Poor People Do Not Need to Learn Frugality, and Humble People Do Not Need to Learn Respectfulness

贫穷的人不用学节俭而自然节俭，卑微的人不用学谦恭而自然谦恭。这是中国古代的一句谚语。其意不是让人不学习节俭和谦恭这两种人们普遍崇尚的美德，而在于揭示一条更为根本的哲理：人的品性，不是与生俱来的，也不是随意塑造的，归根到底，是由人的境遇决定的。犹言“人是环境的产物”。

The expression means that a person in poverty does not need to learn how to be frugal because he is naturally frugal, and a person with a humble background does not need to learn how to be respectful because he is naturally respectful. This Chinese proverb does not mean to discourage people from learning those two virtues universally held in high esteem. Rather, it is meant to shed light on an essential and philosophical principle that a person's character, in the final analysis, is not born nor randomly formed, but is determined by one's circumstances. In other words, "a person is the product of his environment."

引例 Citations：

◎谚言：“贫不学俭，卑不学恭。”非人性分（fèn）殊也，势使然耳。（《资治通鉴·魏纪一·世祖文皇帝黄初元年》）

谚语说：“贫不学俭，卑不学恭。”并非人的品性天生不同，只是客观情势使人变成了那个样子而已。

As the proverb goes, "Poor people do not need to learn frugality, and humble people do not need to learn respectfulness." People vary in their character not because they are born so, but because they are shaped into who they are by their physical environment. (History as a Mirror)

◎家贫不学俭，物理有固然。（陆游《示子遹[yù]》）

家贫的人不学节俭而自会节俭，事物有其内在规律而不得不然。

People from poor families do not need to learn how to be frugal because things follow their natural laws with inevitable results. (Lu You: Poem to My Son Lu Yu)

推荐：教育部 国家语委

供稿：北京外国语大学 外语教学与研究出版社

责任编辑：钱耐安