道德经英文版 The Tao-te Ching Chapter 12

1. Colour's five hues1 from th' eyes their sight will take;

Music's five notes the ears as deaf can make;

The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste;

The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste

Make mad the mind; and objects rare and strange,

Sought for, men's conduct will to evil change.

2. Therefore the sage2 seeks to satisfy (the craving3 of) the belly4, and not the (insatiable longing5 of the) eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers to seek the former.

五色令人目盲;五音令人耳聾;五味令人口爽;馳騁畋獵，令人心發狂;難得之貨，令人行妨。

是以圣人為腹不為目，故去彼取此。

【译文】

缤纷的色彩使人眼花缭乱;嘈杂的音声使人听觉失灵;浓厚的杂味使人味觉受伤;纵情猎掠使人心思放荡发狂;稀有的物品使人行于不轨。因此，圣人致力于基本的维生事务，不耽乐于感官的享乐。所以要有所取舍。

1 hues        

色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点

参考例句：

When the sun rose a hundred prismatic hues were reflected from it. 太阳一出，更把它映得千变万化、异彩缤纷。

Where maple trees grow, the leaves are often several brilliant hues of red. 在枫树生长的地方，枫叶常常呈现出数种光彩夺目的红色。

2 sage        

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。

The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

3 craving        

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力

She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

4 belly        

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。

His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

5 longing        

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。

His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。