第五十一章
长而不宰
原文
英译Lead, but Not Rule
The divine law grows all things,
and virtue nurtures them.
They take on a variety of forms,
and the environment helps them grow up.
Therefore, all things obey the divine law and value virtue.
The reason why the divine law is obeyed and virtue valued
is that the divine law grows all things without interference,
and virtue raises all things without domination.
Therefore, as the divine law grows all things,
virtue rears them,
and they are all grown up and developed, matured and sheltered.
This is the mysterious virtue of
growing all things without taking them as their own,
nurturing them without imposing personal will,
and leading rather than dominating them.
说明1、“道之尊，德之贵，夫莫之命而常自然”的英译
对于此句的翻译，各位译者的理解基本一致。Arthur译成“No mandate（命令） ever went forth that accorded to Tao the right to be worshipped, nor to its “power” the right to be worshipped, nor to its “power” the right to receive homage（尊崇）.”，句子稍长，用词稍微生僻；辜正坤译成“This worship and honor stems(起源) from the fact that Tao and Teh (virue) never unnaturally impose their influence on all creatures.”，用了一个同位语从句，修饰“the fact”, 但表达有点绕。许渊冲译成“The divine law is important and virtue is valuable. None orders them to obey, but they obey naturally.”倒是十分简单明了。
我们译成“The reason why the divine law is obeyed and virtue valued is that the divine law grows all things without interference, and virtue raises all things without domination. ”，用了“why”引导的定语从句和“that”引导的表语从句，虽然句子稍长，但意思表达更清晰，易于理解。
2、“故道生之，德畜之；长之育之；成之熟之；养之覆之”的英译
Arthur Waley译成“Therefore as Tao bore them and the “power” of Tao reared them, made them grow（长之）, fostered them（育之）, harboured（庇护、保护）them（养之覆之）, brewed（孕育） for them（成之熟之）”；辜正坤译成“In this way, Tao begets all creatures; The (virtue) rears them, promotes them（长之）, nurture them（育之）, bring them to fruition and maturity（成之熟之）, meanwhile maintains and defends them（养之覆之）.”；许渊冲译成“In accordance with the divine law, all things are born and bred in their virtue, grown up and developed（长之育之）, completed and matured（成之熟之）, protected and sheltered(养之覆之).”。可以看出，三位译者的用词不一，都基本和原文相符，可谓是精彩纷呈。
我们集众家之长，译成“Therefore, the divine law grows all things, virtue rears them, and they are all grown up and developed, matured and sheltered. ”,和许渊冲的译文一样，句子用了被动语态，用了四个动词 “grow up”、“develop”、“mature”、“shelter”和原文相对应，一目了然。
3、“玄德”的英译
“玄”的意思是“深奥不容易理解的(mysterious)”，第一章已有论述。辜正坤译成 “the most intrinsic Teh (virtue)”。查阅字典，intrinsic: adj (of a value or quality) belonging naturally; existing within, not coming from outside（指价值或性质）固有的, 内在的, 本质的。所以，辜正坤的的理解和原文有出入。Arthur Waley的译文“the mysterious power”和许渊冲的译文“the mysterious virtue”符合原意，所以我们也译成了“the mysterious virtue”。
