才能固然重要,機智更是不可或缺。
Talent is serious, sober, grave, and respectable: tact is all that, and more too.
天賦是莊重、嚴(yán)肅和受人尊敬的稟賦;機智則是兼而有之,有過之而無不及。
It is not a sixth sense, but it is the life of all the five.
它不是第六感覺,而是所有那五種感覺的生命。
It is the open eye, the quick ear, the judging taste, the keen smell, and the lively touch;
它是開闊的視覺,敏感的聽覺,分辨力強的味覺,敏銳的嗅覺和充滿活力的觸覺;
it is the interpreter of all riddles, the surmounter of all difficulties, the remover of all obstacles.
它能破解所有難解之謎,克服所有艱難困苦,移開眼前的所有障礙。
It is useful in all places, and at all times; it is useful in solitude, for it shows a man into the world;
不論何時何地,它都應(yīng)付裕如;孤獨時它像良師益友那樣,因為它能引導(dǎo)一個人入世;
it is useful in society, for it shows him his way through the world.
置身于社會之中也是如此,因為它能教會一個人處世之道。
Talent is power, tact is skill;
才能是一種力量,機智是一種技能。
talent is weight, tact is momentum; talent knows what to do, tact knows how to do it;
才能賦予一個人以影響力,而機智則令他充滿動力;才能能讓一個人知其然,而機智則讓他知其所以然。
talent makes a man respectable, tact will make him respected;
才能賦予一個人以尊嚴(yán),而機智則令其備受尊敬。
talent is wealth, tact is ready money.
才能是財富,而機智是到手的錢財。
For all the practical purposes, tact carries it against talent ten to one.
基于所有實用的目的,機智與才能相比猶如大海之于小溪。
Take them to the theater, and put them against each other on the stage,
以劇場為例,讓兩者在舞臺上一較高下,
and talent shall produce you a tragedy that shall scarcely live long enough to be condemned,
才能產(chǎn)生不會長久讓你陷于悲慘境地的悲劇感,
while tact keeps the house in a roar, night after night, with its successful farces.
而機智則憑借精湛的笑劇本領(lǐng)會讓整幢房子陷入狂歡,一夜復(fù)一夜。