道德經道德经

1#

A way that can be spoken of is not the constant Way. A name that can be named is not the constant name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth; the named is the mother of the ten thousand things. So, always without desire, you see its subtlety; always with desire, you see its edges. These two come out together but have different names. Together they are called the dark. Dark, and darker still: the gate of every subtlety.

2#

When everyone under heaven knows beauty as beauty, ugliness is already there. When everyone knows good as good, the not-good is already there. So being and non-being give birth to each other, hard and easy complete each other, long and short measure each other, high and low lean on each other, note and voice answer each other, before and after follow each other. Therefore the sage keeps to the work of not-doing and practises the teaching without words. The ten thousand things rise up and he does not turn them away. He gives life and does not possess, acts and does not presume, finishes the work and does not dwell in it. Because he does not dwell in it, it never leaves him.

3#

Do not exalt the worthy, and the people will not compete. Do not prize goods that are hard to get, and the people will not steal. Do not display what can be desired, and the people's hearts will not be stirred. So the sage governs by emptying their hearts and filling their bellies, softening their ambitions and strengthening their bones. He keeps the people always without cunning and without craving, and sees that the clever do not dare to act. Do by not doing, and nothing will be out of order.

4#

The Way is empty, yet used, it is never filled. Deep, it seems the ancestor of the ten thousand things. It blunts the sharp, unties the tangled, softens the glare, and becomes one with the dust. Still and clear, it seems hardly there at all. I do not know whose child it is. It seems older than the first of the gods.

5#

Heaven and earth are not kind: they treat the ten thousand things as straw dogs. The sage is not kind: he treats the people as straw dogs. The space between heaven and earth, is it not like a bellows? Empty, yet never spent; the more it moves, the more comes out. Many words soon run dry. Better to keep to the centre.

6#

The spirit of the valley never dies. It is called the dark female. The gate of the dark female is called the root of heaven and earth. Thread after thread, it seems to go on and on. Draw on it and it is never used up.

7#

Heaven is lasting, earth endures. Heaven and earth can last and endure because they do not live for themselves; that is why they live long. So the sage puts himself last and finds himself first; holds himself outside and finds himself kept. Is it not because he has no self of his own to serve that his self is fulfilled?

8#

The highest good is like water. Water is good at helping the ten thousand things and does not compete with them. It settles in the places everyone else disdains, and so it comes close to the Way. In a dwelling, what matters is the ground; in a heart, depth; in giving, kindness; in speech, trust; in governing, order; in work, ability; in action, timing. Only because it does not compete is it beyond reproach.

9#

Holding a cup and filling it to the brim is not as good as stopping in time. Hammer an edge to its keenest and it will not keep for long. A hall full of gold and jade can never be guarded. Wealth and rank with pride bring their own ruin. When the work is done, step back: this is the way of heaven.

10#

Carrying the soul and holding to the One, can you keep them from parting? Gathering your breath until you are supple, can you be like a newborn child? Cleaning the dark mirror, can you leave it without a spot? Loving the people and ordering the state, can you do it without cleverness? When the gates of heaven open and close, can you play the part of the female? Seeing clearly in all four directions, can you do it without doing? Give birth to them and nourish them. Give birth without possessing, act without presuming, lead without ruling: this is called dark virtue.

11#

Thirty spokes share one hub: where there is nothing, there is the use of the cart. Clay is worked into a vessel: where there is nothing, there is the use of the vessel. Doors and windows are cut to make a room: where there is nothing, there is the use of the room. So what is there gives the benefit, and what is not there gives the use.

12#

The five colours blind the eye. The five notes deafen the ear. The five flavours dull the mouth. Racing and hunting drive the heart wild. Goods hard to get lead one's steps astray. So the sage is for the belly and not for the eye. He lets go of that and takes this.

13#

Favour and disgrace are equally alarming. Prize great trouble as you prize your own body. What does it mean, that favour and disgrace are equally alarming? Favour is the lesser thing: to gain it is alarming, to lose it is alarming. That is what it means. What does it mean, to prize great trouble as your own body? The reason I have great trouble is that I have a body. If I had no body, what trouble could I have? So one who prizes the world as he prizes his own body can be given the world; one who loves the world as he loves his own body can be trusted with the world.

