---
type: article
status: Published
slug: "daodejing"
title: "Daodejing"
author: "Laozi"
tradition: "chinese"
language: "lzh"
genre: "philosophy"
period: "4th c. BCE"
source_url: "https://github.com/michael-berardi/opentao"
certainty: observed
source: "https://github.com/michael-berardi/opentao"
unknowns: none known
---
# Daodejing

## Original

### 1
道可道，非常道。
名可名，非常名。
無名天地之始；
有名萬物之母。
故常無欲，以觀其妙；
常有欲，以觀其徼。
此兩者，同出而異名，同謂之玄。
玄之又玄，衆妙之門。

### 2
天下皆知美之為美，斯惡已。
皆知善之為善，斯不善已。
故有無相生，難易相成，長短相較，高下相傾，音聲相和，前後相隨。
是以聖人處無為之事，行不言之教；
萬物作焉而不辭，生而不有。
為而不恃，功成而弗居。
夫唯弗居，是以不去。

### 3
不尚賢，使民不爭；
不貴難得之貨，使民不為盜；
不見可欲，使心不亂。
是以聖人之治，虛其心，實其腹，弱其志，強其骨。
常使民無知無欲。
使夫知者不敢為也。
為無為，則無不治。

### 4
道沖而用之或不盈。
淵兮似萬物之宗。
挫其銳，解其紛，和其光，同其塵。
湛兮似或存。
吾不知誰之子，象帝之先。

### 5
天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗；
聖人不仁，以百姓為芻狗。
天地之間，其猶橐籥乎？
虛而不屈，動而愈出。
多言數窮，不如守中。

### 6
谷神不死，是謂玄牝。
玄牝之門，是謂天地根。
綿綿若存，用之不勤。

### 7
天長地久。
天地所以能長且久者，以其不自生，故能長生。
是以聖人後其身而身先；
外其身而身存。
非以其無私耶？
故能成其私。

### 8
上善若水。
水善利萬物而不爭，處衆人之所惡，故幾於道。
居善地，心善淵，與善仁，言善信，正善治，事善能，動善時。
夫唯不爭，故無尤。

### 9
持而盈之，不如其已；
揣而銳之，不可長保。
金玉滿堂，莫之能守；
富貴而驕，自遺其咎。
功遂身退天之道。

### 10
載營魄抱一，能無離乎？
專氣致柔，能嬰兒乎？
滌除玄覽，能無疵乎？
愛民治國，能無知乎？
天門開闔，能為雌乎？
明白四達，能無知乎？
生之、畜之，生而不有，為而不恃，長而不宰，是謂玄德。

### 11
三十輻，共一轂，當其無，有車之用。
埏埴以為器，當其無，有器之用。
鑿戶牖以為室，當其無，有室之用。
故有之以為利，無之以為用。

### 12
五色令人目盲；
五音令人耳聾；
五味令人口爽；
馳騁田獵，令人心發狂；
難得之貨，令人行妨。
是以聖人為腹不為目，故去彼取此。

### 13
寵辱若驚，貴大患若身。
何謂寵辱若驚？
寵為下，得之若驚，失之若驚，是謂寵辱若驚。
何謂貴大患若身？
吾所以有大患者，為吾有身，及吾無身，吾有何患？
故貴以身為天下，若可寄天下；
愛以身為天下，若可託天下。

### 14
視之不見，名曰夷；
聽之不聞，名曰希；
搏之不得，名曰微。
此三者不可致詰，故混而為一。
其上不皦，其下不昧。
繩繩不可名，復歸於無物。
是謂無狀之狀，無物之象，是謂惚恍。
迎之不見其首，隨之不見其後。
執古之道，以御今之有。
能知古始，是謂道紀。

### 15
古之善為士者，微妙玄通，深不可識。
夫唯不可識，故強為之容。
豫兮若冬涉川；
猶兮若畏四鄰；
儼兮其若容；
渙兮若冰之將釋；
敦兮其若樸；
曠兮其若谷；
混兮其若濁；
孰能濁以靜之徐清？
孰能安以久動之徐生？
保此道者，不欲盈。
夫唯不盈，故能蔽不新成。

### 16
致虛極，守靜篤。
萬物並作，吾以觀復。
夫物芸芸，各復歸其根。
歸根曰靜，是謂復命。
復命曰常，知常曰明。
不知常，妄作凶。
知常容，容乃公，公乃王，王乃天，天乃道，道乃久，沒身不殆。

### 17
太上，下知有之；
其次，親而譽之；
其次，畏之；
其次，侮之。
信不足，焉有不信焉。
悠兮，其貴言。
功成事遂，百姓皆謂我自然。

### 18
大道廢，有仁義；
智慧出，有大偽；
六親不和，有孝慈；
國家昏亂，有忠臣。

### 19
絕聖棄智，民利百倍；
絕仁棄義，民復孝慈；
絕巧棄利，盜賊無有。
此三者以為文不足。
故令有所屬：見素抱樸，少私寡欲。

### 20
絕學無憂，唯之與阿，相去幾何？
善之與惡，相去若何？
人之所畏，不可不畏。
荒兮其未央哉！
衆人熙熙，如享太牢，如春登臺。
我獨怕兮其未兆；
如嬰兒之未孩；
儽儽兮若無所歸。
衆人皆有餘，而我獨若遺。
我愚人之心也哉！
沌沌兮，俗人昭昭，我獨若昏。
俗人察察，我獨悶悶。
澹兮其若海，飂兮若無止，衆人皆有以，而我獨頑似鄙。
我獨異於人，而貴食母。

### 21
孔德之容，唯道是從。
道之為物，唯恍唯惚。
忽兮恍兮，其中有象；
恍兮忽兮，其中有物。
窈兮冥兮，其中有精；
其精甚真，其中有信。
自古及今，其名不去，以閱衆甫。
吾何以知衆甫之狀哉？
以此。

### 22
曲則全，枉則直，窪則盈，弊則新，少則得，多則惑。
是以聖人抱一為天下式。
不自見，故明；
不自是，故彰；
不自伐，故有功；
不自矜，故長。
夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭。
古之所謂曲則全者，豈虛言哉！
誠全而歸之。

### 23
希言自然，故飄風不終朝，驟雨不終日。
孰為此者？
天地。
天地尚不能久，而況於人乎？
故從事於道者，道者，同於道；
德者，同於德；
失者，同於失。
同於道者，道亦樂得之；
同於德者，德亦樂得之；
同於失者，失亦樂得之。
信不足，焉有不信焉。

### 24
企者不立；
跨者不行；
自見者不明；
自是者不彰；
自伐者無功；
自矜者不長。
其在道也，曰：餘食贅行。
物或惡之，故有道者不處。

### 25
有物混成，先天地生。
寂兮寥兮，獨立不改，周行而不殆，可以為天下母。
吾不知其名，字之曰道，強為之名曰大。
大曰逝，逝曰遠，遠曰反。
故道大，天大，地大，王亦大。
域中有四大，而王居其一焉。
人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。

### 26
重為輕根，靜為躁君。
是以聖人終日行不離輜重。
雖有榮觀，燕處超然。
奈何萬乘之主，而以身輕天下？
輕則失本，躁則失君。

### 27
善行無轍迹，善言無瑕讁；
善數不用籌策；
善閉無關楗而不可開，善結無繩約而不可解。
是以聖人常善救人，故無棄人；
常善救物，故無棄物。
是謂襲明。
故善人者，不善人之師；
不善人者，善人之資。
不貴其師，不愛其資，雖智大迷，是謂要妙。

### 28
知其雄，守其雌，為天下谿。
為天下谿，常德不離，復歸於嬰兒。
知其白，守其黑，為天下式。
為天下式，常德不忒，復歸於無極。
知其榮，守其辱，為天下谷。
為天下谷，常德乃足，復歸於樸。
樸散則為器，聖人用之，則為官長，故大制不割。

### 29
將欲取天下而為之，吾見其不得已。
天下神器，不可為也，為者敗之，執者失之。
故物或行或隨；
或歔或吹；
或強或羸；
或挫或隳。
是以聖人去甚，去奢，去泰。

### 30
以道佐人主者，不以兵強天下。
其事好還。
師之所處，荊棘生焉。
大軍之後，必有凶年。
善有果而已，不敢以取強。
果而勿矜，果而勿伐，果而勿驕。
果而不得已，果而勿強。
物壯則老，是謂不道，不道早已。

### 31
夫佳兵者，不祥之器，物或惡之，故有道者不處。
君子居則貴左，用兵則貴右。
兵者不祥之器，非君子之器，不得已而用之，恬淡為上。
勝而不美，而美之者，是樂殺人。
夫樂殺人者，則不可以得志於天下矣。
吉事尚左，凶事尚右。
偏將軍居左，上將軍居右，言以喪禮處之。
殺人之衆，以哀悲泣之，戰勝以喪禮處之。

### 32
道常無名。
樸雖小，天下莫能臣也。
侯王若能守之，萬物將自賓。
天地相合，以降甘露，民莫之令而自均。
始制有名，名亦既有，夫亦將知止，知止所以不殆。
譬道之在天下，猶川谷之與江海。

### 33
知人者智，自知者明。
勝人者有力，自勝者強。
知足者富。
強行者有志。
不失其所者久。
死而不亡者壽。

### 34
大道汎兮，其可左右。
萬物恃之而生而不辭，功成不名有。
衣養萬物而不為主，常無欲，可名於小；
萬物歸焉，而不為主，可名為大。
以其終不自為大，故能成其大。

### 35
執大象，天下往。
往而不害，安平大。
樂與餌，過客止。
道之出口，淡乎其無味，視之不足見，聽之不足聞，用之不足既。

### 36
將欲歙之，必固張之；
將欲弱之，必固強之；
將欲廢之，必固興之；
將欲奪之，必固與之。
是謂微明。
柔弱勝剛強。
魚不可脫於淵，國之利器不可以示人。

### 37
道常無為而無不為。
侯王若能守之，萬物將自化。
化而欲作，吾將鎮之以無名之樸。
無名之樸，夫亦將無欲。
不欲以靜，天下將自定。

### 38
上德不德，是以有德；
下德不失德，是以無德。
上德無為而無以為；
下德為之而有以為。
上仁為之而無以為；
上義為之而有以為。
上禮為之而莫之應，則攘臂而扔之。
故失道而後德，失德而後仁，失仁而後義，失義而後禮。
夫禮者，忠信之薄，而亂之首。
前識者，道之華，而愚之始。
是以大丈夫處其厚，不居其薄；
處其實，不居其華。
故去彼取此。

### 39
昔之得一者：天得一以清；
地得一以寧；
神得一以靈；
谷得一以盈；
萬物得一以生；
侯王得一以為天下貞。
其致之，天無以清，將恐裂；
地無以寧，將恐發；
神無以靈，將恐歇；
谷無以盈，將恐竭；
萬物無以生，將恐滅；
侯王無以貴高將恐蹶。
故貴以賤為本，高以下為基。
是以侯王自稱孤、寡、不穀。
此非以賤為本耶？
非乎？
故致數譽無譽。
不欲琭琭如玉，珞珞如石。

### 40
反者道之動；
弱者道之用。
天下萬物生於有，有生於無。

### 41
上士聞道，勤而行之；
中士聞道，若存若亡；
下士聞道，大笑之。
不笑不足以為道。
故建言有之：明道若昧；
進道若退；
夷道若纇；
上德若谷；
太白若辱；
廣德若不足；
建德若偷；
質真若渝；
大方無隅；
大器晚成；
大音希聲；
大象無形；
道隱無名。
夫唯道，善貸且成。

### 42
道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物。
萬物負陰而抱陽，沖氣以為和。
人之所惡，唯孤、寡、不穀，而王公以為稱。
故物或損之而益，或益之而損。
人之所教，我亦教之。
強梁者不得其死，吾將以為教父。

### 43
天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅。
無有入無間，吾是以知無為之有益。
不言之教，無為之益，天下希及之。

### 44
名與身孰親？
身與貨孰多？
得與亡孰病？
是故甚愛必大費；
多藏必厚亡。
知足不辱，知止不殆，可以長久。

### 45
大成若缺，其用不弊。
大盈若沖，其用不窮。
大直若屈，大巧若拙，大辯若訥。
躁勝寒靜勝熱。
清靜為天下正。

### 46
天下有道，卻走馬以糞。
天下無道，戎馬生於郊。
禍莫大於不知足；
咎莫大於欲得。
故知足之足，常足矣。

### 47
不出戶知天下；
不闚牖見天道。
其出彌遠，其知彌少。
是以聖人不行而知，不見而名，不為而成。

### 48
為學日益，為道日損。
損之又損，以至於無為。
無為而無不為。
取天下常以無事，及其有事，不足以取天下。

### 49
聖人無常心，以百姓心為心。
善者，吾善之；
不善者，吾亦善之；
德善。
信者，吾信之；
不信者，吾亦信之；
德信。
聖人在天下，歙歙為天下渾其心，百姓皆注其耳目，聖人皆孩之。

### 50
出生入死。
生之徒，十有三；
死之徒，十有三；
人之生，動之死地，十有三。
夫何故？
以其生，生之厚。
蓋聞善攝生者，陸行不遇兕虎，入軍不被甲兵；
兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃。
夫何故？
以其無死地。

### 51
道生之，德畜之，物形之，勢成之。
是以萬物莫不尊道而貴德。
道之尊，德之貴，夫莫之命常自然。
故道生之，德畜之；
長之育之；
亭之毒之；
養之覆之。
生而不有，為而不恃，長而不宰，是謂玄德。

### 52
天下有始，以為天下母。
既得其母，以知其子，既知其子，復守其母，沒身不殆。
塞其兌，閉其門，終身不勤。
開其兌，濟其事，終身不救。
見小曰明，守柔曰強。
用其光，復歸其明，無遺身殃；
是為習常。

### 53
使我介然有知，行於大道，唯施是畏。
大道甚夷，而民好徑。
朝甚除，田甚蕪，倉甚虛；
服文綵，帶利劍，厭飲食，財貨有餘；
是謂盜夸。
非道也哉！

### 54
善建不拔，善抱者不脫，子孫以祭祀不輟。
修之於身，其德乃真；
修之於家，其德乃餘；
修之於鄉，其德乃長；
修之於國，其德乃豐；
修之於天下，其德乃普。
故以身觀身，以家觀家，以鄉觀鄉，以國觀國，以天下觀天下。
吾何以知天下然哉？
以此。

### 55
含德之厚，比於赤子。
蜂蠆虺蛇不螫，猛獸不據，攫鳥不搏。
骨弱筋柔而握固。
未知牝牡之合而全作，精之至也。
終日號而不嗄，和之至也。
知和曰常，知常曰明，益生曰祥。
心使氣曰強。
物壯則老，謂之不道，不道早已。

### 56
知者不言，言者不知。
塞其兑，閉其門，挫其銳，解其分，和其光，同其塵，是謂玄同。
故不可得而親，不可得而踈；
不可得而利，不可得而害；
不可得而貴，不可得而賤。
故為天下貴。

### 57
以正治國，以奇用兵，以無事取天下。
吾何以知其然哉？
以此：天下多忌諱，而民彌貧；
民多利器，國家滋昏；
人多伎巧，奇物滋起；
法令滋彰，盜賊多有。
故聖人云：我無為，而民自化；
我好靜，而民自正；
我無事，而民自富；
我無欲，而民自樸。

