对做某事审慎与否有疑虑，就别着手去做。行事之人只担心失败，旁观者却已确认失败，尤其当旁观者为你的对手时。如果你的判断在当初冲动的情绪中已摇摆不定，那么待稍后冷静思考后，你会责备自己，那样做无比愚蠢。如果你对行事是否慎重还有所怀疑时就开始行动，那将是十分危险的，最好把它放到一边去。明智之人不会依赖“可能”，他们始终在高度的理智控制下前进。当一件事在萌芽之时就遭到了判断力的质疑，那么，它怎么能成功呢？经内心法庭一致通过的决议还常常没有好结局，我们又怎么能指望怀有疑感的理智和摇摆不定的判断所办的事情呢？
never set to work at anything if you have any doubts of its prudence. a suspicion of failure in the mind of the doer is proof positive of it in that of the onlooker, especially if he is a rival. if in the heat of action your judgment feels scruples, it will afterwards in cool reflection be condemned as a piece of folly. action is dangerous where prudence is in doubt: better leave such things alone. wisdom does not trust to probabilities; it always marches in the midday light of reason. how can an enterprise succeed which the judgment condemns as soon as conceived? and if resolutions passed nem. con. by inner court often turn out unfortunately, what can we expect of those undertaken by a doubting reason and a vacillating judgment?