14#

Look and it cannot be seen: it is called the even. Listen and it cannot be heard: it is called the rare. Grasp and it cannot be held: it is called the minute. These three cannot be questioned to the end, and so they blend and become one. Above, it is not bright; below, it is not dark. Unbroken, unnameable, it goes back again to no-thing. This is called the form without form, the image without a thing. It is called the elusive and evasive. Meet it and you do not see its face; follow it and you do not see its back. Hold to the Way of old to guide what is here now. To know the ancient beginning: this is called the thread of the Way.

15#

Those of old who were good at being scholars were subtle, mysterious, dark and penetrating, too deep to be known. Because they cannot be known, I can only try to describe them. Hesitant, as if crossing a river in winter; wary, as if afraid of neighbours on every side; grave, like a guest; loosening, like ice about to melt; plain, like uncarved wood; open, like a valley; murky, like muddy water. Who can take muddy water and, by stillness, slowly make it clear? Who can take what is at rest and, by long movement, slowly bring it to life? Those who hold to this Way do not want to be full. Because they are not full, they can be worn and need no renewing.

16#

Reach the furthest emptiness. Hold fast to stillness. The ten thousand things rise up together, and I watch them return. Things flourish in their multitudes, and each goes back to its root. Going back to the root is called stillness; this is called returning to one's nature. Returning to one's nature is called the constant. Knowing the constant is called clarity. Not knowing the constant, one acts blindly and comes to harm. Knowing the constant, one is open; open, one is impartial; impartial, one is kingly; kingly, one is of heaven; of heaven, one is of the Way; of the Way, one lasts, and to the end of one's life is not in danger.

17#

The best of rulers: those below simply know he is there. The next: they love and praise him. The next: they fear him. The next: they scorn him. When trust falls short, there is distrust. Unhurried, he is sparing with his words. The work is done, the task complete, and the people all say: we did it ourselves.

18#

When the great Way is abandoned, there are benevolence and righteousness. When wisdom and cleverness appear, there is great pretence. When the six relations are not at peace, there are filial sons and loving parents. When the state is in darkness and disorder, there are loyal ministers.

19#

Cut off sagehood, throw away cleverness, and the people will benefit a hundredfold. Cut off benevolence, throw away righteousness, and the people will return to filial love. Cut off ingenuity, throw away profit, and there will be no thieves or robbers. These three, as ornament, are not enough. So let there be something to hold on to: show the undyed silk, hold the uncarved wood, think less of self, want less.

20#

Give up learning and you will have no worries. Between yes and yeah, how great is the difference? Between good and bad, how great is the distance? What others fear, I cannot help but fear. How wide it is, and without end. Everyone is merry, as if at a great feast, as if climbing a terrace in spring. I alone am quiet and give no sign, like a baby who has not yet learned to smile; drooping, as if I had nowhere to go. Everyone has more than enough; I alone seem to have lost something. Mine is the heart of a fool, so muddled. Ordinary people are bright; I alone seem dim. Ordinary people are sharp; I alone am dull. Calm, like the sea; drifting, as if I would never stop. Everyone has a use; I alone am stubborn and rustic. I alone am different from others: I treasure being fed by the mother.

21#

The bearing of great virtue follows the Way alone. The Way, as a thing, is elusive, evasive. Evasive and elusive, yet within it there is an image. Elusive and evasive, yet within it there is a thing. Deep and dark, yet within it there is an essence. That essence is wholly real; within it there is trust. From now back to the ancient past its name has not gone away, and by it we see the beginnings of all things. How do I know what the beginnings of all things are like? By this.

22#

Bent, then whole. Crooked, then straight. Hollow, then full. Worn, then new. Little, then gaining. Much, then confused. So the sage holds to the One and becomes a pattern for the world. Not showing himself, he is clearly seen. Not asserting himself, he shines. Not boasting, he has merit. Not proud, he endures. Only because he does not compete can no one in the world compete with him. The old saying, bent, then whole: are these empty words? Truly, wholeness comes back to him.

