1、1道德经汉英对照 （Waley 译本）老子 著Arthur Waley 英译注：英文翻译不能完全表达古文愿意，敬请读者斟酌一章道，可道，非恒道。名，可名，非恒名。无名，天地之始；有名，万物之母。故常无欲，以观其妙；常有欲，以观其徼。此两者同出而异名，同谓之玄。玄之又玄，众妙之门。The Way that can be told of is not an Unvarying Way;The names that can be named are not unvarying names.It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang;Th
2、e named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures, each after its kind.Truly, “Only he that rids himself forever of desire can see the Secret Essences”;He that has never rid himself of desire can see only the Outcomes.These two things issued from the same mould, but nevertheless are di
3、fferent in name.This “same mould” we can but call the Mystery,Or rather the “Darker than any Mystery”,The Doorway whence issued all Secret Essences.-二章天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善矣。有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相盈，音声相和，前后相随，恒也。是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教，万物作而弗始，生而弗有，为而弗恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。It is because every one under Heaven recog
4、nizes beauty as beauty,That the idea of ugliness exists.And equally if every one recognized virtue as virtue,this would merely create fresh conceptions of wickedness.For truly, Being and Not-being grow out of one another;Difficult and easy complete one another.Long and short test one another;High an
5、d low determine one another.Pitch and mode give harmony to one another.Front and back give sequence to one another.Therefore the Sage relies on actionless activity,Carries on wordless teaching,2But the myriad creatures are worked upon by him;He does not disown them.He rears them, but does not lay cl
6、aim to them,Controls them, but does not lean upon them,Achieves his aim, but does not call attention to what he does;And for the very reason that he does not call attention to what he doesHe is not ejected from fruition of what he has done.-三章不尚贤，使民不争；不贵难得之货，使民不为盗；不见可欲，使民心不乱。是以圣人之治，虚其心，实其腹；弱其志，强其骨。常
7、使民无知无欲。使夫知不敢弗为而已，则无不治。If we stop looking for “persons of superior morality” (hsien) to put in power,There will be no more jealousies among the people.If we cease to set store by products that are hard to get,There will be no more thieves.If the people never see such things as excite desire,Their hea
8、rts will remain placid and undisturbed.Therefore the Sage rulesBy emptying their heartsAnd filling their hearts?Weakening their intelligenceAnd toughening their sinewsEver striving to make the people knowledgeless and desireless.Indeed he sees to it that if there be any who have knowledge,They dare
9、not interfere.Yet through his actionless activity all things are duly regulated.-四章道冲，而用之或不盈。渊兮，似万物之宗。挫其锐，解其纷，和其光，同其尘。湛兮，似或存。吾不知谁之子，象帝之先。The Way is like an empty vesselThat yet may be drawn fromWithout ever needing to be filled.It is bottomless; the very progenitor of all things in the world.In it a
10、ll sharpness is blunted,All tangles untied,3All glare tempered,All dust soothed.It is like a deep pool that never dries.Was it too the child of something else?We cannot tell.But as a substanceless image it existed before the Ancestor.-五章天地不仁，以万物为刍狗；圣人不仁，以百姓为刍狗。天地之间，其犹橐龠乎？虚而不屈，动而愈出。多闻数穷，不如守中。Heaven a
11、nd Earth are ruthless;To them the Ten Thousand things are but as straw dogs.The Sage too is ruthless;To him the people are but as straw dogs.Yet Heaven and Earth and all that lies betweenIs like a bellowsIn that it is empty, but gives a supply that never fails.Work it, and more comes out.Whereas the
12、 force of words is soon spent.Far better is it to keep what is in the heart.-六章谷神不死，是谓玄牝。玄牝之门，是谓天地根。绵绵若存，用之不勤。The Valley Spirit never dies.It is named the Mysterious Female.And the doorway of the Mysterious FemaleIs the base from which Heaven and Earth sprang.It is there within us all the while;Draw
13、 upon it as you will, it never runs dry.-七章天长地久。天地所以能长且久者，以其不自生，故能长生。是以圣人后其身而身先，外其身而身存。不以其无私邪？故能成其私。4Heaven is eternal, the Earth everlasting.How come they to be so?It is because they do not foster their own lives;That is why they live so long.Therefore the SagePuts himself in the background; but is
14、 always to the fore.Remains outside; but is always there.Is it not just because he does not strive for any personal endThat all his personal ends are fulfilled?-八章上善若水。水善利万物而不争，居众人之所恶，故几于道。居善地，心善渊，与善仁，言善信，政善治，事善能，动善时。夫唯不争，故无尤。The highest good is like that of water.The goodness of is that it benefits
15、 the ten thousand creatures;Yet itself does not scramble,But is content with the places that all men disdain.It is this makes water so near to the Way.And if men think the ground the best place for building a house upon,If among thoughts they value those that are profound,If in friendship they value
