木末芙蓉花，山中发红萼，涧户寂无人，纷纷开且落
来源：中华读书报 作者：吕维维 公元前6世纪的古希腊寓言家“伊索”创作了家喻户晓的《伊索寓言》。至今，人们对这部旷世之作的成书时间及作者仍存在质疑。中国人对于《伊索寓言》的最早记 忆恐怕要上溯到明朝天启年间的《况义》，其于1625年在西安刊刻出版。第二个译本由英国商人罗伯聃（Robert Thom）和其老师“蒙昧先生”共同完成，其增订本于1840年出版，收录寓言82则，名为《意拾喻言》。林纾主导翻译的版本是真正由中国人自己完成的， 此书初版于1903年，名为《伊索寓言》。 本文主要将《意拾喻言》、林纾版《伊索寓言》及19世纪流 传最广的乔治·法伊勒·汤森（George Fy⁃ler Townsend）的《伊索寓言》英译本列为比较的对象。《意拾喻言》及林纾版《伊索寓言》的成书时代不同，译者对其赋予的期望存在差异，其行文风格、修 辞手段也各有特色。“汤森本”为英译本，我们可以明显看出西方人翻译创作风格与中国人的不同。
ONE day a countryman going to the nest of his Goose found there an egg all yellow and glittering. When he took it up it was as heavy as lead and he was going to throw it away, because he thought a trick had been played upon him. But he took it home on second thoughts, and soon found to
A Fox, just at the time of the vintage, stole into a vine-yard where the ripe sunny Grapes were trellised up on high in most tempting show. He made many a spring and a jump after the luscious prize, but, failing in all his attempts, he muttered as he retreated：”Well what does it matter! The Grapes are sour!” Version Two:
One winter a Farmer found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold. He had compassion on it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom. The Snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and resuming its natural instincts, bit its benefactor, inflicting on him a mortal wound. “Oh,” cried the Farmer with his last breath, “I am rightly served
Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. “There’s my supper,” thought he, “if only I can find some excuse to seize it.” Then he called out to the Lamb, “How dare you muddy the water
《伊索寓言》大多是动物故事，以动物为喻，教人处世和做人的道理，少部分以人或神为主，形式短小精悍，比喻恰当，形象生动，通常在结尾以一句话画龙点睛地揭示蕴含的道理，它们篇幅小而寓意深刻，语言不多却值得回味，艺术上成就很高，对后代影响很大，是古希腊民间流传的讽刺喻人的故事。经后人加工，成为流传的《伊索寓言故事》。 《伊索寓言》，文字凝练，故事生动，想象丰富，饱含哲理，融思想性和艺术性于一体。其中《农夫和蛇》《狐狸和葡萄》《狼和小羊》《龟兔赛跑》《乌鸦喝水》《牧童和狼》《农夫和他的孩子们》《蚊子和狮子》《北风与太阳》等已成为全世界极为家喻户晓的故事。
A goatherd, having led his goats to pasture, noticed that they were mixing with some wild goats. And, when evening fell, he herded all of them into his cave together. The next day, a great storm raged. Not being able to lead them out to pasture as usual, he left them inside. To his own goats he gave only a
An eagle was once pursuing a hare. This hare, seeing his position was hopeless, turned to the only creature whom fate offered for help: it was a scarab beetle. The hare begged the beetle to save him. The scarab beetle reassured him, and upon the eagle’s approach the beetle beseeched her not to carry off the hare. But the eagle,