我试着翻译出来的英文版的荀子《劝学》，欢迎同仁的批
2009-06-12 01:24阅读：
荀子的《劝学》
君子曰：学不可以已。
青，取之于蓝，而青于蓝；冰，水为之，而寒于水。木直中绳，輮以为轮，其曲中规。虽有槁暴，不复挺者，輮使之然也。故木受绳则直，金就砺则利，君子博学而日参省乎已，则知明而行无过矣。
吾尝终日而思矣，不如须臾之所学也；吾尝跂而望矣，不如登高之博见也。登高而招，臂非加长也，而见者远；顺风而呼，声非加疾也，而闻者彰。假舆马者，非利足也，而致千里；假舟楫者，非能水也，而绝江河。君子生非异也，善假于物也。
积土成山，风雨兴焉；积水成渊，蛟龙生焉；积善成德，而神明自得，圣心备焉。故不积跬步，无以至千里；不积小流，无以成江海。骐骥一跃，不能十步；驽马十驾，功在不舍。锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂。蚓无爪牙之利，筋骨之强，上食埃土，下饮黄泉，用心一也。蟹六跪而螯，非蛇鳝之穴无可寄托者，用心躁也。
‘Never
stop learning’, said by a
saint.
The indigo, though extracted from
cyan, is deeper in color than the
cyan; The ice, though
fromed by water, is colder in temperature than the
water.
A timber, as straight as an unbent rope, can
be made into a wheel by broiling; the incurvate degree of the wheel
nearly equals that of a compass. Even though insolated dry, the
already bent timber cannot be unbent any more due to the outward
force of
transformation.Therefore,
A wooden timber
becomes straight if processed with an unbent
rope;
A metal knife becomes
sharp if whetted on a
stone.
Similarly, if a man keeps learning avidly and
reflecting daily,he will be wise both in thought and
action. This is the significance of
keeping
learning.
An entire day’s meditation does not match a
few moments’ learning; An overlook on
tiptoe does not compare a view on a high
position.
A hand waved ona hogh position can be seen
faraway not because the arm is
lenghtened;A call before the wind can be
heard clearly not because the sound is
amplified.
A man by means
of a chariot is able to reach a place a thousand miles away witout
being a quick walker; and with the help of a boat, he can make an
excursion on all rivers and lakes without being a good swimmer. You
see, a saint is born no better than the rest of us. He is just good
at making use of things. That’s all. This the the art of
learning.
A pile of soil can gradually shap a high
mountian where the wind and rain start. A
deposit of water can eventually form an abysmal lake where dragons
grow.
An accumulation of kindness can finally be
upgraded to good virtue through which people’s spirit and wisdom
will reach a super state of being. Such people have access to the
wind and soul of the saints.
Therefore,
A place a thousand miles away can
never be reached without an addition of small paces;
A deep ocean can never comes into being without
the convergence of small
streams.
While a fast horse cannot go further than ten
steps in on jump, a slow horse can run far in ten goes
non-stop. It is the same with doing
sculpture.
With several
times’ chipping, a rotten punk won’t break off; but with continuous
chiselling, even a golden inscription can be
carved.
An
earthworm,lacking sharp paws and robust bones,is capable of eating
soil and drinking fountain underground. All that owes to its
concentrated hard work.
A crab, having
six legs and two claws, is reduced to seeking residence in the
caves of snakes or eels, due to its distracted
mind.
It’s all about
the attitude towards learning and the way of doing
it.