23#

To speak little is natural. A gale does not last the whole morning; a downpour does not last the whole day. Who makes them? Heaven and earth. If even heaven and earth cannot make things last, how much less can people? So one who follows the Way becomes one with the Way, one who follows virtue becomes one with virtue, one who follows loss becomes one with loss. One with the Way, the Way is glad to have him. One with virtue, virtue is glad to have him. One with loss, loss is glad to have him. When trust falls short, there is distrust.

24#

On tiptoe, you cannot stand. Striding, you cannot walk far. Showing yourself, you are not clearly seen. Asserting yourself, you do not shine. Boasting, you have no merit. Proud, you do not endure. Measured by the Way, these are called leftover food and useless growths. Things seem to loathe them, so one who has the Way does not dwell in them.

25#

There was a thing formed out of chaos, born before heaven and earth. Silent, empty, it stands alone and does not change; it goes round everywhere and is never tired. It could be the mother of the world. I do not know its name. I call it the Way, and if I must give it a name, I call it great. Great means going on; going on means going far; going far means coming back. So the Way is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and the king is also great. Within the realm there are four greats, and the king is one of them. People follow earth, earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Way, and the Way follows what is so of itself.

26#

The heavy is the root of the light; stillness is the master of haste. So the sage travels all day and never leaves his baggage carts. Though there are splendid sights, he rests at ease, above them. How could the lord of ten thousand chariots treat his own person lightly before the world? Light, and the root is lost. Hasty, and the master is lost.

27#

Good walking leaves no tracks. Good speaking leaves no flaw to blame. Good counting needs no tally sticks. A good door has no bolt and cannot be opened; a good knot has no cord and cannot be untied. So the sage is always good at saving people, and no one is abandoned; always good at saving things, and nothing is abandoned. This is called following the light. So the good person is the teacher of the one who is not good, and the one who is not good is the good person's charge. Not to value the teacher, not to care for the charge: however clever, this is a great confusion. This is called the essential mystery.

28#

Know the male, keep to the female, and be the ravine of the world. Be the ravine of the world, and constant virtue will not leave you; you will return to being a child. Know the white, keep to the black, and be the pattern of the world. Be the pattern of the world, and constant virtue will not falter; you will return to the boundless. Know honour, keep to humility, and be the valley of the world. Be the valley of the world, and constant virtue will be enough; you will return to the uncarved wood. When the uncarved wood is split, it becomes vessels. The sage, using it, becomes the chief of officials. So the great cutting does not cut.

29#

Those who want to take the world and work on it: I see that they will not succeed. The world is a sacred vessel. It cannot be worked on. Those who work on it ruin it; those who grip it lose it. So among things, some go ahead and some follow; some breathe gently and some blow hard; some are strong and some are frail; some break and some fall. Therefore the sage avoids the extreme, avoids the extravagant, avoids the excessive.

30#

One who helps a ruler by the Way does not use arms to force the world. Such things tend to come back. Where armies have camped, thorns and brambles grow. After a great war come years of famine. The good achieve their purpose and stop; they do not use it to seize by force. Achieve it without pride, achieve it without boasting, achieve it without arrogance; achieve it only because there is no other way; achieve it, but do not force. Things in their prime grow old. This is called going against the Way, and what goes against the Way soon comes to an end.

31#

Fine weapons are instruments of ill omen. Things seem to loathe them, so one who has the Way does not dwell with them. At home the gentleman honours the left; at war he honours the right. Weapons are instruments of ill omen, not the gentleman's instruments. When he cannot avoid using them, calm restraint is best. He wins, but sees no beauty in it; to see beauty in it is to delight in killing, and one who delights in killing will never have his way in the world. On happy occasions the left is honoured; on sad occasions the right. The lieutenant stands on the left and the commander on the right, which is to say they are placed as at a funeral. When many have been killed, one weeps for them in grief. A victory in war is met with the rites of mourning.

32#

The Way is constant and has no name. Like uncarved wood, it is small, yet no one in the world can make it serve. If lords and kings could hold to it, the ten thousand things would come to them as guests of their own accord. Heaven and earth join and send down sweet dew; no one commands it, and it falls evenly on all. When cutting begins, there are names. Once there are names, one must know where to stop. Knowing where to stop, one is not in danger. The Way in the world is like streams and valleys flowing to the rivers and the sea.

