關於孟子的一段譯文

見到兩篇洋人翻譯的孟子文選，也來加入嘗試。

“天將降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，增益其所不能。” —— 孟子（《孟子·告子下》） "Thus, when Heaven is about to confer a great office on any man, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil. It exposes his body to hunger, and subjects him to extreme poverty. It confounds his undertakings. By all these methods it stimulates his minds, hardens his nature, and supplies his incompentencies."

(Translated by James Legge in “The Works of Mencius”) "So it is that whenever Heaven invests a person with great responsibilities, it first tries his resolve, exhausts his muscles and bones, starves his body, leaves him destitute, and confounds his every endeavor. In this way his patience and endurance are developed, and his weakness are overcome."

(Translated by David Hinton in “Mencius”)

“When Heaven is about to confer great responsibilities on a man, it first suffers his mind to hardship and adversities, belabors his sinews and bones with toil, subjects him to poverty and hunger, impoverishes his body and soul, and obfuscates his every endeavor, so that by bestirring his mind and fortifying his nature, it may add to his capabilities what he previously did not have. “

(Translated by De-Yin Jeng)