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塞内卡:塞内卡道德书简·摘录 50

塞内卡《塞内卡道德书简》· Seneca's Morals · 健康 · 认知 · 历史 · 哲学

Xerxes, (a vain and a foolish prince) when he made war upon Greece, one told him, “It would never come to a battle”;another, “That he would find only empty cities and countries, for they would not so much as stand the very fame of his coming;” others soothed him in the opinion of his _prodigious numbers_; and they all concurred to puff him up to his destruction; only Damaratus advised him not to depend too much upon his numbers, for he would rather find them a burden to him than an advantage: and that three hundred men in the straits of the mountains would be sufficient to give a check to his whole army; and that such an accident would undoubtedly turn his vast numbers to his confusion. It fell out afterward as he foretold, and he had thanks for his fidelity. A miserable prince, that among so many thousand subjects had but one servant to tell him the truth!

出处: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56075
定位:Excerpt 50 · 核对日期:2026-10-19 · 核验:短摘录

白话

塞涅卡讲薛西斯一世攻打希腊时,身边人要么说不会真打,要么说希腊城市会空,要么夸他人多势众,都在捧他。只有达马拉图斯劝他别迷信人数,人多反成负担,三百人守山口就能挡住大军。后来果然应验,达马拉图斯因说真话被感谢。塞涅卡感叹:一个君主有成千上万臣民,却只有一个仆人敢说真话,实在可悲。核心是:掌权者最缺的不是赞美,而是敢讲逆耳忠言的人。因为奉承让人膨胀,真话才让人清醒。做法是主动寻找并保护敢说真话的人,别让身边只剩附和。

上下文

塞涅卡是古罗马斯多葛派哲学家,曾任尼禄的老师。这段出自他的道德随笔,借希波战争典故谈君主与真话。

健康板块的原文与白话解读仅供阅读学习,不构成医疗建议。

今日一问

你身边有没有一个敢对你说真话的人?你最近一次听进逆耳忠言是什么时候?

公版作品;原文逐字取自 Project Gutenberg,仅摘录段落并附全书链接。

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