### 58
其政悶悶，其民淳淳；
其政察察，其民缺缺。
禍兮福之所倚，福兮禍之所伏。
孰知其極？
其無正。
正復為奇，善復為妖。
人之迷，其日固久。
是以聖人方而不割，廉而不劌，直而不肆，光而不燿。

### 59
治人事天莫若嗇。
夫唯嗇，是謂早服；
早服謂之重積德；
重積德則無不克；
無不克則莫知其極；
莫知其極，可以有國；
有國之母，可以長久；
是謂深根固柢，長生久視之道。

### 60
治大國若烹小鮮。
以道蒞天下，其鬼不神；
非其鬼不神，其神不傷人；
非其神不傷人，聖人亦不傷人。
夫兩不相傷，故德交歸焉。

### 61
大國者下流，天下之交，天下之牝。
牝常以靜勝牡，以靜為下。
故大國以下小國，則取小國；
小國以下大國，則取大國。
故或下以取，或下而取。
大國不過欲兼畜人，小國不過欲入事人。
夫兩者各得其所欲，大者宜為下。

### 62
道者萬物之奧。
善人之寶，不善人之所保。
美言可以市，尊行可以加人。
人之不善，何棄之有？
故立天子，置三公，雖有拱璧以先駟馬，不如坐進此道。
古之所以貴此道者何？
不曰：以求得，有罪以免耶？
故為天下貴。

### 63
為無為，事無事，味無味。
大小多少，報怨以德。
圖難於其易，為大於其細；
天下難事，必作於易，天下大事，必作於細。
是以聖人終不為大，故能成其大。
夫輕諾必寡信，多易必多難。
是以聖人猶難之，故終無難矣。

### 64
其安易持，其未兆易謀。
其脆易泮，其微易散。
為之於未有，治之於未亂。
合抱之木，生於毫末；
九層之臺，起於累土；
千里之行，始於足下。
為者敗之，執者失之。
是以聖人無為故無敗；
無執故無失。
民之從事，常於幾成而敗之。
慎終如始，則無敗事，是以聖人欲不欲，不貴難得之貨；
學不學，復衆人之所過，以輔萬物之自然，而不敢為。

### 65
古之善為道者，非以明民，將以愚之。
民之難治，以其智多。
故以智治國，國之賊；
不以智治國，國之福。
知此兩者亦𥡴式。
常知𥡴式，是謂玄德。
玄德深矣，遠矣，與物反矣，然後乃至大順。

### 66
江海所以能為百谷王者，以其善下之，故能為百谷王。
是以聖人欲上民，必以言下之；
欲先民，必以身後之。
是以聖人處上而民不重，處前而民不害。
是以天下樂推而不厭。
以其不爭，故天下莫能與之爭。

### 67
天下皆謂我道大，似不肖。
夫唯大，故似不肖。
若肖久矣。
其細也夫！
我有三寶，持而保之。
一曰慈，二曰儉，三曰不敢為天下先。
慈故能勇；
儉故能廣；
不敢為天下先，故能成器長。
今舍慈且勇；
舍儉且廣；
舍後且先；
死矣！
夫慈以戰則勝，以守則固。
天將救之，以慈衛之。

### 68
善為士者，不武；
善戰者，不怒；
善勝敵者，不與；
善用人者，為之下。
是謂不爭之德，是謂用人之力，是謂配天古之極。

### 69
用兵有言：吾不敢為主，而為客；
不敢進寸，而退尺。
是謂行無行；
攘無臂；
扔無敵；
執無兵。
禍莫大於輕敵，輕敵幾喪吾寶。
故抗兵相加，哀者勝矣。

### 70
吾言甚易知，甚易行。
天下莫能知，莫能行。
言有宗，事有君。
夫唯無知，是以不我知。
知我者希，則我者貴。
是以聖人被褐懷玉。

### 71
知不知上；
不知知病。
夫唯病病，是以不病。
聖人不病，以其病病，是以不病。

### 72
民不畏威，則大威至。
無狎其所居，無厭其所生。
夫唯不厭，是以不厭。
是以聖人自知不自見；
自愛不自貴。
故去彼取此。

### 73
勇於敢則殺，勇於不敢則活。
此兩者，或利或害。
天之所惡，孰知其故？
是以聖人猶難之。
天之道，不爭而善勝，不言而善應，不召而自來，繟然而善謀。
天網恢恢，踈而不失。

### 74
民不畏死，奈何以死懼之？
若使民常畏死，而為奇者，吾得執而殺之，孰敢？
常有司殺者殺。
夫司殺者，是大匠斲；
夫代大匠斲者，希有不傷其手矣。

### 75
民之飢，以其上食稅之多，是以飢。
民之難治，以其上之有為，是以難治。
民之輕死，以其求生之厚，是以輕死。
夫唯無以生為者，是賢於貴生。

### 76
人之生也柔弱，其死也堅強。
萬物草木之生也柔脆，其死也枯槁。
故堅強者死之徒，柔弱者生之徒。
是以兵強則不勝，木強則共。
強大處下，柔弱處上。

### 77
天之道，其猶張弓與？
高者抑之，下者舉之；
有餘者損之，不足者補之。
天之道，損有餘而補不足。
人之道，則不然，損不足以奉有餘。
孰能有餘以奉天下，唯有道者。
是以聖人為而不恃，功成而不處，其不欲見賢。

### 78
天下莫柔弱於水，而攻堅強者莫之能勝，其無以易之。
弱之勝強，柔之勝剛，天下莫不知，莫能行。
是以聖人云：受國之垢，是謂社稷主；
受國不祥，是謂天下王。
正言若反。

### 79
和大怨，必有餘怨；
安可以為善？
是以聖人執左契，而不責於人。
有德司契，無德司徹。
天道無親，常與善人。

### 80
小國寡民。
使有什伯之器而不用；
使民重死而不遠徙。
雖有舟輿，無所乘之，雖有甲兵，無所陳之。
使民復結繩而用之，甘其食，美其服，安其居，樂其俗。
鄰國相望，雞犬之聲相聞，民至老死，不相往來。

### 81
信言不美，美言不信。
善者不辯，辯者不善。
知者不博，博者不知。
聖人不積，既以為人己愈有，既以與人己愈多。
天之道，利而不害；
聖人之道，為而不爭。

## Translation — Mouseia

> Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the original source for fidelity, modern clarity, beauty, symbolism, and structure.

### 1

The Way that can be spoken as a way is not the constant Way.
The name that can be named is not the constant name.
Nameless, it is the beginning of heaven and earth;
Named, it is the mother of the ten thousand things.
Therefore, constantly without desire, observe its subtle marvel;
Constantly with desire, observe its outer limits.
These two issue from the same source but differ in name; together they are called mystery.
Mystery upon mystery—the gate of all subtle marvels.

### 2

All under heaven know beauty as beauty, and ugliness is already there.
All know good as good, and the not-good is already there.
Thus being and nonbeing give birth to each other, hard and easy complete each other, long and short measure each other, high and low incline toward each other, tone and voice harmonize with each other, before and after follow each other.
Therefore the sage abides in the work of nonaction and practices the teaching without words;
The ten thousand things arise, and he does not turn away; he gives them life but does not possess them.
He acts but does not rely on what he has done; the work is accomplished, but he does not dwell in it.
Only because he does not dwell in it, it does not depart.

### 3

Do not exalt the worthy, and the people will not contend;
Do not prize goods hard to obtain, and the people will not become thieves;
Do not display what can be desired, and their hearts will not be disordered.
Therefore, in the sage’s governance, he empties their hearts, fills their bellies, weakens their ambitions, and strengthens their bones.
He constantly keeps the people without knowledge and without desire.
He keeps those who know from daring to act.
Act through nonaction, and nothing will be ungoverned.

### 4

The Way is empty, yet in use it may never fill.
Abyssal—it seems the ancestor of the ten thousand things.
It blunts their sharpness, untangles their knots, softens their glare, and joins their dust.
Deep and still—it seems perhaps to exist.
I do not know whose child it is; it appears before the Sovereign.

### 5

Heaven and earth are not humane; they treat the ten thousand things as straw dogs.
The sage is not humane; he treats the hundred families as straw dogs.
The space between heaven and earth—is it not like a bellows?
Empty yet never exhausted; set in motion, it brings forth ever more.
Many words soon come to nothing; better to hold to the center.

### 6

The valley spirit does not die; this is called the mysterious female.
The gate of the mysterious female is called the root of heaven and earth.
Fine as an unbroken thread, it seems to endure; draw upon it, and it is never spent.

### 7

Heaven is long-lasting; earth endures.
Heaven and earth can be long-lasting and enduring because they do not live for themselves; therefore they can long endure.
Thus the sage puts himself behind, yet finds himself before;
He sets himself outside, yet his self remains.
Is it not because he has no private ends?
Therefore he can fulfill what is his own.

### 8

The highest good is like water.
Water is good at benefiting the ten thousand things without contending; it dwells where the multitude disdain to be, and so comes near the Way.
In dwelling, be good to the ground; in heart, good and deep; in giving, good and humane; in speech, good and true; in governing, good at order; in work, good in ability; in movement, good in season.
Only by not contending is there no blame.

### 9

To hold and fill to overflowing is not as good as stopping.
To hammer and sharpen a blade cannot preserve it for long.
When gold and jade fill the hall, no one can guard them.
Rich and honored, then arrogant—you bequeath calamity to yourself.
When the work is fulfilled, withdraw the self: this is heaven’s Way.

### 10

Bearing body and soul, embracing the One, can you keep them from parting?
Concentrating breath and reaching softness, can you be an infant?
Cleansing the mysterious mirror, can you leave it without blemish?
Loving the people and governing the state, can you be without knowing?
As heaven’s gates open and close, can you be the female?
In lucid understanding reaching everywhere, can you be without knowing?
Give them life and nurture them; give them life without possessing them, act without relying on what you have done, raise them without ruling them: this is called mysterious virtue.

### 11

Thirty spokes converge in a single hub; in its emptiness lies the use of the cart.
Clay is worked to make a vessel; in its emptiness lies the use of the vessel.
Doors and windows are cut to make a room; in their emptiness lies the use of the room.
Thus what is brings benefit; what is not brings use.

### 12

The five colors make the eyes blind;
The five tones make the ears deaf;
The five flavors make the mouth lose its taste;
Racing and galloping in the hunt make the heart run wild;
Goods hard to obtain obstruct a person’s conduct.
Therefore the sage serves the belly, not the eye; so he leaves that and takes this.

### 13

Favor and disgrace are both startling; prize great affliction as you prize the self.
What does it mean that favor and disgrace are both startling?
Favor is a lowering thing: gain it and be startled; lose it and be startled. This is called “favor and disgrace are both startling.”
What does it mean to prize great affliction as you prize the self?
The reason I have great affliction is that I have a self; if I had no self, what affliction would I have?
Therefore, one who prizes giving his self to all under heaven may be entrusted with all under heaven;
One who loves giving his self to all under heaven may be charged with all under heaven.

### 14

Look for it but do not see it: name it the imperceptible;
Listen for it but do not hear it: name it the inaudible;
Reach for it but do not grasp it: name it the infinitesimal.
These three cannot be pursued by questioning, and so they mingle into one.
Above, it is not bright; below, it is not dark.
Unbroken, unnameable, it returns again to no-thing.
This is called the form without form, the image of no-thing; this is called the dim and wavering.
Meet it, and you do not see its head; follow it, and you do not see its rear.
Hold to the Way of antiquity to guide the beings of the present.
To know the ancient beginning—this is called the thread of the Way.

### 15

The ancients who excelled as masters were subtle, wondrous, darkly penetrating, deep beyond knowing.
Only because they were beyond knowing, I must strain to describe their bearing.
Wary, as if crossing a river in winter;
Watchful, as if fearing neighbors on every side;
Grave, as if receiving a guest;
Melting, like ice about to thaw;
Solid, like uncarved wood;
Open, like a valley;
Blended, like turbid water.
Who can, through stillness, let the turbid slowly clear?
Who can, through lasting movement, let the still slowly come alive?
Those who keep to this Way do not desire fullness.
Only because they are not full can they remain veiled, never newly completed.

### 16

Reach utmost emptiness; hold fast to deep stillness.
The myriad things arise together; through them I watch the return.
Things flourish in profusion, each returning again to its root.
Returning to the root is called stillness; this is called returning to destiny.
Returning to destiny is called the constant; knowing the constant is called illumination.
Not knowing the constant, one acts blindly and meets disaster.
Knowing the constant brings all-embracing openness; openness brings impartiality; impartiality brings sovereignty; sovereignty accords with Heaven; Heaven accords with the Way; the Way endures; to the end of the body, there is no peril.

### 17

The highest ruler: those below merely know that he exists;
The next, they cherish and praise;
The next, they fear;
The next, they despise.
Where trust is insufficient, distrust arises.
How unhurried—he prizes his words.
The work accomplished, the undertaking fulfilled, the hundred families all say: We are so of ourselves.

### 18

When the great Way is cast aside, benevolence and righteousness arise;
When wisdom and discernment emerge, great falsity arises;
When the six kin are not in harmony, filial devotion and parental care arise;
When state and house are dark with disorder, loyal ministers arise.

### 19

Cut off sageliness, cast away wisdom, and the people benefit a hundredfold;
Cut off benevolence, cast away righteousness, and the people return to filial devotion and parental care;
Cut off cunning, cast away profit, and thieves and robbers cease to be.
Yet these three, taken as doctrine, are not enough.
Therefore let there be something to belong to: reveal the plain, embrace the uncarved wood, lessen self-interest, diminish desire.

### 20

Cut off learning, and be free of care: between yes and yea, how much distance is there?
Between good and evil, how great is the difference?
What others fear, one cannot but fear.
How desolate—and still it has no end!
The multitude are radiant and merry, as at a feast of the great sacrifice, as climbing a terrace in spring.
I alone am quiet, showing no sign;
Like an infant that has not yet learned to smile;
Drifting, as though with nowhere to return.
The multitude all have more than enough, while I alone seem to have lost everything.
Mine is truly the heart of a fool!
Dazed and dim—the common people shine brightly; I alone seem dark.
The common people see sharply; I alone am dull and obscure.
Calm, like the sea; windblown, as though never coming to rest—the multitude all have their uses, while I alone am stubborn and seem uncouth.
I alone differ from others, and treasure feeding from the Mother.

### 21

The bearing of profound virtue follows the Way alone.
As a thing, the Way is only elusive, only indistinct.
Indistinct, elusive—within it are images;
Elusive, indistinct—within it are things.
Deep, dark—within it is essence;
That essence is utterly real; within it is sure testimony.
From antiquity to this day, its name has never departed, and through it we behold the beginnings of all.
How do I know the form of all beginnings?
By this.

### 22

Bent, then whole; crooked, then straight; hollow, then filled; worn, then renewed; having little, then gaining; having much, then bewildered.
Therefore the sage embraces the One and becomes the pattern under Heaven.
Not displaying himself, he is luminous;
Not asserting himself, he shines forth;
Not vaunting himself, he has achievement;
Not exalting himself, he endures.
Only because he does not contend can none under Heaven contend with him.
The ancient saying, Bent, then whole—could these be empty words?
Truly, wholeness returns to him.

### 23

Sparse speech is so of itself; thus a whirlwind does not last the whole morning, nor a driving rain the whole day.
Who makes them so?
Heaven and earth.
Even heaven and earth cannot make them last—how much less can human beings?
Therefore, one who gives himself to the Way: as a person of the Way, he becomes one with the Way;
As a person of virtue, he becomes one with virtue;
As a person of loss, he becomes one with loss.
One with the Way, he too is gladly received by the Way;
One with virtue, he too is gladly received by virtue;
One with loss, he too is gladly received by loss.
Where trust is insufficient, distrust arises.

### 24

One who stands on tiptoe does not stand firm;
One who strides cannot travel far;
One who displays himself is not luminous;
One who asserts himself does not shine forth;
One who vaunts himself has no achievement;
One who exalts himself does not endure.
In the Way, these are called leftover food and excrescent acts.
Things may well detest them; therefore one who has the Way does not dwell in them.

### 25

There is a thing formed in mystery, born before heaven and earth.
Silent, empty—standing alone, unchanging; moving all around, never imperiled; it may be deemed the Mother under Heaven.
I do not know its name; I style it the Way, and, compelled to name it, call it Great.
Great means passing on; passing on means far-reaching; far-reaching means returning.
Thus the Way is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, and the king too is great.
Within the realm are four great ones, and the king dwells as one among them.
Humanity models itself on Earth, Earth on Heaven, Heaven on the Way, and the Way on what is so of itself.

### 26

The heavy is the root of the light; stillness is the lord of restlessness.
Therefore the sage, traveling all day, never leaves the laden wagon.
Though glorious vistas appear, he rests at ease, aloof beyond them.
How could the lord of ten thousand chariots treat his own person lightly before all under Heaven?
Lightness loses the root; restlessness loses the lord.

### 27

One skilled in traveling leaves no wheel track; one skilled in speaking leaves no flaw for blame;
One skilled in counting uses no tally rods;
One skilled in closing uses neither bar nor bolt, yet none can open; one skilled in binding uses neither cord nor knot, yet none can loosen.
Therefore the sage is always skilled at rescuing people, and so abandons no one;
Always skilled at rescuing things, and so abandons nothing.
This is called inheriting illumination.
Thus the good person is the teacher of the person not good;
The person not good is the material of the good person.
Not honoring the teacher, not cherishing the material—however wise one may be, this is great delusion; it is called the essential mystery.

