大鱼啖小鱼，小鱼啖虾蛆，虾蛆啖沮洳。 The big fish eats the little one, the little one eats the shrimp, and the shrimp is force to eat mud.
我们看见一条鳄鱼在饱啖死犬之后，几乎一动也不能动了。 We came across a crocodile scarcely able to move after gorging on some dead animal.
专权政治的时代，开明君主曾告诫不要“损百姓”，“若损百姓以奉其身，犹割胫以啖腹，腹饱而身毙”(见《贞观政要》)。 Even an enlightened emperor in feudal China knew better than to overtax his people . Emperor Tai-zong of the Tang Dynasty warned of the consequences of fleecing the population to satisfy the ruler's greed.
然吾辈或在小酒楼上大啖大嚼，言笑自若，倾杯倒怀之乐，他人皆不识也。 But the pleasure we have in a small restaurant,eating and drinking and chatting and teasing each other and overturning cups and spilling wine on dresses is something which people at the grand dinners don't understand and cannot even "miss".
以民为主的时代，老百姓又要政府减税，又要政府加福利，无疑是“割胫啖腹”，若当选的政客将他所开的支票一一兑现，则百姓腹饱而国亡。 Now, with democracy, the voters ask for tax cuts and welfare perks from the government. This is also like feeding on one's own flesh. If the elected politicians honored all the promises they have made, the people's desires would be satisfied but the state would perish.