. But it is a desperate evil in a servant to a prince, or a citizen in a republic.

For whatsoever affairs pass such a man\'s hands, he crooketh them to

his own ends: which must needs be often eccentric to the ends of his master, or state. Therefore let princes, or states, choose such servants as have not this mark; except they mean their service should be made but the accessory. That which maketh the effect more pernicious, is that all proportion is lost It were disproportion enough, for the servant\'s good to be preferred before the master\'s; but yet it is a greater extreme, when a little good of the servant shall cany things against a great good of the master\'s.

And yet that is the case of bad officers, treasurers, ambassadors, generals, and other false and corrupt servants; which set a bias upon their bowl, of their own petty ends, and envies, to the overthrow of their master\'s great and important affairs. And for the most part, the good such servants receive is after the model of their own fortune;

but the hurt they sell for mat good is after the model of their master\'s fortune.

And certainly, it is the nature of extreme self-lovers; as they will set an house on fire, and it were but to roast their eggs: and yet these men, many times, hold credit with their masters, because their study is but to please them, and profit themselves: and for either respect, they will abandon the good of their affairs.

Wisdom for a man\'s self, is in many branches thereof, a depraved thing. It is the wisdom of rats, that will be sure to leave a house, somewhat before it fall. It is the wisdom of the fox, that thrusts out the badger, who digged and made room for him.

It is the wisdom of crocodiles, that shed tears, when they would devour. But that which is specially to be noted is that those which (as Cicero says of Pompey) are sui amantes sine rivali, are many times unfortunate. And whereas they have all their time sacrificed to themselves, they become in the end themselves sacrifices to the

inconstancy of fortune; whose wings they thought, by their self-wisdom, to have pinioned.

本文来源：https://www.wddqxz.cn/fb83c9050740be1e650e9a8f.html