第五十四章
善建不拔
原文
英译What Is Well Established Cannot Be Uprooted
What is well established cannot be uprooted,
and what is tightly held cannot slip away.
If the descendants can follow and adhere to this principle,
they will continue to survive.
Applying this principle to himself,
one will make his virtue true and pure;
applying this principle to his family,
he will make his virtue plentiful;
applying this principle to his village,
he will have his virtue respected by the villagers;
applying this principle to his state,
he will make virtue abundant all over the state;
applying this principle to the world,
he will make his virtue universal.
Hence, it is practical to judge others by examining yourself,
to judge other families by examining your family,
to judge other villages by examining your village,
to judge other states by examining your state,
and judge the world by examining the principle of governing the world.
How do I know what is going on in the world?
By employing the methods and principles above.
说明1、“善建者不拔”的英译
这句话的字面意思是“好的建筑者，他修建的建筑物不会因为基础不牢固而倒塌”。 老子在这里用建筑的形象比喻“建德”的重要性，建德犹如打基础，基础越稳固修得越牢固，也就是“善于建立自身道德的人不会动摇”。 Arthur Waley 译成“What Tao plants cannot be plucked（拔）”；辜正坤译成“What is well planted cannot be pulled out”。两位译者把“建”译成“plant(种植)”，和原文有出入。许渊冲译成“What is well established（建）cannot be rooted up（根除）”符合原意。我们则译成“What is well established cannot be uprooted（连根拔起）”更形象更生动。
2、“家”、“乡”、“邦”、“天下”的英译
先看三位译者对应的翻译：许渊冲—“family”、“country”、“state”、“the world”； 辜正坤—“family”、“village”、“state”、“empire”； Arthur Waley— “household”、“village”、“kingdom”、“empire”。不难看出，和其他译者不同，Arthur Waley 把“家”译成“household”，其义 “all the people (family, lodgers, etc) living together in a house 同住在一所房子里的人（家人﹑ 房客等）”和原文有出入。对于“乡”的翻译，许渊冲译成“country”,也未尝不可，但容易造成歧义。“state” 、“kingdom”、 “empire”的意思分别是：state（西方国家常用，指国家、政府）；Kingdom（王国、领域，界）；empire(帝国、帝权)。因而，把“天下”译成“empire” 不太恰当。我们则分别译成了“family”、“village”、“state”、“world”。
