tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jun 19 07:49:44 2003
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Tao Te Ching Chp. 57
- From: "Agnieszka Solska" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Tao Te Ching Chp. 57
- Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 12:43:34 +0000
57E
wo' Dache'meH mIw motlh [A] yIlo'.
noH DaQapmeH mIw le' [A] yIlo'.
'ach qo' DacharghmeH yInISQo'.
chay' mImmeyvam vISov?
jISummo' vISov. [A]
puSchoHtaHchugh nuv DIbmey,
chepHa'choH je [B] nuvpu'.
law'choHtaHchugh nuvpu' nuH jej,
lughHa'choH je Sep Dotlh.
SarchoHtaHchugh nuv laHmey,
law'choH je motlhbe'wI'mey lIngbogh chaH.
law'choHtaHchugh chutmey,
law'choH je HeSwI'pu'.
vaj jatlh yajchu'wI':
jIvangbe' 'ach nIteb choH nuvpu'.
jIjot 'e' vImaS 'ach nIteb lughchoH nuvpu'.
jInISQo' 'ach nIteb chepchoH nuvpu'.
pagh vIneH 'ach nIteb napchoH nuvpu',
Sor Hap pe'be'lu'pu'bogh lururchoH.
57E
To govern the state resort to what's regular.
To win a war resort to what's unusual.
But to conquer the world refrain from meddling.
How do I know of these methods?
I do because of what's within me.
The fewer the people's freedoms
the poorer the people become.
The more sharp weapons the people possess,
the greater disorder there is in the state.
The more diverse the people's skills,
the more unusual things they produce.
The more numerous the laws,
the more criminals there are.
Therefore, the sage says:
I take no action, yet people transform
by themselves.
I prefer to remain calm yet people
by themselves become correct.
I refrain from meddling yet people
by themselves begin to prosper.
I have no desires yet people by
themselves become simple like uncut wood.
[A] The Klingon text is predictably simple and to the point but having the
English version say "Use standard procedures/ Use special procedures" would
be ever so boooring.
[B] I was really pleased to discover that {jISum} can be used in an
idiomatic philosophical sense to indicate "I'm in touch with my inner self"
(interview with Marc Okrand, HolQeD7/4; p.11).
What the Chinese text says both here and in Chapter 54 is an enigmatic
"Because of/By this" (yi3 ci3), which caused me no end of trouble a few
month back. DloraH and ghunchu'wI' both offered interesting suggestions but
nothing could beat MO's own words in that old HolQeD. Experts on TTC explain
that the line in question should be interpreted as "through what I have
found within myself", "thanks to the light of my inner vision". MO's
explanation of {jISum} was like an answer to a prayer. {{:-)
(BTW, coming back to the sources you've read many times is never a waste of
time! Not only does it allow you to remember things you may be forgotten but
there's alway a chance that you will stumble upon a treasure you didn't
notice before {{:-) !)
[C] At first I wanted to use {tlhabmey}, then it occurred to me that though
glossed as "freedom, independence" the noun {tlhab} may not be as versatile
as its English counterpart. I wouldn't hesitate to use {tlhab} to refer to
- the state of being free of constraints, or to
- political independence
However, to indicate freedom understood as "political and civil rights"
{DIb} seems to be much better.
'ISqu'
http://www.geocites.com/taoteching_klingon
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