Lucretius, a classical Roman author, created the proverb One man's meat is another man's poison, meaning that what is good for one person can be harmful to another. 一位古典时期的古罗马作家留克利希阿斯创造了下面这一条谚语："同一块肉，吃肥了张三却毒死了李四--穿衣戴帽各好一套，萝卜白菜各有所爱。"意思是对某一个人有好处的可能对另一个人有害。
And the proverb let sleeping dogs lie meaning don't cause trouble when it can be avoided, came into English form the French in the 14th century. 而这一条谚语："让睡觉的那群狗继续躺着吧睡吧。--别捅马蜂窝。"意思是能避免就尽量避免，不要去惹麻烦。这条谚语是从14世纪的法语移植到英语中来的。
As Britain came into contact with other countries and cultures, English became enriched with the words and wisdom of different languages. 由于英国逐渐同其他一些国家和其他一些文化打交道，不同语言的词汇和智慧使英语逐渐丰富起来。
From the Chinese, we borrowed the colourful proverb He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount, meaning that if you start on a dangerous enterprise, it is often easier to carry it through to the end than to stop halfway. 从汉语，我们借用了这条活灵活现的谚语"骑虎难下"，意思就是如果你开创了一项危险而又艰巨复杂的事业，与其半途而废，倒不如进行到底会更顺利一些。
Some proverbs have been in the language for 1,000 years, for example, A friend in need is a friend indeed. 有些谚语在语言中已经流传有1000多年了，例如，"患难中相助的朋友才是真正的朋友。
The message here is that someone who stays with you and helps you in times of trouble, rather than turning their back, is a true friend. --患难见真交"。这条谚语是说，你在患难时这位朋友仍然不离开你，仍然帮助你，而不是掉转脊背就跑开了，这样的朋友才是真正的朋友。
Other proverbs, however, are much more recent, and reflect changes in the way that we live. 但是，也有些谚语相当现代，这些新时兴的谚语反映出我们的生活方式的一些变化。 From the United States come the following two pieces of new wisdom, Garbage in - garbage out, from the computer world, reminds people that computers are only as good as their programs. 从美国传来了下列两句绝妙的好词："无用信息输入--无用信息输出，--废料进，废料出。"这源出自电子计算机的待业用语。它提示人们只有输入计算机的程序编制得好电子计算机才能输出好。
Form big business we have There's no such thing as a free lunch, meaning nothing is free. 从干大事业的人那里，我们学到一句话"根本就不会有白白请你吃顿饭那回事。--礼下于人必有所求。"意思是没有任何事是可以不付出代价的。
If someone buys you lunch, they will expect a favour in return. 如果将来有人给你买了一份便餐，那个人肯定想从你那里得到好处以便作为报答。
