第445期:"無用"之樹

今天我們講的是莊子與惠子的對話。

New Words:
lump n.塊狀；瘤；
bump n. 腫塊，隆起物；
gnarl vi. 咆哮；形成木節
plumb line 鉛垂線(等於plumb rule）
carpenter n. 木匠，木工
agile adj. 敏捷的；機敏的；活潑的

Huizi once said to Zhuangzi: I have this giant tree called a Chu tree (the tree of heaven). Its trunk is all lumps and bumps and winds this way and that.
惠子對莊子說:我有一棵很大的樹, 樹名叫做樗;它的主幹木瘤盤結。
Its branches are all gnarled and twisted. A carpenter's plumb line could never be used on it
它的小枝,也都凸凹扭曲完全不合乎繩墨規矩。
It grows right beside the road, and no carpenter has ever paid any attention to it.
這樹就生長在路邊,但從來就沒有木匠去理會它。
The words you have been speaking lately are just like this tree, big and useless. Who's going to listen to you?
現在你講的話就跟這大樹一樣,大而不當,有誰會採信呢?
Have you ever seen a fox or a wildcat? In order to catch their prey, they are always jumping over things and running all over the place; and although they are very agile. Eventually, they fall into a trap and die.
你沒有看見過狐狸和野貓嗎?爲了捕食東躥西跳功夫很好。結果往往中了機關,死在陷阱裏。
As for the yak, although it is big like a giant loud hanging in the sky, it couldn't catch a mouse if it wanted to.
至於犛牛身體雖大,像天空垂下來的一塊雲，但是它卻不能捉老鼠。
You have this great big tree, and you're worried that it's useless. Why not rest under it and use it for shelter and shade?
現在你有一棵這樣大的樹而愁它無用,何不把它種在空曠的地方,你就可以很舒適地在樹下盤桓休息。
Since the tree is "useless"，no one will come along and chop it down naturally, there's nothing
to worry about.
這樹既然無用,自然也就不會有人來砍伐，自然也就不必操心了。
There's nothing the Chu tree(the tree of heaven) could be used for, so it wasn't chopped down. To the Chu tree(the tree of heaven),using uselessness was its greatest advantage.
樗樹沒有什麼用處,所以不會被砍伐.這對樗樹來說,“無用之用”正是它本身最大的用處。

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