Abstract: By epigrams, we mean some witty, terse and ingenious remarks or expressions. An epigram might be a phrase, a sentence, a stanza, or a passage of a composition. Translation of epigrams into other languages is no easy job, which may require “the adventures of the soul” of the translator. This paper holds that the following principles should be taken into consideration in the process of translation: getting the merits or genius of the original (mainly spirit, style, force and rhetoric) conveyed as much as possible; making a translated maxim or proverb read like a maxim or proverb; and changing the form of the original when really necessary.

Key words: epigram, significance, translation principles, translation examples

摘要： 名言即著名的话或话语，可以是一个词组、一个句子、一节诗词、一段文章。名言大多难译，有“灵魂的冒险”之譬。名言翻译应遵循以下原则：尽量保存原作之神韵、风格、力度、修辞等；最好译什么像什么；希望能实现形到意随，否则不妨得意忘形。

关键词: 名言, 意义, 翻译原则, 翻译实践