He said to himself, "Those players can cry for the sad king whom they have never met." But in my case I have done nothing at all for my poor father who was killed by my uncle Claudius.

他对自己说：“那些演员可以为这个他们从没见过面的悲哀的国王而哭泣，而以我的立场，我却没有为被我叔叔克劳迪斯杀死的可怜的父亲尽过任何力。”

youdao

If a tree falls in a forest and no one laughs, then you've killed a perfectly good tree for nothing.

WSJ: Latest 'Development' | Arrested Development | Mitchell Hurwitz | Cultural Conversation by David Mermelstein

The Berglunds paid nothing for their Victorian and then killed themselves for ten years renovating it.

NEWYORKER: Good Neighbors