學(xué)點(diǎn)英文諺語(yǔ) 了解西方文化

Man proposes, God disposes.

這個(gè)說(shuō)法最早見(jiàn)于14世紀(jì)，起初以 “If man proposes evil, God disposes of it.” 的形式出現(xiàn), 意思是上帝會(huì)阻止想要為惡的人。這里的God, 既可以指上帝, 又可以指天意。 就像我們常說(shuō)的“盡人事, 聽(tīng)天命”、“謀事在人，成事在天”一樣, 盡力而為之后, 還要順從自然的規(guī)律。 畢竟，人類是自然的一部分, 凡事皆不可強(qiáng)求， 與自然的和諧是人類的生存之本。

e.g. A: Bob, how about tomorrow’s driving test？Sure to pass，huh？

B: I don’t know. I’ve done enough, I’d say. Anyway, man proposes, God disposes. I am praying for good luck.

It is a sin to steal a pin.

該句的字面意思是： 即使是偷一根針也是一種罪過(guò)。還記得那句古訓(xùn)嗎？“勿以惡小而為之， 勿以善小而不為。”冀望之切，溢于言表。不要因?yàn)榉傅氖切″e(cuò)就可以聽(tīng)之任之。

e.g. Honesty is the best policy. Never covet what is not yours, for it is a sin to steal a pin.

If you play with fire, you get burnt.

正如西方諺語(yǔ)所說(shuō)：Fire is a good servant but a bad master。

火在人們的掌控之下時(shí)是人類股掌之上的可愛(ài)精靈：篝火給人溫暖，煙花處處討人歡心。可是一旦它的力量過(guò)大，就凌駕于人類之上，再不受人的掌握。權(quán)力亦是如此，當(dāng)它逐漸膨脹不可收拾時(shí)，就成為一個(gè)暴戾的君王，統(tǒng)治人們的言行。所謂“玩火者必自焚”，鋌而走險(xiǎn)的盲目舉動(dòng)會(huì)招致無(wú)窮禍患。

e.g. The abuse of power has sent many people into jail, which shows that playing with fire could get you burnt.

Revenge is a dish that could be eaten cold.

很形象的一句諺語(yǔ)。所有的菜肴都必須趁熱吃，唯獨(dú)revenge是個(gè)例外。“君子報(bào)仇，十年未晚。”

e.g. He has done serious wrong to his friends. You just wait and see. They will not let him go scot-free. Revenge is a dish that could be eaten cold.

There is no smoke without fire.

無(wú)風(fēng)不起浪，有水才行船。任何事情的發(fā)生都是有前兆的，“流言”的興起有時(shí)也不完全是無(wú)中生有。雖然說(shuō)是“坐得船頭穩(wěn)，不怕浪來(lái)顛”（相似的西諺是“Do right and fear no man.”），但風(fēng)起于青萍之末，一只蝴蝶扇動(dòng)翅膀就可能引起大洋彼岸的一場(chǎng)大風(fēng)暴。做人、謀事，謹(jǐn)慎為佳。

e.g. "No smoke without fire," said the detective.

"Smoke signals can be misread," countered Sloan.

Every dog has its day.

這里的day，是指opportunities, 即成功的機(jī)會(huì)；而dog 則泛指那些地位低下、似乎沒(méi)有出息的人。“士別三日，當(dāng)刮目相看”，落魄的人若發(fā)奮圖強(qiáng)，總會(huì)有出頭之日。
（又作All dogs have their days.）
e.g. You must not look down upon him. Though poor and gloomy. he could turn out to be outstanding one day. As the saying goes, every dog has its day.

If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas.

這是一句很經(jīng)典的諺語(yǔ)，也就是我們中文里說(shuō)的“近朱者赤，近墨者黑”。 在這條英文諺語(yǔ)中體現(xiàn)出來(lái)的只是“近墨者黑”的一面。雖然中文里還有成語(yǔ)“出污泥而不染”一說(shuō)，但環(huán)境對(duì)于人的影響仍然不可小覷。

e.g. -Harry! How come you’re back so late? Where’ve you been?

