A man should not love the moon.

人不应该喜爱月亮。

An axe should not lose weight in his hand.

斧子不应该在他手上失去重量。

His garden should smell of rotting apples

他的院子应该有烂苹果的味道，

And grow a fair amount of nettles.

且长满相当多的荨麻。

A man when he talks should not use words that are dear to him,

一个人说话时不应该使用他感到亲切的字眼，

Or split open a seed to find out what is inside it.

否则撬开种子，发现里面是什么。

He should not drop a crumb of bread, or spit in the fire

他不应该掉下一点面包屑，或向火中吐唾沫

(So at least I was taught in Lithuania).

（至少我在立陶宛是如此被教的）。

When he steps on marble stairs,

当他踏在大理石阶上，

He may, that boor, try to chip them with his boot

乡下佬，他可能使劲儿用长统靴将它铲除，

As a reminder that the stairs will not last forever.

如在提醒：石阶并不是永久存在的。