Laozi · Complete work
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 of 81. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Classical Chinese
上善若水。水善利萬物而不爭，處衆人之所惡，故幾於道。居善地，心善淵，與善仁，言善信，正善治，事善能，動善時。夫唯不爭，故無尤。
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the original source for fidelity, modern clarity, beauty, symbolism, and structure.
The highest good is like water.Water is good at benefiting the ten thousand things without contending; it dwells where the multitude disdain to be, and so comes near the Way.In dwelling, be good to the ground; in heart, good and deep; in giving, good and humane; in speech, good and true; in governing, good at order; in work, good in ability; in movement, good in season.Only by not contending is there no blame.
OpenTao
Complete CC BY 4.0 translation made directly from the received Chinese text; source line structure preserved.
What is best is like water.Water benefits all things yet never competes. It settles in the low places people despise, and so comes close to the Way.For dwelling, low ground is best; for the heart, still depth; for dealing with others, kindness; for speech, faithfulness; for governing, order; for work, ability; for action, the right moment.Precisely because it does not compete, it draws no blame.
James Legge (1891)
Complete public-domain translation made directly from the original source text.
1. The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao.
2. The excellence of a residence is in (the suitability of) the place; that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of associations is in their being with the virtuous; that of government is in its securing good order; that of (the conduct of) affairs is in its ability; and that of (the initiation of) any movement is in its timeliness.
3. And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle (about his low position), no one finds fault with him.