Laozi · Complete work
Chapter 51
Chapter 51 of 81. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Classical Chinese
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。
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the original source for fidelity, modern clarity, beauty, symbolism, and structure.
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.
OpenTao
Complete CC BY 4.0 translation made directly from the received Chinese text; source line structure preserved.
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.
James Legge (1891)
Complete public-domain translation made directly from the original source text.
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.