道德经英文版 The Tao-te Ching Chapter 76

1. Man at his birth is supple 1 and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle 2; at their death, dry and withered 3.

2. Thus it is that firmness and strength are the concomitants of death; softness and weakness, the concomitants of life.

3. Hence he who (relies on) the strength of his forces does not conquer; and a tree which is strong will fill the out-stretched arms, (and thereby 4 invites the feller.)

4. Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below, and that of what is soft and weak is above.

人之生也柔弱，其死也坚强;

草木之生也柔脆，其死也枯槁。

故坚强者死之徒，柔弱者生之徒。

是以兵强则灭，木强则折。

强大处下，柔弱处上。

【译文】

人活着的时候身体柔弱灵动，死了以后身体就变得顽固强硬;草木生长的时候枝干柔嫩，死了以后就变得枯槁。所以，顽固强硬是速死之道，柔弱灵动是生长之道。因此，国家肌体中军兵过强就会走向灭亡，植株体系中树枝过硬就会遭致摧折。顽固强硬处于劣势，柔弱灵动处于优势。

1 supple        

adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺

参考例句：

She gets along well with people because of her supple nature.她与大家相处很好，因为她的天性柔和。

He admired the graceful and supple movements of the dancers.他赞扬了舞蹈演员优雅灵巧的舞姿。

2 brittle        

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。

She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

3 withered        

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。

The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

4 thereby        

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。

He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。