10. 一碗浓汤

「人心之不同，如其面焉。」郑国子产这句话真是一点都没有错。有些人宁愿饿死都不受辱，我国那个不受嗟来之食的寒士就是例子；有些人则为了一碗汤就出卖与生俱来的权利（birthright），《圣经·创世纪》里的以扫（Esau），即是这样的傻瓜。

据《创世纪》说，希伯来族长艾萨克（Isaac）的长子以扫有一趟打猎回家，累得要死，见弟弟雅各布（Jacob）在熬汤，就请雅各布给他一碗。雅各布乘机要以扫发誓把长子名分让给他，以扫答应，后来在继承父业问题上就吃了大亏。英国人叫「一分流质食物」做a mess，叫「浓汤」做pottage。现在，人们就用a mess of pottage来说「眼前小利」，例如：I think he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage when he agreed to withdraw his candidacy in exchange for a peerage（我想，他答应退出竞选换取贵族头衔，是因小失大了）。

I think he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage when he agreed to withdraw his candidacy in exchange for a peerage（我想，他答应退出竞选换取贵族头衔，是因小失大了）。