As defined in dictionaries，a proverb is a brief familiar maxim of folk wisdom，usually compressed in form，often involving a bold image and frequently a jingle that catches the memory．For a proverb to become popular it must be outstandingly wise and it must contain enduring wisdom．So some people call them as “the daughters of daily experience” ．Proverbs contain folk wisdom rather than scientific accuracy and therefore they provide interesting glimpses or clues to a people ＇s geography，history，social organization，social views and attitudes．In a word，proverbs reflect a people＇s living and living environment．For this reason proverbs are culture-specific．People who live along sea coast and whose livelihood is dependent upon the sea will have proverbs about sailing and about the weather in the sea．Nomadic people will have proverbs about pastureland，about castles，sheep，and horses and about wolves．

As we know，religion is an important source of proverbs．So it is simply natural that many English proverbs are related to Christianity in one way or another．

Each cross hath its own inscription．

　每个十字架都有自己的铭文。

God helps those who help themselves．

　自助者天助之。

God sends meat and the devil sends cooks．

　上帝赐予食物，魔鬼派来厨师。

He that serves God for money will serve the devil for better wages．

　为金钱而侍奉上帝的人会为更多的报酬服侍魔鬼。

Man proposes，God disposes．

　谋事在人，成事在天。

Mills of God grind slowly but sure．/The mills of God grind slowly．

　天网恢恢，疏而不漏。

Whom God would ruin，he first deprives of reason．

　上帝要毁灭谁，必先夺其理性。

Whom the Gods love die young．

　上帝的宠儿早夭折。

Some proverbs in English are derived from The Bible and other masterpieces．The Bible is one of the most extensively-read books and the most influential religious classic work in the West，including English-speaking countries．It is also regarded as a wonderful literary work．Although it was originally written in Hebrew，English speakers have had English versions for almost 1，000 years．And the proverbial sayings in it have become a major component of the popular wisdom．

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet．

　玫瑰无论叫什么名字都是香的。

All are of the dust，and all turn to the dust again．

　人人来自泥土，又回归泥土。

Gossiping and lying go hand in hand．

　闲话与谎言结伴而行。

Great men are not always wise．

　伟人并非事事聪明。/智者千虑，必有一失。

It is better to be a beggar than a fool．

　做乞丐胜过做傻瓜。

Judge not according to appearance．

　不要以貌取人。

Life is but a walking shadow．

　人生不过是移动的影子。

Never cast your pearls before swine．

　不可对牛弹琴。

Pride goes before a fall．

Some English proverbs are related to geography．A nation＇s geographical environment is a framework in which a language and culture have been developing．The geographical features of a country are inevitably reflected in the national language in general and proverbs in particular．For example，the Chinese proverb不到黄河心不死is apparently related to the Yellow River，the second longest river in China and the cradle of Chinese civilization．不到长城非好汉is clearly related to the Great Wall，one of the well-known scenic spots in China．Place names can also be observed in English proverbs．

Carry coals to Newcastle．

　背煤上煤都，多此一举。

England is the ringing island．

　英国是充满钟声的岛屿。

Oxford for learning，London for wit，Hull for women and York for horses．

　牛津人学问好，伦敦人才智高，哈勒的女人美，约克的马匹好。

Some English proverbs are related to navigation．This is because the U．K．is an insular country，detached from the continental Europe．For this reason navigation has been and is very important to the Englishmen．They frequently use words of navigation in proverbs．

A great ship asks deep water．

　大船深水行。

A small leak will sink a great ship．

　小漏沉大船。/蝼蚁之穴能溃千里之堤。

A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner．

　海水平静难造就优秀水手。

Any port in a storm．

　船在暴风雨中不择港口。/慌不择路。

It is a hard sailing when there is no wind．

　无风难驶船。/巧妇难为无米之炊。

Let another＇s shipwreck be your seamark．

　别人的沉船就是你的航标。/前车之鉴。

Little boats must keep to the shore．

　小船随岸行。

Many drops of water will sink the ship．

　积漏成多会沉掉航船。

Rats desert a sinking ship．

　船沉鼠要逃。/树倒猢狲散。

The good seaman is known in bad weather．

　天气恶劣才能显出优秀航海家。

Some English proverbs are related to sexism，which refers to discrimination against females．Though sexism is unfair，we can find it in either English or Chinese．For example，we Chinese often say红颜薄命，女子无才便是德and something like that to show sexism．The following proverbs reflect sexism in English．

Beware of the forepart of a woman，the hind part of a mule，and all sides of a priest．

　当心女人的美貌、骡子的后蹄和牧师的一切。

Dally not with money or woman．

　金钱、美女玩弄不得。

Gaming，woman，and wine，while they laugh，they make men pine．

　赌博、女人和酒，使男人在笑声中消瘦。

Maids want nothing but husbands，and when they have them they want everything．

　姑娘除了丈夫什么都不要;一旦有了丈夫，她们什么都要。

The more women look in their glass，the less they look to their house．

　女人镜子照得越多，家务做得越少。

Wives and children are bills of charges．

　妻子和孩子是账单。

Some English proverbs are related to the history of England．Each nation has its own history．Since proverbs are historical products，they may reflect some aspects of the national history．For example，the English proverbs below are apparently related to the history of England．

It is as hard to please a knave as a knight．

　取悦坏蛋和骑士同样困难。

Kings＇chaff is worth other men＇s corn．

　国王的糠胜似百姓的粮。

All Stuarts are not sib to the king．

　与国王同姓的不是皇亲。

From whipping post to pillory．

　鞭打之后又披枷。

Some English proverbs are related to thrift．English speakers value thrift．A nonverbal example is that when treating guests at home，the hostess normally prepares food according to the number of persons at table，while Chinese hostess may prepare more than enough food on similar occasions．English abounds with proverbs telling the merits of thrift．The following are just a few of them．

