​​《论语·第十三章》子路篇 -英语翻译教程-中英双语赏析

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子路问政，子曰：“先之，劳之。”请益，曰：“无倦。”

Zi Lu asked about the art of ruling. The Master said,“Lead the people and labor together with them.”Zi Lu asked for more. The Master said, “Labor indefatigably.”

🎈先之，劳之。在翻译时要搞清楚代词「之」指的是什么，结合上文的「问政」，这里「之」指的是老百姓（the people）

子路曰：“卫君待子而为政，子将奚先？”子曰：“必也正名乎！”子路曰：“有是哉，子之迂也！奚其正？”子曰：“野哉，由也！君子于其所不知，盖阙如也。名不正、则言不顺，言不顺则事不成，事不成则礼乐不兴，礼乐不兴则刑罚不中，刑罚不中则民无所措手足。故君子名之必可言也，言之必可行也。君子于其言，无所苟而已矣。”

Zi Lu said,“The Prince of Wei is waiting for you to rule over his country. What will you do first?” The Master said, “First of all, things must be properly named.” Zi Lu said, “How can you be so far from reality? Why should things be properly named first of all?” The Master said, “How rude

you are, Zi Lu! A cultured man will keep silent on what he does not know. If things are not properly named, then what you say about them cannot be right. If what you say is not right, how can you accomplish a task? If you cannot accomplish a task, how can ritual and music be properly performed? If ritual and music cannot be properly performed, how can punishment be adequately carried out? If punishment cannot be adequate, how can people know right from wrong? Therefore, a cultured man will first of all name the things properly so that what he says may be right. If what he says is right, then it can be properly carried out. Whatever a cultured man says must not be improper and incorrect, that is all I mean.”

🎈君子于其所不知，盖阙如也。A cultured man will keep silent on what he does not know. 这句话在翻译时遵循中文先事实后评价，英文先评价后事实的语序。同时，在古汉语里，所+动词=名词，可以通过what引导的名词性从句译出。

🎈言不顺则事不成。If what you say is not right, how can you accomplish a task? 这句话中，否定句“事不成”在翻译时处理为疑问句，凸显语气。

樊迟请学稼，子曰：“吾不如老农。”请学为圃，曰：“吾不如老圃。”樊迟出。子曰：“小人哉，樊须也！上好礼，则民莫敢不敬；上好义，则民莫敢不服；上好信，则民莫敢不用情。夫如是，则四方之民襁负其子而至矣，焉用稼？”

When Fan Chi asked about farming. The Master said,“I am no better than an old farmer.” When asked about gardening, the Master said “I am no better than an old gardener.” When Fan Chi had gone out, the Master said, “Fan Chi is indeed an uncultured man. If the ruler loves the rites, no people would be disrespectful. If the ruler loves what is right, no people would be disobedient. If the ruler loves the truth, no people would disregard reality. If such is the case, then people from all the corners of the earth would come to him with their babies strapped on their back. Why need he learn farming?”

🎈译文中，When (he was) asked about gardening, the Master said “I am no better than an old gardener.”这句话when后面省略了he was，注意when/if asked这个用法，很常见。

🎈民莫敢不敬。我们可能会照原文语序直译为：People would not be disrespectful. 许译则在翻译时将否定词“莫”前移到“民”前，即没有人敢不敬，处理为no people would be disrespectful。

🎈四方之民襁负其子而至矣。这句话有两个谓语（襁负、至），怎么处理？再进一步思考，就会发现“襁负其子”是“至”的伴随状态，因此在翻译时将“至”处理为主句谓语（come to him），将“襁负其子”处理为伴随状语（with their babies strapped on their back），即people from all the corners of the earth would come to him with their babies strapped on their back.

子曰：“诵《诗》三百，授之以政，不达；使于四方，不能专对；虽多，亦奚以为？”

If a man versed in three hundred poems, said the Master, cannot discharge the office entrusted to him, nor can he fulfill the mission when sent abroad, what then is the use of being wide read?

🎈诵《诗》三百，授之以政，不达。无主语句，翻译时注意补出泛指主语a man

🎈译文中，a man versed in three hundred poems，等同于a man who is versed in three hundred poems，注意这里versed是形容词，表精通的（be versed in…）

🎈「授之以政，不达」，什么不达？政，故译为cannot discharge the office；什么样的政？授之的政，故用entrusted to him作后置定语修饰the office。合起来就是… cannot discharge the office entrusted to him。在翻译时有时我们拿到一个句子难以入手，理不清句内的逻辑关系，这时可以尝试问自己几个问题，这样可能会比较清晰。

子曰：“其身正，不令而行；其身不正，虽令不从。”

An upright ruler, said the Master, will be obeyed though he gives no order. If he is not upright, he will not be obeyed though he gives orders.

