Chapter 64

What is settled is easy to hold; what has not yet shown a sign is easy to plan for.What is brittle is easy to break; what is minute is easy to scatter.Act on it before it exists; order it before it falls into disorder.A tree that fills the embrace is born from the finest shoot;A terrace nine levels high rises from heaps of earth;A journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.Those who contrive it ruin it; those who grasp it lose it.Thus the sage does nothing, and therefore ruins nothing;Grasps nothing, and therefore loses nothing.In pursuing their affairs, people always ruin them when they are nearly complete.Be as careful at the end as at the beginning, and no affair will be ruined; thus the sage desires not to desire, and does not prize goods difficult to obtain;Learns not to learn, and returns to what the multitude has passed by, so as to assist the ten thousand things in being so of themselves, not daring to contrive.

What is settled is easy to keep steady; what has not yet given a sign is easy to prepare for.What is fragile is easy to split; what is minute is easy to scatter.Attend to it before it arises; set it in order before disorder begins.A tree that takes both arms to encircle grows from a shoot fine as a hair;a terrace nine tiers high rises from earth piled basket by basket;a journey of a thousand miles begins beneath your feet.Those who meddle with things ruin them; those who clutch them lose them.Therefore the sage acts without forcing and so ruins nothing;clutches nothing and so loses nothing.People usually ruin an undertaking just as it nears completion.Take as much care at the end as at the beginning, and no undertaking will be ruined; therefore the sage desires what others do not desire and does not prize goods hard to come by;learns what others leave unlearned, returns to what the crowd has passed by, and so helps all things follow their own course, without daring to force them.

1. That which is at rest is easily kept hold of; before a thing has given indications of its presence, it is easy to take measures against it; that which is brittle is easily broken; that which is very small is easily dispersed. Action should be taken before a thing has made its appearance; order should be secured before disorder has begun.

2. The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout; the tower of nine storeys rose from a (small) heap of earth; the journey of a thousand li commenced with a single step.

3. He who acts (with an ulterior purpose) does harm; he who takes hold of a thing (in the same way) loses his hold. The sage does not act (so), and therefore does no harm; he does not lay hold (so), and therefore does not lose his hold. (But) people in their conduct of affairs are constantly ruining them when they are on the eve of success. If they were careful at the end, as (they should be) at the beginning, they would not so ruin them.

4. Therefore the sage desires what (other men) do not desire, and does not prize things difficult to get; he learns what (other men) do not learn, and turns back to what the multitude of men have passed by. Thus he helps the natural development of all things, and does not dare to act (with an ulterior purpose of his own).