雙語詩歌翻譯|《古代寓言·好學的三個比喻》

《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，大部分已經散佚，后經宋曾鞏搜輯，復為二十卷，每卷各有標目。

《古代寓言·好學的三個比喻》

晉平公問于師曠曰：

“吾年七十，欲學，恐已暮矣?！?

師曠曰：“何不炳燭乎？”

平公曰：“安有為人臣而戲其君乎？”

師曠曰：“盲臣安敢戲（其）君（乎），臣聞之：少而好學，如日出之陽；壯而好學，如日中之光；老而好學，如炳燭之明：炳燭之明，孰與昧行乎？”

平公曰：“善哉！”

——《說苑》

A Parable on Study

“I am seventy already,” said Duke Ping of Jin to his blind musician Shi Kuang. “Though I want very much to study and read some books, I feel it is too late.”

“But why not light the candle?” suggested Shi Kuang.

“How dare a subject joke with his master?” cried the duke angrily.

“A blind musician, I dare not!” protested Shi Kuang. “But I have heard that if a man is fond of study in his youth, his future is as bright as the morning sun; if he applies himself to study in middle age, it is like the noon-day sun; while if he begins to study when he is old, it is like a candle's flame. Though a candle is not very bright, at least it is better than groping in the dark.”

The duke agreed with him.

--The Garden of Anecdotes (Shuo Yuan)