1、【 论语原文选段之四 】 三十而立子曰：“吾十有五而志于学 1 ，三十而立 2 ，四十而不惑 3 ，五十而知天命 4 ，六十而耳顺 5 ，七十而从心所欲 6 ，不逾矩 7 。” 【概述】 这是论语“为政篇第二” 中的第四篇。本篇概括了孔子一生不断追求“仁” 所达到的各种境界。中外思想家能象孔子这样简明扼要地总结毕生历程者，似甚罕见。后人常用此指人生的各个阶段。本篇翻译的难点是如何正确理解“而立” 、“不惑” 、“知天命”、“ 耳顺”、“从心所欲，不逾矩 ”等关键词。一百多年前辜鸿铭先生把“天命”译作 the truth in religion ( 宗教的真谛 ) ，这种译法的实际效果等于把孔子
2、当作宗教师祖向国外介绍，似乎不符合原意。本段今译： 孔子说：“我十五岁立志学习；三十岁立身处世站稳了脚跟；四十岁时明白各种事理而不迷惑；五十岁时懂得天命；六十岁时对别人的话能辨别是非曲直；七十岁时能随心所欲而不越出规矩。” 【翻译要点评析】 1. “吾十有五而志于学”，“ 有”是连词，加在整数和零数之间。可不译出，“十有五”意即十五岁。“ 而”：此段中的六个“而”都是连词，表示时间 at 。“志”：立志。“于” ：是介词，相当于“ 在方面”。“ 志于学” set my mind on learning; made up my mind to study 。 2. “三十而立”，对于“ 立”，有
3、两种理解，王福林认为孔子的本意是“立于礼”，即“ 一切按礼办事”故译成 acted on the proprieties 。而其他中外译者都理解为“在社会上立身出世站稳了脚跟”，故有译文 stood firm; planted my feet firm upon the ground; have been well established 等。在当代中国人心目中对“而立之年” 的理解都与后者相同。 3. “四十而不惑”，“ 不惑”：明白各种事理而不迷惑 was no longer perplexed; have understood many things and have no longer
4、 been confused; had no doubts 。王福林先生则从孔子的“仁礼观” 出发，认为“不惑”就是“ 不惑于仁”，亦即能辨明仁与不仁 could make clear distinction between benevolence ( 仁慈，善行 ) and non-benevolence ( 不仁 ) 。 4. “ 五十而知天命 ” ，王福林认为“天命” 是客观必然性，是指道德修养中的一种很高的境界，把 “知天命” 译为 I came to know the existence of the heavenly principles 。赖波认为，“ 知天命”就是“ 知道上天赋
5、予自己的使命 I have known my heaven-sent duty 。其他的译者则把“ 天命”译作 the decree of Heaven; the will of Heaven 等。 5. “六十而而顺”，“ 而顺”：对别人的话能辨别是非曲直 have been able to distinguish right and wrong on other peoples words 。王福林则译为 the heavenly principles were not offensive to my ears 。 6. “七十而从心所欲”，“ 从”：跟从，依从。 “所欲”：是“所字短语”
6、，意即“ 想要的事物”。“从心所欲” 意即“心里怎么想就怎么做 could do whatever I wished; could follow what my heart desired 。 7. “不逾矩”，“逾”：逾越 go beyond; overstep 。“矩” ：规矩 norms; rules; what was right 。王福林解释为“天命的范围” the heavenly principles 。美国诗人庞德则把“矩” 译成 T-square （丁字尺），很形象，但不符合实际，因为孔子时代还没有发明丁字尺。 【六种不同的译文】 1. 理译： The Master said
7、: “At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I know the decrees of Heaven. At 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.” 2. 威译
8、： The Master said, At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground. At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven. At sixty, I heard them with docile ear. At seventy, I could follow the dictates of m
9、y own heart; for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right. 3. 王译： Confucius said: “At fifteen I set my mind on learning. At thirty I acted on the proprieties. At forty I could make a clear distinction between benevolence and non-benevolence. At fifty I came to know the existence
10、of the heavenly principles. At sixty, the heavenly principles were not offensive to my ears. At seventy I could do whatever I wished to without going beyond the heavenly principles.” 4. 赖译： Confucius said: “Since the age of 15, I have devoted myself to learning; since 30, I have been well establishe
11、d; since 40, I have understood many things and have no longer been confused; since 50, I have known my heaven-sent duty; since 60, I have been able to distinguish right and wrong on other peoples words; and since 70, I have been able to do what I intend freely without breaking the rules.” 5. 潘译： The
12、 Master said, “At fifteen I set my heart on learning. At thirty I could stand firm. At forty I had no doubts. At fifty I knew the Decree of Heaven. At sixty I was already obedient (to this decree). At seventy I could follow the desire of my mind without overstepping the boundaries (of what is right)
13、.” 6. 丁译： Confucius said, “At fifteen I made up my mind to study; at thirty I was established; at forty I was no longer perplexed; at fifty I understood the will of Heaven; at sixty I listened to everything without feeling unhappy; at seventy I followed all my desires and none of them was against th
14、e norms.” 【六种译本对关键词译法之比较】 译本 原文 理译 威译 王译 赖译 潘译 丁译 “而立” Stood firm Plant feet firm upon ground Acted on proprieties Have been well established Could stand firm Was established “不惑” Had no doubts No longer suffered from perplexities Make a clear distinction between benevolence and non-benevolence Unde
15、rstand many things and have no longer been confused Had no doubts Was no longer perplexed “天命” Decrees of Heaven What were the bidding of Heaven Existence of heavenly principles My heaven-sent duty The Decree of Heaven The will of Heaven “耳顺” My ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth H
16、eard them with docile ear Heavenly principles were not offensive to my ears Be able to distinguish right and wrong Was already obedient (to this decree) Listened to everything without feeling unhappy “不逾矩” Without transgressing What was right No longer overstepped Boundaries of right Without going beyond the heavenly principles Without breaking the rules Without overstepping boundaries None of them was against the norms
