Apothecaries would not sugar their pills unless they were bitter.是什么意思？

Apothecaries would not sugar their pills unless they were bitter.

好药不苦不会加糖衣.

apothecaries

n. 药剂师，药店( apothecary的名词复数 )；

例句
The most ADR cases were reported by physicians ( 80.00 % ) and apothecaries ( 17.14 % ).
药品不良反应报告者主要是医师 ( 80.00% ) 和药师 ( 17.14% ).

would

aux. 将，将要，愿意，会，打算，大概；v. (will 的过去式，用于转述)将；

例句
I would love to go abroad this year, perhaps to the South of France.
我今年很想出国，可能是去法国南部。

not

adv. 不，[用以表示否定、否认、拒绝、禁止等]不是，几乎不，未必，没有[用于否定后面的词或短语]；

例句
It became very clear that the incident was not just an aberration, it was not just a single incident.
事实已经很清楚，这件事不是偶发的，它并不是一起孤立的事件。

sugar

n. 食糖，一匙糖，宝贝儿，亲爱的；vt. 在…加糖，给…裹上（糖衣或类糖物）；vi. 形成糖；int. （做了蠢事或出现差错时表示懊恼，用作 shit 的委婉语）哎呀，真是的；

例句
During rationing we had a sugar allocation.
定量配给时期，糖是限量配给的。

their

pron. 他（她，它）们的，在提及性别不详的人时，用以代替 him 或 her；

例句
Their permissiveness toward their children reflects the wild abandon of their own lives.
他们对孩子的放任折射出他们自身生活的放浪形骸。

pills

n. 药丸( pill的名词复数 )，药片，口服避孕药，讨厌

例句
My husband has to take several pills to counteract high blood pressure...
我丈夫不得不吃几片药来降压。

unless

conj. 除非，如果不；prep. 除了，…除外；

例句
No-one can set up a waste disposal company unless they can show that they've got enough money and trained staff to do the job properly...
任何人若想成立废品处理公司,必须证明其拥有足够资金和受训员工以保证工作可以顺利开展。

they

pron. 他/她/它们，人们，大家，政府，当局，她们；

例句
The storms had abated by the time they rounded Cape Horn.
他们绕过合恩角时，暴风雨已经减弱。

were

be的过去时复数和第二人称单数形式，有时代替 was,用于条件从句、动词 wish 之后等；

例句
Shops, houses, and vehicles were set ablaze.
店铺、房子和车辆全都陷于火海。

bitter

adj. 苦的，尖锐的，严寒的，怀恨的，愤愤不平的；n. 苦，苦味物，苦啤酒，[航]系缆柱上的一圈缆索；adv. 激烈地，痛苦地，严厉地；vt. 使变苦；

例句
...the scene of bitter fighting during the Second World War.
第二次世界大战期间激烈的战斗场面