144．开始于他人，受用于自己

开始于他人，受用于自己。这是一个可使你得偿所愿的计策。即使是非世俗之事，基督教的牧师也强调这条神圣的诡计。这种掩饰重要至极，因为可以把显而易见的好处当作诱饵去控制他人意志。看起来他的事已准备就绪，实际上是为你自己的事开路。如果没有掩护，决不能前进，尤其是在危险地带。与此类似，和那些一开始总是说“不”的人交往，避免受挫的方法就是巧妙地提出你的想法，让他不觉得同意有何难处。此建议也属于有关三思而行的准则（箴言13），它涵盖了最精妙的人生处世技巧。

144．Begin with another's to end with your own

Begin with another's to end with your own. It is a politic means to your end. Even in heavenly matters Christian teachers lay stress on this holy cunning. It is a weighty piece of dissimulation, for the foreseen advantages serve as a lure to influence the other's will. His affair seems to be in train when it is really only leading the way for your own. One should never advance unless under cover, especially where the ground is dangerous. Likewise with persons who always say No at first, it is useful to ward off this blow, because the difficulty of conceding much more does not occur to them when your version is presented to them. This advice belongs to the rule about second thoughts, which covers the most subtle manoeuvres of life.