"An empty sack cannot stand upright” nghĩa là gì?

“An empty sack cannot stand upright” = bao tải rỗng không thể đứng thẳng được -> nghĩa là phải ăn mới làm việc được; nghèo mỗi cái mỗi hèn, khó sinh khốn; 'có thực mới vực được đạo'.

Ví dụ

There’s an old Haitian proverb, Sak vide pa kanpe—an empty sack cannot stand up. And that is precisely the predicament (tình thế khó khăn, điều đã dự đoán trước) of Haiti’s government today. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people are here delivering aid, but they are doing functions that should be done by the Haitians,” said Nigel Fisher, the deputy special representative for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. His office, in one of Log Base’s air-conditioned prefab trailers, is furnished with blue leather chairs and coffee tables spread with brochures. “You cannot complain about failures of the Haitian state if you don’t support it to grow stronger. For decades, we have not invested in that very much.”

Régine Chassagne's Haitian background has provided the band with its most direct and vocal cause, their audiences being leafletted in support of the charitable organisation Partners in Health, whose Zanmi Lasante healthcare centres help relieve the country's pitiful medical needs. "The reason that we find Partners in Health so inspiring," explained the band in a statement, "is that their mission is not one based on simple charity or missionary goodwill, but on standing with the poorest people in Haiti where they live, and serving them as they would a loved one." It was a message reinforced during an appearance by Arcade Fire on the American TV show Saturday Night Live, when Butler taped to his guitar the legend "sak vide pa kanpe", a Haitian proverb meaning "the empty sack cannot stand up".

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