33#

To know others is wisdom; to know yourself is clarity. To overcome others takes force; to overcome yourself is strength. To know what is enough is wealth. To keep going is will. Not to lose your place is to last. To die and not be lost is to live long.

34#

The great Way is a flood: it can go left or right. The ten thousand things depend on it for life and it does not refuse them. When the work is done, it does not claim it. It clothes and feeds the ten thousand things and does not make itself their master. Always without desire, it can be called small. The ten thousand things return to it and it does not make itself their master: it can be called great. Because to the end it never makes itself great, it can achieve its greatness.

35#

Hold to the great image and the world will come to you. It comes and comes to no harm: peace, safety, ease. Music and good food will make a passing traveller stop. But the Way, when it passes the lips, is bland and has no flavour. Look at it: there is not enough to see. Listen to it: there is not enough to hear. Use it: it can never be used up.

36#

What is to be gathered in must first be spread out. What is to be weakened must first be made strong. What is to be cast down must first be raised up. What is to be taken must first be given. This is called the subtle light. The soft and weak overcome the hard and strong. Fish should not leave the deep water; the sharp tools of the state should not be shown to the people.

37#

The Way is constant in not doing, and yet nothing is left undone. If lords and kings could hold to it, the ten thousand things would change of their own accord. If, as they change, desire stirs, I will settle it with the nameless uncarved wood. The nameless uncarved wood brings freedom from desire. Without desire, and so at rest, the world will set itself in order.

38#

High virtue does not hold to virtue, and so it has virtue. Low virtue never lets go of virtue, and so it has none. High virtue does not act and has no reason to act. Low virtue acts and has its reasons. High benevolence acts but has no reason to. High righteousness acts and has its reasons. High ritual acts, and when no one answers, it rolls up its sleeves and drags them to it. So when the Way is lost, there is virtue; when virtue is lost, there is benevolence; when benevolence is lost, there is righteousness; when righteousness is lost, there is ritual. Ritual is the thinning of loyalty and trust, and the beginning of disorder. Foreknowledge is the flower of the Way, and the beginning of folly. So the great person keeps to the thick and not the thin, to the fruit and not the flower. He lets go of that and takes this.

39#

Of old, these attained the One. Heaven attained the One and became clear. Earth attained the One and became settled. The spirits attained the One and became potent. The valley attained the One and became full. The ten thousand things attained the One and came to life. Lords and kings attained the One and became the standard of the world. Follow it through: without clarity, heaven might split; without settledness, earth might quake; without potency, the spirits might fade; without fullness, the valley might run dry; without life, the ten thousand things might perish; without their honour and height, lords and kings might fall. So the noble has the humble as its root, and the high has the low as its foundation. That is why lords and kings call themselves the orphan, the widower, the unworthy. Is this not taking the humble as the root? Is it not? So count up the parts of a carriage and there is no carriage. Do not wish to gleam like jade; be rough, like stone.

40#

Returning is the movement of the Way. Yielding is the use of the Way. The things of the world are born from being, and being is born from non-being.

41#

When the best scholar hears of the Way, he works hard to practise it. When the middling scholar hears of the Way, he half keeps it and half loses it. When the lowest scholar hears of the Way, he laughs out loud. If he did not laugh, it would not be the Way. So the old sayings have it: the bright Way seems dark; the Way forward seems to go back; the level Way seems rough; high virtue seems like a valley; great whiteness seems soiled; broad virtue seems not enough; firm virtue seems furtive; true substance seems to change; the great square has no corners; the great vessel is finished late; the great sound is faint; the great image has no shape. The Way is hidden and has no name. Only the Way is good at lending, and at bringing to completion.

42#

The Way gave birth to one, one gave birth to two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to the ten thousand things. The ten thousand things carry yin on their backs and hold yang in their arms, and the blending of their breath makes harmony. What people hate most is to be orphaned, widowed and unworthy, yet kings and dukes take these as their titles. So things may gain by being diminished, or be diminished by gaining. What others teach, I teach too: the violent do not die a natural death. I will make this the root of my teaching.

