译林絮谈

沙枫

严复翻译的《天演论》

最近有一篇谈到严复翻译的《天演论》时说：

“严复翻译的《天演论》（英国赫胥黎著，原名《进化与伦理》），是一部他用自己的观点加以发展和改造了的译作。它的前半是唯物的，后半是唯心的。这部著作的发表，震动了十九世纪末二十世纪初的中国思想界，影响了当时整整一代的知识分子。”

《天演论》的原名为“Evolution and Ethics and other Assays”，也即是《进化与伦理》。中译本在辛亥革命前出版。

严复的译文是这样开头的：

赫胥黎独处一室之中，在英伦之南，背山而面野，槛外诸境，历历如在几下。乃悬想二千年前，当罗马大将恺彻未到时，此间有何景物。计惟有天造草昧，人功未施，其借征人境者，不过几处荒坟，散见坡陀起伏间，而灌木丛林，蒙茸山麓，未经删治如今日者，则无疑也。怒生之草，交加之藤，势如争长相雄。各据一抔壤土，夏与畏日争，冬与严霜争，四时之内，飘风怒吹，或西发西洋，或东起北海，旁午交扇，无时而息。上有鸟兽之践啄，下有蚁蝝之齧伤，憔悴孤虚，旋生旋灭，菀枯顷刻，莫可究详。是离离者亦各尽天能，以自存种族而已。数亩之内，战事炽然。强者后亡，弱者先绝。年年岁岁，偏有留遗。

译文是尔雅的，是否信呢？请看原文：

It may be safely assumed that, two thousand years ago, before Caesar set foot in southern Britain, the whole countryside visible from the windows of the room in which I write, was in what is called "the state of nature". Except, it may be, by raising a few sepulchral mounds, such as those which still, here and there, break the flowing contours of the downs, man's hands had made on mark upon it; and the thin veil of vegetation which overspread the broad-backed heights and the shelving sides of the coombs was unaffected by his industry. The nature grasses and weeds, the scattered patches of gores contended with one another for the possession of the scanty surface soil; they fought against the droughts of summer, the frosts of winter, and the furious gales which swept, with unbroken force, now from the Atlantic, and now from the North Sea, at all times of the year; they filled up, as they might, the gaps made in their ranks by all sorts of underground animal ravagers. One year after another, with an average population, the floating balance of the unceasing struggle for existence among the indigenous plants, maintained itself.

严复在“译天演论例言”中称：故词句之间，••••••，不斤斤于字比句次；而意义则不倍本文；题曰“达旨”，不云“笔译”，取便发挥，实非正法。

严几道可谓夫子自道。上述这一段译文，确实是意译，随意发挥了。文句的次序多不依原文，而且有颇多的意思，是他加上去的。后半更渐与原文脱节，变成夹“作”夹“译”，正如严复本人所说的：“实非正法。”这倒是老实话。