🎈无主语句，在翻译时需补出主语，根据「不令则行」「虽令不从」可以推断出主语是统治者，补出主语ruler

子谓卫公子荆，“善居室。始有，曰：‘苟合矣。’少有，曰：‘苟完矣。’富有，曰：‘苟美矣。’”

The Master said of Jing, a scion of the ducal family of Wei,“He knew well how to lead an economic life. When he began to have means, he said that he had almost enough. When he had a little more, he said that he was almost full. When he was rich, he said that it could not be better.”

🎈卫公子荆，Jing, a scion of the ducal family of Wei，英文通过同位语说明身份。

🎈始有、少有、富有，分别指三种情境，通过when来引出。

子曰：“苟有用我者，期月而已可也，三年有成。”

If any prince should employ me, said the Master, one year would be enough to show what I can do, and three years would show what I can accomplish.

🎈If any prince should employ me，这里的should不是表示应该，而是虚拟语气。

🎈可，what I can do；成，what I can accomplish。在翻译时注意善用what引导的名词性从句。

子曰：“‘善人为邦百年，亦可以胜残去杀矣。’诚哉是言也！”

If good men, said the Master, were to rule the state for a hundred years, violence and slaughter would be done away with. But how could it come true?

🎈亦可以胜残去杀矣。无主语句，翻译时转化为被动语态。

子曰：“苟正其身矣，于从政乎何有？不能正其身，如正人何？”

If the ruler is right, said the Master, he need not worry about how to rule the state. If he is not right, how can he put other people right?

🎈苟正其身矣，于从政乎何有？无主语句，翻译时需补出主语，根据下文“从政”可知主语是统治者，补出the ruler

🎈于从政乎何有？反问句，许译处理为陈述句，he need not worry about how to rule the state.

冉子退朝，子曰：“何晏也？”对曰：“有政。”子曰：“其事也。如有政，虽不吾以，吾其与闻之。”

Once when Ran You came back from court, the Master said, “Why are you so late?” Ran You said,“There were political affairs.” The Master said, “It must have been only administrative business. If there had been political affairs, I should have been consulted though I am not in office now.”

🎈冉子退朝，子曰：“何晏也？” “冉子退朝”是对话的情境，即当冉子退朝时，用when引出。

🎈If there had been political affairs, I should have been consulted though I am not in office now.虚拟语气，由if引导的非真实条件句与过去事实相反，条件从句谓语动词用had+过去分词，主句谓语动词用should/would/could/might+have+过去分词。

定公问：“一言而可以兴邦，有诸？”孔子对曰：“言不可以若是。其几也。人之言曰：‘为君难，为臣不易。’如知为君之难也，不几乎一言而兴邦乎？”曰：“一言而丧邦，有诸？”孔子对曰：“言不可以若是其几也。人之言曰：‘予无乐乎为君，唯其言而莫予违也。’如其善而莫之违也，不亦善乎？如不善而莫之违也，不几乎一言而丧邦乎？”

Duke Ding asked whether there was a word which could make a country prosperous. Confucius said, “A word could hardly do that. But I have heard that it is difficult to be a prince and not easy to be a minister. If a ruler really understands that, can we not say that a word may nearly prosper a country?” Duke Ding asked then whether there was a word which could ruin a country. Confucius said, “A word could hardly do that. But I have heard that a prince finds no pleasure but in that none oppose to what he says. If what he says is right and opposed by none, it is very good. But if what he says is wrong and opposed by none, then is it not a word which may nearly ruin a country?”

🎈为君难，为臣不易。it is difficult to be a prince and not easy to be a minister. 这里符合中文先事实后评价，英文先评价后事实的语序。

🎈注意译文中「一言而可以兴邦」有两种不同的译法，a word could make a country prosperous；a word may nearly prosper a country。实际上区别主要在于用形容词prosperous还是用动词prosper。这启示我们，有时我们在翻译时，一个表达出现多次，我们可以通过转换词性来进行同义替换，如这里的make…prosperous和prosper …，这样可以使表达更加多元，避免重复。

叶公问政，子曰：“近者说，远者来。”

The Duke of She asked about the art of ruling. The Master said, “Make the near happy to stay and the far-off happy to come.”

