八十一岁结婚Married at Eighty-One

金圣叹1说过：“人生三十不仕，不当再仕2，五十不娶，不当再娶3。何则？用非其时也。”

“Once you’re over thirty， you should stop thinking of landing a sought-after government career， and once you’re over fifty， you should not take a shot at nuptial bliss，” advised Jin Shengtan， a famed seventeenth-century literary critic， “because these feats can only be accomplished much earlier.”

这一种说法，可代表中国人一般的普通思想。中国人的事业观4，最羡慕“少年得志”，最伤感“大器晚成”。为了这个原因，便是有所成就的人，到了五十以上，便有退休的意思。六十七十的人若还在事业上努力，就有抽身不得的慨叹了。

This has， indeed， been a typical mindset among average folks in China. We tend to think success at a young age commands admiration， while failure to make it big until later in life begets self-pity. This line of thinking leads those seen as having some achievements under their belts to flirt with the idea of retirement once they reach fifty. It also leads those in their sixties or seventies still toiling away in their jobs to curse their fate for not being able to extricate themselves from the drudgery.

照人生上寿不过八十而言，为私人作一番打算，这种作风好像也有点道理。5只是就事业的观点上说，就不对。因为越是有年纪的人，他的学识经验也就越丰富，大事业正需要这种人撑持。而且为人作事，也必须有个自信心。一老就觉得自己不行，那也透着我们生命力不强。

It’s true we can only expect to live to be up to eighty years old. It’s understandable that everybody likes to plan ahead to make the most out of their limited lifespan and leave enough time for leisure. On a professional note， however， an early career exit inevitably gives rise to a loss of expertise， which grows with age， and is often essential to the success of big projects. Besides， we need to have confidence in ourselves， no matter how far along in years we are. Dwindling confidence saps vitality.

扩而充之，整个民族如此，那是我们一种自馁精神，对民族兴衰大有关系6。欧美人之成大事业总在晚年，恰与我们的观点相反。7最近有两个老人的行为，值得借鉴，正可给我们打一针兴奋剂。第一是美国务卿赫尔，以七十二岁之年，飞莫斯科开那全球注意的三国会议。第二是前英国首相劳合·乔治，八十一岁结婚。这可以证明他们的生命力强，也可以证明他们精神毫不衰老。老了还活泼的干，不必退休去等死，这人生才有意味，才没枉过“吾生也有涯”的岁月。

Not only is self-confidence important for an individual， it is also important for a nation. It powers a nation’s rise. Europeans and Americans have a different take on age. They also celebrate late bloomers. I’d like to mention in particular two elderly statesmen： U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George. What they did is inspiring， and gives us a shot in the arm， so to speak. At seventy-two， Mr. Hull cut a dashing figure at the Moscow Conference， which riveted the attention of the world. Mr. Lloyd George got married at eighty-one. They are energetic. They are young at heart. It’s indeed far more rewarding to do with gusto what we like than to wait quietly for death in retirement. That’s how we can make our lives more fulfilling. While we know life is short， we can drink it to the lees8.

现在我国的事业，多半在四五十岁的中年人手上。中年人干吧，我们的前途还遥远着呢！

Our nation’s future will， to a large extent， be determined by how today’s middle-aged people—those in their forties or fifties—approach life. This is no time to think of retirement. We have miles to go before we can rest.9

1考虑到金圣叹不算人人皆知的人物，最好交代一下身份（a famed seventeenth-century literary critic）。 2中文用词简练，经常可以有不同的解读。“人生三十不仕”可以解读为：一、“人过了三十后就不应该去做官”，那么或许可以译成“People over 30 should not become an official.”；二、“人过了三十后就难有机会做官”。根据第一种解读，尤其是相关的译法，官位是在等着你的，而是否选择去做官是自己的事情，过了一定年纪就应拒绝接受官位。然而，无论根据常理，还是根据上下文，我们都可以断定对多数人来说这种解读（包括这种译法）不符合事实。因此，只有第二种解读是可以考虑的，据此，我们可翻译成“Once you’re over thirty， you should stop thinking of landing a sought-after government career.”。笔者不用official一词，是考虑到该词含义不够明确，任何实体或机构（包括工商企业）都可以有自己的officials，而“仕”仅指政府官员，因此可用a government career来表示。但在今天的读者看来，一般的government career不一定诱人，故加上sought-after一词。 3与前例一样，把“五十不娶，不当再娶”译成“People over 50 should not get married.”也不恰当。鉴于married是一种法律意义上的关系，这种译法可有各种弦外之音，比如：You should not consider getting married even though you’ve been dating for so long. 无论“娶”还是“仕”，都是生活中追求的一个目标，而不是无需本人努力的选项，所以“追求”的含义应得到体现。这句话可译成“... once you’re over fifty， you should not take a shot at nuptial bliss”。 4“事业观”不一定死扣字面翻译，结合上下文，不难看出，这里的“事业观”无非是指事业成功，下文的“少年得志”（success at a young age）也就是事业成功之意，翻译时无需赘述。

5有人把“照人生上寿不过八十而言，为私人作一番打算，这种作风好像也有点道理”这句话翻译如下：However， considering that men seldom live up to the age of 80， their personal concerns may seem to be impeccable. 该译文最大的问题是把“为私人作一番打算”译成their personal concerns，这与原文意思风马牛不相及。某人的personal concerns是某人的私事。如果你说“These things are his personal concerns.”，那就是说“These things concern him only， and don’t have anything to do with others or the organization where he works， and are therefore not your business. ”另外，称“concerns… may seem to be impeccable”确实有些语无伦次，世界上不会有什么concern是impeccable。所谓“为私人作一番打算”，是指好好利用有限一生中的时间，给自己一些空余，不要劳累一辈子。这句话可译成：It’s true we can only expect to live to be up to eighty years old. It’s understandable that everybody likes to plan ahead to make the most out of their limited lifespan and leave enough time for leisure.

6虽然作者提及“兴衰”，但翻译时根据译文表达的需要不一定提及两者。此处主语是“自馁精神”，其意思是有了自馁精神，民族就衰落，而没有了自馁精神，民族就兴旺。“对民族兴衰大有关系”不妨译成“self-confidence powers a nation’s rise”，提及一方面，另一方面的意思已经包含其中。 7前面谈到国人对年龄和事业的看法，此处最好先谈及欧美人看法的不同（Europeans and Americans have a different take on age.），然后再提及“成大事业总在晚年”。笔者不主张从字面上解读“总”字，按字面译成always太绝对，也不一定符合事实。对照上文“最羡慕‘少年得志’，最伤感‘大器晚成’”，这里同样也是别人对何时“成大事业”的看法，因此不妨译成：They also celebrate late bloomers. 8 we can drink it （life） to the lees借用了阿尔弗雷德·丁尼生（Alfred Tennyson）的诗歌Ulysses中的诗句“I cannot rest from travel： I will drink life to the lees.”，其中drink life to the lees义为live the life to the fullest。 9 “We have miles to go before we can rest.”借用了罗伯特·弗罗斯特（Robert Frost）的“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”中的诗句：But I have promises to keep， / And miles to go before I sleep.