### 28

Know the male, hold to the female, and become the streambed under Heaven.
Being the streambed under Heaven, constant virtue never leaves you, and you return again to the infant.
Know the white, hold to the black, and become the pattern under Heaven.
Being the pattern under Heaven, constant virtue never strays, and you return again to the limitless.
Know honor, hold to disgrace, and become the valley under Heaven.
Being the valley under Heaven, constant virtue is then sufficient, and you return again to uncarved wood.
When uncarved wood is divided, it becomes vessels; when the sage employs them, he becomes chief among officials; thus the great shaping does not cut apart.

### 29

Those who would take all under heaven and work upon it—I see that they will not succeed.
All under heaven is a sacred vessel: it cannot be worked upon; those who work upon it ruin it, those who grasp it lose it.
Thus, among things some lead and some follow;
some breathe softly and some blow hard;
some are strong and some frail;
some are cut down and some fall.
Therefore the sage casts off excess, casts off extravagance, casts off arrogance.

### 30

One who aids a ruler by the Way does not use arms to force all under heaven.
Such deeds are apt to return.
Where armies have encamped, thorns and brambles grow.
In the wake of a great army, a dire year is sure to come.
One who is good achieves the result and stops, not daring to seize strength through it.
Achieve the result without vaunting it, achieve the result without boasting, achieve the result without pride.
Achieve the result only from necessity; achieve the result without force.
When things grow strong, they age: this is called being against the Way; what is against the Way soon ends.

### 31

Fine weapons are instruments of ill omen; all creatures may abhor them, so one who has the Way does not dwell with them.
In ordinary life, the noble one honors the left; in war, the right.
Weapons are instruments of ill omen, not instruments for the noble one; when compelled to use them, calm restraint is best.
Win, but find no beauty in it; whoever finds beauty in it delights in killing people.
Whoever delights in killing people cannot fulfill an ambition under heaven.
In fortunate affairs, the left is honored; in baleful affairs, the right.
The lieutenant general stands on the left, the commanding general on the right: this says to conduct war as a funeral rite.
When multitudes are killed, mourn them with grief and tears; when battle is won, conduct it as a funeral rite.

### 32

The Way is forever nameless.
Though the uncarved block is small, nothing under heaven can make it a subject.
If lords and kings could hold to it, the ten thousand things would come of themselves as guests.
Heaven and earth would join and send down sweet dew; no one commanding them, the people would share it evenly of themselves.
Once division begins, there are names; as names already exist, one must also know where to stop—knowing where to stop is how to avoid peril.
The Way’s presence under heaven may be likened to the streams of the valleys flowing into rivers and seas.

### 33

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is illumination.
Mastering others takes power; mastering yourself is strength.
Knowing contentment is wealth.
Pressing onward with strength is resolve.
Not losing your place is endurance.
To die yet not perish is longevity.

### 34

The great Way flows everywhere—it may go left or right.
The ten thousand things rely on it to live, and it turns none away; its work accomplished, it does not claim possession.
It clothes and nourishes the ten thousand things yet does not act as their master; forever without desire, it may be named small.
The ten thousand things return to it, yet it does not act as their master; it may be named great.
Because to the end it never makes itself great, it can fulfill its greatness.

### 35

Hold fast to the great Image, and all under heaven will come.
They come and suffer no harm, finding profound peace and ease.
Music and savory food make a passing traveler stop.
But when the Way comes from the mouth, how bland and flavorless it is: looked at, it is not enough to be seen; listened to, not enough to be heard; put to use, not enough to be exhausted.

### 36

If you would contract something, you must first let it expand;
if you would weaken something, you must first let it grow strong;
if you would abolish something, you must first let it flourish;
if you would take something away, you must first give to it.
This is called subtle illumination.
The soft and weak overcome the hard and strong.
Fish must not leave the depths; a state’s sharp instruments of advantage must not be shown to the people.

### 37

The Way forever acts without acting, yet nothing is left undone.
If lords and kings could hold to it, the ten thousand things would transform of themselves.
If, in transforming, desire arose, I would settle it with the nameless uncarved block.
The nameless uncarved block would in turn bring freedom from desire.
Without desire, through stillness, all under heaven would settle of itself.

### 38

Highest virtue does not make a virtue of itself; therefore it has virtue.
Lower virtue never lets go of virtue; therefore it has no virtue.
Highest virtue acts without acting and has no purpose in acting;
lower virtue acts and has a purpose in acting.
Highest benevolence acts but has no purpose in acting;
highest righteousness acts and has a purpose in acting.
Highest ritual acts, and when no one responds, it bares its arms and pulls them into line.
Thus, when the Way is lost, virtue follows; when virtue is lost, benevolence follows; when benevolence is lost, righteousness follows; when righteousness is lost, ritual follows.
Ritual is the thinning of loyalty and trust, and the beginning of disorder.
Foreknowledge is the blossom of the Way, and the beginning of folly.
Therefore the great person dwells in what is thick, not in what is thin;
dwells in the fruit, not in the blossom.
Thus, that is cast off and this is taken.

### 39

Those who of old attained the One: heaven attained the One and became clear;
earth attained the One and became still;
spirits attained the One and became numinous;
valleys attained the One and became full;
the ten thousand things attained the One and came alive;
lords and kings attained the One and became the true standard for all under heaven.
Taken to the limit: if heaven had nothing by which to be clear, it would, I fear, split;
if earth had nothing by which to be still, it would, I fear, burst;
if spirits had nothing by which to be numinous, they would, I fear, fade;
if valleys had nothing by which to be full, they would, I fear, run dry;
if the ten thousand things had nothing by which to live, they would, I fear, perish;
if lords and kings had nothing by which to be honored and exalted, they would, I fear, topple.
Thus, the honored takes the lowly as its root; the high takes the below as its foundation.
Therefore lords and kings call themselves orphaned, bereft, and unworthy.
Is this not taking the lowly as their root?
Is it not so?
Thus, multiplied honors amount to no honor.
Do not desire to gleam like jade; be rough and solid like stone.

### 40

Returning is the movement of the Way;
weakness is the Way’s use.
The ten thousand things under heaven are born from being; being is born from nonbeing.

### 41

When the highest scholar hears the Way, he diligently practices it;
when the middling scholar hears the Way, it seems now present, now gone;
when the lowest scholar hears the Way, he laughs aloud at it.
Were it not laughed at, it would not be sufficient to be the Way.
Thus established sayings have it: the luminous Way seems dark;
the advancing Way seems to retreat;
the level Way seems uneven;
highest virtue seems a valley;
great purity seems sullied;
wide virtue seems insufficient;
steadfast virtue seems feeble;
substantial truth seems changeable;
the great square has no corners;
the great vessel is late in completion;
the great sound has rarefied voice;
the great Image has no form;
the Way lies hidden and nameless.
Only the Way is good at giving and bringing to completion.

### 42

The Way gives birth to one; one gives birth to two; two gives birth to three; three gives birth to the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things bear yin on their backs and embrace yang, blending their vital breaths into harmony.
What people despise are only “orphaned,” “bereft,” and “unworthy,” yet kings and lords use these as titles.
Thus, some things are diminished and thereby increased; others are increased and thereby diminished.
What others teach, I too teach:
“The forceful and violent do not meet their natural death.” I shall take this as the father of my teaching.

### 43

The softest thing under heaven gallops through the hardest thing under heaven.
What has no being enters where there is no space; by this I know the benefit of non-action.
Teaching without words, the benefit of non-action—few under heaven attain them.

### 44

Name or body—which is dearer?
Body or goods—which is worth more?
Gain or loss—which is more afflicting?
Therefore, excessive attachment must cost greatly;
Amassing much must suffer heavy loss.
Know enough and meet no disgrace; know when to stop and meet no danger: thus you may long endure.

### 45

Great completion seems incomplete, yet its use never wears out.
Great fullness seems empty, yet its use never runs dry.
Great straightness seems bent, great skill seems clumsy, great eloquence seems halting.
Movement overcomes cold; stillness overcomes heat.
Clarity and stillness set all under heaven right.

### 46

When the Way prevails under heaven, galloping horses are turned back to manure the fields.
When the Way is absent under heaven, warhorses breed at the borders.
No calamity is greater than not knowing enough;
No fault is greater than desiring to gain.
Therefore, know the enoughness of enough, and you will always have enough.

### 47

Without going out the door, know all under heaven;
Without peering through the window, see the Way of heaven.
The farther one goes out, the less one knows.
Thus the sage knows without traveling, names without seeing, accomplishes without acting.

### 48

In pursuing learning, daily increase; in pursuing the Way, daily decrease.
Decrease and decrease again, until you reach non-action.
Do nothing, and nothing goes undone.
Take all under heaven always by undertaking nothing; once you undertake things, you are unfit to take all under heaven.

### 49

The sage has no fixed heart, but takes the people's hearts as his heart.
Those who are good, I treat with goodness;
Those who are not good, I also treat with goodness;
Thus Virtue becomes good.
Those who are trustworthy, I trust;
Those who are not trustworthy, I also trust;
Thus Virtue becomes trustworthy.
The sage, amid all under heaven, draws inward and mingles his heart with all under heaven; the people all fix their ears and eyes upon him, and the sage treats them all as children.

### 50

We come forth into life and enter into death.
Companions of life are three in ten;
Companions of death are three in ten;
And those whose living motions carry them into the ground of death are also three in ten.
Why is this?
Because their hold on life is too heavy.
I have heard that one who is skilled in guarding life meets neither rhinoceros nor tiger while traveling on land, and enters an army untouched by armor or weapons;
The rhinoceros finds nowhere to thrust its horn, the tiger nowhere to set its claws, the weapon nowhere to admit its blade.
Why is this?
Because in him there is no ground for death.

### 51

The Way gives them life, Virtue nurtures them, things give them form, and circumstances bring them to maturity.
Therefore, of the ten thousand things, none fails to honor the Way and cherish Virtue.
The Way is honored and Virtue cherished because no one commands them, and they are forever so of themselves.
Thus the Way gives them life, and Virtue nurtures them;
Grows them and raises them;
Settles them and ripens them;
Sustains them and shelters them.
Give life without possessing, act without relying on it, lead without ruling: this is called mysterious Virtue.

### 52

All under heaven has a beginning; take it as the mother of all under heaven.
Once you have found the mother, thereby know her children; once you know her children, return and hold to the mother, and to the end of your body you will not be in danger.
Stop its openings, close its doors, and all your life you will not be worn out.
Open its openings, meddle in its affairs, and all your life you will be beyond saving.
Seeing the small is called illumination; holding to the soft is called strength.
Use its light, then return to its illumination, leaving no calamity to the body;
This is called practicing the constant.

### 53

If I had the least grain of knowledge, I would walk the great Way and fear only straying from it.
The great Way is very level, yet the people delight in bypaths.
The court is richly cleared, while the fields are deeply overgrown and the granaries utterly empty;
They wear embroidered finery, carry sharp swords, glut themselves with food and drink, and possess wealth and goods in excess;
This is called a robber's pomp.
Surely it is not the Way!

### 54

What is well planted cannot be uprooted; what is well embraced cannot slip away; descendants will thereby continue the ancestral offerings without cease.
Cultivate it in the self, and its Virtue will be genuine;
Cultivate it in the family, and its Virtue will overflow;
Cultivate it in the village, and its Virtue will endure;
Cultivate it in the state, and its Virtue will flourish;
Cultivate it in all under heaven, and its Virtue will be universal.
Therefore, observe the self through the self, the family through the family, the village through the village, the state through the state, and all under heaven through all under heaven.
How do I know that all under heaven is so?
By this.

### 55

One who holds Virtue in fullness may be compared to a newborn child.
Wasps, scorpions, vipers, and snakes do not sting it; fierce beasts do not seize it; birds of prey do not strike it.
Its bones are weak and sinews soft, yet its grip is firm.
Knowing nothing of the union of female and male, its member rises whole: the utmost of vital essence.
It cries all day without growing hoarse: the utmost of harmony.
To know harmony is called constancy; to know constancy is called illumination; forcing life is called ominous.
When the heart drives the vital breath, this is called force.
Things grown strong then age: this is called not the Way; what is not the Way soon ends.

### 56

Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know.
Stop the openings, close the doors, blunt the sharpness, untie the tangles, soften the glare, become one with the dust: this is called mysterious sameness.
Therefore, it cannot be gained through intimacy, nor can it be gained through estrangement;
It cannot be gained through benefit, nor can it be gained through harm;
It cannot be gained through honor, nor can it be gained through contempt.
Therefore, it is cherished by all under heaven.

### 57

Govern the state with what is straight, use arms with what is strange, take all under Heaven by having no affairs.
How do I know this is so?
By this: the more prohibitions there are under Heaven, the poorer the people become;
The more keen instruments the people have, the more benighted the state and its houses become;
The more cunning skill people have, the more strange contrivances arise;
The more laws and commands are displayed, the more thieves and brigands abound.
Therefore the sage says: I do nothing, and the people transform themselves;
I cherish stillness, and the people set themselves right;
I have no affairs, and the people enrich themselves;
I have no desire, and the people become simple of themselves.

### 58

When government is dim and unobtrusive, its people are whole and sincere;
When government is searching and exacting, its people are fractured and wanting.
Misfortune—blessing leans upon it; blessing—misfortune lies hidden beneath it.
Who knows where either ends?
There is no fixed right.
The right turns strange again; the good turns uncanny again.
The bewilderment of humankind has indeed endured long.
Thus the sage is square but does not cut, edged but does not wound, straight but does not overreach, radiant but does not dazzle.

### 59

In governing people and serving Heaven, nothing compares with husbanding.
Only husbanding is called early accord;
Early accord is called redoubling the store of virtue;
With virtue stored redoubled, nothing cannot be overcome;
When nothing cannot be overcome, no one knows its limit;
When no one knows its limit, one can possess the state;
Possessing the mother of the state, one can long endure;
This is called the Way of deep roots and a firm base, of long life and enduring vision.

### 60

Govern a great state as you would cook a small fish.
When the Way presides over all under Heaven, its ghosts have no spectral power;
Not that its ghosts have no spectral power, but their power does not harm people;
Not only does their power not harm people—the sage does not harm people either.
Since neither harms the other, their virtues meet and return together.

### 61

A great state is the lower reach, the confluence of all under Heaven, the female of all under Heaven.
The female always overcomes the male through stillness; through stillness she takes the lower place.
Thus when a great state lowers itself to a small state, it takes in the small state;
When a small state lowers itself to a great state, it is taken in by the great state.
Thus one lowers itself in order to take in, and the other lowers itself and is taken in.
A great state desires no more than to gather and nurture people; a small state desires no more than to enter and serve people.
For both to gain what each desires, the greater should take the lower place.

### 62

The Way is the hidden sanctuary of the ten thousand things.
It is the good person’s treasure, and the shelter of the person who is not good.
Fine words may be traded; honored conduct may raise one above others.
If a person is not good, why should that person be cast away?
Thus, when the Son of Heaven is enthroned and the three ministers installed, though a jade disk clasped in two hands is presented before a team of four horses, it is not as good as presenting this Way while seated.
Why did the ancients prize this Way?
Was it not said: by seeking, you receive; having guilt, you escape?
Therefore it is prized by all under Heaven.

### 63

Do without doing, attend to having no affairs, taste what has no flavor.
Regard the great as small and the many as few; repay resentment with virtue.
Plan for the difficult while it is easy; undertake the great while it is minute;
The difficult affairs under Heaven must arise from what is easy; the great affairs under Heaven must arise from what is minute.
Thus the sage never acts as great, and therefore can accomplish greatness.
Light promises must be scant in trust; finding much easy must bring much difficulty.
Thus the sage treats things as difficult, and therefore in the end has no difficulty.

### 64

What is settled is easy to hold; what has not yet shown a sign is easy to plan for.
What is brittle is easy to break; what is minute is easy to scatter.
Act on it before it exists; order it before it falls into disorder.
A tree that fills the embrace is born from the finest shoot;
A terrace nine levels high rises from heaps of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.
Those who contrive it ruin it; those who grasp it lose it.
Thus the sage does nothing, and therefore ruins nothing;
Grasps nothing, and therefore loses nothing.
In pursuing their affairs, people always ruin them when they are nearly complete.
Be as careful at the end as at the beginning, and no affair will be ruined; thus the sage desires not to desire, and does not prize goods difficult to obtain;
Learns not to learn, and returns to what the multitude has passed by, so as to assist the ten thousand things in being so of themselves, not daring to contrive.

