老子《道德经》被称为中国人的圣经，可惜太难懂。我们文革中长大的人，更难与它有缘。说来有趣的是我第一次读到《道德经》的片段是在美国，且是英文，整个一个出口转内销。那是我在美东上学的时候，我们实验室的门上贴着下面这首像是诗一样的英文，读了以后觉得很有哲理，下面落款作者是Lao Tzu, 我当时并没有意识到是老子，这可能是老式的汉语拼音。后来有个美国学生读后还很兴奋问是不是我把它贴到门上的。到底是美国人还是中国人把它贴到门上的看来很难搞清了，但喜欢这段文字的人似乎不受种族的限制。后来我知道它是老子《道德经》第十六章“致虚极，守静笃”英译，也看到近来网上的老子《道德经》英译本对这一段的翻译，但和下面的这段翻译相比则显的无多少神韵。

The ten thousand things come into being,         
万物并作，

And I have watched them return.            
吾以观复。

No matter how luxuriantly they flourish,        
夫物芸芸，

Each must go back to the root from which it came.    
各复归其根。

This returning to the root is called quietness,       
归根曰静，

It is the fulfilment of one's destiny.           
静曰复命。

That each must fulfil his destiny is the eternal pattern,    
复命曰常，

To know the eternal pattern is to be illuminated.       
知常曰明。

He who knows it will not be withered by misfortune.    
不知常，妄作，凶。

He who knows the eternal pattern is all-encompassing,    
知常容，

He who is all-encompassing is completely impartial,    
容乃公，

Being impartial, he is kingly，   
公乃王，

Being kingly, he is like heaven，   
王乃天，

Being like heaven, he is at one with Tao，   
天乃道，

Being at one with Tao he is, like it, imperishable，   
道乃久，

Though his body may disappear into the ocean of existence,    

He is beyond all harm.
没身不殆。