◆辜鸿铭英译《论语》选录

◆辜鴻銘英譯《論語》選錄

《论语》  

The Discourses and Sayings of Confucius

辜鸿铭 英译经典

辜鸿铭，中国近代著名学者，学贯中西，精通英、法、德等多种西文，第一个独立完成《论语》《大学》《中庸》三部儒家经典英译的中国人。

学而

1. 子曰：“学而时习之，不亦说乎？有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？”

Confucius remarked, “ It is indeed a pleasure to acquired knowledge and, as you go on acquiring, to put into practice what you have acquired. A greater pleasure it is when friends of congenial minds still come from afar to seek you because of your attainments. But he’s truly a wise and good man who feels no discomposure even when he is not noticed of men.

2.  子曰：“巧言令色，鲜矣仁！”

Confucius remarked, “With plausible speech and fine manners will seldom be found moral character.”

3. 曾子曰：“吾日三省吾身：为人谋而不忠乎？与朋友交而不信乎？传不习乎？”

A disciple of Confucius remarked, “ I daily examine into my personal conduct on three points:- First, whether in carrying out duties entrusted to me by others I have not failed in conscientiousness; Secondly, whether in intercourse with friends, I have not failed in sincerity and trustworthiness; Thirdly, whether I have not failed to practice what I profess in my teaching. 

4. 子曰：“弟子入则孝，出则弟，谨而信，泛爱众，而亲仁。行有余力，则以学文。”

Confucius remarked, “A young man, when at home, should be a good son; when out in the world, a good citizen. He should be circumspect and truthful. He should be in sympathy with all men, but intimate with men of moral character. If he has time and opportunity to spare, after the performance of those duties, he should then employ them in literary pursuits.

5. 曾子曰：“慎终追远，民德归厚矣。”

A disciple of Confucius remarked: “By cultivating respect for the dead, and carrying the memory back to the distant past, the moral feeling of people will waken and grow in depth.”

6. 子曰：“不患人之不己知，患不知人也。”

Confucius remarked, “One should not be concerned not to be understood of men; one should be concerned not to understand men.”

为政

1. 子曰：“吾十有五而志于学，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳顺，七十而从心所欲，不逾矩。”

Confucius remarked, “ At fifteen I had made up my mind to give myself up to serious studies. At thirty I had formed my opinions and judgment. At forty I had no more doubts. At fifty I understood the truth in religion. At sixty I could understand whatever I heard without exertion. At seventy I could follow whatever my heart desired without transgressing the law.”

2. 子曰：“道之以政，齐之以刑，民免而无耻；道之以德，齐之以礼，有耻且格。”

Confucius remarked, “If in government you depend upon laws, and maintain order by enforcing those laws by punishments, you can also keep the people away from wrong-doing, but they will lose the sense of shame for wrong-doing. If, on the other hand, in government you depend upon the moral sentiment, and maintain order by encouraging education and good manners, the people will have a sense of shame for wrong-doing and, moreover, will emulate what is good.”

3. 子曰：“温故而知新，可以为师矣。”

Confucius remarked, “ If a man will constantly go over what he has acquired and keep continually adding to it new acquirements, he may become a teacher of men.” 

4. 子曰：“君子不器。”

Confucius remarked, “A wise man will not make himself into a mere machine fit only to do one kind of work.”

 5. 子贡问君子。子曰：“先行其言而后从之。”

A disciple enquired what constituted a wise and good man. Confucius answered: “A wise and good man is one who acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions. ”

6. 子曰：“君子周而不比，小人比而不周。”

Confucius remarked, “A wise man is impartial, not neutral. A fool is neutral but not impartial.”

7. 子曰：“学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。”

Confucius remarked, “Study without thinking is labour lost. Thinking without study is perilous.”

8.子曰：“由！诲女知之乎？知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也。”

Confucius said to a disciple, “Shall I teach you what is understanding? To know what it is that you know, and to know what it is that you do not know, - that is understanding.”

9.季康子问：“使民敬，忠以劝，如之何？”子曰：“临之以庄则敬，孝慈则忠，举善而教不能则劝。”

A noble who was the minister in power in the government in Confucius’ native stage asked him what should be done to inspire people, in order to make them exert themselves for the good of the country. Confucius answered, “Treat them with seriousness and they will respect you. Let them see that you honour your parents and your prince, and are considerate for the welfare of those under you, and the people will be loyal to you. Advance those who excel in anything and educate the ignorant, and the people will exert themselves.”

10. 或谓孔子曰：“子奚不为政？”子曰：“《书》云：‘孝乎惟孝，友于兄弟，施于有政。’是亦为政，奚其为为政？”

Somebody asked Confucius, saying, “Why are you not taking part in the government of the country?

Confucius answered, “ What does the ‘ Book of Records’ say of the duties of a good son?”

“‘Be dutiful to your parents; be brotherly to your brothers; discharge your duties in the government of your family.’ These, then, are also duties of government. Why then must one take part in the government of the country in order to discharge the duties of government?”