### 65

Those of old who were good at practicing the Way did not use it to make the people clever, but meant to keep them simple.
The people are difficult to govern because they have too much cunning.
Thus to govern the state through cunning is the state’s bane;
Not to govern the state through cunning is the state’s blessing.
To know these two is also the enduring model.
Always to know the enduring model is called dark virtue.
Dark virtue is deep indeed, far-reaching indeed; it turns back with things, and only then arrives at great accord.

### 66

Rivers and seas can be kings of the hundred valleys because they are skilled at staying below them; therefore they can be kings of the hundred valleys.
Thus, if the sage desires to stand above the people, he must place his words below them;
If he desires to stand before the people, he must place himself behind them.
Thus the sage dwells above, yet the people do not feel burdened; dwells before, yet the people do not feel harmed.
Therefore all under Heaven gladly raise him up and do not tire of him.
Because he does not contend, no one under Heaven can contend with him.

### 67

All under Heaven say my Way is great, yet resembles nothing.
Only because it is great does it resemble nothing.
If it resembled anything, long ago
How small it would have become!
I have three treasures, which I hold and preserve.
The first is compassion, the second is frugality, the third is not daring to be first under Heaven.
Through compassion, one can be brave;
Through frugality, one can be generous;
By not daring to be first under Heaven, one can become chief among vessels.
Now, abandon compassion and yet be brave;
Abandon frugality and yet be generous;
Abandon the rear and yet go first—
Death!
With compassion, one wins when waging war and stands firm when defending.
When Heaven would save someone, it guards that person with compassion.

### 68

One skilled as a warrior is not martial;
One skilled in battle is not enraged;
One skilled in overcoming an enemy does not engage;
One skilled in employing people places himself below them.
This is called the virtue of not contending; this is called the strength of employing people; this is called matching Heaven, the ancient summit.

### 69

In the use of arms there is a saying: I dare not act as host, but act as guest;
I dare not advance an inch, but retreat a foot.
This is called marching without a march;
Baring arms without arms;
Grasping without an enemy;
Wielding without a weapon.
No calamity is greater than taking the enemy lightly; taking the enemy lightly nearly costs me my treasures.
Thus when evenly matched armies meet in combat, the one that grieves will win.

### 70

My words are very easy to understand, very easy to practice.
No one under Heaven can understand them; no one can practice them.
Words have an ancestor; affairs have a sovereign.
Only because this is not understood am I not understood.
Those who understand me are few; those who take me as their measure are precious.
Thus the sage wears coarse cloth and carries jade within.

### 71

Knowing not-knowing is highest;
Not knowing, yet thinking one knows, is sickness.
Only by knowing sickness as sickness does one cease to be sick.
The sage is not sick because he knows sickness as sickness, and so is not sick.

### 72

When the people no longer fear dread power, great dread descends.
Do not crowd the place where they dwell; do not oppress the life they live.
Only by not oppressing them do you remain beyond their disgust.
Thus the sage knows himself but does not display himself;
Loves himself but does not exalt himself.
Therefore he leaves that and takes this.

### 73

Courage in daring leads to death; courage in not daring leads to life.
Of these two, one may bring benefit, the other harm.
What Heaven detests—who knows the reason?
Therefore even the sage finds this difficult.
The Way of Heaven does not contend, yet excels in victory; does not speak, yet excels in answering; summons no one, yet all comes of itself; unhurried, yet excels in design.
Heaven’s net is vast, vast; its mesh is wide, yet nothing slips through.

### 74

When the people do not fear death, how can death be used to frighten them?
If the people were always made to fear death, and I could seize and kill those who act perversely, who would dare?
There is always an executioner who carries out the killing.
To kill in place of the executioner is to hew in place of the master carpenter;
Whoever hews in place of the master carpenter seldom escapes wounding his own hand.

### 75

The people are hungry because those above consume too much in taxes; therefore they are hungry.
The people are hard to govern because those above meddle in affairs; therefore they are hard to govern.
The people make light of death because their pursuit of life is too lavish; therefore they make light of death.
Only those who do not make life their business are wiser than those who prize life.

### 76

At birth, a person is soft and weak; at death, hard and stiff.
At birth, the myriad things, grasses, and trees are soft and tender; at death, withered and dry.
Thus the hard and strong are companions of death; the soft and weak are companions of life.
Therefore a strong army does not prevail; a rigid tree is brought down.
The strong and great take the lower place; the soft and weak take the higher.

### 77

Is not the Way of Heaven like the drawing of a bow?
What is high it presses down; what is low it raises up;
What has excess it reduces; what lacks it replenishes.
The Way of Heaven reduces excess and replenishes lack.
The way of humankind is otherwise: it reduces what is lacking to offer more to what has excess.
Who can offer what is in excess to all under Heaven? Only one who has the Way.
Thus the sage acts but does not rely on what he has done, completes the work but does not dwell upon it, and has no desire to display his worth.

### 78

Nothing under Heaven is softer or weaker than water, yet in attacking the hard and strong nothing can surpass it, for nothing can take its place.
That the weak overcomes the strong and the soft overcomes the hard, no one under Heaven fails to know, yet no one can put it into practice.
Thus the sage says: One who receives the nation’s disgrace is called lord of the altars of soil and grain;
One who receives the nation’s misfortune is called king of all under Heaven.
True words seem contrary.

### 79

Reconcile a great grievance, and some grievance is sure to remain;
How can this be called good?
Thus the sage holds the left half of the tally but makes no demand upon others.
One with Virtue attends to the tally; one without Virtue attends to collection.
The Way of Heaven has no favorites; it always stands with the good.

### 80

Let the state be small and the people few.
Let there be tools in tens and hundreds, yet leave them unused;
Let the people take death seriously and not migrate far.
Though there are boats and carriages, let there be nowhere to ride them; though there are armor and weapons, let there be nowhere to deploy them.
Let the people return to tying knots and using them, savor their food, delight in their clothing, rest secure in their homes, and rejoice in their customs.
Neighboring states gaze upon one another, the calls of cocks and dogs are heard across them, yet the people grow old and die without traveling back and forth.

### 81

Trustworthy words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not trustworthy.
Those who are good do not argue; those who argue are not good.
Those who know are not broadly learned; those broadly learned do not know.
The sage does not hoard: the more he does for others, the more he has; the more he gives to others, the more abundant he becomes.
The Way of Heaven benefits and does not harm;
The way of the sage acts and does not contend.

## Translation — OpenTao

> Complete CC BY 4.0 translation made directly from the received Chinese text; source line structure preserved.

### 1
Any path we can describe or follow is not the enduring Way.
Any name we can give is not the enduring name.
Nameless, it is the origin of heaven and earth;
named, it is the mother of all things.
So live free of desire, and you glimpse its hidden workings;
live with desire, and you see its outer edge.
These two spring from one source, though their names differ; together they are called dark.
Dark upon dark: the gateway to all that is subtle.

### 2
When all the world knows beauty as beauty, ugliness is already there.
When all the world knows the good as good, what is not good is already there.
So being and nonbeing bring each other forth; the difficult and the easy complete each other; long and short measure each other; high and low lean on each other; notes and tones harmonize with each other; before and after follow each other.
So the sage manages affairs without forcing and teaches without words;
All things spring to life, and he turns none away; he gives them life but never makes them his.
He acts without resting on what he has done; when the work is complete, he claims no place in it.
Precisely because he does not claim a place in the achievement, it never leaves him.

### 3
When rulers do not exalt the talented, the people do not contend;
when they do not prize rare goods, the people do not turn to theft;
when they do not display what awakens desire, hearts and minds are not thrown into disorder.
So the sage rules by emptying their hearts and minds, filling their bellies, weakening their ambitions, and strengthening their bones.
He keeps the people always free of calculation and craving.
He keeps the clever from daring to interfere.
Act without forcing, and nothing remains out of order.

### 4
The Way is a hollow cup: put it to use, and perhaps it never fills.
Deep as a bottomless pool, it seems the forebear of all things.
It blunts the edge, loosens the tangle, softens the glare, and mingles with the dust.
Still and clear in its depths, it seems as if it might remain.
I do not know whose child it is; it appears to precede even the ancestral god.

### 5
Heaven and earth know no humaneness; they use all things as straw dogs.
The sage, too, shows no partiality; he treats the people as straw dogs.
Is the space between heaven and earth not like a smith’s bellows?
Empty, it never gives out; set in motion, it brings forth more and more.
Too many words soon exhaust themselves; better to hold to the center.

### 6
The valley spirit never dies; it is called the mysterious female.
Its gate is called the root of heaven and earth.
Fine and unbroken, it seems barely there; draw on it, and it is never spent.

### 7
Heaven lasts; earth endures.
Heaven and earth endure because they do not live for themselves; therefore their life lasts.
So the sage puts himself last and comes first;
he sets his own life aside, and it survives.
Is this not because he has no private interest?
And so he can fulfill his own interest.

### 8
What is best is like water.
Water benefits all things yet never competes. It settles in the low places people despise, and so comes close to the Way.
For dwelling, low ground is best; for the heart, still depth; for dealing with others, kindness; for speech, faithfulness; for governing, order; for work, ability; for action, the right moment.
Precisely because it does not compete, it draws no blame.

### 9
If you keep filling the vessel in your hand, it is better to stop short of the brim.
Work a blade to too fine an edge, and its sharpness will not last.
Fill a hall with gold and jade, and no one can keep it safe.
Let wealth and rank make you proud, and calamity is the legacy you leave yourself.
The work complete, step away: this is the way of heaven.

### 10
Bearing spirit and body, holding to the One, can you keep them from parting?
Gathering your vital breath until it grows supple, can you become soft as a newborn?
Cleansing the mind’s dark mirror, can you leave it without a stain?
Can you care for the people and govern the realm without resorting to calculation?
As heaven’s gate opens and closes, can you assume the female role?
When luminous understanding reaches in every direction, can you still do without cleverness?
The Way gives life and nurtures: gives life without possessing, acts without laying claim, raises without ruling. This is called its hidden power.

### 11
Thirty spokes converge on one hub; the cart’s use lies in the emptiness at its center.
Clay is shaped into a vessel; its use lies in the hollow within.
Doors and windows are cut to make a room; its use lies in the empty space within.
So what is there brings benefit; what is not there is what we use.

### 12
Too much color blinds the eye;
too much music deafens the ear;
too much flavor dulls the palate;
racing at full gallop in the chase drives the heart mad;
rare goods corrupt people’s conduct.
So the sage cares for the belly, not the eye—choosing what nourishes over what dazzles.

### 13
Favor and disgrace are equally alarming; value great calamity as you value your own body.
What does it mean to say that favor and disgrace are equally alarming?
Favor places you beneath another: gaining it startles you, and losing it startles you. This is what it means for favor and disgrace to be equally alarming.
What does it mean to value great calamity as you value your own body?
I suffer great calamity because I have this body to call my own. Were I without this body, what calamity could be mine?
So whoever treasures the world as their own body may be given custody of the world;
whoever cares for the world as for their own body may be entrusted with the world.

### 14
Look for it—you cannot see it; we call it the Even.
Listen for it—you cannot hear it; we call it the Faint.
Seize it—you cannot hold it; we call it the Minute.
No questioning can reach the end of these three; mingled, they are one.
Above, it is not bright; below, it is not dark.
Strand after unbroken strand, beyond naming, it returns to no thing.
We call it the shape of the shapeless, the image of no thing; we call it elusive and indistinct.
Meet it face-on—you see no front; follow behind—you see no rear.
Hold to the ancient Way, and use it to steer what now exists.
Knowing the origin of origins is called the guiding thread of the Way.

### 15
The skilled practitioners of old were subtle and refined, mysterious and penetrating, too deep to fathom.
Because they were beyond fathoming, I can only attempt to describe how they bore themselves.
Cautious as one fording a river in winter;
wary as one who fears the neighbors on every side;
grave and formal as a guest;
loosening like ice on the verge of melting;
plain and solid as uncarved wood;
wide and empty as a valley;
mingled and murky as muddy water.
Who can let muddy water rest until it slowly clears?
Who can take what is settled and, by moving it patiently over time, slowly bring it to life?
Those who hold to this Way do not seek to brim over.
Because they stop short of fullness, they can remain worn—unrenewed, unfinished.

### 16
Reach the utmost emptiness; hold fast to the deepest stillness.
Amid all things arising together, I watch each one return.
Things flourish in profusion, and each returns to its own root.
Returning to the root: this is stillness. It is the return to one’s mandate.
Returning to the mandate is the constant; to know the constant is clarity.
Without knowledge of the constant, reckless action brings disaster.
Knowing the constant, one has room for all; with room for all, one is impartial; impartial, one is kingly; kingly, one accords with heaven; with heaven, one accords with the Way; with the Way, one endures, free from peril to the end of life.

### 17
With the best rulers, those below know only that they exist;
Next come those they love and praise;
Next come those they fear;
Lowest are the rulers they scorn.
When good faith falls short, distrust follows.
Unhurried, they were sparing with words.
The work complete, every undertaking fulfilled, all the people say: We did it ourselves.

### 18
When the great Way fell into disuse, humaneness and righteousness arose;
When cleverness and shrewdness came to the fore, great hypocrisy arose;
When the six family bonds lost their harmony, filial devotion and parental tenderness arose;
When state and clan sank into dark confusion, loyal ministers appeared.

### 19
Renounce sagehood and cast off cleverness; the people will benefit a hundredfold.
Renounce benevolence and cast off righteousness; the people will return to filial devotion and loving care.
Renounce contrivance and abandon the pursuit of gain; thieves and robbers will disappear.
But these three, set down as doctrine, are not enough.
So give the people something to hold to: show the undyed silk, embrace the uncarved wood; lessen self-interest and keep desires few.

### 20
Cast off learning, and care falls away. A respectful yes, a dismissive yeah—how far apart are they?
What we call good and evil—how far apart are they?
What people fear, we cannot help but fear.
What a desolate expanse, with no end in sight!
The crowd shines with delight, as if feasting at the grand sacrifice, as if climbing a terrace in spring.
I alone am quiet, with nothing yet stirring;
like a newborn before its first smile;
spent and cast down, as if there were no home to return to.
Everyone else has more than enough; I alone seem to have lost it all.
I have a fool’s heart!
Murk upon murk. Ordinary people shine brightly; I alone seem dim.
Ordinary people scrutinize every detail; I alone remain withdrawn and mute.
Still as the sea, swept onward like a high wind that never rests. Everyone else has a purpose; I alone am stubborn and uncouth, like a rustic from the borderlands.
I alone differ from others: I treasure nursing at the mother’s breast.

### 21
Great power takes form by following the Way alone.
As a thing, the Way is only glimmer, only blur.
Blurred, glimmering—within it are images;
Glimmering, blurred—within it are things.
Deep and dark—within it lies the vital essence;
that essence is utterly real, and within it lies something trustworthy.
From ancient times to now, its name endures; through it we see into the origins of all things.
How do I know the shape of those beginnings?
By this.

### 22
Bent, you become whole; crooked, you become straight; hollow, you are filled; worn out, you are renewed; with little, you gain; with much, you lose your way.
This is why the sage holds the One and becomes a pattern for the world.
He does not put himself on display, and so he is seen clearly;
he does not insist that he is right, and so he stands out;
he does not boast of what he has done, and so his achievement is acknowledged;
he does not exalt himself, and so he endures as a leader.
Precisely because he does not contend, no one in the world can contend with him.
The ancients said: “Bent, and therefore whole.” Could that have been empty talk?
Truly, wholeness comes home to him.

### 23
To speak sparingly is natural: a gale does not blow all morning, nor a sudden downpour last all day.
Who brings them about?
Heaven and Earth.
Even Heaven and Earth cannot sustain such violence for long—how much less can human beings?
So those who give themselves to the Way become one with the Way;
those who give themselves to inner power become one with that power;
those who give themselves to loss become one with loss.
The Way gladly welcomes those who are one with the Way;
inner power gladly welcomes those who are one with inner power;
loss gladly welcomes those who are one with loss.
Where trust is lacking, mistrust follows.

