书城外语汉英英语谚语手册
18951100000049

第49章 政 治 Politics (1)

伴君如伴虎。

It is ill jesting with edged tools.

Kings and bears often worry keepers.

伴君如伴虎。离国王越近,离绞刑架就越近。

Nearest the king, nearest the widdie.

帮助坏人必定伤害好人。

He that helps the evil hurts the good.

保密是一切谋划的关键。

Secrecy is the soul of all great designs.

报纸是世界的镜子。

Newspapers are the world’s mirrors.

暴力当道,正义消亡。

Where force prevails, right perishes.

备战是维护和平最有效的手段之一。

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.

备战为和平。

If you want peace, prepare for war.

If you wish for peace, be prepared for war.

In peace prepare for war.

In time of peace, prepare for war.

Peace with sword in hand, it is safest making.

笔比刀更有力量。

The pen is mightier than the sword.

兵贵神速。

Speed is the soldier’s asset.

兵马未动,粮草先行。

An army marches on its stomach.

不成功则成仁。

Victory or defeat.

不怕强敌,只怕轻敌。尽管你的敌人似老鼠,然而要视他为狮子。

Though thy enemy seem a mouse, yet watch him like a lion.

不认真对待敌人,就是允许敌人消灭自己。

He that dallies with(轻率地对待)enemy gives him leave to kill him.

不是动武就是用计。

Either by might or by sleight(诡计).

不是时势造英雄,而是英雄造时势。

Man is not the creature of circumstances; circumstances are the creature of man.

不要把新事物强加给守旧的人们。

Neither do men put new wine into old bottles. (圣经)

不要打草惊蛇。

To scare a bird is not the way to catch it.

不要鸡蛋碰石头。瓦罐要远离铜壶。

The earthen pot must keep clear of the brass kettle.

不要轻敌。

Despise not your enemy.

Do not despise your enemy.

朝中无戏言。

Kings are out of play.

朝中有人好办事。朝中有人比钱好使。

A friend in court is better than a penny in purse.

Better is a friend in court than a penny in purse.

成者为王,败者为寇。

Many kings have sat down upon the ground.

大错已成,悔之晚矣。毁掉兵器也无法治愈伤口。

To unstring the bow will not heal the wound.

当枪炮发言时,争辩已太晚。

When guns speak it is too late to argue.

得道多助,失道寡助。

A just cause enjoys abundant support; an unjust cause finds meager(不足的)support.

得民心者得天下。

The subject(臣民)’s love is the king’s lifeguard.

The voice of the people truly is great in power.

敌人的礼物收不得。

Gifts from enemies are dangerous.

敌人是不睡觉的。

The enemy is sleepless.

敌人逃遁时,人人皆勇士。

All are brave when the enemy flies.

敌人之言不可信。

Believe not tales from the enemy’s tongue.

地方腐败导致社会危害。污浊的水养蚊子。

Stagnant(污浊的)water breeds mosquitoes.

对坏人也要公平对待。

Give the devil his due.

非暴力的征服是最伟大的。

Safe conquest without bloodshed is the greatest.

服从是军人的天职。

Obedience is the first duty of a soldier.

胳膊拧不过大腿。百姓强不过官家。

Kings have long arms

The wagon must go whither the horses draw it.

胳膊拧不过大腿。风箱吹不动风车。

You cannot drive a windmill with a pair of bellows(皮老虎).

胳膊拧不过大腿。身在罗马,难与教皇争。

It is hard to sit in Rome and strive against the Pope.

It is ill sitting at Rome and striving with the Pope.

革命靠的不是玫瑰香水。

Revolutions are not made with rosewater.

孤军奋战必然失败。孤羊易落狼口。

The lone sheep is in danger of the wolf.

孤掌难鸣。一个人是渺小的。独木不成林。团结就是力量。

As a bonfire(篝火)dispels(驱散)chilliness, so our solidarity(团结) drives away the enemy.

Union is strength.

Weak things united becomes strong.

The voice of one man is the voice of no one.

One man no man.

One tree does not make a forest.

