137.圣人自足

137.圣人自足

圣人自足。曾有一圣人(1),其随身所负即为其所有。如果一位博古通今的朋友(2)能够代表罗马和其他世界,那么,就让人成为他自己的这种朋友,那样,他就能独自生存。假如其他人的聪明、品味尚不及你,你还需要谁呢?依靠自己就足够——这是最大的快乐,像上帝一样自在。能够独自生存的人绝不是野蛮人,反而像一位圣人,更像一位神仙。

137.The sage should be self-sufficing

The sage should be self-sufficing. He that was all in all to himself carried all with him when he carried himself. If a universal friend can represent to us Rome and the rest of the world, let a man be his own universal friend, and then he is in a position to live alone. Whom could such a man want if there is no clearer intellect or finer taste than his own? He would then depend on himself alone, which is the highest happiness and like the Supreme Being. He that can live alone resembles the brute beast in nothing, the sage in much and God in everything.

(1) 指古希腊麦格拉的哲学家斯提朋,他在一场火灾中失去了妻儿和全部财产。他从废墟中站起来说:“我的财富还在身上。”

(2) 指古罗马军事家、执政官老加图(前234—前149)。