Avoid victories over superiors. All victories breed hate, and that over your superior is foolish or fatal. Superiority is always detested, let alone superiority over common advantages; for example, good looks may be cloaked by careless attire. There are some that will grant you precedence in good sense, least of all a prince; for good sense is a royal prerogative, any claim of superiority in that is a crime against majesty. They will allow a man to help them but not to surpass them, and will have any advice tendered them appear like a recollection of something they have forgotten rather than as a guide to something they cannot find. The stars teach us this finesse with happy tact: though they are his children and brilliant like him, they never rival the brilliancy of the sun.

不要比上司更耀眼。所有的成功都会引起嫉恨，若超过上司，更是愚蠢，甚至是致命的。优越者总是引起他人的憎恨，更别说超过位高权重之人。人要善于将自己的优势深藏不露。举个例子，姣好的面容可以用不经意的装束来遮掩。也许有人不在乎你有好的运气或是温良的秉性，但是没人会乐意——尤其是君主——你在判断力上超过他，因为优秀的判断力是王者特有的能力，你一定要  ，便是对其不敬。身为君主，自然希望在判断力这一最高贵之特质上远胜一筹。他们可以允许旁人辅佐，却不允许有人超越；要让他们采纳建议，就要像是帮他们回想起忘掉的东西，而不是指引他们去找其久寻不得之物。天上的星辰教会了我们这种愉快的处世策略：它们是太阳之子，并且与太阳一样光亮，却从不与太阳争辉。