Laozi · Complete work
Chapter 32
Chapter 32 of 81. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Classical Chinese
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。
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the original source for fidelity, modern clarity, beauty, symbolism, and structure.
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.
OpenTao
Complete CC BY 4.0 translation made directly from the received Chinese text; source line structure preserved.
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.
James Legge (1891)
Complete public-domain translation made directly from the original source text.
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.