第五十三章
下士好径
原文
使我介然有知，行于大道，唯施是畏。大道甚夷，而人好径。朝甚除，田甚芜，仓甚虚；服文采，带利剑，厌饮食，财货有餘；是为盗夸。非道也哉！
英译
Some People Like By-path
If I have acquired a little understanding of the world,
I will do something according to the principle of the divine law.
The only thing I am worried about is going the wrong way.
Although the road is even,
some people like to take the by-path.
The corruption of the imperial government was so great
that the fields were deserted, and the warehouses were empty.
However, some people were still wearing splendid clothes,
carrying sharp swords, feasting on fine food, and searching for rare goods,
so they may be called the heads of thieves and robbers.
How uncivilized it is!
说明
1、“使我介然有知，行于大道，唯施是畏”的英译
此句的意思是“假如我稍微有了认识，就会按照“道”的原理来做，唯一担心的是害怕走了邪路”。 Arthur Waley 的译文“He who has the least scrap（碎片） of sense, once he has got started on the great highway, has nothing to fear, so long as he avoids turnings.”，把“大道”译成“the great highway”（第一章已有论述），可能是为了后面的turnings。更有意思的是，他把“唯施是畏”译成“has nothing to fear, so long as he avoids turnings（只要不拐弯就没有什么可怕的）” ，有点太直白了。
许渊冲译成“Little as I know, I will follow the great way, only afraid to go astray（误入歧途）.”，把“使我介然有知”译成了让步状语从句“Little as I know（尽管我知道得很少）”。辜正坤译成“If I have acquired a little knowledge, I will be afraid of going astray when I walk on the road”，符合原句，但从句与主句之间似乎没有必然的联系。我们译成“If I have acquired a little understanding of the world, I will do something according to the principle of the divine law. The only thing I am worried about is going the wrong way. ”，较好地阐释了老子的本意。
2、“服文采，带利剑，厌饮食，财货有餘；是为盗夸” 的英译
对于此句的翻译，三位译者的理解一致，只是用词不一。Arthur Waley译成“They wear patterns and embroideries, carry sharp swords, glut themselves with drink and food, have more possessions than they can use. These are the riotous ways of brigandage（抢劫; 土匪行为）”；许渊冲译成“If lords are magnificently dressed, carrying precious swords, satiated with food and drink, and possessed for fabulous wealth, they may be called thieves and robbers.”；辜正坤译成“There are persons who are still dressed gaudily, wearing ornamented swords, satiated with fine food and drink, in possession of extravagant goods. They can be called the chieftains of robbers.”。此句中，“服文采”是指“穿华美的服装”，Arthur Waley 译成“wear patterns（花样） and embroideries（刺绣品）”，倒不失本意，蛮可爱的；许渊冲用了短语“be magnificently dressed”; 辜正坤则译成“be dressed gaudily(俗丽地)”。对于“利剑”的翻译，Arthur Waley译成“sharp swords”； 许渊冲译成“precious swords（宝剑）”；辜正坤则译成“ornamented（装饰用的）swords”。关于“厌”的翻译，Arthur Waley用了“glut（狼吞虎咽）”一词；其他两位译者都用了“satiate（使饱足,使厌腻）”。对于“盗夸”的翻译，Arthur Waley 译成“the riotous（暴乱的, 聚众闹事的） ways of brigandage（抢劫; 土匪行为）”，虽然意思和原文相符，但指向不同。许渊冲翻译的“thieves and robbers”没能准确反映“夸”（即首领）的本意，辜正坤的“the chieftains（强盗首领）of robbers”更符合原意。我们则据上下文，译成“However, some people were still wearing splendid clothes, carrying sharp swords, feasting on fine food, and searching for rare goods, so they may be called the heads of thieves and robbers. ”，更加通俗易懂。