43#

The softest thing in the world gallops through the hardest. What has no substance enters where there is no gap. By this I know the benefit of not doing. The teaching without words, the benefit of not doing: few in the world can reach them.

44#

Your name or your self: which is dearer? Your self or your goods: which is worth more? Gain or loss: which does more harm? So great attachment brings great cost, and much hoarding brings heavy loss. Know what is enough and you will not be disgraced. Know when to stop and you will not be in danger. Then you can last long.

45#

Great completeness seems lacking, yet its use never wears out. Great fullness seems empty, yet its use never runs dry. Great straightness seems bent; great skill seems clumsy; great eloquence seems to stammer. Stillness overcomes restlessness; cold overcomes heat. Clear stillness sets the world right.

46#

When the world has the Way, galloping horses are turned back to work the fields. When the world lacks the Way, war horses are bred on the borders. There is no calamity greater than not knowing what is enough, no fault greater than wanting more. So the contentment of knowing what is enough is always enough.

47#

Without going out of the door, you can know the world. Without looking out of the window, you can see the way of heaven. The further you go, the less you know. So the sage knows without travelling, understands without looking, and accomplishes without doing.

48#

In pursuing learning, every day something is added. In pursuing the Way, every day something is let go. Let go and let go again, until you arrive at not doing. Not doing, and yet nothing is left undone. The world is always won by not meddling. Once you start to meddle, you are not fit to win the world.

49#

The sage has no fixed heart of his own; he takes the hearts of the people as his heart. To the good I am good; to those who are not good I am also good; and so goodness is gained. With the trustworthy I keep faith; with those who are not trustworthy I also keep faith; and so trust is gained. While the sage is in the world, the world grows quiet and draws in its breath, and for the world's sake he keeps his heart whole and undivided. The people all strain their eyes and ears towards him, and the sage treats them all as his children.

50#

Going out is life, coming in is death. Three in ten are companions of life; three in ten are companions of death; and three in ten, in living, move towards the place of death. Why is this? Because they hold on to life too hard. I have heard that one who is good at caring for life travels overland without meeting rhinoceros or tiger, and goes among soldiers without armour or weapons. The rhinoceros finds nowhere to thrust its horn, the tiger nowhere to set its claws, the soldier nowhere to lodge his blade. Why is this? Because in him there is no place for death.

51#

The Way gives them life, virtue rears them, things give them form, and circumstance completes them. So among the ten thousand things there is none that does not honour the Way and value virtue. The honour of the Way and the value of virtue are not conferred by anyone; they are always so of themselves. So the Way gives them life and virtue rears them: grows them and raises them, shapes them and ripens them, feeds them and shelters them. To give life without possessing, to act without presuming, to lead without ruling: this is called dark virtue.

52#

The world has a beginning, and it is the mother of the world. Once you have found the mother, you can know the children. Once you know the children, go back and hold to the mother, and to the end of your life you will not be in danger. Close the openings, shut the doors, and to the end of your life you will not be worn out. Open the openings, add to your affairs, and to the end of your life you will not be saved. To see the small is called clarity; to keep to the soft is called strength. Use the light, return to the clarity, and bring no harm upon yourself. This is called following the constant.

53#

If I had even a little knowledge, walking on the great road, I would fear only straying from it. The great road is very level, yet people love the side paths. The court is spotless, the fields are full of weeds, the granaries are empty; they wear embroidered clothes, carry sharp swords, gorge on food and drink, and have more wealth than they can use. This is called the vanity of robbers. It is not the Way.

54#

What is well planted cannot be uprooted. What is well held cannot slip away. Children and grandchildren will keep up the offerings without end. Cultivate it in yourself, and its virtue will be real. Cultivate it in the family, and its virtue will be more than enough. Cultivate it in the village, and its virtue will last. Cultivate it in the state, and its virtue will flourish. Cultivate it in the world, and its virtue will be everywhere. So by the self, see the self; by the family, the family; by the village, the village; by the state, the state; by the world, the world. How do I know the world is so? By this.