16、 gentleness,In words, truth; in government, good order;In deeds, effectiveness; in actions, timeliness -In each case it is because they prefer what does not lead to strife,And therefore does not go amiss.-九章持而盈之，不如其已。揣而锐之，不可长保。金玉满堂，莫之能守。富贵而骄，自遗其咎。功遂身退，天下之道。Stretch a bow to the very full,And you will
17、 wish you had stopped in time;Temper a sword-edge to its very sharpest,And you will find it soon grows dull.When bronze and jade fill your hall.5It can no longer be guarded.Wealth and place breed insolence.That brings ruin in its train.When your work is done, then withdraw!Such is Heavens Way.-十章载营魄
18、抱一，能无离乎？专气致柔，能如婴儿乎？修除玄览，能无疵乎？爱民治国，能无智乎？天门开阖，能为雌乎？明白四达，能无知乎？生之、畜之，生而不有，长而不宰。是为玄德。Can you keep the unquiet physical-soul from straying,Hold fast to the Unity, and never quit it?Can you, when concentrating your breath,Make it soft like that of a little child?Can you wipe and cleanse your vision of the
19、Mystery till all is without blur?Can you love the people and rule the land,Yet remain unknown?Can you in opening and shutting the heavenly gates play always the female part?Can your mind penetrate every corner of the land,But you yourself never interfere?Rear them, then, feed them,Rear them, but do
20、not lay claim to them.Control them, but never lean upon them;Be chief among them, but do not manage them.This is called the Mysterious Power.-十一章三十辐共一毂，当其无，有车之用。埏埴以为器，当其无，有器之用。凿户牖以为室，当其无，有室之用。故有之以为利，无之以为用。We put thirty spokes together and call it a wheel;But it is on the space where there is nothing
21、That the usefulness of the wheel depends.We turn clay to make a vessel;But it is on the space where there is nothingThat the usefulness of the vessel depends.We pierce doors and windows to make a house;6And it is on these spaces where there is nothingThat the usefulness of the house depends.Therefor
22、e just as we take advantage of what is,We should recognize the usefulness of what is not.-十二章五色令人目盲；五音令人耳聋；五味令人口爽；驰骋畋猎，令人心发狂；难得之货，令人行妨。是以圣人为腹不为目，故去彼取此。The fives colours confuse the eye,The fives sounds dull the ear,The five tastes spoil the palate.Excess of hunting and chasingMakes minds go mad.Prod
23、ucts that are hard to getImpede their owners movements.Therefore the SageConsiders the belly not the eye.Truly, “he rejects that but takes this”.-十三章宠辱若惊，贵大患若身。何谓宠辱若惊？宠为下，得之若惊，失之若惊，是谓宠辱若惊。何谓贵大患若身？吾所以有大患者，为吾有身，及吾无身，吾有何患？故贵以身为天下，若可寄天下；爱以身为天下，若可托天下。Favour and disgrace goad as it were to madness;High ra
24、nk hurts keenly as our bodies hurt.”What does it mean to say that favour and disgrace goad as it were to madness?It means that when a rules subjects get it they turn distraught,When they lose it they turn distraught.That is what is meant to by saying favour and disgrace goad as it were to madness.Wh
25、at does it mean to say that high rank hurts keenly as our bodies hurt?The only reason that we suffer hurt is that we have bodies;If we had no bodies, how could we suffer?Therefore we may accept the saying:“He who in dealing with the empire regards his high rank7As through it were his body is the bes
26、t person to be entrusted with rules;He who in dealing with the empire loves his subjects as one should love ones bodyIs the best person to whom one commit the empire.”-十四章视之不见，名曰微；听之不闻，名曰希；搏之不得，名曰夷。此三者，不可致诘，故混而为一。其上不皎，其下不昧，绳绳兮不可名，复归于物。是谓无状之状，无物之象，是谓惚恍。迎之不见其首，随之不见其后。执古之道，以御今之有。能知古始，是谓道纪。Because the e
27、ye gazes but can catch no glimpse of it,It is called elusive.Because the ear listens but cannot hear it,It is called the rarefied.Because the hand feels for it but cannot find it,It is called the infinitesimal.These three, because they cannot be further scrutinized,Blend into one,Its rising brings n
28、o light;Its sinking, no darkness.Endless the series of things without nameOn the way back to where there is nothing.They are called shapeless shapes;Forms without form;Are called vague semblance.Go towards them, and you can see no front;Go after them, and you see no rear.Yet by seizing on the Way th
29、at wasYou can ride the things that are now.For to know what once there was, in the Beginning,This is called the essence of the Way.-十五章古之善为道者，微妙玄通，深不可识。夫唯不可识，故强为之容：豫兮，若冬涉川；犹兮，若畏四邻；俨兮，其若客；涣兮，其若凌释；敦兮，其若朴；旷兮，其若谷；混兮，其若浊。孰能浊以止？静之徐清。孰能安以久？动之徐生。保此道者，不欲盈。夫唯不盈，故能蔽而新成。8Of old those that were the best officers
30、 of CourtHad inner natures subtle, abstruse, mysterious, penetrating,Too deep to be understood.And because such men could not be understoodI can but tell of them as they appeared to the world:Circumspect they seemed, like one who in winter crosses a stream,Watchful, as one who must meet danger on ev
