《四书》语录六十条及其英译_看古典汉语精髓

1、四书语录六十条及其英译四书是我国经典著作论语(Confucian Analects)、 孟 子 (The Works of Mencius) 、 中 庸 (The Doctrine of the Mean) 和大学 (The Great Learning)四本书的合称。千百年来，四书作为儒家经典对我国文化的各个方面如政治、哲学、教育、风俗习惯、伦理道德、民族心理以至语言等都产生过巨大而深刻的影响。可以毫不夸张地说，四书对中国文化的影响不低于圣经对西方文化的影响。四书不仅在中国而且在世界都产生过并且仍在产生着巨大影响。西方许多汉学家都翻译过四书就是明证之一。在早期众多英译本中，最优译本当推英国学

2、者理雅各(James Legge)所译的华英四书(TheFour Books with English Translation and Notes)。现对理氏略作介绍：James Legge(1814-1897)：约定俗成的译名理雅各 (他本人起的中国名字 )，标准新译名为詹姆斯 ·莱格。英国汉学家，生于苏格兰。 1839 年被伦敦布道会派往马六甲任英华书院 (Anglo-Chinese College)院长， 1843 年随该院迁香港， 1873 年返英。1875 年牛津大学特别为他设汉文讲座，理氏在那里执教直到去世。在香港期间，他在鸦片巨商查顿、颠地等的经济支持下，又得到中国著名

3、学者王韬在学术上的帮助， 把中国的四书、五经译成英文，名为 The Chinese Classics，分 28 卷，于 1861 年至 1886 年间出版，另外，他还有很多关于中国的著作，为西方汉学作出了重要又突出的贡献。理氏译本迄今已逾世纪，但仍被认为是最佳译本之一。下面的六十条语录是根据 “去其糟粕，取其精华 ”、“批判地吸收 ”等原则精选的。这六十条及其英译，不仅能使读者对我国文化精华有所了解，而且可以帮助读者学点古文及其英译的方法。原文1子曰： “学而时习之，不亦说乎。有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎。人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎。 ”The Master said, “ Is it not ple

4、asant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters? Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposurethough men may take no note of him? 2曾子曰： “为人谋，而不忠乎 ?与朋友交，而不信乎 ? 传不习乎 ?”The philosopher Tsang said “ I daily ex

5、amine myself of three points：- whether， in transacting business for others，I may have been not faithful；-whether，in intercourse with friends， I may have been not sincere；-whether,I may have not mastered and practiced the instructions of my teacher3子曰： “不患人之不己知，患不知人也。 ”The Master said, “I will not be

6、 afflicted at men notknowings me，I willbe afflicted that I do not know men”4子曰： “诗三百，一言以蔽之，曰：思无邪。 ”The Master said“ Inthe Book of Poetry are three hundred pieces，but the design of them all may be embraced in one sentence Havingno depraved thoughts”5子曰： “吾十有五而志于学，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳顺，七十而从心所欲，不逾矩。”

7、The Master said，“ At fifteen，I had my mind bent on learning At thirty ， I stood firmAt forty ，I had no doubtsAt fifty，I know the decrees of HeavenAt sixty，my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth At seventy， I could follow what my heart desired， without transgressing what was right”.6

8、子曰： “温故而知新，可以为师矣。 ”The master said，“ Ifa man keepscherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring the new，he may be a teacher of others”7子曰： “学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。攻乎异端，斯害也已。由，诲女知之乎 ?知之为知之， 不知为不知， 是知也。”The Master said, “ Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is per

9、ilousThe study of strange doctrines is injurious indeed! Yu，shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing，to hold that you know it；and when you do not know a thing，to allow that you do not know it；-This is knowledge”.8哀公问曰： “何为则民服 ?”孔子对曰： “举直错诸枉，则民服；举枉错诸直，则民不服。 ”The Duke Ai asked，saying

10、，“ What should be done in order to secure the submission of the people? ”Confuciusreplied，“ Advancethe upright and set aside the crooked， then the people will submit Advance the crooked and set aside the upright，then the people will not submit.”9子闻之曰： “成事不说，遂事不谏，既往不咎。 ”When the Master heard it，he sa

11、id，“ Thingsthat are done, it is needlessto speak about；things that have had their course， it is needless to remonstrate about；things that are past，it is needlessto blame.”10子曰：“富与贵，是人之所欲也。不以其道得之，不处也。 ”The Master said ， “ Riches and honors are what men desireIf it cannot be obtained in the proper way

