雙語智慧書·當對手先站在正確的一方時，你不能固執(zhí)地站在錯誤的一方

142．當對手先站在正確的一方時，你不能固執(zhí)地站在錯誤的一方
　　當對手先站在正確的一方時，你不能倔強地站在錯誤的一方。否則，你會不戰(zhàn)而敗，含辱而退。武器不好就不能取勝。對手搶先奪取較為有利的一方，是他的狡猾；若你跟著固守在最糟糕的一方，就很愚蠢了。行動上表現(xiàn)出的倔強比言語上表現(xiàn)出的執(zhí)拗更危險，因為行動比言語冒更多風險。倔強的人好反駁而失理，好爭吵而無益，這是他們常犯的錯誤。明智之人從不沖動，他們信奉正途，不管是自己早就發(fā)現(xiàn)，抑或是后來才加以修正。如你的對手是個蠢蛋，在此情況下，他就會轉(zhuǎn)身踏上相反的錯誤道路。那么，要把敵人趕出好路，你只需自己占領就行--敵人的愚蠢會讓他拋棄正確的路線，令其因倔強而招致懲罰。



142．Never from obstinacy take the wrong side because your opponent has anticipated you in taking the right one
　Never from obstinacy take the wrong side because your opponent has anticipated you in taking the right one. You begin the fight already beaten and must soon take to flight in disgrace. With bad weapons one can never win. It was astute in the opponent to seize the better side first, it would be folly to come lagging after with the worst. Such obstinacy is more dangerous in actions than in words, for action encounters more risk than talk. It is the common failing of the obstinate that they lose the true by contradicting it, and the useful by quarrelling with it. The sage never places himself on the side of passion, but espouses the cause of right, either discovering it first or improving it later. If the enemy is a fool, he will in such a case turn round to follow the opposite and worse way. Thus the only way to drive him from the better course is to take it yourself, for his folly will cause him to desert it, and his obstinacy be punished for so doing.