【论语】

子曰：“吾十有五而志于学，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳顺，七十而从心所欲，不逾矩。”

今译：孔子说：“我十五岁立志学习；三十岁立身处世站稳了脚跟；四十岁时明白各种事理而不迷惑；五十岁时懂得天命；六十岁时对别人的话能辨别是非曲直；七十岁时能随心所欲而不越出规矩。”

【翻译要点评析】

1.“吾十有五而志于学”，“有”是连词，加在整数和零数之间。可不译出，“十有五”意即十五岁。“而”：此段中的六个“而”都是连词，表示时间at。“志”：立志。“于”：是介词，相当于“在……方面”。“志于学”set my mind on learning; made up my mind to study。

2. “三十而立”，对于“立”，有两种理解，王福林认为孔子的本意是“立于礼”，即“一切按礼办事”故译成acted on the proprieties。而其他中外译者都理解为“在社会上立身出世站稳了脚跟”，故有译文stood firm; planted my feet firm upon the ground; have been well established等。在当代中国人心目中对“而立之年”的理解都与后者相同。

3. “四十而不惑”，“不惑”：明白各种事理而不迷惑was no longer perplexed; have understood many things and have no longer been confused; had no doubts。王福林先生则从孔子的“仁礼观”出发，认为“不惑”就是“不惑于仁”，亦即能辨明仁与不仁could make clear distinction between benevolence (仁慈，善行) and non-benevolence (不仁)。

4. “五十而知天命”，王福林认为“天命”是客观必然性，是指道德修养中的一种很高的境界，把“知天命”译为I came to know the existence of the heavenly principles。赖波认为，“知天命”就是“知道上天赋予自己的使命I have known my heaven-sent duty。其他的译者则把“天命”译作the decree of Heaven; the will of Heaven等。

5. “六十而耳顺”，“耳顺”：对别人的话能辨别是非曲直have been able to distinguish right and wrong on other people’s words。王福林则译为the heavenly principles were not offensive to my ears。

6. “七十而从心所欲”，“从”：跟从，依从。“所欲”：是“所字短语”，意即“想要的事物”。“从心所欲”意即“心里怎么想就怎么做could do whatever I wished; could follow what my heart desired。

7. “不逾矩”，“逾”：逾越go beyond; overstep。“矩”：规矩norms; rules; what was right。王福林解释为“天命的范围”the heavenly principles。美国诗人庞德则把“矩”译成T-square（丁字尺），很形象，但不符合实际，因为孔子时代还没有发明丁字尺。

【六种不同的译文】

1. 理译：The Master said: “At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I know the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right.”

2. 威译：The Master said, At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground. At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven. At sixty, I heard them with docile ear. At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right.

3. 王译：Confucius said: “At fifteen I set my mind on learning. At thirty I acted on the proprieties. At forty I could make a clear distinction between benevolence and non-benevolence. At fifty I came to know the existence of the heavenly principles. At sixty, the heavenly principles were not offensive to my ears. At seventy I could do whatever I wished to without going beyond the heavenly principles.”

4. 赖译：Confucius said: “Since the age of 15, I have devoted myself to learning; since 30, I have been well established; since 40, I have understood many things and have no longer been confused; since 50, I have known my heaven-sent duty; since 60, I have been able to distinguish right and wrong on other people’s words; and since 70, I have been able to do what I intend freely without breaking the rules.”

5. 潘译：The Master said, “At fifteen I set my heart on learning. At thirty I could stand firm. At forty I had no doubts. At fifty I knew the Decree of Heaven. At sixty I was already obedient (to this decree). At seventy I could follow the desire of my mind without overstepping the boundaries (of what is right).”

6. 丁译：Confucius said, “At fifteen I made up my mind to study; at thirty I was established; at forty I was no longer perplexed; at fifty I understood the will of Heaven; at sixty I listened to everything without feeling unhappy; at seventy I followed all my desires and none of them was against the norms.”

【六种译本对关键词译法之比较】