《道德经》中英文对照版

《道德经》中英文对照版第一章道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。无名，天地之始；有名，万物之母。故常无欲，以观其妙；常有欲，以观其徼。此两者，同出而异名，同谓之玄。玄之又玄，众妙之门。Chapter1TheWaythatcanbetoldofisnotanUnvaryingWay;Thenamesthatcanbenamedarenotunvaryingnames.ItwasfromtheNamelessthatHeavenandEarthsprang;Thenamedisbutthemotherthatrearsthetenthousandcreatures,eachafteritskind.Truly,'OnlyhethatridshimselfforeverofdesirecanseetheSecretEssences';HethathasneverridhimselfofdesirecanseeonlytheOutcomes.Thesetwothingsissuedfromthesamemould,butneverthelessaredifferentinname.This'samemould'wecanbutcalltheMystery,Orratherthe'DarkerthananyMystery',TheDoorwaywhenceissuedallSecretEssences.第二章天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随。是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教，万物作焉而不辞，生而不有，为而不恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。Chapter2ItisbecauseeveryoneunderHeavenrecognizesbeautyasbeauty,thattheideaofuglinessexists.Andequallyifeveryonerecognizedvirtueasvirtue,thiswouldmerelycreatefreshconceptionsofwickedness.Fortruly'BeingandNot-beinggrowoutofoneanother;Difficultandeasycompleteoneanother.Longandshorttestoneanother;Highandlowdetermineoneanother.Pitchandmodegiveharmonytooneanother.Frontandbackgivesequencetooneanother'.Therefore[1]theSagereliesonactionlessactivity,Carriesonwordlessteaching,Butthemyriadcreaturesareworkeduponbyhim;hedoesnotdisownthem.Herearsthem,butdoesnotlayclaimtothem,Controlsthem,butdoesnotleanuponthem,Achieveshisaim,butdoesnotcallattention[2]towhathedoes;AndfortheveryreasonthathedoesnotcallattentiontowhathedoesHeisnotejectedfromfruitionofwhathehasdone.[1]Because'action'canonlymakeonethinghighattheexpenseofmakingsomethingelselow,etc.[2]Literally,'doesnotplace(i.e.classify)himselfasavictor'.cf.MenciusⅡ,Ⅰ;第三章不尚贤，使民不争；不贵难得之货，使民不为盗；不见可欲，使民心不乱。是以圣人之治，虚其心，实其腹；弱其志，强其骨。常使民无知无欲，使夫智不敢为也。为无为，则无不治。Chapter3Ifwestoplookingfor'personsofsuperiormorality'(hsien)toputinpower,therewillbenomorejealousiesamongthepeople.Ifweceasetosetstorebyproductsthatarehardtoget,therewillbenomorethieves.Ifthepeopleneverseesuchthingsasexcitedesire,theirheartswillremainplacidandundisturbed.ThereforetheSagerulesByemptyingtheirheartsAndfillingtheirbellies,Weakeningtheirintelligence[1]AndtougheningtheirsinewsEverstrivingtomakethepeopleknowledgelessanddesireless.Indeedheseestoitthatiftherebeanywhohaveknowledge,theydarenotinterfere.Yetthroughhisactionlessactivityallthingsaredulyregulated.[1]Particularlyinthesenseof'havingideasofone'sown'.第四章道冲而用之，或不盈。渊兮，似万物之宗。（挫其锐，解其纷，和其光，同其尘。）湛兮，似或存。吾不知谁之子，象帝之先。Chapter4TheWayislikeanemptyvesselThatyetmaybedrawnfromWithouteverneedingtobefilled.Itisbottomless;theveryprogenitorofallthingsintheworld.Initallsharpnessisblunted,Alltanglesuntied,Allglaretempered,Alldust[1]smoothed.Itislikeadeeppoolthatneverdries.Wasittoothechildofsomethingelse?Wecannottell.Butasasubstancelessimage[2]itexistedbeforetheAncestor.[3][1]DustistheTaoistsymbolforthenoiseandfussofeverydaylife.[2]Ahsiang,animagesuchasthementalimagesthatfloatbeforeuswhenwethink.[3]TheAncestorinquestionisalmostcertainlytheYellowAncestorwhoseparatedEarthfromHeavenandsodestroyedthePrimalUnity,forwhichheisfrequentlycensuredisChuangTzu.第五章天地不仁，以万物为刍狗；圣人不仁，以百姓为刍狗。天地之间，其犹橐籥乎！虚而不屈，动而愈出。多言数穷，不如守中。Chapter5HeavenandEarthareruthless;TothemtheTenThousandThingsarebutasstrawdogs.TheSagetooisruthless;Tohimthepeoplearebutasstrawdogs.Yet[1]HeavenandEarthandallthatliesbetweenIslikeabellowsInthatitisempty,butgivesasupplythatneverfails.Workit,andmorecomesout.Whereastheforceofwords[2]issoonspent.Farbetterisittokeepwhatisintheheart[3].[1]Thoughruthlessnatureisperpetuallybounteous.[2]Lawsandproclamations.[3]Forchungas'whatiswithintheheart',seeTsoChuan,YinKung3rdyearandKuanTzu,37,beginning.ThecomparisonofHeavenandEarthtoabellowsisalsofoundinKuanTzu(P'ien11,beginning).第六章谷神不死，是谓玄牝。玄牝之门，是谓天地根。绵绵若存，用之不勤。Chapter6TheValleySpiritneverdies.ItisnamedtheMysteriousFemale.AndtheDoorwayoftheMysteriousFemaleIsthebasefromwhichHeavenandEarthsprang.Itistherewithinusallthewhile;Drawuponitasyouwill,itneverrunsdry.[1][1]LiehTzuquotestheselinesascomingfromtheBookoftheYellowAncestor;butitdoesnotfollowthattheTaoChingisactuallyquothingthemfromthissource.TheymaybelongtothegeneralstockofearlyTaoistrhymedteaching.Forch'incomparebelow,Chapter52,line9,andHuai-nanTzuI,fol.2.第七章天长地久，天地所以能长且久者，以其不自生，故能长生。是以圣人后其身而身先，外其身而身存。非以其无私邪？故能成其私。Chapter7Heaveniseternal,theEarthEverlasting.Howcometheytobeso?Isitbecausetheydonotfostertheirownlives;Thatiswhytheylivesolong.ThereforetheSagePutshimselfinthebackground;butisalwaystothefore.Remainsoutside;butisalwaysthere.IsitnotjustbecausehedoesnotstriveforanypersonalendThatallhispersonalendsarefulfilled?第八章上善若水，水善利万物而不争。处众人之所恶，故几于道。居善地，心善渊，与善仁，言善信，正善治，事善能，动善时。夫唯不争，故无尤。Chapter8Thehighestgoodislikethatofwater.Thegoodnessofwateristhatitbenefitsthetenthousandcreatures;yetitselfdoesnotscramble,butiscontentwiththeplacesthatallmendisdain.ItisthisthatmakeswatersoneartotheWay.Andifmenthinkthegroundthebestplaceforbuildingahouseupon,Ifamongthoughtstheyvaluethosethatareprofound,Ifinfriendshiptheyvaluegentleness,Inwords,truth;ingovernment,goodorder;Indeeds,effectiveness;inactions,timeliness-Ineachcaseitisbeca