sold birthright for a mess of pottage 因小失大

相约百年

I think he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage when he agreed to withdraw his candidacy in exchange for a peerage.

我想，他答应退出竞选换取贵族头衔，是因小失大了。

解析：据《创世纪》说，希伯来族长以撒(Isaac)的长子以扫有一趟打猎回家，累得要死，见弟弟雅各(Jacob)在熬汤，就请雅各给他一碗。雅各乘机要以扫发誓把长子名分让给他，以扫答应，后来在继承父业问题上就吃了大亏。英国人叫“一份流质食物”做a mess，叫“浓汤”做pottage。现在，人们就用a mess of pottage来说“眼前小利”。