Laozi · Complete work
Chapter 74
Chapter 74 of 81. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Classical Chinese
民不畏死，奈何以死懼之？若使民常畏死，而為奇者，吾得執而殺之，孰敢？常有司殺者殺。夫司殺者，是大匠斲；夫代大匠斲者，希有不傷其手矣。
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the original source for fidelity, modern clarity, beauty, symbolism, and structure.
When the people do not fear death, how can death be used to frighten them?If the people were always made to fear death, and I could seize and kill those who act perversely, who would dare?There is always an executioner who carries out the killing.To kill in place of the executioner is to hew in place of the master carpenter;Whoever hews in place of the master carpenter seldom escapes wounding his own hand.
OpenTao
Complete CC BY 4.0 translation made directly from the received Chinese text; source line structure preserved.
When people no longer fear death, to what end threaten them with it?If people could always be kept afraid of death, and I could seize and kill anyone who went astray, who would dare to do so?There is always one who presides over killing and carries it out.The one who presides over killing is the master carpenter, hewing the wood;Whoever takes the master carpenter’s place to hew the wood rarely escapes without wounding his own hands.
James Legge (1891)
Complete public-domain translation made directly from the original source text.
1. The people do not fear death; to what purpose is it to (try to) frighten them with death? If the people were always in awe of death, and I could always seize those who do wrong, and put them to death, who would dare to do wrong?
2. There is always One who presides over the infliction of death. He who would inflict death in the room of him who so presides over it may be described as hewing wood instead of a great carpenter. Seldom is it that he who undertakes the hewing, instead of the great carpenter, does not cut his own hands!