今天想找一些關(guān)于教育的格言，就順著Google的每日格言進(jìn)入了The Quotations Page的主頁。在那里看到一句：Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself. 作者是：Chinese Proverb。想來應(yīng)該是“師父領(lǐng)進(jìn)門，修行在個(gè)人”這句中國的古語了。

中國古文化博大精深，在這樣的網(wǎng)站可以作為單獨(dú)一類。很多外國人想翻譯古詩詞但都不可能表達(dá)出那種字里行間的神韻。古諺語也是如此，用極其精煉的語言表達(dá)了無盡的含義。但同時(shí)也可以看出漢語，特別是古漢語，為讀者留下了太大的思考空間，也造成了所謂漢語相對(duì)與英語的“不準(zhǔn)確性”。英語的準(zhǔn)確性也是其橫行天下的原因之一。

就拿“師父領(lǐng)進(jìn)門，修行在個(gè)人”這句話來說，“師父領(lǐng)進(jìn)門”是“師父領(lǐng)我進(jìn)門”？還是“師父被我領(lǐng)進(jìn)門”呢？如果按照英譯，應(yīng)該是前者。但就中國古代的教育模式來講通常都是請(qǐng)師父來家里教孩子，應(yīng)該是后者?！靶扌性趥€(gè)人”如果鉆牛角尖，也可以用兩種理解：是指“強(qiáng)調(diào)有個(gè)性的培養(yǎng)”呢？還是指“個(gè)人努力的重要性”呢？雖然公認(rèn)后者，但前者也說的過去。這就是漢語容易產(chǎn)生歧義的一個(gè)例子。

古漢語的翻譯具有“不可逆性”，如果你不知道原來的諺語，從英文往漢語回譯的時(shí)候，無論如何也達(dá)不到古人的境界。現(xiàn)代漢語多了些精確性，卻再也找不到那種“神”了，不知道這是進(jìn)步還是退步。

在Chinese Proverb這個(gè)分類里，目前有三十多條格言，我全拷貝在這里。有些翻譯的很有意思，有些能理解是我們的什么話，更多的則是明白意思卻想不出有哪句諺語對(duì)得上號(hào)。大家也來猜一猜，然后留言告知。

1. A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
2. A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.
3. A book holds a house of gold. 【書中自有黃金屋，上半句為什么沒翻譯??？】
4. A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.
5. A book tightly shut is but a block of paper.【開卷有益？】
6. A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.
7. A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections.
8. A filthy mouth will not utter decent language.
9. A fool judges people by the presents they give him.
10. A nation’s treasure is in its scholars.
11. A rat who gnaws at a cat’s tail invites destruction.
12. Be the first to the field and the last to the couch.
13. Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom.
14. Dig the well before you are thirsty.
15. Do good, reap good; do evil, reap evil.【善有善報(bào)，惡有惡報(bào)】
16. Do not employ handsome servants.
17. Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.
18. Do not remove a fly from your friend’s forehead with a hatchet.
19. Don’t open a shop unless you like to smile.
20. Each generation will reap what the former generation has sown.
21. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.【授人與魚不如授人與漁】
22. He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
23. He who is drowned is not troubled by the rain.
24. He who strikes the first blow admits he’s lost the argument.
25. If heaven made him, earth can find some use for him.【天生我才必有用】
26. If you bow at all, bow low.【一不做，二不休】
27. Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve.
28. Raise your sail one foot and you get ten feet of wind.
29. Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.
30. The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.【玉不琢不成器，下半句怎么說來著？？】
31. The palest ink is better than the best memory.
32. To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.
33. When you drink the water, remember the spring.【飲水思源】
34. When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.