172.决不与一无所有者争斗
决不与一无所有者争斗。如果这样做,你会陷入不公平的争斗中。对方肆无忌惮,因他已失去一切,包括羞耻感,也决不害怕再失去什么。他可以为所欲为。你绝不能把自己珍贵的名声暴露在如此可怕的危险之中,以免积攒多年的名声毁于一旦——稍不留神,你所有的辛劳就会化为乌有。拥有名誉、有责任心的人有好名声,他们担心失去许多东西,所以他们会权衡自己与对方的名声,谨慎地参与斗争,小心翼翼地开展工作,慎重地及时撤退,以保全名誉。否则,即便获胜,他也会因冒险而得不偿失。
172.Nevercontendwithamanwhohasnothingtolose
Nevercontendwithamanwhohasnothingtolose;fortherebyyouenterintoanunequalconflict。Theotherenterswithoutanxiety:havinglosteverything,includingshame,hehasnofurtherlosstofear。Hethereforeresortstoallkindsofinsolence。Oneshouldneverexposeavaluablereputationtosoterriblearisk,lestwhathascostyearstogainmaybelostinamoment,sinceasingleslightmaywipeoutmuchsweat。Amanofhonourandresponsibilityhasareputation,becausehehasmuchtolose。Hebalanceshisownandtheother'sreputation:heonlyentersintothecontestwiththegreatestcaution,andthengoestoworkwithsuchcircumspectionthathegivestimetoprudencetoretireintimeandbringhisreputationundercover。Forevenbyvictoryhecannotgainwhathehaslostbyexposinghimselftothechancesofloss。