译林絮谈

沙枫

“守株待兔”这句成语

“守株待兔”这句成语，出自韩非的《五蠹》一文。是这样说的：“宋人有耕者，田中有株，兔走触株，折颈而死。因释其耒而守株，冀复得兔，兔不可复得，而身为宋国笑。”

“守株待兔”，《辞源》解释为：“喻先入为主，不知变通也。”《辞海》解释为：“喻拘泥不变也。”“株”，乃“树身”。

韩非子文中上述这一段话，有好几个人译过，有蔡氏父子（Chu Chai and Winfred Chai）的英译如下：

There was once a man of Sung, who was tilling his field. In the midst of the field stood the trunk of a tree. One day a hare, while running fast, bumped into the trunk, broke its neck, and died. Thereupon he cast his plough aside and kept watch at the trunk, hoping that he would get another hare. However he never caught another hare and was himself ridiculed by the people of Sung.

“株”是译作“Trunk”的。

W. K. Liao 的英译是这样的：

There was in Sung a man, who tilled a field in which there stood the trunk of a tree. Once a hare, while running fast, rushed against the trunk, broke its neck, and died. Thereupon the man cast his plough aside and watched that tree, hoping that he would get another hare. Yet he never caught another hare and was himself ridiculed by the people of Sung.

M. W. Ho 的英译如下：

There was a farmer in the State of Sung; in the field there was a tree. A hare knocked against the tree trunk while running, broke its neck and died. Thereupon, the farmer gave up ploughing his field and waited by the tree in the hope of getting another. Eventually none could be got and he was laughed at by the people of Sung.

这则寓言，简而明，是易懂易译的。人是不能守株待兔的，是要进取的。