第二十四章
欲速不达
原文企者不立；跨者不行；自见者不明；自是者不彰；自伐者无功；自矜者不长。其在道也，曰餘食赘形，物或恶之，故有道者不居。
英译More Haste Makes Less Speed
If you stand on tiptoe to be taller,
you can't stand long;
if you take big strides to move faster,
you can't go far.
Quite similarly,
those who show off will not be able to make a correct judgment;
those who are self-righteous are not recognized;
those who boast do not have praiseworthy deeds;
and those who are conceited cannot be the leader.
From the perspective of the divine law,
such behaviors might only be leftovers.
Because they are disgusting things,
those who follow the divine law will never do so.
说明1、“企者不立；跨者不行”的英译
就这句话，各位译者的理解大同小异。看看辜正坤: He who stands on tiptoes cannot stand well; He who walks with great strides canot walk well.两个地方都用了 well，让人觉得不够用心。许渊冲的：One who stands on tiptoe cannot stand firm; who makes big strides cannot walk long. 一个firm， 一个long，明显比辜讲究了。而Arthur Waley的译文中He who stands on tiptoe does not stand firm; He who takes the longest strides does not walk the fastest.用了the longest与the fastest，感觉不太符合老子的本意。最后看看我们的译文：If you stand on tiptoe to be taller, you cannot stand long; If you take big strides to move faster, you cannot go far.虽然看上去有点啰嗦，但对初级水平的读者却有益处。
2、“其在道也，曰餘食赘形”的英译
前面半句，译者的理解完全一致。辜正坤译成发 from the point of view of Tao, 许渊冲译成in the light of the divine law, Arthur Waley 译成from the standpoint of the Way, 我们则译成了from the perspective of the divine law。但后边半句就不大一样了。辜译成these behaviours are like leftover food and superfluous excrescence，许译成了such behavior is like superfluous food，我们的译文是such behaviours might only be leftovers。无所谓好坏。但看看Arthur Waley的译文：it is said "Pass round superfluous dishes to those that have already had enough, and no creature but will reject them in disgust." 给人的感觉首先是对原文理解不透，其次用祈使句翻译也显得不地道。有时候很难理解，一个母语为英语的翻译家竟然更多地直译。难道身边有人在用现代汉语给他解释原文？
