第五十章
出生入死
原文
英译Once Born, People Are Dying
From birth to death,
three tenths of the people live a long life;
three tenths of the people die early;
and three tenths of the people who could have lived longer
go to death owing to their own faults.
How can it be so?
Because of over-nutrition.
It is said that people who are good at taking care of their own lives
will not encounter ferocious rhinos and tigers when walking,
and will not be injured by weapons in war,
as the rhino has nowhere to horn, the tiger has nowhere to claw on,
and the weapon has nowhere to stab the blade.
How can it be so?
Because they can avoid the situation that leads to death.
说明1、“出生入死”的英译
与今天的成语“出生入死（多用以赞扬不顾个人安危的献身精神）”的意思不同，本章中的“出生入死”之意，是说天下万物，出则为生，入则为死，也就是指“从出生到死的人生过程”。Arthur Waley 译成“He who aims at life achieves death.（向生而死）”。很显然，作为西方人，Arthur Waley没有理解“出生入死” 的含义。辜正坤译成 “When given to birth men live and when being buried they die”，意思符合，但有点绕。许渊冲译成“from birth to death”,简洁明了。我们的译法与其一致。
2、“以其生之厚”的英译
三位译者的理解基本一致。辜正坤译成“Because they are too eager to live longer.”；许渊冲译成“For men overvalue a long life.”；Arthur Waley 译成“It is because men feed life too grossly.”。三位译者侧重的是字面意思“因为想长寿”。我们的理解是“由于求生的欲望太强，营养过剩，因而奉养过厚了。”，所以，我们意译成 “Because of over-nutrition.” 。
3、“以其无死地”的英译
此句话的意思是“因为他会避开导致死亡的境地” 。Arthur Waley直译为“Because such men have no death-spot（死亡地点） in them.”，有点令人费解。许渊冲译成“For they will not come near the realm of death.”；辜正坤译成“Because there is no realm of death for him to enter.”。二位译者把“死地”都译成了“the realm of death”。我们采用意译法，译成“Because they can avoid the situation that leads to death.”，更富有想象力。
