鄘风·相鼠

相鼠有皮,人而无仪!人而无仪,不死何为?

相鼠有齿,人而无止!人而无止,不死何俟?

相鼠有体,人而无礼!人而无礼,胡不遄死?

The Rat

The rat has skin, you see?

Man must have decency.

If he lacks decency,

Worse than death it would be.


The rat has teeth, you see?

Man must have dignity.

If he lacks dignity,

For what but death waits he?


The rat has limbs, you see?

Man must have propriety.

Without propriety,

It’s better dead to be.

你看老鼠尚且有皮,做人怎能不讲礼仪。

人要是不讲礼仪,不去死还想干什么?


你看老鼠尚且有齿,做人怎能不知耻?

做人要是不知耻,不死还想等啥呢?


你看老鼠尚且有身体,做人怎能不讲礼义?

做人要是不讲礼义,还不赶紧去死?

体面是最后的约束,完全不讲体面的人,你是拿他没办法的。作者已经出奇愤怒,失去理性,只能骂对方为什么不去死。《白虎通·谏诤篇》解释为:“妻得谏夫者,夫妇一体,荣辱共之”,但这明显是骂不是谏,而且真心不想“共之”了。