-Just to a friend’s.

-To a friend’s? Just for a glass of liquor, huh? You’re going to be drowned in liquor, I’d say! If you lie down with dogs, you’ll get up to find yourself with millions of fleas!

It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog.

人非圣賢，孰能無(wú)過(guò)。人們總會(huì)犯一些錯(cuò)誤，也許做者無(wú)心但觀者有意。有些小人，自己抱殘守缺，不干實(shí)事，卻挖空心思，找別人的缺點(diǎn)和麻煩。欲加之罪，何患無(wú)辭？

e.g. -Did you know that Jeff’s been fired?

-No. What for?

-Jeff sometimes had ideas different from our boss’s.

-Yeah, but Jeff hasn’t done anything wrong, has he?

-Well, boss is boss. It is always easy to find a stick to beat a dog.

You can’t teach old dogs new tricks.

這句諺語(yǔ)說(shuō)的是：人老了思想容易僵化，對(duì)新生事物很難接受。

e.g. Don’t forget Wang is already 80. At his age, you can’t expect him to learn the tap dance. You can’t teach old dogs new tricks, you know.

從以上的幾則諺語(yǔ)我們可以觀察到中西文化的一個(gè)有趣的區(qū)別。西方人經(jīng)常用狗來(lái)比喻人，如，lucky dog（幸運(yùn)兒），因?yàn)樗麄儾⒉黄缫暪贰６�在漢語(yǔ)中，有不少涉及狗的諺語(yǔ)和成語(yǔ)都是貶義的，如“狗改不了吃屎”、“掛羊頭賣(mài)狗肉”、“狗仗人勢(shì)”、“狗嘴里吐不出象牙”等。當(dāng)然，英文中dog一詞有時(shí)也帶有貶義，但往往含義與中文不盡相同，我們使用時(shí)切忌望文生義。如，It is a dog’s life Chris is leading. 某位教授認(rèn)為“a dog’s life”的意思是“悲慘的生活”，因而在一篇論及中英文化差別的文章中將其譯成“過(guò)著牛馬不如的生活”。其實(shí)“a dog’s life”指的是“爭(zhēng)吵不休，過(guò)著不安寧的日子”。這類成語(yǔ)很多，如go to the dogs（每況愈下），dog-eat-dog（狗咬狗的，損人利己的），dog in the manger（占著茅坑不拉屎的人）。還有一些沒(méi)有任何褒貶涵義的用法，如dog days（大熱天），doggy bag（餐館里的打包袋），據(jù)說(shuō)，早先人們礙于面子，不愿明說(shuō)要把剩菜帶回家吃，佯稱要帶給狗吃，所以叫doggy bag。

上面四條西方諺語(yǔ)都可以在漢語(yǔ)中找到相似的表達(dá)，但下面兩條卻全然不同了。

Lightning never strikes the same place twice.

“閃電從不打同一個(gè)地方”，與我們說(shuō)的“福無(wú)雙至，禍不單行”恰恰相反，這也是差異的一個(gè)有趣的體現(xiàn)。

e.g. -How were your exams? All over?

-I really don’t know. I did rather poorly last time. I hope I’ll do better this time.

-Come on, don’t worry about it. You are sure to pass. As the saying goes, lightening never strikes the same place twice.

One swallow does not make a summer.

swallow 是燕子。西諺說(shuō)，一只燕子飛來(lái)不能代表夏天的來(lái)臨。而中國(guó)成語(yǔ)卻說(shuō)， 一葉知秋。兩種說(shuō)法各有其智慧。“One swallow does not make a summer”強(qiáng)調(diào)的是要區(qū)別一般性與特殊性的辯證哲理； 而“一葉知秋”體現(xiàn)的則是從細(xì)微的端倪窺見(jiàn)總體趨勢(shì)的睿智。

e.g.-Hey, look! The scores are already 2:1！Liverpool is sure to win, I bet!
-I don’t think so. One swallow does not make a summer. Miracles always happen the last minute.