雙語智慧書·只和可敬之人交往

116．只和可敬之人交往
　　只和可敬之人交往。你能信任他們，他們也會信任你。他們的名聲是其行為的最好保證，哪怕是有誤會，也不會例外，因為他們總是言如其心、行如其人。所以，寧可與高尚之人爭高下，也別與卑鄙之人爭輸贏。和墮落之人打交道很難，因為他們沒有東西可做正直的抵押--和他們不可能建立真正的友情，和他們簽訂的協(xié)議也沒有約束力（無論這種協(xié)議看上去多么嚴格），因為他們沒有榮譽感。不要和沒有榮譽感的人產生任何關系--榮譽無法約束他們，因此也不能要求他們有德行，因為榮譽是人格的寶座。


116．Only act with honourable men
　Only act with honourable men. You can trust them and they you. Their honour is the best surety of their behaviour even in misunderstandings, for they always act according to what they are. Hence it is better to have a dispute with honourable people than to have a victory over dishonourable ones. You cannot treat with the ruined, for they have no hostages for rectitude. With them there is no true friendship, and their agreements are not binding, however stringent they may appear, because they have no feeling of honour. Never have anything to do with such men, for if honour does not restrain them, virtue will not, since honour is the throne of rectitude.