55#

One who holds virtue in abundance is like a newborn child. Wasps, scorpions and snakes do not sting it, wild beasts do not seize it, birds of prey do not strike it. Its bones are soft and its sinews supple, yet its grip is firm. It knows nothing of the union of male and female, yet it is whole and stirs: this is the height of vital essence. It cries all day and does not grow hoarse: this is the height of harmony. To know harmony is called the constant; to know the constant is called clarity. To force life on is called ill omen; to let the heart drive the breath is called forcing. Things in their prime grow old. This is called going against the Way, and what goes against the Way soon comes to an end.

56#

Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know. Close the openings, shut the doors, blunt the sharp, untie the tangled, soften the glare, become one with the dust: this is called the dark sameness. So such a one cannot be drawn close, nor held at a distance; cannot be benefited, nor harmed; cannot be honoured, nor demeaned. That is why such a one is honoured by the world.

57#

Govern the state by what is straight; use arms by surprise; win the world by not meddling. How do I know it is so? By this. The more prohibitions there are in the world, the poorer the people become. The more sharp tools the people have, the more the state is thrown into confusion. The more cunning and skill people have, the more strange things appear. The more laws and orders are displayed, the more thieves and robbers there are. So the sage says: I do not act, and the people transform themselves. I love stillness, and the people set themselves right. I do not meddle, and the people prosper by themselves. I have no desires, and the people become simple of themselves.

58#

When the government is muddled and slow, the people are pure and honest. When the government is sharp and prying, the people are sly. Misfortune is what good fortune leans on; good fortune is where misfortune lies hidden. Who knows where it ends? There is no fixed rule. The straight turns back into the strange, the good turns back into the uncanny. People have been confused about this for a long time. So the sage is square but does not cut, has edges but does not wound, is straight but not overbearing, shines but does not dazzle.

59#

In governing people and serving heaven, nothing is better than restraint. Restraint alone means turning early to the Way. Turning early means gathering virtue again and again. Gathering virtue again and again, there is nothing one cannot overcome. When there is nothing one cannot overcome, no one knows one's limit. When no one knows one's limit, one can hold a state. Holding the mother of the state, one can last long. This is called deep roots and a firm stem: the way of long life and lasting vision.

60#

Govern a great state as you would cook a small fish. When the world is overseen by the Way, the spirits of the dead lose their power. It is not that they lose their power, but that their power no longer harms people. It is not that their power no longer harms people, but that the sage, too, does not harm people. Since neither harms the other, virtue flows back and forth between them.

61#

A great state is like the lower reaches of a river: the place where the world flows together, the female of the world. The female always overcomes the male by stillness, and in stillness she lies low. So if a great state lowers itself to a small state, it wins the small state; if a small state lowers itself to a great state, it is taken in by the great state. So one wins by lowering itself, and the other is taken in by being low. A great state wants no more than to shelter and nourish others; a small state wants no more than to join and serve others. For both to get what they want, the great one should be the one to lie low.

62#

The Way is the hidden heart of the ten thousand things: the treasure of the good, and the refuge of those who are not good. Fine words can be sold in the market; fine deeds can lift a person above others. Even if someone is not good, why abandon them? So when the Son of Heaven is enthroned and the three ministers are installed, though there be a jade disc presented ahead of a team of four horses, it is better to sit still and offer this Way. Why did the ancients value this Way? Was it not said: by it, those who seek will find, and those who have done wrong will be spared? That is why it is valued by the world.

63#

Do by not doing. Work without meddling. Taste what has no taste. Make the small great and the few many; repay resentment with virtue. Plan for the hard while it is easy; do the great while it is small. The hardest things in the world begin as easy ones; the greatest things in the world begin as small ones. So the sage never does great things, and that is how he achieves greatness. A light promise is seldom kept; to think things easy is to meet many difficulties. So even the sage treats things as hard, and in the end he has no difficulty.

