应读者要求，我们自本期始在“经典文选”栏目下增设子栏目“国粹撷珍”，为读者介绍我国古代的经典作品及其英译文本。我们的文明久远而辉煌，先贤为我们留下了无数具有永恒的美感与智慧、值得再三品味的不朽著作。而以另一种文字来观照这些经典不惟别有风味，或者还有意外的启发。

国粹撷珍

老子是我国第一个大哲学家，他首创的道家思想是我们民族性格的重要组成部分。他提出的清静无为、回归本真等主张在乱花渐欲迷人眼的今天尤其有令人心灵平静、耳聪目明的作用。这里选取的是他所著的《道德经》第二章，英译者为英国著名汉学家魏雷（Arthur Waley，1889 - 1966），后者还曾将《西游记》译成中文，英文书名为“Monkey”。

道德经 第二章

天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。

故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随。

是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教，万物作焉而不辞，生而不有，为而不恃，功成而弗居。

夫唯弗居，是以不去。

Chapter 2

It is because every one under Heaven recognizes beauty as beauty, that the idea of ugliness exists.

And equally if every one recognized virtue as virtue, this would merely create fresh conceptions of wickedness.

For truly 'Being and Not-being grow our of one another;

Difficult and easy complete one another.

Long and short test one another;

High and low determine one another. Pitch and mode give harmony to one another.

Front and back give sequence to one another'.

Therefore1 the Sage relies on actionless activity,

Carries on wordless teaching,

But the myriad creatures are worked upon by him; he does not disown them.

He rears them, but does not lay claim to them,

Controls them, but does not lean upon them,

Achieves his aim, but does not call attention2 to what he does;

And for the very reason that he does not call attention to what he does

He is not ejected from fruition of what he has done.

1. Because 'action' can only make one thing high at the expense of making something else low, etc.—译注

2. Literally, 'does not place (i.e.classify) himself as a victor'. —译注