雙語詩歌翻譯|《古代寓言·比喻》

《說苑》是漢代劉向所著的小說集，又名《新苑》。原二十卷，后僅存五卷，大部分已經(jīng)散佚，后經(jīng)宋曾鞏搜輯，復為二十卷，每卷各有標目。

《古代寓言·比喻》

客謂梁王曰：“惠子之言事也，善譬，王使無譬，則不能言矣?！蓖踉唬骸爸Z?！泵魅找姡^惠子曰：“愿先生言事則直言耳，無譬也！”惠子曰：“今有人于此而不知彈者，曰：‘彈之狀若何？'應曰：‘彈之狀為彈。'則喻乎？”王曰：“未諭也。”“子是更應曰：‘彈之狀為弓，而以竹為弦。'則知乎？”王曰：“可知矣?！被葑釉唬骸叭フf者固以其所知諭其所不知而使人知之，公子曰‘無譬'，則不可矣。”王曰：“美善?！?/p>

——《說苑》

The Use of Parables

“Hui Zi is forever using parables,” complained someone to the Prince of Liang. “If you, sire, forbid him to speak in parables, he won't be able to make his meaning clear.”

The prince agreed with this man.

The next day the prince saw Hui Zi.

“From now on,” he said, “kindly talk in a straightforward manner, and not in parables.”

“Suppose there were a man who did not know what a catapult is,” replied Hui Zi. “If he asked you what it looked like, and you told him it looked just like a catapult, would he understand what you meant?”

“Of course not,” answered the prince.

“But suppose you told him that a catapult looks something like a bow and that it is made of bamboo – wouldn't he understand you better?”

“Yes, that would be clearer,” admitted the prince.

“We compare something a man does not know with something he does know in order to help him to understand it,” said Hui Zi. “If you won't let me use parables, how can I make things clear to you?”

The prince agreed that he was right.

--The Garden of Anecdotes (Shuo Yuan)