老子《道德经》第二十二章英译

　　【原文】

　　曲则全，枉则直，洼则盈，敝则新，少则得，多则惑。

　　是以圣人抱一为天下式。不自见故明；不自是故彰；不自伐故有功；不自矜故长。

　　夫唯不争，故天下莫能与之争。古之所谓「曲则全」者，岂虚言哉！诚全而归之。

　　【现代汉语】

　　委婉迂回能达到圆满的结果；屈就才能伸展；低洼空虚才能充盈；弊旧就能生新；缺乏预示着多得；过多则会迷惑。

　　所以遵循‘道’的人以‘道’的原则作为天下事理的标准和范例。不自我标榜，反而能够显明；不自以为是，反而能够得到彰显；不自我夸耀，反而能建立功勋；不自我矜持，反而能长久。

　　就是因为与世无争，所以天下没有人和他争夺。古人所说的“委婉迂回能达到圆满的结果”等箴言，怎么会是空话呢！那是实实在在的真理啊！

　　【英译】

　　The circumbendibus leads to consummation; the condescender leads to spread; the low-lying position leads to increscence; the worn things lead to brand new vitality; the lack leads to abundance; and, overmuch abundance leads to puzzlement.

　　Therefore the sage holds in Tao's principle, and manifests it to all the world. He is free from self- display, and therefore he shines; from self-righteous, and therefore he is distinguished; from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is acknowledged; from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority. It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him.

　　That saying of the ancients that 'the circumbendibus leads to consummation…' was not vainly spoken. Those are all indeed truth.

　　【备注】

　　“多则惑”——这是当今世界的最大特征。

　　满足多，固然困惑；财货缺乏，渴欲多，欲望多就更会惑。所以，这个社会上，无论贫穷富有，大多数人是处于“惑”状态的。

　　老子所说的“曲则全”中的“全”到底是社会概念、还是精神涵义，抑或是形而上的呢？不知道，只求何时此心能平静。

　　老子《道德经》第二十三章英译

　　【原文】

　　希言自然。

　　故飘风不终朝，骤雨不终日。孰为此者？天地。天地尚不能久，而况于人乎？

　　故从事于道者，同于道；德者，同于德；失者，同于失。同于道者，道亦乐得之；同于德者，德亦乐得之；同于失者，失亦乐得之。

　　信不足焉，有不信焉。

　　【现代汉语】

　　（统治阶层）应顺应自然之道，减少政令不扰民，让民众自我发展。

　　狂风不会持续整个白昼，暴雨不会终日不停。这是什么原因呢？是天地使然。天地的狂暴都不能持久，更何况人呢（统治者）？

　　所以依‘道’行事的人，其行为符合‘道’的规律；依德行事的人，其行为符合德的规范；违背道的规律和德的规范，就会失势于天下。行为符合道的规律的人，道就会亲近他；行为符合德之规范的人，德就会亲近他；违背道的规律、德的规范的人，失败就离他不远了。

　　统治者没有足够的诚信，失信于民就是必然的结果了。

　　【英译】

　　(The governor) To obey the principle of Tao’s, do not disorder people with multifarious government order and help them in self-development.

　　The most violent wind can not last for a whole morning; rainstorm can not last for all day long. What’s the reason for that? Heaven and earth cause it like that.

　　Heaven and earth can not be so ruthless and cruel for long time, how much less can human.

　　Therefore the man who acts as the rules of Tao’s, his behaviors accord with Tao, and

　　then, Tao will favor him; the man who acts as criterion of virtue, his behaviors accord with virtue, then, virtue will favor him; the man who violates above two principles, he will leads himself to lose at last.

　　Breaks promise to people make it be inevitable that the governor have no sufficient good faith.

　　老子《道德经》第二十四章英译

　　【原文】

　　企者不立；跨者不行；自见者不明；自是者不彰；自伐者无功；自矜者不长。

　　其在道也，曰：馀食赘形。物或恶之，故有道者不处。

　　【现代汉语】

　　踮起脚跟是站不稳的；大跨步行进是不能持久的；自我表现是不能被人瞩目的；自以为是是不能得到认可的；自我夸耀是不能建立功勋的；自命不凡是不会长久的。

　　从‘道’的观点来看，这些急躁、矫饰的行为好像剩饭赘肉一样，是招人厌恶的，所以有道的人是不会这样做的。

　　【英译】

　　He who stands on his tiptoes can not stand firm; he who stretches his legs can not walk easily. So, self-expression will not be focused; self-righteous behavior will not be recognized; self-display will not be regarded as contribution; self-glorification will make people stop.

　　These kind of behavior, viewed from the standpoint of the Tao, are like remnants of food, or a tumour on the body, which all dislike. So those who pursue the course of the Tao do not adopt and allow them.

　　老子《道德经》第二十五章英译

　　【原文】

　　有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，独立而不改，周行而不殆，可以为天地母。吾不知其名，强字之曰道，强为之名曰大。大曰逝，逝曰远，远曰反。

　　故道大，天大，地大，人亦大。域中有四大，而人居其一焉。

　　人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。

　　【现代汉语】

　　有一个浑然一体的东西，在天地形成以前就存在了。我们听不到它的声音也看不到它的形体，他独立长存，永不衰竭，循环运行而生生不息，可以为天地万物的根源。我不知道该如何称呼它，勉强称之为‘道’，再勉强形容它为‘大’。它广大无边而无所不在；它无所不在而伸展遥远；伸展遥远而返回本原。

　　所以说，道大，天大，地大，人也大。人便是宇宙空间中的这四大之一。

　　人应取法于地，地则取法于天，天取法于道，道则自法其本来面目。

　　【英译】

　　There was something undefined and complete, coming into existence before Heaven and Earth. How still it was and formless, standing alone, and undergoing no change, reaching everywhere and in no danger of being exhausted! It could be regarded as the Mother of all things.

　　I do not know how to name it, and I give it the designation of the Tao. Making an effort further to give it a image I call it The ‘Great’. Tao is so immeasurable that it is omnipresent; Tao is so omnipresent that it’s far-reaching; Tao is so far-reaching that it returns to its source in the end.

　　So, Tao is great; Heaven is great; Earth is great; and the human is also great. Human is the one of four great things in universe.

　　Human should take their law from the Earth; the Earth follows the trail of Heaven; the heaven follows the trail of Tao; the law of the Tao is its being what it is.