ProverbHuman Nature
Latin origin
Latin originA hungry stomach has no ears
Meaning: People cannot focus on anything else when their most basic needs are unmet.
Origin: Plutarch tells how Cato the Elder began a speech to Romans clamoring for a grain handout by saying it was hard to argue with the belly, since it has no ears. Hungry people are in no mood to listen to reason.
Equivalents in French, German, Italian, and Russian
French: Ventre affamé n'a point d'oreilles (literally: A hungry belly has no ears)
German: Ein hungriger Bauch hat keine Ohren (literally: A hungry belly has no ears)
Italian: Ventre digiuno non ode nessuno (literally: An empty belly hears no one)
Russian: Голодное брюхо к учению глухо (Golodnoye bryukho k ucheniyu glukho) (literally: A hungry belly is deaf to learning)
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