
There's a tide in the affairs of men.人生世事如潮汐。
此谚语来自莎士比亚的名剧Julius Caesar,原文接下去还有几句:
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
这里是以tide(潮)比作机会,潮有涨有落,涨潮就是好机会到来,必须及时掌握,否则就是坐失良机。
还有一些谚语说明人生的机会、运程有起有伏:
Every flow has its ebb.
人生有起就有落。
Every dog has his day.
人人都有得意时。
以下两句是用拟人法,使抽象的时机形象化。
Opportunity seldom knocks twice.
Fortune knocks at least once at everyman's gate.
这是说同一个机会,特别是好的机会,对每个人来说总是会有一次,但很少会有两次的。