12、， they should not be held”.11子曰： “见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也。 ”The Master said, “ When we seemen of worth, we should think of equaling them, when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves”12子曰： “敏而好学，不耻下问，是以谓之文也。 ”The Master said, “ He was of an active nature and yet fond

13、of learning， and he was not ashamed to ask and learn of his inferiors!-On these grounds he has been styled Wan13季文子三思而后行。Chi Wan thought thrice, and then acted14子曰： “默而识之，学而不厌，诲人不倦 ”The Master said, “ The silent treasuring up of knowledge；Learning without satiety； and instructing others without bein

14、g wearied”.15子曰： “不义而富且贵，于我如浮云。 ”The Master said， “ Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a floating cloud”.16子曰： “我非生而知之者。 ” The Master said, “Iam not onewho was born in the possessionof knowledge.17子曰：“三人行，必有我师焉。择其善者而从之，其不善者而改之。 ”The Master said， “ When I walk along with two o

15、thers，they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them.18子曰： “君子坦荡荡，小人长戚戚。 ”The Master said， “ The superior man is satisfied and composed; the mean man is always full of distress”19子曰：“不在其位， 不谋其政。 ” The Master said, “ He who is

16、not in any particular office has nothing to dowith plans for the administration of its duties20子在川上曰： “逝者如斯夫 !不舍昼夜。 ”The Master standing by a stream，said，“ It passeson just like this， notceasing day or night!21子曰： “三军可夺帅也，匹夫不可夺志也。 ”The Master said, “ The commander of the forces of a large state may

17、be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from him22子曰： “岁寒。然后知松柏之后彫(diao)也。 ”The Master said，“ Whenthe year becomes cold，then we know how the pine and the cypress are the last to lose their leaves”23子曰：“其身正，不令而行；其身不正，虽令不从。”The Master said， “ Whena prince s personal conduct i

18、s correct ， his government is effective without the issuing of orders If his personal conduct is not correct， he may issue orders，but they will not be followed”24子曰：“无欲速，无见小利。欲速则不达，见小利则大事不成。 ”The Master said, “Do not be desirous to have things done quickly；do not look at small advantages Desire to h

19、ave things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughlyLooking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished25子曰：“言必信，行必果。 ” The Master said ， “ They aredetermined to be sincere in what they say，and to carry out what they do26子曰：“志士仁人，无求生以害仁，有杀身以成仁。 ”The Master said“ The de

20、terminedscholar and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete”27子曰：“工欲善其事，必先利其器。”The Master said，“ The mechanic， who wishes to do his work well， must first sharpen his tools28子曰：“人无远虑，必有近忧。 ”

21、 The Master said，“ Ifa man takes no thought about what is distant，he willfind sorrow near at hand”29子曰：“君子不以言举人，不以人废言。”The Master said, “ The superior man does not promote a man simply on account of his words， nor does he put aside good words because of the man”.30子曰：“己所不欲，勿施于人。 ” The Master said，“

22、What you donot want done to yourself，do not do to others”31子曰：“过而不改，是谓过矣。 ” The Master said, “ Tohave faults and not to reform themthis，indeed，should be pronounced having faults32子曰：“有教无类。”The Master said，“ In teaching there should be no distinction of classes”33子曰：“饱食终日，无所用心，难以哉!”The Master said，“

23、Hard si it to deal with him， who will stuff himself with food the whole day, without applying his mind to anything good! ”34心不在焉，视而不见，听而不闻，食而不知其味。When the mind is not present，we look and do not see；we hear and do not understand；we eat and do not know the taste of what we eat35道得众，则得国；失众，则失国。是故君子，先慎乎

24、德，有德，此有人，有人此有土，有土此有财，有财此有用，德者，本也，财者，末也。This shows that ， by gaining the people，the kingdom is gained，and， by losing the people， the kingdom is lostOn this account，the ruler will first take pains about his own virtuePossessingvirtue will give him the people Possessingthe people will give him the terr

25、itory Possessingtheterritory will give him its wealthPossessingthe wealth，he will have resources for expenditureVirtue is the root；wealth is the result36在上位，不陵下；在下位，不援上。正己而不求于人，则无怨。上不怨天，下不尤人。In a high position, he does not treat with contempt his inferiorsIn a low situation，he does not court the fav