He who stands alone has no power.

寡不敌众。

Two to one is odds(不平等).

挂羊头,卖狗肉。说一套,做一套。

After praising the wine, they sell us vinegar.

Cry up wine and sell vinegar.

He cries wine and sells vinegar.

官场如战场。

While thou(你), whiles I, so goes the bailey(城堡外场).

官官相护。

The devil is good to his own.

The devil looks after his own.

国旗插到哪儿,贸易就跟到哪儿。

Trade follows the flag.

国王的财富一半是被下级层层克扣的。

The king’s cheese goes half away in parings.

国王与教皇,如同狮子与豺狼。

The king and pope, the lion and wolf.

好君主是公仆。

A good king is a public servant.

好文章足以治理天下。羊皮纸、鹅毛笔和蜂蜡,此三者统治世界。

The calf, the goose, the bee: the world is ruled by these three.

宏图大略需要慎思。

Great designs require great consideration.

互相利用。你帮我,我帮你。

Ka(帮助)me, Ka thee

Ka me, and I’ll ka thee.

Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.

化干戈为玉帛。

Put up your sword into the sheath.

骄兵必败。

Pride goes before a fall / destruction.

Pride will have a fall.

进攻是最好的防御。

Offence is the best defence.

警惕隐藏的敌人。

Take heed of the snake in the grass.

揪人抓其言,擒牛握其角。

Take a man by his tongue and a cow by her horn.

决策要深思熟虑,行动要迅速。

Deliberate in counsel, prompt in action.

Deliberate slowly, execute promptly.

军队不可一日无首。

A headless / leaderless army fights badly.

军队有了技能和士气,无往不胜。

Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.

君主为天下忧。

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

君主无戏言。

The king’s word is more than another man’s oath.

君主疯狂,百姓遭殃。

Kings go mad, and the people suffer from it

凯撒的成功是用万众士兵的生命换来的。

What millions died that Caesar might be great.

可以纸上谈兵,实践就不好了。

Wars are good to talk of, not to try.

两国相争,不斩来使。

Messengers should neither be headed nor hanged.

烈士的鲜血是教会兴起的种子。

The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.

落后就要挨打。魔鬼捉去最后一个人。

The devil take the hindmost.

没有受过支配的人,就不能成为一个好的统治者。

No man can be a good ruler unless he has first been ruled.

没有好顾问的君主,就像瞎了眼的旅行者。

A king without a good counselor is like a wayfaring man who is blind.

没有武力的威胁,就像没有炮弹的军队。

Threats without power are like power without ball.

没有责任就没有处罚。(军队处罚是全副武装跑步pack drill)

No names, no pack drill.

怜悯敌人就是虐待自己。

Who shows mercy to an enemy denies it to himself.

睦邻友好,胜过军队和财宝。

Neither armies nor treasures are the safeguards of a state, but friends.

爬得高,跌得狠。

He that climbs high falls heavily.

The higher up, the greater fall.

The highest branch is not the safest roost(栖息地).

The higher standing, the lower fall.

The highest tree has the greatest fall.

Those who clime high often have a fall.

赔了夫人又折兵。接连受损失。

Throw the helve(工具把)after the hatchet(短柄小斧).

枪杆子里面出政权。

It is the man behind the gun that tells.

强将手下无弱兵。

A good general will make good men.

强权并非总是公理。

Might is not always right.

强权即公理。

Might is right.

强者的欢乐就是贫者的眼泪。一将功成,枯骨百万。

The pleasures of the mighty are the tears of the poor.

强者必胜。

The battle is to the strong.

The longest pole knocks the most persimmons(柿子).

强者有时也需要弱者的帮助。

A lion may come to be beholden to a mouse. (伊索寓言)

强者征服弱者,不足为荣。

It is no honor for an eagle to vanquish(征服)a dove.

窃钩者诛,窃国者侯。

Little thieves are hanged , but great ones escape.

权大树敌多。

Mickle(大量)power makes many enemies.

权大于法。法随王所欲。

What the king wills, that the law wills.