### 24
Whoever rises on tiptoe cannot stand firm;
whoever sets his feet too far apart cannot walk.
Whoever puts himself on display does not shine;
whoever insists he is right wins no recognition;
whoever boasts of his achievements earns no credit;
whoever exalts himself does not endure.
Measured by the Way, these are scraps of food and growths on the body.
All beings recoil from such things; therefore one who lives by the Way keeps clear of them.

### 25
There is a thing, undivided and whole, born before Heaven and Earth.
Silent and empty, it stands alone, unchanged. Circling everywhere, it never fails; it may be the mother of all under heaven.
I do not know its name. I call it the Way; forced to name it, I call it Great.
Great, it passes on; passing on, it reaches far; reaching far, it turns back.
Thus the Way is great; Heaven is great; Earth is great; the king, too, is great.
Within the universe, four are great, and the king is one of them.
Humankind models itself on Earth; Earth on Heaven; Heaven on the Way; the Way on what is so of itself.

### 26
Weight is the root of lightness; stillness is the master of unrest.
So the sage travels all day, never straying from the laden wagons.
Though the prospect is glorious, he rests at ease, standing clear of the spectacle.
How, then, can the lord of ten thousand chariots carry himself lightly before the world?
When he makes himself light, he loses his root; when he grows restless, he loses command.

### 27
The skillful traveler leaves neither rut nor track; the skillful speaker leaves no word open to blame;
the skillful reckoner needs neither tally nor counting rod;
those skilled at closing use neither bolt nor bar, yet what they shut cannot be opened; those skilled at binding use no cords and tie no knots, yet what they bind cannot be undone.
Thus the sage is always skillful at saving people, and abandons no one;
always skillful at salvaging things, and discards nothing.
This is called keeping the light folded away.
Thus the skilled are teachers of the unskilled;
the unskilled are material for the skilled to work with.
Fail to honor the teacher or cherish the material, and however clever you may be, you are deeply lost. This is called the essential mystery.

### 28
Know the male’s strength, yet keep to the female; become the ravine where all beneath heaven flows.
Be the ravine of all beneath heaven, and enduring inner power will not leave you; you return to the state of a newborn child.
Know the brightness of white, yet hold to the darkness of black; become the measure for all beneath heaven.
Be the measure for all beneath heaven, and enduring inner power will never stray; you return to the boundless.
Know glory, yet stay with disgrace; become the valley of all beneath heaven.
Be the valley of all beneath heaven, and enduring inner power comes to fullness; you return to uncarved wood.
When uncarved wood is split apart, it becomes useful vessels; the sage uses them and becomes chief of officials. So the greatest ordering cuts nothing apart.

### 29
Whoever would seize the world and shape it by deliberate action—I can see they will not succeed.
The world is a spirit-vessel; it cannot be fashioned. Whoever tries to shape it ruins it; whoever grips it loses it.
So it is with things: some go ahead, some follow;
some breathe softly, some blow hard;
some are sturdy, some frail;
some bear up, some collapse.
That is why the sage casts off extremes, casts off extravagance, casts off all that is overfull.

### 30
Whoever aids a ruler through the Way does not use arms to dominate the world.
Such actions tend to recoil on those who take them.
Where an army camps, brambles and thorns spring up.
Great armies pass; famine years surely follow.
A good commander secures the objective and stops there, never using success to press for dominance.
Achieve it without self-satisfaction; achieve it without boasting; achieve it without arrogance.
Achieve it only because no choice remains; achieve it without pressing for dominance.
Whatever is driven to full strength begins to age. This is called going against the Way; what goes against the Way comes to an early end.

### 31
Even the finest weapons are tools of ill omen. Living things recoil from them, so one who follows the Way does not dwell among them.
In ordinary life, the noble-minded honor the left; in war, the right.
Weapons are tools of ill omen, unfit for the noble-minded. Only when there is no choice does one use them; calm detachment is best.
Win, but find no beauty in victory; to find it beautiful is to delight in killing.
Whoever delights in killing cannot realize his ambitions under heaven.
The left is honored on auspicious occasions, the right on occasions of calamity.
The junior general takes the left, the commander in chief the right: this means they are placed according to the rites of mourning.
Those who have slain multitudes should grieve for them, mourn them, and weep for them. Victory in battle should be received with funeral rites.

### 32
The Way endures without a name.
The uncarved block may be small, yet nothing under heaven can rule it.
If lords and kings could hold to it, all things would come as guests, of their own accord.
Heaven and earth join, and sweet dew falls evenly of itself, with no one to command it.
As soon as order is carved out, names arise. Once names exist, one must know when to stop. Knowing when to stop keeps one from peril.
The Way in the world is like the rivers and sea toward which the valley streams flow.

### 33
Knowing others is cleverness; knowing yourself is clarity.
Overcoming others takes force; overcoming yourself takes strength.
Whoever knows what is enough is rich.
Pressing on shows resolve.
Whoever does not lose their ground endures.
To die yet not vanish is long life.

### 34
The great Way floods everywhere, reaching left and right alike.
All beings depend on it for life, and it turns none away; its work complete, it does not call them its own.
It clothes and nourishes all beings without making itself their master. Always without desire, it may be called small;
all beings return to it, yet still it does not make itself their master. It may be called great.
Because, to the very end, it never claims greatness for itself, it can achieve greatness.

### 35
Hold to the great image, and all the world will come to it.
Those who come are unharmed, finding rest, peace, and spaciousness.
Music and delicacies make a passing traveler stop.
Spoken aloud, the Way is bland, without flavor. Look at it: too little to see. Listen to it: too little to hear. Use it: it can never be exhausted.

### 36
If you want to draw it in, first let it open wide;
if you want to weaken it, first let it gather strength;
if you want to bring it down, first let it rise;
if you want to take from it, first give to it.
This is called the glimmer of clarity.
The soft and weak overcome the hard and strong.
A fish must not leave deep water; the sharp instruments of state must not be displayed before the people.

### 37
The Way never forces, yet nothing is left undone.
If lords and kings could hold to it, all things would transform on their own.
If desire arose during this transformation, I would calm it with the nameless uncarved block.
The nameless uncarved block would leave them, too, free of desire.
Free of desire, they would grow still, and all under heaven would settle of itself.

### 38
The highest integrity makes no show of integrity; that is why it has integrity.
Lesser integrity never lets integrity go; that is why it has none.
The highest integrity acts without forcing, with no ulterior purpose.
Lesser integrity acts, with a purpose behind the act.
The highest humaneness acts, but without ulterior purpose.
The highest rightness acts, and with a purpose in view.
The highest ritual propriety acts; when no one responds, it rolls up its sleeves and drags people along.
Thus, when the Way is lost, integrity takes its place; when integrity is lost, humaneness takes its place; when humaneness is lost, rightness takes its place; when rightness is lost, ritual takes its place.
Ritual is loyalty and good faith worn thin—the beginning of disorder.
Foreknowledge is the Way’s flower, and folly’s beginning.
Therefore the mature person dwells in what is substantial, not what is worn thin;
dwells in the fruit, not the flower.
And so they leave that and choose this.

### 39
Since ancient times, these have attained the One: heaven attained it and became clear;
earth attained it and came to rest;
the spirits attained it and gained their potency;
the valley attained it and filled;
all beings attained it and came alive;
lords and kings attained it and became the plumb line for all under heaven.
Follow this to its end: without what makes it clear, heaven, one fears, would split apart;
without what keeps it settled, earth, one fears, would burst open;
without what gives them their power, the spirits, one fears, would cease;
without what fills it, the valley, one fears, would run dry;
without what gives them life, all beings, one fears, would perish;
Without the means to remain exalted, lords and kings, one fears, would topple.
Thus what is noble is rooted in the lowly; what is high is founded on what lies below.
That is why lords and kings call themselves orphaned, widowed, and unworthy.
Is this not how they root themselves in lowliness?
Is that not so?
Thus, amassing praise upon praise amounts to no praise at all.
They seek neither to gleam like jade nor to be stark and hard like stone.

### 40
The Way moves by turning back;
it works through weakness.
Everything under heaven is born of presence; presence is born of absence.

### 41
When the finest students hear of the Way, they practice it diligently;
when middling students hear of it, they seem to keep it, seem to lose it;
when the lowest students hear of it, they burst out laughing.
If no one laughed at it, it would not deserve to be called the Way.
So the old sayings have it: the radiant Way seems dark;
the Way advancing seems to retreat;
the level Way seems knotted;
the highest integrity seems like a valley;
the purest white seems stained;
the broadest integrity seems lacking;
integrity firmly grounded seems lax;
what is solid and true seems to shift;
the greatest square has no corners;
the greatest vessel takes longest to finish;
the greatest note is barely heard;
the greatest image has no form;
the Way remains hidden and nameless.
Only the Way gives freely and brings all things to fulfillment.

### 42
The Way brings forth one; one brings forth two; two brings forth three; three brings forth the ten thousand things.
All things carry yin on their backs and hold yang in their arms; their mingling breath makes harmony.
What people most despise—being orphaned, widowed, or worthless—kings and lords choose as their own titles.
So some things gain through loss, while others lose through gain.
What others teach, I too teach.
The rigid and overbearing do not die a natural death; I will make this the founding father of my teaching.

### 43
The softest thing in the world ranges freely through the hardest.
What has no substance enters where there is no seam; from this I know the benefit of acting without forcing.
Teaching without words, the benefit of action without forcing—few in the world ever attain them.

### 44
Your reputation or your life—which is dearer?
Your life or your possessions—which weighs more?
Gain or loss—which is the greater harm?
So clinging too hard always exacts a heavy price;
hoarding much always ends in heavy loss.
Know what is enough, and you avoid humiliation; know when to stop, and you avoid danger. Then you can endure.

### 45
What is most complete may seem unfinished, yet it never wears out in use.
What is most full may seem hollow, yet its use never runs dry.
What is truly straight may seem bent; the master hand may seem clumsy; the finest eloquence may sound halting.
Movement dispels the cold; stillness dispels the heat.
Clarity and stillness are the true measure for all under heaven.

### 46
When the world follows the Way, swift horses are sent home to haul manure to the fields.
When the world loses the Way, war mares foal at the frontier.
No calamity is greater than not knowing what is enough;
no fault is greater than the desire to gain more.
So knowing what is enough is enough—and always will be.

### 47
Without stepping out the door, you can know the whole world;
without peering through the window, you can see heaven’s course.
The farther out you go, the less you come to know.
Thus the sage knows without traveling, names things without seeing them, and brings them to completion without forcing.

### 48
Give yourself to learning, and each day you add; give yourself to the Way, and each day you let go.
Let go, then let go again, until you act without forcing.
Act without forcing, and nothing is left undone.
The world is always won without meddling; once you begin to interfere, you are no longer fit to win it.

### 49
The sage has no fixed heart of his own; he takes the people’s heart as his own.
I am good to those who are good;
I am also good to those who are not;
And goodness comes to be.
I trust those who are trustworthy;
I also trust those who are not;
And trust comes to be.
In the world, the sage draws inward, keeping his heart whole for the world’s sake. The people’s eyes and ears are all trained on him, and he treats them all as children.

### 50
We come forth into life and pass back into death.
Three in ten follow life;
three in ten follow death;
and three in ten, though alive, move toward death-ground.
Why is this?
Because they lavish too much care on preserving their lives.
I have heard that those skilled in shepherding life cross the land without meeting rhinoceros or tiger, and enter battle without suffering a blow from any weapon;
the rhinoceros finds no place to thrust its horn, the tiger no place to set its claws, and a weapon’s edge no place to enter.
Why is this?
Because death has no ground in them.

### 51
The Way brings them forth; inner power nurtures them; the world of things shapes them; circumstances bring them to completion.
So all things, without exception, honor the Way and prize inner power.
The Way is honored and inner power prized, yet no one decrees it; it is always so of itself.
And so the Way brings them forth, and inner power nurtures them:
brings them to full growth and fosters them;
settles them and ripens them;
nourishes them and shelters them.
It gives birth without possessing, acts without claiming credit, and raises without ruling: this is called profound inner power.

### 52
The world has a beginning, and this beginning may be taken as the mother of the world.
Once you have found the mother, you can know her children. Once you know the children, return and hold fast to the mother, and to the end of your life you will meet no peril.
Seal the openings, shut the gates, and all your life you will not wear yourself out.
Open the passages, press on with your affairs, and all your life you will be beyond rescue.
Clarity means seeing what is small; strength means holding to what yields.
Use the outward light, then return to inner clarity, and bring no calamity on yourself;
This is what it means to practice the constant.

### 53
If I had even a scrap of knowledge, I would walk the great Way and fear only straying from it.
The great Way runs smooth and level, yet people prefer shortcuts.
The court is spotless, the fields choked with weeds, the granaries standing empty;
Those at court wear embroidered finery and sharp swords at their belts, gorge on food and drink, and amass wealth and goods in excess;
This is the swagger of robbers.
Surely this is not the Way!

### 54
What is planted well cannot be uprooted; what is held well cannot slip free. So descendants never cease their ancestral offerings.
Cultivate the Way in yourself, and its inner power becomes genuine;
cultivate it in the family, and its inner power is more than enough;
cultivate it in the village, and its inner power endures;
cultivate it in the state, and its inner power becomes abundant;
cultivate it throughout the world, and its inner power reaches everywhere.
So see the self from within the self, the family from within the family, the village from within the village, the state from within the state, and the world from within the world.
How do I know this is true of the world?
By this.

### 55
One whose integrity runs deep within may be compared to a newborn child.
Wasps, scorpions, vipers, and snakes do not sting or bite it; fierce beasts do not seize it; birds of prey do not strike.
Its bones are weak, its sinews soft, yet its fist is tightly clenched.
It knows nothing of the union of female and male, yet its member rises: vital essence at its fullest.
It cries all day and never grows hoarse: harmony at its fullest.
To know harmony is called constancy; to know constancy is called clarity; trying to prolong one’s life is called an ill omen.
When the mind commands the vital breath, that is called forcing.
Whatever reaches full vigor begins at once to age. This is called going against the Way; what goes against the Way comes to an early end.

### 56
Whoever knows does not speak of it; whoever speaks of it does not know.
Seal the openings, close the gates; blunt the edges, unravel the tangles; temper the brightness, mingle with the dust. This is called profound unity.
Thus such a one can neither be won over by closeness nor driven away by distance;
no one can benefit them or harm them;
no one can raise them in rank or bring them low.
And so the whole world prizes such a one above all.

### 57
Govern the state with upright measures; wage war by surprise; win the allegiance of all under heaven by not meddling.
How do I know this is so?
From this: the more prohibitions fill the realm, the poorer the people become;
the more ingenious devices the people possess, the more confused the state and its ruling house grow;
the more technical ingenuity people cultivate, the more strange contrivances arise;
the more prominently laws and decrees are displayed, the more thieves and robbers appear.
So the sage says: I act without forcing, and the people transform themselves;
I cherish stillness, and the people set themselves right;
I do not meddle, and the people prosper by themselves;
I am free of desire, and the people become unworked wood on their own.

### 58
When rule is dim and unintrusive, the people are simple and true;
when rule is sharp-eyed and probing, the people grow fractured and discontented.
Calamity—fortune leans against it; fortune—calamity crouches beneath it.
Who can know its end?
There is no fixed standard of right.
What is right turns strange again; what is good turns ominous again.
People have lost their way in this for ages.
So the sage is square without cutting, sharp-edged without wounding, straight without being overbearing, bright without dazzling.

### 59
For governing people and serving heaven, nothing equals holding something in reserve.
Such reserve alone is called an early return;
early return means storing up integrity, layer upon layer;
with integrity stored layer upon layer, there is nothing one cannot overcome;
when there is nothing one cannot overcome, no one can know where the limit lies;
when the limit cannot be known, one can hold a state;
possessing the mother of the state, one can endure for a long time;
this is called the way of deep roots and a firm taproot, of long life and sight that endures.

### 60
Ruling a great state is like cooking a small fish.
Rule all beneath heaven through the Way, and its ghosts exert no spirit-power;
not that the ghosts have no power—their power does not harm anyone;
Not only does their power do no harm; the sage, too, does no harm.
So when neither side does harm, their integrity comes together and returns home.

