意谓一个人如果要得到别人白给的东西,就不应该挑三拣四。15世纪中叶的一句法语格言与此类似:Qui empruncte ne peult choisir.(He who borrows cannot choose.)1546年英国诗人、剧作家约翰·海伍德(John Heywood,约1497—1580)编写的格言集中曾收录了这句谚语。在美国首见于大约1719年的《威廉·伯德的秘密日记》(Secret Diary of William Byrd of Westover),威廉·伯德(1674—1744)是弗吉尼亚殖民地韦斯托弗地区的种植园主。他的“秘密日记”直到1941年才出版。此 Means that if you want someone to give something for nothing, you should not pick and choose. A French aphorism in the mid-15th century is analogous: Qui empruncte ne peult choisir. (He who borrows can not choose.) The motto written by the British poet and dramatist John Heywood (circa 1497-1580) Including this proverb First seen in the United States in the Secret Diary of William Byrd of Westover, circa 1719, William Byrd (1674-1744) is a plantation owner in the Westover, Virginia sub-district. His Secret Diary was not published until 1941. this