老子《道德經(jīng)》英譯第二十章

　　【原文】

　　唯之與阿，相去幾何?善之與惡，相去若何?人之所畏，不可不畏。

　　荒兮，其未央哉!

　　眾人熙熙，如享太牢，如春登臺(tái)。

　　我獨(dú)泊兮，其未兆;

　　沌沌兮，如嬰兒之未孩;

　　累累兮，若無所歸。

　　眾人皆有馀，而我獨(dú)若遺。我愚人之心也哉!

　　俗人昭昭，我獨(dú)昏昏。

　　俗人察察，我獨(dú)悶悶。

　　眾人皆有以，而我獨(dú)頑且鄙。

　　我獨(dú)異于人，而貴食母。

　　【現(xiàn)代漢語】

　　高貴與卑賤相差多少呢?美好和丑惡相差有多少呢?(世俗的價(jià)值判斷，如風(fēng)飄蕩)但是眾

　　人所戒忌的，也不可不警惕，不必特意去冒犯它。

　　安于道的圣人，他們的精神境界多么開闊啊，好像沒有盡頭。

　　眾人對于名利外物追逐不倦，好像爭先恐后地去參加盛大的宴會(huì)，好像在春天登高眺望景色

　　一樣愜意;

　　圣人卻安于淡泊與恬靜，對于名利無動(dòng)于衷;

　　保持本真，如同還不會(huì)嬉笑的嬰兒;

　　悠閑不做作，好像無所牽絆;

　　眾人都追名逐利，不知疲倦，而圣人則安于清心寡欲的生活;保有淳樸憨厚的心態(tài);

　　世人都熱衷于虛榮炫耀，圣人則甘于寂寞、寧靜;

　　世人功于心機(jī)，斤斤計(jì)較，而圣人則保持內(nèi)心純凈，沒有雜念;

　　世人都追求功名和炫目的成就，而圣人則保持著簡單、冷靜的態(tài)度。

　　圣人與世人是不同的，他們更加珍視貼近于‘道’的生活。

　　【英譯】

　　How much difference is there between the nobleness and lowliness? How much difference is there between the goodliness and frightfulness? (The value judgment of common custom changes continuously.) That all men fear is indeed to be feared, you need not to challenge it consciously.

　　The sages who follow 'Tao', how wide and without end their spirit boundary is.

　　The people of the world chase after the fame and gain tirelessly, as if enjoying the great full banquet, as if mounting the terrace to enjoy good view in spring;

　　But sages will not seek fame and wealth; they disregard all fame and gain;

　　They hold their pure essentiality like a new-born infant which has not yet smiled;

　　They are carefree and leisurely without worry of desire;

　　The people of the world pursue nabobism day after day,

　　While the sages are content to lead a humble but virtuous life;

　　The people of the world cling to peacockery flaunt,

　　The sages are willing to stay in loneliness and still;

　　The people of the world haggle over every ounce,

　　But, the sages always make themselves peace;來源：www.examda.com

　　The people of the world aspire after glaring success,

　　The sages keep their heart simple and calm.

　　The Sages alone are different from other men; they value the life that closes to the nursing-mother (the Tao).

　　【備注】

　　老子經(jīng)常會(huì)被世人認(rèn)為“圓滑”、“世故”，但本章所謂的“世故”“消極”正是世人所極

　　其缺乏的美德。

　　我們太過尖刻、急進(jìn)而使這個(gè)世界，也使我們自己的內(nèi)心，一刻不得安寧……