"Du's Handbook" explains that when the combination "乎爾 (호이)" appears at the end of clauses, it "emphasizes the affirmation," which I assume was translated with the phrase "that is how it is." However, though there may be cases when that explanation makes sense, it does not make sense in this sentence. Why, for example, was 乎爾 used twice? Why was the first instance not translated? And why is the translation so nebulous? Why not simply translate 乎爾 as "than (乎) you (爾)"? Here is my translation:然而無有乎爾, 則亦無有乎爾“In these circumstances, if there is no one [to transmit the sage’s doctrines], than that is how it is.”
Considering how much the ancient Chinese seemed to enjoy wordplay, I think it would be naïve to assume that 無有乎爾 (무유호이) has the same meaning in both clauses.然而無有乎爾, 則亦無有乎爾“Therefore (然), if (而) none (無) have more [advantage] (有) than (乎) you (爾), then (則), also (亦), none (無) have more [knowledge] (有) than (乎) you (爾).
First, 無 (무) is being used here as the subject pronoun "none." Second, both 於 (어) and 乎 (호) can mean "than" and are used to form comparative adjectives, which is how, I think, 乎 (호) was being used here. Third, 爾 (이), of course, means "you." So the only character left to translate is 有 (유).
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If we are going to use "乎 (호) to help form a comparative adjective, then we will need an adjective. What I did was assume the first 有 (유) implied "有益 (유익)," which I translated as "to have (有) advantage (益)," and the second 有 (유) implied "有識 (유식), which I translated as "to have (有) knowledge (識). Of course, that means they could also be translated as the adjectives "advantageous" and "knowledgeable."
Now, people may be wondering why I thought the first 有 (유) implied "advantageous" and the second 有 (유) implied "knowledgeable." The way I did that was to consider the context of the above sentence. The sentence comes from "Mencius," and here are the paragraphs that immediately preceded it:
孟子曰, 由堯, 舜至於湯, 五百有餘歲. 若禹, 臯陶, 則見而知之. 若湯, 則聞而知之.Mencius (孟子) said (曰), “From [the time of] (由) Yao (堯) until (至於) Tang (湯) [was] 500 (五百) and some (有餘) years (歲). In the case of (若) Yu (禹) [and] Gao Yao (皐陶), [they] directly (則) saw (見) and (而) learned (知) it (之). In the case of (若) Tang (湯), [he] directly (則) heard (聞) and (而) learned (知) it (之).”
由湯至於文王, 五百有餘歲. 若伊尹, 萊朱, 則見而知之. 若文王, 則聞而知之.“From [the time of] (由) Tang (湯) until (至於) King Wen (文王) [was] 500 (五百) and some (有餘) years (歲). In the case of (若) Yi Yin (伊尹) [and] Lai Zhu (萊朱), [they] directly (則) saw (見) and (而) learned (知) it (之).” In the case of (若) King Wen (文王), [he] directly (則) heard (聞) and (而) learned (知) it (之).”
由文王至於孔子, 五百有餘歲. 若太公望, 散宜生, 則見而知之, 若孔子, 則聞而知之.“From [the time of] (由) King Wen (文王) until (至於) Confucius (孔子) [was] 500 (五百) and some (有餘) years (歲). In the case of (若) Taigong Wang (太公望) [and] San Yisheng (散宜生), [they] directly (則) saw (見) and (而) learned (知) it (之). In the case of (若) Confucius (孔子), [he] directly (則) heard (聞) and (而) learned (知) it (之).
I think Mencius was telling his students that they had the advantage of being closer in time and space to the teachings of the sage they hoped to emulate.由孔子而來至於今, 百有餘歲. 聖人之世, 若此其未遠也. 近聖人之居, 若此其甚也. 然而無有乎爾, 則亦無有乎爾.From [the time of] (由) Confucius (孔子) and (而) afterward (來) until (至於) now (今) [has been] 100 (百) and some (有餘) years (歲). The time since (去) the life of the sage (聖人之世) is like (若) this (此), so (其) [it] has not been (未) [that] long ago (遠). The nearness to (近) the sage’s (聖人之) home (居) is like (若) this (此), so (其) [it] is very (甚) [near]. “Therefore (然), if (而) none (無) have more [advantage] (有) than (乎) you (爾), then (則), also (亦), none (無) have more [knowledge] (有) than (乎) you (爾).
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