🎈近者，the near；远者。the far-off。the+adj.表示一类人，之前我们也积累过 贤者（the worthy）；能者（the capable）等。

子夏为莒父宰，问政，子曰：“无欲速，无见小利。欲速则不达，见小利则大事不成。”

Zi Xia who became governor of Jufu asked about the art of ruling. The Master said, “Be neither hasty nor partial! For haste makes waste, and partiality loses entirety.”

🎈无欲速，无见小利。无…无… 这里许译通过neither…nor…来译出，之前我们也多次积累过not…nor…的用法，大家注意巩固学习。

🎈欲速则不达，见小利则大事不成。这句话是在阐述为什么得“无欲速，无见小利”，因此翻译时增译了逻辑衔接词for（因为）。同时，haste makes waste, and partiality loses entirety. haste和waste押韵，partiality和entirety押韵，体现音韵美。

叶公语孔子曰：“吾党有直躬者，其父攘羊，而子证之。”孔子曰：“吾党之直者异于是。父为子隐，子为父隐，直在其中矣。”

The Duke of She said to Confucius,“A straightforward man in my country accused his father when he had stolen a sheep.” Confucius said, “A straightforward man in mine is different. The father would conceal his son’s misconduct and the son would conceal his father’s. In this we see the relation of a family.”

🎈吾党有直躬者，这句话如果直译的话应该是there was a straightforward man in my country，许译直接处理为a straightforward man in my country，做后面内容的主语，这样译更加简洁明了。这说明有时候「吾党有直躬者」中的「有」并不需要译出，直接将这个某地有某人的句子处理为名词结构（somebody in someplace）作主语即可。

樊迟问仁，子曰：“居处恭，执事敬，与人忠。虽之夷狄，不可弃也。”

Fan Chi asked about the good man. The Master said,“A good man respects himself in private life, and respects others in public life. Trustworthy in business, he remains the same though among uncivilized tribes.”

🎈不可弃也。许译采用了反译法，不能废弃这些原则，即保持原样，坚持这些原则，因此许译为remains the same

子贡问曰：“何如斯可谓之士矣？”子曰：“行己有耻，使于四方不辱君命，可谓士矣。”曰：“敢问其次。”曰：“宗族称孝焉，乡党称弟焉。”曰：“敢问其次。”曰：“言必信，行必果，踁踁然小人哉！抑亦可以为次矣。”曰：“今之从政者何如？”子曰：“噫！斗筲之人，何足算也！”

Zi Gong asked what kind of man may be called an official. The Master said, “A man ashamed of his misbehavior and loyal to the prince’s commission when sent abroad may be called an official.” Zi Gong said, “May I venture to ask what kind of man may rank next?” The Master said, “A man commended by his relatives for filial piety and by his fellow villagers for deference to the elders.” When asked what ranks still next, the Master said, “A man faithful in word and in deed, busy all day long like common. people of lower class may perhaps rank next.” When asked how about the officials in the government, the Master said, “Pooh! They are mere thimblefuls, not worth taking into account.”

🎈不辱君命，即遵循君命，翻译时运用了反译法，译为loyal to the prince’s commission

🎈言必信，行必果。这两个小分句表达的意思、结构相似，翻译时合并大意为：在言和行方面都坚定，译为A man faithful in word and in deed

子曰：“不得中行而与之，必也狂狷乎！狂者进取，狷者有所不为也。”

If I cannot find men, said the Master, who follow the middle way, I would rather have the radical and the moderate. The radical would advance and the moderate would not do anything wrong.

🎈狂，the radical；狷，the moderate。the+adj.表一类人

子曰：“南人有言曰：‘人而无恒，不可以作巫医。’善夫！”“不恒其德，或承之羞。”子曰：“不占而已矣。”

The Master said,“It is said in the south that a man without constancy cannot make a good witch-doctor. Well said!” It is said in the Book of Change “Inconstancy will lead to disgrace.” The Master said, “This simply discourages the inconstant from initiating into witchcraft.”