### 61
A great state is like a river’s lower reaches: the meeting place of all beneath heaven, the female of the world.
The female always prevails over the male by stillness; in stillness, she keeps to the lower place.
Thus, by placing itself below a small state, a great state wins its allegiance;
and by placing itself below a great state, a small state is received by the great.
Thus one takes the lower place to win; the other takes the lower place and is won.
The great state seeks only to take others under its care; the small state seeks only to enter another’s service.
Since both gain what they seek, the greater should take the lower place.

### 62
The Way is the deep shelter where all things gather.
Good people treasure it; those who are not good are sheltered by it.
Fine words can fetch a price; honored conduct can raise one above others.
Why cast aside those who are not good?
So at the enthronement of the Son of Heaven and the installation of the three great ministers, even a jade disc borne in both hands before a four-horse team cannot match offering this Way while seated.
Why was this Way so precious to the ancients?
Was it not said: through it, one seeks and finds; through it, the guilty go free?
That is why the whole world prizes it above all.

### 63
Act without forcing; attend to affairs without making an affair of them; savor what has no flavor.
See the small as great, the few as many; answer resentment with integrity.
Plan for what is difficult while it is still easy; work on what is great while it is still minute;
Every difficult undertaking under heaven must begin while still easy; every great undertaking must begin while still minute.
So the sage never sets out to do great things, and for that very reason can accomplish the great.
Whoever promises lightly will surely be little trusted; whoever treats many things as easy will surely meet many difficulties.
Thus the sage treats even the easy as difficult, and so in the end encounters no difficulty.

### 64
What is settled is easy to keep steady; what has not yet given a sign is easy to prepare for.
What is fragile is easy to split; what is minute is easy to scatter.
Attend to it before it arises; set it in order before disorder begins.
A tree that takes both arms to encircle grows from a shoot fine as a hair;
a terrace nine tiers high rises from earth piled basket by basket;
a journey of a thousand miles begins beneath your feet.
Those who meddle with things ruin them; those who clutch them lose them.
Therefore the sage acts without forcing and so ruins nothing;
clutches nothing and so loses nothing.
People usually ruin an undertaking just as it nears completion.
Take as much care at the end as at the beginning, and no undertaking will be ruined; therefore the sage desires what others do not desire and does not prize goods hard to come by;
learns what others leave unlearned, returns to what the crowd has passed by, and so helps all things follow their own course, without daring to force them.

### 65
The ancients who excelled in the Way did not aim to make the people knowledgeable, but to keep them artless.
People are hard to govern when they have too much cunning.
So governing a state through cunning is itself a thief, robbing the state;
governing it without cunning is the state’s blessing.
To know these two is itself the measure and model.
To keep this measure steadily in mind is called dark potency.
Dark potency is deep indeed, far-reaching indeed, contrary to the usual course of things—and only then does it arrive at the great accord.

### 66
The rivers and seas can reign over the hundred valleys because they are skilled at lying below them; that is why they are kings of the hundred valleys.
So when the sage wishes to stand above the people, he must speak as one below them;
when he wishes to lead them, he must place himself behind them.
Thus the sage stands above, yet the people feel no burden; he stands before them, yet they suffer no harm.
So everyone under heaven gladly pushes him forward and never wearies of him.
Because he does not contend, no one in the world can contend with him.

### 67
All the world says my Way is great, yet it resembles nothing they know.
Only because it is great does it resemble nothing.
If it had resembled anything, by now—
how small it would have become!
I have three treasures; I hold them close and keep them safe.
The first is compassion; the second, frugality; the third, not daring to take the lead in the world.
Compassion makes courage possible;
frugality gives generosity reach;
not daring to lead the world enables one to become chief among its officers.
Now people cast off compassion, yet expect to be brave;
they cast off frugality, yet expect to give freely;
they cast off staying behind, yet expect to lead;
Death!
With compassion, one wins in battle and stands firm in defense.
When Heaven is about to save someone, it shields them with compassion.

### 68
Those skilled in war make no show of force;
those skilled in battle do not give way to anger;
those skilled at defeating enemies do not engage them;
those skilled at leading others place themselves below them.
This is called the power of not contending; this is called the strength to lead others; this is called standing level with heaven—the highest attainment of the ancients.

### 69
Those who wage war have a saying: I dare not be the host who begins, but the guest who answers;
I dare not advance an inch, but would rather retreat a foot.
This is called marching with no marching formation;
rolling up the sleeve on an arm that is not there;
grappling with no enemy to seize;
gripping a weapon that does not exist.
Nothing is more disastrous than taking the enemy lightly—it almost costs me my treasure.
Thus, when evenly matched armies clash, the one that mourns the battle will prevail.

### 70
My words are very easy to understand, very easy to put into practice.
Yet no one under heaven can understand them; no one can put them into practice.
My words descend from an ancestor; my actions answer to a lord.
Only because they do not know this do they fail to know me.
Those who understand me are few; those who pattern themselves on me are precious.
Thus the sage wears coarse cloth, with jade concealed against the breast.

### 71
Nothing is higher than knowing that you do not know;
not knowing, yet believing you know, is sickness.
Only by recognizing the sickness as a sickness can you be free of it.
The sage is not sick; because he recognizes the sickness as a sickness, he remains free of it.

### 72
When the people no longer dread the ruler’s power, a greater dread arrives.
Do not hem in their homes; do not crush their means of living.
Only because he does not oppress them do they not grow sick of him.
Thus the sage knows himself without making a show of himself;
he cares for himself without setting himself above others.
So he leaves that behind and chooses this.

### 73
Courage that dares meets death; courage that does not dare survives.
Of the two, one helps; the other harms.
What Heaven abhors—who knows why?
So this remains difficult even for the sage.
Without contending, Heaven’s way prevails; without speaking, it answers; unsummoned, it comes of itself; at ease, it plans well.
Heaven’s net is immense; its mesh is wide, yet nothing slips through.

### 74
When people no longer fear death, to what end threaten them with it?
If people could always be kept afraid of death, and I could seize and kill anyone who went astray, who would dare to do so?
There is always one who presides over killing and carries it out.
The one who presides over killing is the master carpenter, hewing the wood;
Whoever takes the master carpenter’s place to hew the wood rarely escapes without wounding his own hands.

### 75
The people go hungry because those above eat up so much in taxes. That is why they go hungry.
The people are hard to govern because those above keep interfering. That is why they are hard to govern.
The people make light of death because the pursuit of life weighs so heavily. That is why they make light of death.
Only one who does not make a project of living is better than one who prizes life.

### 76
Alive, the human body is soft and yielding; dead, it is stiff and hard.
In life, all creatures, grasses, and trees are tender and fragile; in death, withered and dry.
So hardness and strength keep company with death; softness and weakness with life.
So an army grown strong will not prevail; a tree grown hard and stout is ringed by the woodcutter’s arms.
The strong and great take their place below; the soft and weak, above.

### 77
Could the Way of heaven be like drawing a bow?
The upper limb is pressed down, the lower lifted up;
the surplus is reduced; the shortfall is made up.
The Way of heaven reduces the surplus and makes up the shortfall.
The human way is otherwise: it takes from those with too little and offers it up to those with too much.
Who can offer their surplus to all under heaven? Only one who has the Way.
Thus the sage acts but does not lean on what he has done; completes the work but does not dwell in it; and has no wish to display his excellence.

### 78
Nothing in the world is softer or weaker than water, yet nothing can surpass it in wearing down the hard and strong; nothing can take its place.
The weak overcomes the strong; the soft overcomes the hard. Everyone knows this, yet no one can live by it.
So the sage says: Whoever bears the state’s disgrace is called lord of its altars of soil and grain;
whoever bears the state’s calamities is called king of all under heaven.
Straight words seem backward.

### 79
Reconcile a deep grievance, and resentment is bound to remain;
how could that count as a good outcome?
So the sage holds the left half of the tally, but makes no demand on the other party.
A person of integrity keeps the tally; one without integrity enforces the levy.
The way of heaven favors no kin; it always sides with those who are good.

### 80
A small country with few people.
Let there be tools able to do the work of ten or a hundred, yet leave them unused;
let the people feel the weight of death and not move far from home.
Though boats and carts are at hand, there is no need to use them; though armor and weapons are at hand, there is no cause to deploy them.
Let the people return to using knotted cords for records; let them savor their food, find beauty in their clothes, live at ease in their homes, and delight in their ways.
Neighboring countries lie within sight of one another; their people hear one another’s roosters crow and dogs bark; yet they grow old and die without ever going back and forth.

### 81
Sincere words are not polished; polished words are not sincere.
The good do not dispute; those who dispute are not good.
Those who know are not widely learned; those who are widely learned do not know.
The sage hoards nothing. Having spent everything for others, the sage has more; having given everything to others, the sage has more still.
The way of heaven benefits without harming;
the sage’s way is to act, not contend.

## Translation — James Legge (1891)

> Complete public-domain translation made directly from the original source text.

### 1
1. The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.

2. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.

3.

Always without desire we must be found,
If its deep mystery we would sound;
But if desire always within us be,
Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.

4. Under these two aspects, it is really the same; but as development takes place, it receives the different names. Together we call them the Mystery. Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and wonderful.

### 2
1. All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; they all know the skill of the skilful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is.

2. So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea of) the other; that difficulty and ease produce the one (the idea of) the other; that length and shortness fashion out the one the figure of the other; that (the ideas of) height and lowness arise from the contrast of the one with the other; that the musical notes and tones become harmonious through the relation of one with another; and that being before and behind give the idea of one following another.

3. Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his instructions without the use of speech.

4. All things spring up, and there is not one which declines to show itself; they grow, and there is no claim made for their ownership; they go through their processes, and there is no expectation (of a reward for the results). The work is accomplished, and there is no resting in it (as an achievement).

The work is done, but how no one can see;
'Tis this that makes the power not cease to be.

### 3
1. Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder.

2. Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones.

3. He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and without desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them from presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal.

### 4
1. The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of all things!

2. We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of things; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into agreement with the obscurity of others. How pure and still the Tao is, as if it would ever so continue!

3. I do not know whose son it is. It might appear to have been before God.

### 5
1. Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to be benevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt with. The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; they deal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with.

2. May not the space between heaven and earth be compared to a bellows?

'Tis emptied, yet it loses not its power;
'Tis moved again, and sends forth air the more.
Much speech to swift exhaustion lead we see;
Your inner being guard, and keep it free.

### 6
The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;
The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, and without the touch of pain.

### 7
1. Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reason why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are able to continue and endure.

2. Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has no personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised?

### 8
1. The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao.

2. The excellence of a residence is in (the suitability of) the place; that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of associations is in their being with the virtuous; that of government is in its securing good order; that of (the conduct of) affairs is in its ability; and that of (the initiation of) any movement is in its timeliness.

3. And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle (about his low position), no one finds fault with him.

### 9
1. It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.

2. When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe. When wealth and honours lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil on itself. When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.

### 10
1. When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe. When he has cleansed away the most mysterious sights (of his imagination), he can become without a flaw.

2. In loving the people and ruling the state, cannot he proceed without any (purpose of) action? In the opening and shutting of his gates of heaven, cannot he do so as a female bird? While his intelligence reaches in every direction, cannot he (appear to) be without knowledge?

3. (The Tao) produces (all things) and nourishes them; it produces them and does not claim them as its own; it does all, and yet does not boast of it; it presides over all, and yet does not control them. This is what is called 'The mysterious Quality' (of the Tao).

### 11
The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that their use depends. The door and windows are cut out (from the walls) to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its use depends. Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for profitable adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.

### 12
1.

Colour's five hues from th' eyes their sight will take;
Music's five notes the ears as deaf can make;
The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste;
The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste
Make mad the mind; and objects rare and strange,
Sought for, men's conduct will to evil change.

2. Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the) eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers to seek the former.

### 13
1. Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same kind).

2. What is meant by speaking thus of favour and disgrace? Disgrace is being in a low position (after the enjoyment of favour). The getting that (favour) leads to the apprehension (of losing it), and the losing it leads to the fear of (still greater calamity):--this is what is meant by saying that favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared.

And what is meant by saying that honour and great calamity are to be (similarly) regarded as personal conditions? What makes me liable to great calamity is my having the body (which I call myself); if I had not the body, what great calamity could come to me?

3. Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honouring it as he honours his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who would administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may be entrusted with it.

### 14
1. We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it 'the Equable.' We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it 'the Inaudible.' We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we name it 'the Subtle.' With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One.

2. Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part is not obscure. Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named, and then it again returns and becomes nothing. This is called the Form of the Formless, and the Semblance of the Invisible; this is called the Fleeting and Indeterminable.

3. We meet it and do not see its Front; we follow it, and do not see its Back. When we can lay hold of the Tao of old to direct the things of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the beginning, this is called (unwinding) the clue of Tao.

### 15
1. The skilful masters (of the Tao) in old times, with a subtle and exquisite penetration, comprehended its mysteries, and were deep (also) so as to elude men's knowledge. As they were thus beyond men's knowledge, I will make an effort to describe of what sort they appeared to be.

2. Shrinking looked they like those who wade through a stream in winter; irresolute like those who are afraid of all around them; grave like a guest (in awe of his host); evanescent like ice that is melting away; unpretentious like wood that has not been fashioned into anything; vacant like a valley, and dull like muddy water.

3. Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest? Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise.

4. They who preserve this method of the Tao do not wish to be full (of themselves). It is through their not being full of themselves that they can afford to seem worn and not appear new and complete.

### 16
1. The (state of) vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree, and that of stillness guarded with unwearying vigour. All things alike go through their processes of activity, and (then) we see them return (to their original state). When things (in the vegetable world) have displayed their luxuriant growth, we see each of them return to its root. This returning to their root is what we call the state of stillness; and that stillness may be called a reporting that they have fulfilled their appointed end.

2. The report of that fulfilment is the regular, unchanging rule. To know that unchanging rule is to be intelligent; not to know it leads to wild movements and evil issues. The knowledge of that unchanging rule produces a (grand) capacity and forbearance, and that capacity and forbearance lead to a community (of feeling with all things). From this community of feeling comes a kingliness of character; and he who is king-like goes on to be heaven-like. In that likeness to heaven he possesses the Tao. Possessed of the Tao, he endures long; and to the end of his bodily life, is exempt from all danger of decay.

### 17
1. In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there were (their rulers). In the next age they loved them and praised them. In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them. Thus it was that when faith (in the Tao) was deficient (in the rulers) a want of faith in them ensued (in the people).

2. How irresolute did those (earliest rulers) appear, showing (by their reticence) the importance which they set upon their words! Their work was done and their undertakings were successful, while the people all said, 'We are as we are, of ourselves!'

### 18
1. When the Great Tao (Way or Method) ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. (Then) appeared wisdom and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy.

2. When harmony no longer prevailed throughout the six kinships, filial sons found their manifestation; when the states and clans fell into disorder, loyal ministers appeared.

### 19
1. If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.

2.

Those three methods (of government)
Thought olden ways in elegance did fail
And made these names their want of worth to veil;
But simple views, and courses plain and true
Would selfish ends and many lusts eschew.

### 20
1.

When we renounce learning we have no troubles.
The (ready) 'yes,' and (flattering) 'yea;'--
Small is the difference they display.
But mark their issues, good and ill;--
What space the gulf between shall fill?

What all men fear is indeed to be feared; but how wide and without end is the range of questions (asking to be discussed)!

2. The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem listless and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of their presence. I am like an infant which has not yet smiled. I look dejected and forlorn, as if I had no home to go to. The multitude of men all have enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost everything. My mind is that of a stupid man; I am in a state of chaos.

Ordinary men look bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be benighted. They look full of discrimination, while I alone am dull and confused. I seem to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as if I had nowhere to rest. All men have their spheres of action, while I alone seem dull and incapable, like a rude borderer. (Thus) I alone am different from other men, but I value the nursing-mother (the Tao).

### 21
The grandest forms of active force
From Tao come, their only source.
Who can of Tao the nature tell?
Our sight it flies, our touch as well.
Eluding sight, eluding touch,
The forms of things all in it crouch;
Eluding touch, eluding sight,
There are their semblances, all right.
Profound it is, dark and obscure;
Things' essences all there endure.
Those essences the truth enfold
Of what, when seen, shall then be told.
Now it is so; 'twas so of old.
Its name--what passes not away;
So, in their beautiful array,
Things form and never know decay.

How know I that it is so with all the beauties of existing things? By this (nature of the Tao).

### 22
1. The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray.

2. Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and manifests it to all the world. He is free from self-display, and therefore he shines; from self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished; from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is acknowledged; from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority. It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him.

