做人须八面玲珑。要做一个言行谨慎的普罗特斯(1)。与学者交往，应显示自己的学识；在圣人面前，要显得圣洁。这是博取他人支持的秘诀，因为获得众人的好感就能赢得普遍的支持。留意人们的心情，调整自己，亲切或者严肃，视情况而定。效仿他们，并尽量巧妙地掩饰你的变化。如你有求他人，这一个技巧就不可缺少。但是，这一处世技巧对人的聪明程度要求很高，只有博闻强识、灵活智巧的人才能运用自如。
be all things to all men－a discreet proteus, learned with the learned, saintly with the sainted. it is the great art to gain everyone's suffrages; their goodwill gains general agreement. notice men's moods and adapt yourself to each, genial or serious as the case may be. follow their lead, glossing over the changes as cunningly as possible. this is an indispensable art for dependent persons. but this savoir faire calls for great cleverness. he only will find no difficulty who has a universal genius in his knowledge and universal ingenuity in his wit.
(1) 是希腊神话中的海神，他能任意改变自己的外形。