🎈中文习惯用主动语态，英文经常用被动语态，如：南人有言曰，It is said in the south that… 这种译法十分常见，如：人们都认为… …（It is widely recognized that…）

🎈不恒其德，或承之羞。这句话我们在翻译时可能会处理为If one cannot remain constant, he may suffer disgrace. 这样译也能译出大意，但实际上可以译得更精当。我们在这里可以借鉴一下许译。首先，我们要理解原文的意思以及句内逻辑关系，「不恒其德」与「或承之羞」是因果关系 ，即：不恒其德会导致或承之羞。译为Inconstancy will lead to disgrace

子贡问曰：“乡人皆好之，何如？”子曰：“未可也。”“乡人皆恶之，何如？”子曰：“未可也。不如乡人之善者好之，其不善者恶之。”

Zi Gong asked,“What do you think of a man loved by all his countrymen?” The Master said, “I do not think he is good enough.” When asked about a man disliked by all his countrymen, the Master said, “I am not sure he is bad. I would prefer a man loved by the good countrymen and disliked by the bad ones.”

🎈乡人皆好之，这句话在翻译时将“之”（a man）提取出来，将“乡人皆好”处理为非谓语作后置定语（loved by all his countrymen），即处理为a man loved by all his countrymen这样的名词结构，下文的“乡人皆恶之”、“乡人之善者好之，其不善者恶之”在翻译时也是同理。

子曰：“君子易事而难说也，说之不以道不说也，及其使人也器之；小人难事而易说也，说之虽不以道说也，及其使人也求备焉。”

It is easy to serve, said the Master, but difficult to please a cultured man, for he will not be pleased but in the right way, and he employs men according to their abilities. It is difficult to serve, but easy to please an uncultured man, for he may be pleased though not in the right way, but he expects the employed equal to everything.

🎈「说之不以道不说也」解释了「君子易事而难说也」的原因，因此翻译时需增译逻辑连接词for

子曰：“君子泰而不骄，小人骄而不泰。”

A cultured man, said the Master, is dignified and not proud, while an uncultured man is proud and not dignified.

🎈译文中，两个分句通过while连接，这里的“while” is used to emphasize the difference between two situations, activities etc. 强调君子和小人之见的不同。while的这一用法也比较常见，例如：Schools in the north tend to be better equipped, while those in the south are relatively poor.

子曰：“刚、毅、木、讷近仁。”

Strong and steady, said the Master, wooden and wordless, such a man is nearly a good man.

🎈Strong and steady, wooden and wordless，这里是形容词做状语，这里用来说明仁者的品质。这个用法也比较常见，例如：Timid and introverted, he didn’t dare to speak out loud in public.

子路问曰：“何如斯可谓之士矣？”子曰：“切切偲偲，怡怡如也，可谓士矣。朋友切切偲偲，兄弟怡怡。”

Zi Lu asked what kind of man might be called a cultured man. The Master said, “He should be helpful and peaceful: helpful to friends and peaceful among brothers.”

🎈切切偲偲，怡怡如也，可谓士矣。调整语序为：士切切偲偲，怡怡如也。因此译为He(A cultured man) should be…

子曰：“善人教民七年，亦可以即戎矣。”

The people, said the Master, trained by good teachers for seven years, may be employed in war.

🎈在翻译这句话时，我们需要思考，“亦可以即戎矣”的主语是谁呢？是“善人”还是“民”？很明显是“民”，即：民亦可以即戎矣，因此译为The people may be employed in war. 那民在什么情况下才可以“亦可以即戎矣”呢？在受“善人教七年”的情况下，因此译出trained by good teachers for seven years作the people的后置定语。在翻译时，如果我们遇到一个句子比较破碎，或者当我们理不清句内逻辑结构时，这时我们可以多问自己几个问题，更进一步理解原文。

子曰：“以不教民战，是谓弃之。”

It would be a useless sacrifice, said the Master, to employ untrained people in war.

🎈这句话遵循中文先事实（以不教民战）后评价（是谓弃之），英文先评价（It would be a useless sacrifice）后事实（to employ untrained people in war）的语序。

🎈复盘表达

赦小过pardon one’s minor faults

举贤才promote those who have talent

为政rule over a country

正名things should be properly named

襁负其子with their babies strapped on their back

精通的be versed in something

将某事托付给某人something be entrusted to somebody

胜残去杀violence and slaughter may be done away with

推行仁政make virtue prevail among the people

兴邦make a country prosperous/prosper a country

近者the near

远者the far-off

欲速则不达haste makes waste

夷狄uncivilized/barbarian tribes

狂the radical

狷the moderate

切切偲偲，怡怡如也helpful and peaceful

未经允许不得转载：帕布莉卡 » ​​《论语·第十三章》子路篇 -英语翻译教程-中英双语赏析