117．决不谈论自己

决不谈论自己。当你谈论自己时，要么是为了虚荣而夸奖自己，要么是因为自卑而责怪自己。这样对言者来说不适合；对听者来说，也不会感到愉悦。这点在日常谈话中需避免，在正式文件中更需避免，在公共演讲中则最需避免——这种时候，哪怕出现一点点愚蠢都是不明智的。当面谈论某人也很不得体，因为这样很可能让你陷入两个极端：被人认为是在谄媚，或是责难。

117．Never talk about yourself

Never talk about yourself. To do so you must either praise yourself, which is vain, or blame yourself, which is little-minded: it is unseemly for the speaker and unpleasant for the listener. And if you should avoid this in ordinary conversation, how much more in official matters, and above all, in public speaking, where every appearance of unwisdom really is unwise. The same want of tact lies in speaking of a man in his presence, owing to the danger of going to one of two extremes: flattery or censure.