3. That saying of the ancients that 'the partial becomes complete' was not vainly spoken:--all real completion is comprehended under it.

### 23
1. Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these (two) things are owing? To Heaven and Earth. If Heaven and Earth cannot make such (spasmodic) actings last long, how much less can man!

2. Therefore when one is making the Tao his business, those who are also pursuing it, agree with him in it, and those who are making the manifestation of its course their object agree with him in that; while even those who are failing in both these things agree with him where they fail.

3. Hence, those with whom he agrees as to the Tao have the happiness of attaining to it; those with whom he agrees as to its manifestation have the happiness of attaining to it; and those with whom he agrees in their failure have also the happiness of attaining (to the Tao). (But) when there is not faith sufficient (on his part), a want of faith (in him) ensues (on the part of the others).

### 24
He who stands on his tiptoes does not stand firm; he who stretches his legs does not walk (easily). (So), he who displays himself does not shine; he who asserts his own views is not distinguished; he who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged; he who is self-conceited has no superiority allowed to him. Such conditions, viewed from the standpoint of the Tao, are like remnants of food, or a tumour on the body, which all dislike. Hence those who pursue (the course) of the Tao do not adopt and allow them.

### 25
1. There was something undefined and complete, coming into existence before Heaven and Earth. How still it was and formless, standing alone, and undergoing no change, reaching everywhere and in no danger (of being exhausted)! It may be regarded as the Mother of all things.

2. I do not know its name, and I give it the designation of the Tao (the Way or Course). Making an effort (further) to give it a name I call it The Great.

3. Great, it passes on (in constant flow). Passing on, it becomes remote. Having become remote, it returns. Therefore the Tao is great; Heaven is great; Earth is great; and the (sage) king is also great. In the universe there are four that are great, and the (sage) king is one of them.

4. Man takes his law from the Earth; the Earth takes its law from Heaven; Heaven takes its law from the Tao. The law of the Tao is its being what it is.

### 26
1. Gravity is the root of lightness; stillness, the ruler of movement.

2. Therefore a wise prince, marching the whole day, does not go far from his baggage waggons. Although he may have brilliant prospects to look at, he quietly remains (in his proper place), indifferent to them. How should the lord of a myriad chariots carry himself lightly before the kingdom? If he do act lightly, he has lost his root (of gravity); if he proceed to active movement, he will lose his throne.

### 27
1. The skilful traveller leaves no traces of his wheels or footsteps; the skilful speaker says nothing that can be found fault with or blamed; the skilful reckoner uses no tallies; the skilful closer needs no bolts or bars, while to open what he has shut will be impossible; the skilful binder uses no strings or knots, while to unloose what he has bound will be impossible. In the same way the sage is always skilful at saving men, and so he does not cast away any man; he is always skilful at saving things, and so he does not cast away anything. This is called 'Hiding the light of his procedure.'

2. Therefore the man of skill is a master (to be looked up to) by him who has not the skill; and he who has not the skill is the helper of (the reputation of) him who has the skill. If the one did not honour his master, and the other did not rejoice in his helper, an (observer), though intelligent, might greatly err about them. This is called 'The utmost degree of mystery.'

### 28
1.

Who knows his manhood's strength,
Yet still his female feebleness maintains;
As to one channel flow the many drains,
All come to him, yea, all beneath the sky.
Thus he the constant excellence retains;
The simple child again, free from all stains.

Who knows how white attracts,
Yet always keeps himself within black's shade,
The pattern of humility displayed,
Displayed in view of all beneath the sky;
He in the unchanging excellence arrayed,
Endless return to man's first state has made.

Who knows how glory shines,
Yet loves disgrace, nor e'er for it is pale;
Behold his presence in a spacious vale,
To which men come from all beneath the sky.
The unchanging excellence completes its tale;
The simple infant man in him we hail.

2. The unwrought material, when divided and distributed, forms vessels. The sage, when employed, becomes the Head of all the Officers (of government); and in his greatest regulations he employs no violent measures.

### 29
1. If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to effect this by what he does, I see that he will not succeed. The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp loses it.

2.

The course and nature of things is such that
What was in front is now behind;
What warmed anon we freezing find.
Strength is of weakness oft the spoil;
The store in ruins mocks our toil.

Hence the sage puts away excessive effort, extravagance, and easy indulgence.

### 30
1. He who would assist a lord of men in harmony with the Tao will not assert his mastery in the kingdom by force of arms. Such a course is sure to meet with its proper return.

2. Wherever a host is stationed, briars and thorns spring up. In the sequence of great armies there are sure to be bad years.

3. A skilful (commander) strikes a decisive blow, and stops. He does not dare (by continuing his operations) to assert and complete his mastery. He will strike the blow, but will be on his guard against being vain or boastful or arrogant in consequence of it. He strikes it as a matter of necessity; he strikes it, but not from a wish for mastery.

4. When things have attained their strong maturity they become old. This may be said to be not in accordance with the Tao: and what is not in accordance with it soon comes to an end.

### 31
1. Now arms, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen, hateful, it may be said, to all creatures. Therefore they who have the Tao do not like to employ them.

2. The superior man ordinarily considers the left hand the most honourable place, but in time of war the right hand. Those sharp weapons are instruments of evil omen, and not the instruments of the superior man;--he uses them only on the compulsion of necessity. Calm and repose are what he prizes; victory (by force of arms) is to him undesirable. To consider this desirable would be to delight in the slaughter of men; and he who delights in the slaughter of men cannot get his will in the kingdom.

3. On occasions of festivity to be on the left hand is the prized position; on occasions of mourning, the right hand. The second in command of the army has his place on the left; the general commanding in chief has his on the right;--his place, that is, is assigned to him as in the rites of mourning. He who has killed multitudes of men should weep for them with the bitterest grief; and the victor in battle has his place (rightly) according to those rites.

### 32
1. The Tao, considered as unchanging, has no name.

2. Though in its primordial simplicity it may be small, the whole world dares not deal with (one embodying) it as a minister. If a feudal prince or the king could guard and hold it, all would spontaneously submit themselves to him.

3. Heaven and Earth (under its guidance) unite together and send down the sweet dew, which, without the directions of men, reaches equally everywhere as of its own accord.

4. As soon as it proceeds to action, it has a name. When it once has that name, (men) can know to rest in it. When they know to rest in it, they can be free from all risk of failure and error.

5. The relation of the Tao to all the world is like that of the great rivers and seas to the streams from the valleys.

### 33
1. He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty. He who is satisfied with his lot is rich; he who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will.

2. He who does not fail in the requirements of his position, continues long; he who dies and yet does not perish, has longevity.

### 34
1. All-pervading is the Great Tao! It may be found on the left hand and on the right.

2. All things depend on it for their production, which it gives to them, not one refusing obedience to it. When its work is accomplished, it does not claim the name of having done it. It clothes all things as with a garment, and makes no assumption of being their lord;--it may be named in the smallest things. All things return (to their root and disappear), and do not know that it is it which presides over their doing so;--it may be named in the greatest things.

3. Hence the sage is able (in the same way) to accomplish his great achievements. It is through his not making himself great that he can accomplish them.

### 35
1. To him who holds in his hands the Great Image (of the invisible Tao), the whole world repairs. Men resort to him, and receive no hurt, but (find) rest, peace, and the feeling of ease.

2. Music and dainties will make the passing guest stop (for a time). But though the Tao as it comes from the mouth, seems insipid and has no flavour, though it seems not worth being looked at or listened to, the use of it is inexhaustible.

### 36
1. When one is about to take an inspiration, he is sure to make a (previous) expiration; when he is going to weaken another, he will first strengthen him; when he is going to overthrow another, he will first have raised him up; when he is going to despoil another, he will first have made gifts to him:--this is called 'Hiding the light (of his procedure).'

2. The soft overcomes the hard; and the weak the strong.

3. Fishes should not be taken from the deep; instruments for the profit of a state should not be shown to the people.

### 37
1. The Tao in its regular course does nothing (for the sake of doing it), and so there is nothing which it does not do.

2. If princes and kings were able to maintain it, all things would of themselves be transformed by them.

3. If this transformation became to me an object of desire, I would express the desire by the nameless simplicity.

Simplicity without a name
Is free from all external aim.
With no desire, at rest and still,
All things go right as of their will.

### 38
1. (Those who) possessed in highest degree the attributes (of the Tao) did not (seek) to show them, and therefore they possessed them (in fullest measure). (Those who) possessed in a lower degree those attributes (sought how) not to lose them, and therefore they did not possess them (in fullest measure).

2. (Those who) possessed in the highest degree those attributes did nothing (with a purpose), and had no need to do anything. (Those who) possessed them in a lower degree were (always) doing, and had need to be so doing.

3. (Those who) possessed the highest benevolence were (always seeking) to carry it out, and had no need to be doing so. (Those who) possessed the highest righteousness were (always seeking) to carry it out, and had need to be so doing.

4. (Those who) possessed the highest (sense of) propriety were (always seeking) to show it, and when men did not respond to it, they bared the arm and marched up to them.

5. Thus it was that when the Tao was lost, its attributes appeared; when its attributes were lost, benevolence appeared; when benevolence was lost, righteousness appeared; and when righteousness was lost, the proprieties appeared.

6. Now propriety is the attenuated form of leal-heartedness and good faith, and is also the commencement of disorder; swift apprehension is (only) a flower of the Tao, and is the beginning of stupidity.

7. Thus it is that the Great man abides by what is solid, and eschews what is flimsy; dwells with the fruit and not with the flower. It is thus that he puts away the one and makes choice of the other.

### 39
1. The things which from of old have got the One (the Tao) are--

Heaven which by it is bright and pure;
Earth rendered thereby firm and sure;
Spirits with powers by it supplied;
Valleys kept full throughout their void
All creatures which through it do live
Princes and kings who from it get
The model which to all they give.

All these are the results of the One (Tao).

2.

If heaven were not thus pure, it soon would rend;
If earth were not thus sure, 'twould break and bend;
Without these powers, the spirits soon would fail;
If not so filled, the drought would parch each vale;
Without that life, creatures would pass away;
Princes and kings, without that moral sway,
However grand and high, would all decay.

3. Thus it is that dignity finds its (firm) root in its (previous) meanness, and what is lofty finds its stability in the lowness (from which it rises). Hence princes and kings call themselves 'Orphans,' 'Men of small virtue,' and as 'Carriages without a nave.' Is not this an acknowledgment that in their considering themselves mean they see the foundation of their dignity? So it is that in the enumeration of the different parts of a carriage we do not come on what makes it answer the ends of a carriage. They do not wish to show themselves elegant-looking as jade, but (prefer) to be coarse-looking as an (ordinary) stone.

### 40
1.

The movement of the Tao
By contraries proceeds;
And weakness marks the course
Of Tao's mighty deeds.

2. All things under heaven sprang from It as existing (and named); that existence sprang from It as non-existent (and not named).

### 41
1. Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao, earnestly carry it into practice. Scholars of the middle class, when they have heard about it, seem now to keep it and now to lose it. Scholars of the lowest class, when they have heard about it, laugh greatly at it. If it were not (thus) laughed at, it would not be fit to be the Tao.

2. Therefore the sentence-makers have thus expressed themselves:--

'The Tao, when brightest seen, seems light to lack;
Who progress in it makes, seems drawing back;
Its even way is like a rugged track.
Its highest virtue from the vale doth rise;
Its greatest beauty seems to offend the eyes;
And he has most whose lot the least supplies.
Its firmest virtue seems but poor and low;
Its solid truth seems change to undergo;
Its largest square doth yet no corner show
A vessel great, it is the slowest made;
Loud is its sound, but never word it said;
A semblance great, the shadow of a shade.'

3. The Tao is hidden, and has no name; but it is the Tao which is skilful at imparting (to all things what they need) and making them complete.

### 42
1. The Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced All things. All things leave behind them the Obscurity (out of which they have come), and go forward to embrace the Brightness (into which they have emerged), while they are harmonised by the Breath of Vacancy.

2. What men dislike is to be orphans, to have little virtue, to be as carriages without naves; and yet these are the designations which kings and princes use for themselves. So it is that some things are increased by being diminished, and others are diminished by being increased.

3. What other men (thus) teach, I also teach. The violent and strong do not die their natural death. I will make this the basis of my teaching.

### 43
1. The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no (substantial) existence enters where there is no crevice. I know hereby what advantage belongs to doing nothing (with a purpose).

2. There are few in the world who attain to the teaching without words, and the advantage arising from non-action.

### 44
1.

Or fame or life,
Which do you hold more dear?
Or life or wealth,
To which would you adhere?
Keep life and lose those other things;
Keep them and lose your life:--which brings
Sorrow and pain more near?

2.

Thus we may see,
Who cleaves to fame
Rejects what is more great;
Who loves large stores
Gives up the richer state.

3.

Who is content
Needs fear no shame.
Who knows to stop
Incurs no blame.
From danger free
Long live shall he.

### 45
1.

Who thinks his great achievements poor
Shall find his vigour long endure.
Of greatest fulness, deemed a void,
Exhaustion ne'er shall stem the tide.
Do thou what's straight still crooked deem;
Thy greatest art still stupid seem,
And eloquence a stammering scream.

2. Constant action overcomes cold; being still overcomes heat. Purity and stillness give the correct law to all under heaven.

### 46
1. When the Tao prevails in the world, they send back their swift horses to (draw) the dung-carts. When the Tao is disregarded in the world, the war-horses breed in the border lands.

2. There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; no fault greater than the wish to be getting. Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is an enduring and unchanging sufficiency.

### 47
1. Without going outside his door, one understands (all that takes place) under the sky; without looking out from his window, one sees the Tao of Heaven. The farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows.

2. Therefore the sages got their knowledge without travelling; gave their (right) names to things without seeing them; and accomplished their ends without any purpose of doing so.

### 48
1. He who devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to increase (his knowledge); he who devotes himself to the Tao (seeks) from day to day to diminish (his doing).

2. He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing nothing (on purpose). Having arrived at this point of non-action, there is nothing which he does not do.

3. He who gets as his own all under heaven does so by giving himself no trouble (with that end). If one take trouble (with that end), he is not equal to getting as his own all under heaven.

### 49
1. The sage has no invariable mind of his own; he makes the mind of the people his mind.

2. To those who are good (to me), I am good; and to those who are not good (to me), I am also good;--and thus (all) get to be good. To those who are sincere (with me), I am sincere; and to those who are not sincere (with me), I am also sincere;--and thus (all) get to be sincere.

3. The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps his mind in a state of indifference to all. The people all keep their eyes and ears directed to him, and he deals with them all as his children.

### 50
1. Men come forth and live; they enter (again) and die.

2. Of every ten three are ministers of life (to themselves); and three are ministers of death.

3. There are also three in every ten whose aim is to live, but whose movements tend to the land (or place) of death. And for what reason? Because of their excessive endeavours to perpetuate life.

4. But I have heard that he who is skilful in managing the life entrusted to him for a time travels on the land without having to shun rhinoceros or tiger, and enters a host without having to avoid buff coat or sharp weapon. The rhinoceros finds no place in him into which to thrust its horn, nor the tiger a place in which to fix its claws, nor the weapon a place to admit its point. And for what reason? Because there is in him no place of death.

### 51
1. All things are produced by the Tao, and nourished by its outflowing operation. They receive their forms according to the nature of each, and are completed according to the circumstances of their condition. Therefore all things without exception honour the Tao, and exalt its outflowing operation.

2. This honouring of the Tao and exalting of its operation is not the result of any ordination, but always a spontaneous tribute.

3. Thus it is that the Tao produces (all things), nourishes them, brings them to their full growth, nurses them, completes them, matures them, maintains them, and overspreads them.

4. It produces them and makes no claim to the possession of them; it carries them through their processes and does not vaunt its ability in doing so; it brings them to maturity and exercises no control over them;--this is called its mysterious operation.

### 52
1. (The Tao) which originated all under the sky is to be considered as the mother of them all.

2. When the mother is found, we know what her children should be. When one knows that he is his mother's child, and proceeds to guard (the qualities of) the mother that belong to him, to the end of his life he will be free from all peril.

3. Let him keep his mouth closed, and shut up the portals (of his nostrils), and all his life he will be exempt from laborious exertion. Let him keep his mouth open, and (spend his breath) in the promotion of his affairs, and all his life there will be no safety for him.

