《道德经》六种英译本赏析——赵彦春；James Legge；

                     Arthur  Waley；林语堂；许渊冲; 辜正坤

第四十八章

●    原文

为学日益，为道日损，损之又损，以至于无为。无为而无不为，取天下常以无事；及其有事，不足以取天下。

●赵彦春

For wits one does much; for the Word one undoes such.  Undoing more and more until no ado. With no ado, one can everything do. One wins the world with no fuss, and with much fuss, one loses the world.

●James Legge

He who devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to increase (his knowledge); he who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks) from day to day to diminish (his doing).
He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing nothing (on purpose). Having arrived at this point of non-action, there is nothing which he does not do.
He who gets as his own all under heaven does so by giving himself no trouble (with that end). If one take trouble (with that end), he is not equal to getting as his own all under heaven.

●Arthur Waley

Learning consists in adding to one's stock day by day;
The practice of Tao consists in “subtracting day by day,
Subtracting and yet again subtracting
Till one has reached inactivity.
But by this very inactivity
Everything can be activated.”
Those who of old won the adherence of all who live under heaven
All did so not interfering.
Had they interfered,
They would never have won this adherence.

●林语堂

The student of knowledge (aims at) learning day by day;
The student of Tao (aims at) losing day by day.
By continual losing
One reaches doing nothing (laissez-faire).
He who conquers the world often does so by doing nothing.
When one is compelled to do something,
The world is already beyond his conquering.

●许渊冲

The more you know of the human world’

the less you know of the divine law.

Less and less you need to know

Till nothing need to be done.

When you need do nothing, there is nothing you cannot do.

If you need do nothing,

then you can rule over the world.

If everything need you to do,

then you cannot rule over the world.

●辜正坤

He who seeks learning

Must increase his knowledge every day;

He who seeks Tao

Must reduce his knowledge every day;

He reduces and reduces

Until he reaches the state of inaction.

When reaching the state of inaction,

One can succeed in everything.

To govern the world well,

One must take inaction as the principle.

If one governs with too much action,

One is not a worthy governor.

         整理编辑于2016年5月29日 农历丙申年四月廿三