论欲望与名声
欲望是行动的泉源，名声是行动的果实。人天生有食欲与情欲，这是自然的；而雄心与名利，则是后天灌输的。欲望系于事物本身——食物、财富、爱情、权力。名声却系于他人眼中的评价，不过一阵虚风。
智者历来明白，欲望更近于自然，声名更近于虚荣。然而无度的欲望腐蚀身体，无制的名声腐蚀灵魂。因沉溺于欲望者，成为命运的仆役；沉溺于名声者，则是流言的奴隶。一个被必然锁住，一个被喧嚣缠绕。
与其熄灭欲望，不如引导它。灭尽炉火，室内必然寒冷；唯有让火守于炉内，才能温暖自身与家人。欲望亦然：受理性节制时，它赋予生命活力；被彻底驱逐时，人只成了无息无动的石像。
名声却是另一类事物。它像影子随身，影子的高低长短因时辰而随时变化。追逐影子者只会徒劳无功，终归一无所获。莫若径直前行，让影子随它而去。声誉往往在不刻意追逐时，反而更能成熟。
衡量一个人的标准，不在名声传得多远，而在行为是否公正。因为名声如号角，既能传真，也能播假；而世人往往更信喧嚣，而非审判。真正有德者，不在于求被人知，而在于值得被人知。
因此，让欲望受理性支配，让名声交给时间。追求美德者，既能在欲望中得节制，也能在名生之外得荣誉。因为欲望随人而灭，而美德恒久长存；名声无论真假，不过是美德的流言。
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Of Desire and Fame
Desire is the spring of action; fame is only its echo. People are born with appetites, which are natural, and with ambitions, which are taught. Desire attaches to the thing itself—food, wealth, love, power. Fame attaches to the opinion of others, which is only air.
The wise have always known that desire belongs more to nature, and fame more to vanity. Yet unchecked desire corrupts the body, and unchecked fame corrupts the soul. For the one who lives by desire is a servant to fortune, and the one who lives by fame is a servant to rumor. One is chained by necessity, the other by noise.
It is better to direct desire than to destroy it. For whoever would put out every fire leaves the house cold. But whoever keeps it to the hearth warms both himself and his household. So too with desire: when ruled by reason, it gives energy to life; without it, people become statues, without breath or enterprise.
Fame is of another kind. It is a shadow following the body, which constantly changes in its length with the time in a day. Those who chase their own shadow only tire themselves, and catch nothing. Better to walk forward, and let the shadow fall as it will. Reputation ripens best when it is least pursued.
The true measure of a person is not how far their name travels, but how justly their actions can be weighed. For fame is a trumpet that sounds both truth and falsehood, and the world listens more to noise than to judgment. The virtuous aim not to be known, but to be worthy of being known.
Therefore, let desire be ruled by reason, and let fame be left to time. Whoever seeks virtue will find both moderation in desire and honor beyond fame. For desire dies with the person, but virtue endures; and fame, whether true or false, is only the rumor of virtue.
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