11. 子曰：“人而无信，不知其可也。大车无輗，小车无軏，其何以行之哉？”

Confucius remarked, “I do not know how men get along without good faith. A cart without a yoke and a carriage without harness-how could they go?”

八佾

1、子曰：“人而不仁，如礼何？人而不仁，如乐何？”

译文：

孔子说：“如果一个人没有道德品质的话，优秀艺术的运用对他还有什么益处呢？如果一个人没有道德品质的话，音乐的运用对他还有什么好处呢？”

Confucius remarked, “If a man is without moral character, what good can the use of the fine arts do him? If a man is without moral character, what good can the use of music do him?

2. 林放问礼之本。子曰：“大哉问！礼，与其奢也，宁俭；丧，与其易也，宁戚。”

译文：一个学生问到什么才是艺术的根本原则。“这是一个非常重大的问题，”孔子回答说，“用于各种社会习俗的艺术，简朴要好于奢华；在为逝者举办的仪式中，发自内心的悲痛要好于对礼仪的密切关注。”

A disciple asked what constituted the fundamental principle of art.

“That is a very great question,” replied Confucius, “but in the art used in social usages it is better to be simple than to be expensive; in rituals for the dead, it is better that there should be heartfelt grief than minute attention to observances. 

3、子曰：“夷狄之有君，不如诸夏之亡也。”

译文：孔子说：“即使是生活在北方与东方的野蛮部落，也是承认他们酋长的权威的，然而现在的中国，对权威的尊崇已经几乎不存在了。”

 Confucius remarked, “The heathen hordes of the North and East, even, acknowledge the authority of their chiefs, whereas now in China respect for authority no longer exists anywhere.”

4、祭如在，祭神如神在。子曰：“吾不与祭，如不祭。”

译文：孔子在祭拜死者时，就像他真的感受到那些逝者的存在。他祭拜神灵时，就像他真的感觉到神灵的存在。他曾说：“如果我在祭拜时不能献出我的真心和灵魂，我总是觉得好像未曾祭拜似的。”

Confucius worshipped the dead as if he actually felt the presence of the departed ones. He worshipped the Spiritual Powers as if he actually felt the presence of the Powers. He once remarked, “If I cannot give up heart and soul when I am worshipping , I always consider as if I have not worshipped.”

5、子入大庙，每事问。或曰：“孰谓鄹人之子知礼乎？入大庙，每事问。”子闻之曰：“是礼也。”

译文：孔子第一次在国家总庙（执政国君的祖庙）参加祭拜仪式时，他在礼仪的每个环节都要询问应该怎么做。于是，有人就说：“是谁告诉我，鄹地那个庶民的儿子是个懂得正确举止的人？”孔子听说了这句话之后，说：“那就是正确的举止啊。”

When confucius first attended the service at the State Cathedral (Ancestral Temple of the Reigning prince), he enquired as to what he should do at every stage of the service. Somebody thereupon remarked, “ Who tells me that the son of the plebeian of Ts‘ow is a man who knows the correct forms?” When Confucius heard of the remark, he said, “That is the correct form.” 

6、子曰：“射不主皮，为力不同科，古之道也。”

译文：孔子说：“在射箭比赛中，用箭射穿靶子是不应算作分数而计入得分的，因为并不能要求每位比赛者在体力上都是相同的。至少，这是古制。”

Confucius remarked, “In archery, putting the arrow through the target should not count as points, because the competitors cannot all be expected to be equal in mere physical strength. At least, that was the old rule.”

7、定公问：“君使臣，臣事君，如之何？”孔子对曰：“君使臣以礼，臣事君以忠。”

译文：孔子故国的一位执政国君问孔子，一位国君应该如何对待他的公务人员，而一个公务人员对他的国君又应如何表现。“让国君，”孔子回答说，“以尊敬之心对待他的公务人员。而公务人员则必须以忠诚来服务于他的国君，他的主人。”

The reigning prince of Confucius’ native State asked Confucius how a prince should treat his public servant and how a public servant should behave to his prince. “Let the prince,” answered Confucius, “treat his public servant with honour. The public servant must serve the prince, his master, with loyalty.”

8、子曰：“《关雎》，乐而不淫，哀而不伤。”

译文：孔子说：“那本有关民谣与诗歌的文学典籍的第一篇民谣，表达了爱的情感。它是多情的，而不是淫秽的；它是忧思悲哀的，而不是病态痛苦的。”

Confucius remarked, “The first ballad in the Book of Ballads and Songs expressed the emotions of love. It is passionate, but not sensual; it is melancholy, but not morbid.”

9、子曰：“居上不宽，为礼不敬，临丧不哀，吾何以观之哉？”

译文：孔子说：“拥有权力却没有宽容；殷勤有礼却不严肃庄重；服丧时不悲痛——对于这样的事情，我一眼都不想看。”

Confucius remarked, “Possession of power without generosity; courtesy without seriousness; mourning without grief, ——I have no desire to look at such a state of things.