26、or of his superior He rectifies himself，andseeks for nothing from others，so that he has no dissatisfactions He does not murmur against heaven，nor grumble against men37君子之道，辟如行远必自迩；辟如登高必自卑。The way of the superior men may be compared to what takes place in traveling，when to go to a distance，we must fi

27、rst traverse the space that is near， and in ascending a height， we must begin from the lower ground38老吾老，以及人之老；幼吾幼，以及人之幼。Treat with the reverence due to age the elders in your own family，so that the elders in the families of others shall be similarly treated ； treat with the kindness due to youth th

28、e young in your own family， so that the young in the families of others shall be similarly treated39以力服人者，非心服也，力不赡也；以德服人者，中心悦而诚服也。When one by force subdues men, they do not submit to him in heartThey submit, because their strength is not adequate to resistWhen one subdues men by virtue，in their hear

29、ts corethey are pleased，and sincerely submit40孟子曰： “尊贤使能，俊杰在位，则天下之士，皆悦而愿立于其朝矣。 ”Mencius said “ If a ruler gives honor to men of talents and virtue and employs the ableso that offices shall all be filled by individuals of distinction and mark then all the scholars of the empire will be pleased, and w

30、ish to stand in his court”41孟子曰：“子路，人告之以有过，则喜；禹闻善言，则拜。 ”Meneius said，“ Whenanyone told Tszd-loo that he had a fault ， he rejoicedWhen Yu heard good words，he bowed to the speaker”42孟子曰： “天时不如地利，地利不如人和。 ”Mencius said， Opportunitiesof time vouchsafed by Heaven are not equal to advantages of situation a

31、fforded by the Earth ，and advantages of situation afforded by the Earth are not equal to the union arising from the accord of Men.43得道者多助，失道者寡助。He who finds the proper course has many to assist himHe who loses the proper course has few to assist him44孟子曰：“人之患，在好为人师。” Mencius said“ Theevil of men is

32、that they like to be teachers of others”45爱人者，人恒爱之；敬人者，人恒敬之。He who loves others is constantly loved by themHe who respects others is constantly respected by them46今夫弈之为数，小数也，不专心致志，则不得也。Now chess playing is but a small art ，but without his whole mind being given，and his will bent to it，a man cannot s

33、ucceed at it47孟子曰： “鱼，我所欲也； 熊掌，亦我所欲也。二者不可得兼，舍鱼而取熊掌者也。生，我所欲也，义，亦我所欲也，二者不可得兼，舍生而取义者也。 ”Mencius said“ I like fish and I also like bear spawsIf I cannot have the two together，I will let the fish go，and take the bear s pawsSo，I like life, andI also like righteousness If I cannot keep the two together, I

34、will let life go and choose righteousness”.48心之官则思，思则得之；不思，则不得也。To the mind belongs the office of thinkingBy thinking，it gets the right view of thing；by neglecting to think，itfails to do this49故天将降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨，饿其体肤，空乏其身，行拂乱其所为，所以动心忍性，曾益其所不能。Thus， when Heaven is about to confer a great office o

35、n any man，it first exerciseshis mind with suffering, and his sinews and hone with toilIt exposes his body to hunger，and subjects him to extreme poverty It confounds his undertakingsBy all these methods it stimulates his mind，hardens his nature， and supplies his incompetencies50入，则无法家拂士；出，则无敌国外患者，国恒亡

36、。然后知生于忧患而死于安乐也。If a prince has not about his court families attached to the laws and worthy counselors，and if abroad there are not hostile states or other external calamities，his kingdom will generallycome to ruinFrom these things we see how life springs from sorrow and calamity ， and death from eas

37、e and pleasure51孟子曰： “孔子登东山而小鲁，登泰山而小天下。 ”Mencius said， “ Confuciusascended the eastern hill，and Loo appeared to him small He ascended the T ae Mountain，and all beneath the heavens appeared to him small52孟子曰： “杨子取为我，拔一毛而利天下不为也。 ”Mencius said, “ The principle of the philosopher Yang was Each one for h

38、imself Though he might have benefited the whole empire by plucking out a single hair， he would not have done it53孟子曰： “饥者甘食， 渴者甘饮。 ” Mencius said，“ The hungry think anyfood sweet， and the thirsty think thesame of any drink”54孟子曰： “有为者，辟若掘井，掘井九轫，而不及泉，犹为弃井也。 ” Mencius said，“ Aman with definite aims to be accomplished may be compared to one digging a wellTo dig the well to a depth of seventy- two cubits，and stop without reach