31、ery side.Ceremonious, as one who pays a visit;Yet yielding, as ice when it begins to melt.Blank, as a piece of uncarved wood;Yet receptive as a hollow in the hills.Murky, as a troubled stream (Tranquil, as the vast reaches of the sea,Drifting as the wind with no stop.)Which of you an assume such mur
32、kiness,To become in the end still and clear?Which of you can make yourself insert,To become in the end full of life and stir?Those who possess this Tao do not try to fill themselves to the brim,And because they do not try to fill themselves to the brim,They are like a garment that endures all wear a
33、nd need never be renewed.-十六章致虚极，守静笃。万物并作，吾以观复。夫物芸芸，各复归其根。归根曰静，静曰复命。复命曰常，知常曰明。不知常，妄作，凶。知常容，容乃公，公乃王，王乃天，天乃道，道乃久，殁身不殆。Push far enough towards the Void,Hold fast enough to Quietness,And of the ten thousand things none but can be worked on by you.I have beheld them, whither they go back.See, all things
34、howsoever they flourishReturn to the root from which they grew.This return to the root is called Quietness;Quietness is called submission to Fate;What has submitted to Fate has become part of the always so.To know the always-so is to be Illumined;Not to know it, means to go blindly to disaster.He wh
35、o knows the always-so has room in him for everything;He who has room in him for everything is without prejudice.To be without prejudice is to be kingly;9To be kingly is to be of heaven;To be of heaven is to be in Tao.Tao is forever and he that possess it,Though his body ceases, is not destroyed.-十七章
36、太上，不知有之；其次，亲而誉之；其次，畏之；其次，侮之。信不足焉，有不信焉。悠兮，其贵言。功成事遂，百姓皆谓：我自然 。Of the highest the people merely know that such a one exists;The next they draw near to and praise.The next they shrink from, intimidated; but revile.Truly, “It is by not believing people that you turn them into liars”.But from the Sage it
37、is so hard at any price to get a single wordThat when his task is accomplished, his work done,Throughout the country every one says: “It happened of its own accord”.-十八章大道废，有仁义；智慧出，有大伪；六亲不和，有孝慈；国家昏乱，有忠臣。It was when the Great Way declinedThat human kindness and morality arose;It was when intelligence
38、 and knowledge appearedThat the Great Artifice began.It was when the six near ones were no longer at peaceThat there was talk of “dutiful sons”;Nor till fatherland was dark with strifeDid we hear of “loyal slaves”.-十九章绝圣弃智，民利百倍；绝仁弃义，民复孝慈；绝巧弃利，盗贼无有。此三者以为文，不足。故令有所属：见素抱朴，少思寡欲，绝学无忧。Banish wisdom, discar
39、d knowledge,And the people will be benefited a hundredfold.10Banish human kindness, discard morality,And the people will be dutiful and compassionate.Banish skill, discard profit,And thieves and robbers will disappear.If when these three things are done they find life too plain and unadorned,Then le
40、t them have accessories;Give them Simplicity to look at, the Uncarved Black to hold,Give them selflessness and fewness of desires.Banish learning, and there will be no more grieving.-二十章唯之与阿，相去几何？美之与恶，相去若何？人之所畏，不可不畏。荒兮，其未央哉！众人熙熙，如享太牢，如春登台。我独泊兮，其未兆；沌沌兮，如婴儿之未孩；儡儡兮，若无所归。众人皆有馀，而我独若遗。我愚人之心也哉，沌沌兮！俗人昭昭，我独昏
41、昏。俗人察察，我独闷闷。淡兮，其若海，望兮，若无止。众人皆有以，而我独顽似鄙。我独异于人，而贵食母。Between wei and oWhat after all is the difference?Can it be compared to the difference between good and bad?The saying “what others avoid I too must avoid”How false and superficial it is?All men, indeed, are wreathed in smiles,As though feasting afte
42、r the Great Sacrifice,As though going up to the Spring Carnival.I alone am inert, like a child that has not yet given sign;Like an infant that has not yet smiled.I droop and drift, as though I belonged nowhere.All men have enough and to spare;I alone seem to have lost everything.Mine is indeed the m
43、ind of a very idiot,So dull am I.The world is full of people that shine;I alone am dark.They look lively and self-assured;I alone depressed.(I seem unsettled as the ocean;Blown adrift, never brought to a stop.)All men can be put to some use;I alone am intractable and boorish.But wherein I most am di
44、fferent from men11Is that I prize no sustenance that comes not from the Mothers breast.-二十一章孔德之容，惟道是从。道之为物，惟恍惟惚。惚兮恍兮，其中有象；恍兮惚兮，其中有物；窈兮冥兮，其中有精；其精甚真，其中有信。自今及古，其名不去，以阅众甫。吾何以知众甫之状哉？以此。Such the scope of the All-pervading Power.That it alone can act through the Way.For the Way is a thing impalpable, incommensurable.Incommensurable, impalpable.Yet latent in it are forms;Impalpable, incommensurableYet within it are entities.Shadowy it is and dim;Yet within it there is a force,Is none the less efficacious.From th
