Laozi · Complete work
Chapter 56
Chapter 56 of 81. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Classical Chinese
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。
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the original source for fidelity, modern clarity, beauty, symbolism, and structure.
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.
OpenTao
Complete CC BY 4.0 translation made directly from the received Chinese text; source line structure preserved.
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.
James Legge (1891)
Complete public-domain translation made directly from the original source text.
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.