藜口苋肠 ① 者,多冰清玉洁;衮衣玉食 ② 者,甘婢膝奴颜。盖志以澹泊 ③ 明,而节从肥甘 ④ 丧也。
① 藜口苋肠:“藜”和“苋”均为一年生草本植物,其茎叶可食。此处喻粗茶淡饭或简朴的生活。
② 衮衣玉食:衮衣,古代天子及上公穿的绘有卷龙图案的礼服;玉食,泛指山珍海味。此处喻吃穿讲究或生活奢华。
③ 澹泊:不追逐名利、清心寡欲之意。
④ 肥甘:美味。此处指奢华淫逸。
甘于粗茶淡饭的,大多具有冰清玉洁的品格;耽于锦衣玉食的,一般都唯唯诺诺,低头哈腰。由此可见,人的志节可以在淡泊中得以彰显,也可以在奢华淫逸中丧失殆尽。
Those willing to take plain tea and simple fare are mostly provided with pure and noble sentiment. Those craving for beautiful dresses and nice food mostly tend to resign themselves to humiliation led by subservience. It can be therefore recognized that high aspirations can only be seen in plainness and simplicity while moral fortitude is often spoiled in extravagance and luxury.