4. The perception of what is small is (the secret of) clear-sightedness; the guarding of what is soft and tender is (the secret of) strength.

5.

Who uses well his light,
Reverting to its (source so) bright,
Will from his body ward all blight,
And hides the unchanging from men's sight.

### 53
1. If I were suddenly to become known, and (put into a position to) conduct (a government) according to the Great Tao, what I should be most afraid of would be a boastful display.

2. The great Tao (or way) is very level and easy; but people love the by-ways.

3. Their court(-yards and buildings) shall be well kept, but their fields shall be ill-cultivated, and their granaries very empty. They shall wear elegant and ornamented robes, carry a sharp sword at their girdle, pamper themselves in eating and drinking, and have a superabundance of property and wealth;--such (princes) may be called robbers and boasters. This is contrary to the Tao surely!

### 54
1.

What (Tao's) skilful planter plants
Can never be uptorn;
What his skilful arms enfold,
From him can ne'er be borne.
Sons shall bring in lengthening line,
Sacrifices to his shrine.

2.

Tao when nursed within one's self,
His vigour will make true;
And where the family it rules
What riches will accrue!
The neighbourhood where it prevails
In thriving will abound;
And when 'tis seen throughout the state,
Good fortune will be found.
Employ it the kingdom o'er,
And men thrive all around.

3. In this way the effect will be seen in the person, by the observation of different cases; in the family; in the neighbourhood; in the state; and in the kingdom.

4. How do I know that this effect is sure to hold thus all under the sky? By this (method of observation).

### 55
1. He who has in himself abundantly the attributes (of the Tao) is like an infant. Poisonous insects will not sting him; fierce beasts will not seize him; birds of prey will not strike him.

2. (The infant's) bones are weak and its sinews soft, but yet its grasp is firm. It knows not yet the union of male and female, and yet its virile member may be excited;--showing the perfection of its physical essence. All day long it will cry without its throat becoming hoarse;--showing the harmony (in its constitution).

3.

To him by whom this harmony is known,
(The secret of) the unchanging (Tao) is shown,
And in the knowledge wisdom finds its throne.
All life-increasing arts to evil turn;
Where the mind makes the vital breath to burn,
(False) is the strength, (and o'er it we should mourn.)

4. When things have become strong, they (then) become old, which may be said to be contrary to the Tao. Whatever is contrary to the Tao soon ends.

### 56
1. He who knows (the Tao) does not (care to) speak (about it); he who is (ever ready to) speak about it does not know it.

2. He (who knows it) will keep his mouth shut and close the portals (of his nostrils). He will blunt his sharp points and unravel the complications of things; he will attemper his brightness, and bring himself into agreement with the obscurity (of others). This is called 'the Mysterious Agreement.'

3. (Such an one) cannot be treated familiarly or distantly; he is beyond all consideration of profit or injury; of nobility or meanness:--he is the noblest man under heaven.

### 57
1. A state may be ruled by (measures of) correction; weapons of war may be used with crafty dexterity; (but) the kingdom is made one's own (only) by freedom from action and purpose.

2. How do I know that it is so? By these facts:--In the kingdom the multiplication of prohibitive enactments increases the poverty of the people; the more implements to add to their profit that the people have, the greater disorder is there in the state and clan; the more acts of crafty dexterity that men possess, the more do strange contrivances appear; the more display there is of legislation, the more thieves and robbers there are.

3. Therefore a sage has said, 'I will do nothing (of purpose), and the people will be transformed of themselves; I will be fond of keeping still, and the people will of themselves become correct. I will take no trouble about it, and the people will of themselves become rich; I will manifest no ambition, and the people will of themselves attain to the primitive simplicity.'

### 58
1.

The government that seems the most unwise,
Oft goodness to the people best supplies;
That which is meddling, touching everything,
Will work but ill, and disappointment bring.

Misery!--happiness is to be found by its side! Happiness!--misery lurks beneath it! Who knows what either will come to in the end?

2. Shall we then dispense with correction? The (method of) correction shall by a turn become distortion, and the good in it shall by a turn become evil. The delusion of the people (on this point) has indeed subsisted for a long time.

3. Therefore the sage is (like) a square which cuts no one (with its angles); (like) a corner which injures no one (with its sharpness). He is straightforward, but allows himself no license; he is bright, but does not dazzle.

### 59
1. For regulating the human (in our constitution) and rendering the (proper) service to the heavenly, there is nothing like moderation.

2. It is only by this moderation that there is effected an early return (to man's normal state). That early return is what I call the repeated accumulation of the attributes (of the Tao). With that repeated accumulation of those attributes, there comes the subjugation (of every obstacle to such return). Of this subjugation we know not what shall be the limit; and when one knows not what the limit shall be, he may be the ruler of a state.

3. He who possesses the mother of the state may continue long. His case is like that (of the plant) of which we say that its roots are deep and its flower stalks firm:--this is the way to secure that its enduring life shall long be seen.

### 60
1. Governing a great state is like cooking small fish.

2. Let the kingdom be governed according to the Tao, and the manes of the departed will not manifest their spiritual energy. It is not that those manes have not that spiritual energy, but it will not be employed to hurt men. It is not that it could not hurt men, but neither does the ruling sage hurt them.

3. When these two do not injuriously affect each other, their good influences converge in the virtue (of the Tao).

### 61
1. What makes a great state is its being (like) a low-lying, down-flowing (stream);--it becomes the centre to which tend (all the small states) under heaven.

2. (To illustrate from) the case of all females:--the female always overcomes the male by her stillness. Stillness may be considered (a sort of) abasement.

3. Thus it is that a great state, by condescending to small states, gains them for itself; and that small states, by abasing themselves to a great state, win it over to them. In the one case the abasement leads to gaining adherents, in the other case to procuring favour.

4. The great state only wishes to unite men together and nourish them; a small state only wishes to be received by, and to serve, the other. Each gets what it desires, but the great state must learn to abase itself.

### 62
1.

Tao has of all things the most honoured place.
No treasures give good men so rich a grace;
Bad men it guards, and doth their ill efface.

2. (Its) admirable words can purchase honour; (its) admirable deeds can raise their performer above others. Even men who are not good are not abandoned by it.

3. Therefore when the sovereign occupies his place as the Son of Heaven, and he has appointed his three ducal ministers, though (a prince) were to send in a round symbol-of-rank large enough to fill both the hands, and that as the precursor of the team of horses (in the court-yard), such an offering would not be equal to (a lesson of) this Tao, which one might present on his knees.

4. Why was it that the ancients prized this Tao so much? Was it not because it could be got by seeking for it, and the guilty could escape (from the stain of their guilt) by it? This is the reason why all under heaven consider it the most valuable thing.

### 63
1. (It is the way of the Tao) to act without (thinking of) acting; to conduct affairs without (feeling the) trouble of them; to taste without discerning any flavour; to consider what is small as great, and a few as many; and to recompense injury with kindness.

2. (The master of it) anticipates things that are difficult while they are easy, and does things that would become great while they are small. All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small. Therefore the sage, while he never does what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the greatest things.

3. He who lightly promises is sure to keep but little faith; he who is continually thinking things easy is sure to find them difficult. Therefore the sage sees difficulty even in what seems easy, and so never has any difficulties.

### 64
1. That which is at rest is easily kept hold of; before a thing has given indications of its presence, it is easy to take measures against it; that which is brittle is easily broken; that which is very small is easily dispersed. Action should be taken before a thing has made its appearance; order should be secured before disorder has begun.

2. The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout; the tower of nine storeys rose from a (small) heap of earth; the journey of a thousand li commenced with a single step.

3. He who acts (with an ulterior purpose) does harm; he who takes hold of a thing (in the same way) loses his hold. The sage does not act (so), and therefore does no harm; he does not lay hold (so), and therefore does not lose his hold. (But) people in their conduct of affairs are constantly ruining them when they are on the eve of success. If they were careful at the end, as (they should be) at the beginning, they would not so ruin them.

4. Therefore the sage desires what (other men) do not desire, and does not prize things difficult to get; he learns what (other men) do not learn, and turns back to what the multitude of men have passed by. Thus he helps the natural development of all things, and does not dare to act (with an ulterior purpose of his own).

### 65
1. The ancients who showed their skill in practising the Tao did so, not to enlighten the people, but rather to make them simple and ignorant.

2. The difficulty in governing the people arises from their having much knowledge. He who (tries to) govern a state by his wisdom is a scourge to it; while he who does not (try to) do so is a blessing.

3. He who knows these two things finds in them also his model and rule. Ability to know this model and rule constitutes what we call the mysterious excellence (of a governor). Deep and far-reaching is such mysterious excellence, showing indeed its possessor as opposite to others, but leading them to a great conformity to him.

### 66
1. That whereby the rivers and seas are able to receive the homage and tribute of all the valley streams, is their skill in being lower than they;--it is thus that they are the kings of them all. So it is that the sage (ruler), wishing to be above men, puts himself by his words below them, and, wishing to be before them, places his person behind them.

2. In this way though he has his place above them, men do not feel his weight, nor though he has his place before them, do they feel it an injury to them.

3. Therefore all in the world delight to exalt him and do not weary of him. Because he does not strive, no one finds it possible to strive with him.

### 67
1. All the world says that, while my Tao is great, it yet appears to be inferior (to other systems of teaching). Now it is just its greatness that makes it seem to be inferior. If it were like any other (system), for long would its smallness have been known!

2. But I have three precious things which I prize and hold fast. The first is gentleness; the second is economy; and the third is shrinking from taking precedence of others.

3. With that gentleness I can be bold; with that economy I can be liberal; shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become a vessel of the highest honour. Now-a-days they give up gentleness and are all for being bold; economy, and are all for being liberal; the hindmost place, and seek only to be foremost;--(of all which the end is) death.

4. Gentleness is sure to be victorious even in battle, and firmly to maintain its ground. Heaven will save its possessor, by his (very) gentleness protecting him.

### 68
He who in (Tao's) wars has skill
Assumes no martial port;
He who fights with most good will
To rage makes no resort.
He who vanquishes yet still
Keeps from his foes apart;
He whose hests men most fulfil
Yet humbly plies his art.

Thus we say, 'He ne'er contends,
And therein is his might.'
Thus we say, 'Men's wills he bends,
That they with him unite.'
Thus we say, 'Like Heaven's his ends,
No sage of old more bright.'

### 69
1. A master of the art of war has said, 'I do not dare to be the host (to commence the war); I prefer to be the guest (to act on the defensive). I do not dare to advance an inch; I prefer to retire a foot.' This is called marshalling the ranks where there are no ranks; baring the arms (to fight) where there are no arms to bare; grasping the weapon where there is no weapon to grasp; advancing against the enemy where there is no enemy.

2. There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war. To do that is near losing (the gentleness) which is so precious. Thus it is that when opposing weapons are (actually) crossed, he who deplores (the situation) conquers.

### 70
1. My words are very easy to know, and very easy to practise; but there is no one in the world who is able to know and able to practise them.

2. There is an originating and all-comprehending (principle) in my words, and an authoritative law for the things (which I enforce). It is because they do not know these, that men do not know me.

3. They who know me are few, and I am on that account (the more) to be prized. It is thus that the sage wears (a poor garb of) hair cloth, while he carries his (signet of) jade in his bosom.

### 71
1. To know and yet (think) we do not know is the highest (attainment); not to know (and yet think) we do know is a disease.

2. It is simply by being pained at (the thought of) having this disease that we are preserved from it. The sage has not the disease. He knows the pain that would be inseparable from it, and therefore he does not have it.

### 72
1. When the people do not fear what they ought to fear, that which is their great dread will come on them.

2. Let them not thoughtlessly indulge themselves in their ordinary life; let them not act as if weary of what that life depends on.

3. It is by avoiding such indulgence that such weariness does not arise.

4. Therefore the sage knows (these things) of himself, but does not parade (his knowledge); loves, but does not (appear to set a) value on, himself. And thus he puts the latter alternative away and makes choice of the former.

### 73
1. He whose boldness appears in his daring (to do wrong, in defiance of the laws) is put to death; he whose boldness appears in his not daring (to do so) lives on. Of these two cases the one appears to be advantageous, and the other to be injurious. But

When Heaven's anger smites a man,
Who the cause shall truly scan?

On this account the sage feels a difficulty (as to what to do in the former case).

2. It is the way of Heaven not to strive, and yet it skilfully overcomes; not to speak, and yet it is skilful in obtaining a reply; does not call, and yet men come to it of themselves. Its demonstrations are quiet, and yet its plans are skilful and effective. The meshes of the net of Heaven are large; far apart, but letting nothing escape.

### 74
1. The people do not fear death; to what purpose is it to (try to) frighten them with death? If the people were always in awe of death, and I could always seize those who do wrong, and put them to death, who would dare to do wrong?

2. There is always One who presides over the infliction of death. He who would inflict death in the room of him who so presides over it may be described as hewing wood instead of a great carpenter. Seldom is it that he who undertakes the hewing, instead of the great carpenter, does not cut his own hands!

### 75
1. The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes consumed by their superiors. It is through this that they suffer famine.

2. The people are difficult to govern because of the (excessive) agency of their superiors (in governing them). It is through this that they are difficult to govern.

3. The people make light of dying because of the greatness of their labours in seeking for the means of living. It is this which makes them think light of dying. Thus it is that to leave the subject of living altogether out of view is better than to set a high value on it.

### 76
1. Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered.

2. Thus it is that firmness and strength are the concomitants of death; softness and weakness, the concomitants of life.

3. Hence he who (relies on) the strength of his forces does not conquer; and a tree which is strong will fill the out-stretched arms, (and thereby invites the feller.)

4. Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below, and that of what is soft and weak is above.

### 77
1. May not the Way (or Tao) of Heaven be compared to the (method of) bending a bow? The (part of the bow) which was high is brought low, and what was low is raised up. (So Heaven) diminishes where there is superabundance, and supplements where there is deficiency.

2. It is the Way of Heaven to diminish superabundance, and to supplement deficiency. It is not so with the way of man. He takes away from those who have not enough to add to his own superabundance.

3. Who can take his own superabundance and therewith serve all under heaven? Only he who is in possession of the Tao!

4. Therefore the (ruling) sage acts without claiming the results as his; he achieves his merit and does not rest (arrogantly) in it:--he does not wish to display his superiority.

### 78
1. There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it;--for there is nothing (so effectual) for which it can be changed.

2. Every one in the world knows that the soft overcomes the hard, and the weak the strong, but no one is able to carry it out in practice.

3.

Therefore a sage has said,
'He who accepts his state's reproach,
Is hailed therefore its altars' lord;
To him who bears men's direful woes
They all the name of King accord.'

4. Words that are strictly true seem to be paradoxical.

### 79
1. When a reconciliation is effected (between two parties) after a great animosity, there is sure to be a grudge remaining (in the mind of the one who was wrong). And how can this be beneficial (to the other)?

2. Therefore (to guard against this), the sage keeps the left-hand portion of the record of the engagement, and does not insist on the (speedy) fulfilment of it by the other party. (So), he who has the attributes (of the Tao) regards (only) the conditions of the engagement, while he who has not those attributes regards only the conditions favourable to himself.

3. In the Way of Heaven, there is no partiality of love; it is always on the side of the good man.

### 80
1. In a little state with a small population, I would so order it, that, though there were individuals with the abilities of ten or a hundred men, there should be no employment of them; I would make the people, while looking on death as a grievous thing, yet not remove elsewhere (to avoid it).

2. Though they had boats and carriages, they should have no occasion to ride in them; though they had buff coats and sharp weapons, they should have no occasion to don or use them.

3. I would make the people return to the use of knotted cords (instead of the written characters).

4. They should think their (coarse) food sweet; their (plain) clothes beautiful; their (poor) dwellings places of rest; and their common (simple) ways sources of enjoyment.

5. There should be a neighbouring state within sight, and the voices of the fowls and dogs should be heard all the way from it to us, but I would make the people to old age, even to death, not have any intercourse with it.

### 81
1. Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere. Those who are skilled (in the Tao) do not dispute (about it); the disputatious are not skilled in it. Those who know (the Tao) are not extensively learned; the extensively learned do not know it.

2. The sage does not accumulate (for himself). The more that he expends for others, the more does he possess of his own; the more that he gives to others, the more does he have himself.

3. With all the sharpness of the Way of Heaven, it injures not; with all the doing in the way of the sage he does not strive.