Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.欢时同欢,悲时独悲。
这条谚语也是揭露世态炎凉的社会现象——有钱有势的,人就巴结;无钱无势的,人就冷落,对失败者甚至落井下石。十九世纪美国诗人Ella Wheeler Wilcox的诗篇“Solitude”中有云:
Laugh and the world laughs with you,
Weep and you weep alone,
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
以下谚语都是讲失败者的遭遇:
If the ox falls, whet your knife.
牛要倒下就磨刀侍候。
When the tree is fallen, everyone runs to it with his axe.
树倒下来则人人备斧砍之。
以上也是俗语“墙倒众人推”的意思。
另可参阅If you are too fortunate, you will not know yourself; if you are too unfortunate, nobody will know you.