第三十四章

道不自大

The Divine Law Never Claims to Be Great

The divine law is popular and can be found everywhere.

All things depend on it for growth,

and it does not refuse;

when work is done,

it does not possess fame.

It nurtures all things and does not take itself as Lord,

so it can be called Little;

all things are attached to it,

but it does not think of itself as a master,

so it can be called Great.

It is just because it does not think highly of itself

that it can become great.

1、“大道泛兮，其可左右”的英译

“大道泛兮”指的是“道”广泛流行；“其可左右”就是说，它随时随地就在我们的身边。对于此句的翻译，各位译者八仙过海，各显神通。Waley 把“道”比作“到处漂浮的船”，译成“Great Tao is like a boat that drifts; It can go this way; it can go that.”；许渊冲也是用了比喻手法，比作“水溢到左右两边的小溪”，译成“The divine law is a stream overflowing left and right.”我们可以想象，水溢出小溪后会到处流，这就暗示着 “道”无处不在。开始我们还认为许先生对“左右”的理解有误，仔细琢磨才体会到妙处。辜正坤的译文是“The great Tao is felt everywhere extending.” ，其把“左右”译成“in all directions”，符合原文而且便于理解。我们的译文更简单明了：“The divine law is popular and can be found everywhere.”

2、“大”和“小”的英译

三位译者都不约而同地把“大”译成“great”,但对于“小”，译法各异。Arthur Waley 译成了“lowly”。但 “lowly”的解释为“of humble rank or condition”（地位低的; 卑微的）。辜正坤译成“small”。许渊冲译成“little”。如我们所知，small用来形容物体尺寸小，几乎不带感情色彩。little是个“感情丰富”的词，带有喜欢、讨厌、怜惜等感情。所以，我们认为用“little”更合适。