《师说》英译：师者 所以传道授业解惑也

 In ancient times those who wanted to learn would seek out a teacher，one who could propagate the doctrine¹，impart professional knowledge，and resolve doubts. Since no one is born omniscient，who can claim to have no doubts？If one has doubts and is not willing to learn from a teacher，his doubts will never be resolved. Anyone who was born before me and learned the doctrine before me is my teacher. Anyone who was born after me and learned the doctrine before me is also my teacher. Since what I desire to learn is the doctrine，why should I care whether he was born before or after me？Therefore，it does not matter whether a person is high or low in position，young or old in age. Where there is the doctrine，there is my teacher.

古之学者必有师。师者，所以传道受业解惑也。人非生而知之者，孰能无惑？惑而不从师，其为惑也，终不解矣。生乎吾前，其闻道也，固先乎吾，吾从而师之；生乎吾后，其闻道也，亦先乎吾，吾从而师之。吾师道也，夫庸知其年之先后生于吾乎？是故无贵无贱，无长无少，道之所存，师之所存也。

师说

Alas²！The tradition of learning from the teacher has long been neglected. Thus it is difficult to find a person without any doubts at all. Ancient sages³，who far surpassed us，even learned from their teachers. People today，who are far inferior to them，regard learning from the teacher as a disgrace. Thus，wise men become more wise and unlearned men become more foolish. This explains what makes a wise man and what makes a foolish man.

It is absurd that a person would choose a teacher for his son out of his love for him，and yet refuse to learn from the teacher himself，thinking it a disgrace to do so. The teacher of his son teaches the child only reading and punctuation，which is not propagating the doctrine or resolving doubts as the afore mentioned. I don't think it wise to learn from the teacher when one doesn't know how to punctuate，but not when one has doubts unresolved，for that I find to be the folly⁴ of learning in small matters，but neglecting the big ones. Even medicine men，musicians and handicraftsmen do not think it disgraceful to learn from each other. When one of the literati calls another man his“teacher”and himself his“student”people will get together and invariably laugh at him. If you ask them why they are laughing，they will say that since he is almost of the same age and as erudite as another man，it would be degrading for him to call the other man“teacher”if the other man's social rank is lower than his；and it would be flattering if the other man's social rank is higher. Alas！It is clear that the tradition of learning from the teacher can no longer be restored. Medicine men，musicians and handicraftsmen are despised by the gentlemen. How strange it is that gentlemen are less wise than these people！

嗟乎！师道之不传也久矣，欲人之无惑也难矣。古之圣人，其出人也远矣，犹且从师而问焉；今之众人，其下圣人也亦远矣，而耻学于师。是故圣益圣，愚益愚。圣人之所以为圣，愚人之所以为愚，其皆出于此乎？爱其子，择师而教之；于其身也，则耻师焉，惑矣。彼童子之师，授之书而习其句读者，非吾所谓传其道、解其惑者也。句读之不知，惑之不解，或师焉，或不焉，小学而大遗，吾未见其明也。巫医、乐师、百工之人，不耻相师。士大夫之族，曰“师”曰“弟子”云者，则群聚而笑之。问之，则曰：彼与彼年相若也，道相似也，位卑则足羞，官盛则近谀。呜呼！师道之不复，可知矣。巫医、乐师、百工之人，君子不齿，今其智乃反不能及，其可怪也欤！

The ancient sages did not limit themselves to particular teachers. Confucius had learned from people like Tanzi，Changhong，Shixiang，and Laodan，who were not as virtuous⁵ and talented as Confucius. Confucius said “If three men are walking together，one of them is bound to be good enough to be my teacher.” A student is not necessarily inferior to his teacher，nor does a teacher necessarily be more virtuous and talented than his student. The real fact is that one might have learned the doctrine earlier than the other，or might be a master in his own special field.

圣人无常师。孔子师郯子、苌弘、师襄、老聃。郯子之徒，其贤不及孔子。孔子曰“三人行，则必有我师。”是故弟子不必不如师，师不必贤于弟子。闻道有先后，术业有专攻，如是而已。

Pan，the son of Li's family，who is only seventeen years old，loves to study Chinese classics of the Qin and Han dynasties，and masters the six jing and their annotations⁶. He does not follow conventions and is willing to learn from me. I appreciate his ability to act in accordance with the old tradition of learning. Therefore I dedicate this piece to him.

李氏子蟠，年十七，好古文，六艺经传皆通习之，不拘于时，学于余。余嘉其能行古道，作《师说》以贻之。

1 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

2 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

3 sages   

n.圣人( sage的名词复数 )；智者；哲人；鼠尾草（可用作调料）

参考例句：

• Homage was paid to the great sages buried in the city. 向安葬在此城市的圣哲们表示敬意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Confucius is considered the greatest of the ancient Chinese sages. 孔子被认为是古代中国最伟大的圣人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

5 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

6 annotations   

n.注释( annotation的名词复数 )；附注

参考例句：

• I wrote annotations in the margin of the book. 我在书的边缘作注。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My annotations appear in square brackets. 在方括号里有我给的注解。 来自辞典例句