From saving comes having．

　富裕来自节俭。

Frugality is an estate alone．

　节俭本身就是财富。

Thrift is good revenue．

　节俭就是收入。

Thrift is philosopher＇s stone．

　节俭犹如点金石。

2)Methods of translating English proverbs

A．Literal translation(直译): This method can be firstly employed in translating proverbs if they are easy to be understood as the version良好的开端等于成功的一半of“Well begun is half done．”This is because most of English proverbs appear vivid and figurative．We should manage to clearly show the qualities of the original．

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush．

　双鸟在林不如一鸟在手。

A good beginning makes a good ending．

　有良好的开端，才有良好的结果。

A lazy youth，a lousy age．

　少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。

Beauty lies in the lover＇s eyes．

　情人眼里出美人(西施)。

Better be the head of an ass than the tail of a horse．

　宁为驴头，不做马尾。

Better late than never．

　迟做总比不做好。

Bitter pills may have wholesome effects．

Example is better than precept．

　以身作则胜于口头教诲。

Forbidden fruit is sweet．

　禁果格外甜。

Grasp all，lose all．

Half a loaf is better than no bread．

　有总比没有好。

He laughs best who laughs last．

　谁笑到最后，谁笑得最好。

If you run after two hares，you will catch neither．

　同时追俩兔，全都抓不住。

In the country of the blind the one-eyed man is king．

　盲人国中独眼称雄。

Looker-on see more than players．

　当局者迷，旁观者清。

More haste，less speed．

　欲速则不达。

No mill，no meal．

　不磨面，没得饭。/不劳无获。

Self do，self have．

Speech is silver，silence is gold．

　雄辩是银，沉默是金。

The proof of the budding is in the eating．

　布丁好不好，一尝就知道。

No news is good news．

　没有消息就是好消息。

B．Substitution(套译): Secondly，if we can not translate English proverbs by means of literal translation，we may employ the method of substitution．In other words，when a proverb is very similar in meaning，and figure of speech between English and Chinese，we may search a substitute in the target language for the source language．Carefully compare the following．

Fish begins to stink at the head．

　上梁不正下梁歪。

Give a thief enough ropes and he＇ll hang himself．

　多行不义必自毙。

It is never too late to mend．

　亡羊补牢，未为迟也。

Many straws may bind an elephant．

　烂麻搓成绳，也能拉千斤。

Nothing venture，nothing have．

　不入虎穴，焉得虎子。

One boy is a boy，two boys half a boy，three boys no boys．

　一个和尚挑水吃，两个和尚抬水吃，三个和尚没水吃。

One man may steal a horse，while another may not look over the hedge．

　只许州官放火，不许百姓点灯。

Spare the rod and spoil the child．

　孩子不打不成器。

Time and tide wait for no man．

Where there is life，there is hope．

　留得青山在，不怕没柴烧。

When shepherds quarrel，the wolf has a winning game．

　鹬蚌相争，渔人得利。

C．Liberal translation (意译): As we know，proverbs are closely related to national culture，which are attached to strong national color．In this case，literal translation can not be applied because the translation version will be sorry-reading，and its meaning is to be far fetched and hard to understand．Therefore，liberal translation may be used．Besides，the proverbs with strong national color are not rendered generally by the method of substitution．In other words，the names of people and places in English proverbs can never be directly copied in Chinese versions; similarly the Chinese names and places can not be used in the English versions．

A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder．

　白日不做亏心事，半夜敲门心不惊。

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy．

　只工作不玩耍，聪明孩子也变傻。

Do as the Romans do．

Every man has a fool in his sleeve．

　人人都有糊涂的时候。

He that sups with the devil must have a long spoon．

　和坏人打交道必须提高警惕。

When Greek meets Greek，then comes the tug of war．

　两雄相遇，其斗必烈。

Don＇t put the cart before the horse．

　切勿本末倒置。

It is no use crying over spilt milk．

　覆水难收，哭亦无用。

D．Combination of literal and liberal translation(直译与意译并用): Sometimes the two methods can be used together in translating English proverbs．We may receive better effects in this way．

You can take a horse to the water，but you can＇t make it drink．

　牵马河边易，逼马饮水难。

Still water runs deep．

　静水深流，大智若愚。

Who has never tasted bitter，knows not what is sweet．

　不尝黄连苦，哪知蜂蜜甜。

Men may meet but mountain never．

　山与山无法碰头，人和人总会相遇。

E．Colloquialism and easy-reading (口语体且上口): Proverbs are a sort of language form that is extensively handed down in everyday communications．They are characterized with colloquialism and easy-reading．Therefore in translating proverbs，we should manage to maintain the qualities of simplicity，shortness，antithesis，smoothreading and easy-remembering，and even rhythm．

Easy come，easy go．

　来得容易去得快。

Like father，like son．

　有其父必有其子。

Look before you leap．

　三思而后行。

Out of sight，out of mind．

　眼不见，心不烦。

The leopard can＇t change its spots．

　江山易改，秉性难移。

Wonder is the laughter of ignorance．

When we translate proverbs，we ought to keep in mind the following three points．

A．The names of people and places in English proverbs can never be directly copied in the Chinese versions; similarly the Chinese names and places can not be used in the English versions．Appropriate adaptations will be made to be beneficial to the readers＇understanding and reception to the original．

B．The translation of English proverbs should be colloquial and easy-reading．

4．5. 2 Proverbs and Their Translation谚语的翻译

4．5. 2　Proverbs and Their Translation谚语的翻译