Laozi · Complete work
Chapter 49
Chapter 49 of 81. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Classical Chinese
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。
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the original source for fidelity, modern clarity, beauty, symbolism, and structure.
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.
OpenTao
Complete CC BY 4.0 translation made directly from the received Chinese text; source line structure preserved.
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.
James Legge (1891)
Complete public-domain translation made directly from the original source text.
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.