約翰·洛克的教育思想(中英對照)-24: 智慧

WISDOM | Wisdom I take in the popular acceptation, for a man's managing his business ably and with foresight in this world. This is the product of a good natural temper, application of mind, and experience together, and so above the reach of children. The greatest thing that in them can be done towards it, is to hinder them, as much as may be, from being cunning; which, being the ape of wisdom, is the most distant from it that can be: and as an ape for the likeness it has to a man, wanting what really should make him so, is by so much the uglier; cunning is only the want of understanding, which because it cannot compass its ends by direct ways, would do it by a trick and circumvention; and the mischief of it is, a cunning trick helps but once, but hinders ever after. No cover was ever made so big or so fine as to hide it self; no body was ever so cunning as to conceal their being so: and when they are once discovered, every body is shy, every body distrustful of crafty men; and all the world forwardly join to oppose and defeat them; whilst the open, fair, wise man has every body to make way for him, and goes directly to his business. To accustom a child to have true notions of things, and not to be satisfied till he has them; to raise his mind to great and worthy thoughts, and to keep him at a distance from falsehood and cunning, which has always a broad mixture of falsehood in it; is the fittest preparation of a child for wisdom. The rest, which is to be learned from time, experience, and observation, and an acquaintance with men, their tempers and designs, is not to be expected in the ignorance and inadvertency of childhood, or the inconsiderate heat and unweariness of youth: all that can be done towards it, during this unripe age, is, as I have said, to accustom them to truth and sincerity; to a submission to reason; and as much as may be, to reflection on their own actions.

智慧 |  對於智慧我采用大眾化的解釋，就是一個人有能力與遠見來經營自己的事務。這是善良的天性，心智的努力與經驗結合的產物，不是小孩所能企及的。對此能做的最大事情是，盡可能地防止他們變狡猾；狡猾模仿智慧，卻離智慧最遠：就像一個猿猴外表近似於人，但缺乏人的實際，因此顯得更加醜陋；狡猾隻是缺乏悟性，不能直接達到目的，所以就用欺騙與規避去達成；它的危害在於，一個狡猾的伎倆能夠奏效一時，但以後卻永遠有所妨害。沒有任何掩飾能夠做得夠大或夠精細來隱藏自己；也沒有人能夠如此狡猾來隱瞞他們的狡猾：一旦他們被人察覺，人人都會避開他們，人人都不信任狡詐的人；全世界都聯合起來反對與擊敗他們；而一個坦率、公正、明智的人則有人人為他開路，他可以直接做成自己的事情。要讓小孩掌握事物的真實觀念，不達目的不罷休；讓他把心思放在偉大和有價值的事情上，使他遠離虛偽和摻雜大量謊言的狡猾；這是預備小孩獲取智慧的最合適的方法。而其餘的則要通過時間、經驗、觀察、以及對人的了解、對他們的脾性與企圖的了解來學到，不能期望無知粗心的小孩或輕率急躁的年輕人能夠獲得的。在這不成熟的年紀所能做的是，如我所說的，使他們習慣於真實與誠摯，服從理智，並且盡量反省他們自己的行為。

 

摘自Some Thoughts Concerning Education (English-Chinese Edition)(ISBN-10: 1537479857)