Take him by death until he is satisfied with fever. خُذْهُ بالمَوْتِ حَتَّى يَرْضَى بالحُمَّى.

خُذْهُ بالمَوْتِ حَتَّى يَرْضَى بالحُمَّى.
Take him by death until he is satisfied with fever.
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«خُذْهُ بالموت حتى يرضى بالحمّى» يُضرب لمن يُخيَّر بين أمرين شديدين، فيُعرض عليه الأشد حتى يقبل بالأخف؛ أي: اجعل البديل مخيفًا جدًا، فيرضى بما كان يرفضه أولًا.
ومن أقرب المقابلات الإنجليزية: Give him the choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.
= «ضعه بين خيارين كلاهما سيئ.» وهو قريب جدًا من الفكرة.
Make the alternative worse, and he’ll accept the lesser evil.
= «اجعل البديل أسوأ، فيقبل بالشر الأقل.» وهذه ترجمة تفسيرية دقيقة.
The lesser of two evils.
= «أهون الشرين.» وهي من أشهر العبارات الإنجليزية لهذا المعنى.
Between a rock and a hard place.
= «بين صخرة ومكان صعب»؛ أي في مأزق لا يكاد يملك فيه خيارًا جيدًا.
الأقرب للمثل العربي
Make him choose between the lesser of two evils.
أما إذا أردت تعبيرًا إنجليزيًا اصطلاحيًا مشهورًا:
Between a rock and a hard place.
لكن الفرق أن المثل العربي يتضمن تعمد جعل الخيار الآخر أشد سوءًا حتى يرضى بالخيار الأول، ولذلك فإن lesser of two evils أدق من حيث المعنى.
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"Take him to death so he'll accept a fever" is a proverb used to describe someone forced to choose between two extremes. The harsher option is presented to him until he accepts the lesser one; in other words, make the alternative so frightening that he'll accept what he initially rejected.
A close English equivalent is:
"Give him the choice between the devil and the deep blue sea."
This is very close to the idea.
"Make the alternative worse, and he'll accept the lesser evil."
This is an accurate interpretive translation.
"The lesser of two evils."
This is one of the most common English expressions for this meaning.
"Between a rock and a hard place."
This means he's in a predicament where he barely has a good choice.
The closest equivalent to the Arabic proverb is:
"Make him choose between the lesser of two evils."
If you want a well-known English idiom:
"Between a rock and a hard place."
However, the difference is that the Arabic proverb implies deliberately making the other option worse so that the first option becomes acceptable. Therefore, "lesser of two evils" is more accurate in meaning.