Chapter 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.

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.

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 voidAll creatures which through it do livePrinces and kings who from it getThe 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.