64#

What is at rest is easy to hold. What has not yet shown itself is easy to plan for. What is brittle is easily broken. What is minute is easily scattered. Deal with things before they exist; put things in order before there is disorder. A tree that fills the arms grows from a tiny shoot. A tower nine storeys high rises from a heap of earth. A journey of a thousand miles begins beneath your feet. Those who work on things ruin them; those who grip things lose them. So the sage does not act, and so does not ruin; does not grip, and so does not lose. People at their work often ruin it when it is nearly done. Be as careful at the end as at the beginning, and nothing will be ruined. So the sage desires not to desire, and does not prize goods that are hard to get. He learns to unlearn, and turns back to what the crowd has passed by. He helps the ten thousand things be as they are, and does not dare to act.

65#

Those of old who were good at the Way did not use it to make the people clever, but to keep them simple. The people are hard to govern because they know too much. So to govern a state by cleverness is to rob the state; not to govern a state by cleverness is the state's good fortune. To know these two is also to know the pattern. Always to know the pattern is called dark virtue. Dark virtue is deep, it is far-reaching, it turns back with things, and so it arrives at the great harmony.

66#

The rivers and the sea can be kings of the hundred valleys because they are good at lying low. That is why they are kings of the hundred valleys. So whoever would be above the people must speak as if below them; whoever would lead the people must walk behind them. So the sage is above, and the people do not feel his weight; he is in front, and the people do not feel harmed. So the whole world gladly pushes him forward and never tires of him. Because he does not compete, no one in the world can compete with him.

67#

Everyone in the world says my Way is great, and that it seems like nothing at all. It is precisely because it is great that it seems like nothing at all. If it seemed like something, it would long ago have become small. I have three treasures that I hold and keep. The first is kindness, the second is frugality, the third is not daring to be first in the world. Being kind, one can be brave. Being frugal, one can be generous. Not daring to be first in the world, one can become the chief of all vessels. Now if one gives up kindness and is brave, gives up frugality and is generous, gives up holding back and goes first, one is lost. Kindness wins when it fights and holds firm when it defends. When heaven means to save someone, it guards them with kindness.

68#

The best soldier is not warlike. The best fighter is not angry. The best at defeating an enemy does not engage. The best at using people puts himself below them. This is called the virtue of not competing. This is called using the strength of others. This is called being matched with heaven, the highest of the ancient ways.

69#

Those who use arms have a saying: I do not dare to be the host, but would rather be the guest; I do not dare to advance an inch, but would rather retreat a foot. This is called marching without marching, rolling up the sleeves without baring an arm, confronting without an enemy, holding without weapons. There is no disaster greater than taking the enemy lightly; to take the enemy lightly is to come near to losing my treasures. So when opposing armies meet, the side that grieves will win.

70#

My words are very easy to understand and very easy to practise, yet no one in the world can understand them, and no one can practise them. My words have an ancestor; my deeds have a master. It is only because people do not understand this that they do not understand me. Those who understand me are few, and those who follow me are rarer still. So the sage wears coarse cloth and carries jade in his breast.

71#

To know that you do not know is best. Not to know, yet to think you know, is a sickness. Only when you are sick of the sickness are you free of it. The sage is not sick, because he is sick of the sickness. That is why he is not sick.

72#

When the people no longer fear authority, a greater terror will come. Do not crowd them in their dwellings; do not weary them in their livelihoods. Only if you do not weary them will they not weary of you. So the sage knows himself but does not display himself; cares for himself but does not exalt himself. He lets go of that and takes this.

73#

Courage in daring leads to death; courage in not daring leads to life. Of these two, one brings benefit and one brings harm. What heaven hates, who knows the reason? Even the sage finds it hard. The way of heaven does not compete, yet is good at winning; does not speak, yet is good at answering; does not summon, yet things come of themselves; is unhurried, yet good at planning. The net of heaven is vast and wide; its mesh is loose, yet nothing slips through.

74#

If the people do not fear death, why threaten them with death? If the people always feared death, and I could seize and put to death those who did strange things, who would dare? There is always an appointed executioner. To kill in place of the appointed executioner is like cutting wood in place of the master carpenter. Of those who cut wood in place of the master carpenter, few do not hurt their hands.

75#

The people go hungry because those above them eat too much in taxes; that is why they go hungry. The people are hard to govern because those above them are always doing things; that is why they are hard to govern. The people take death lightly because they seek life too hungrily; that is why they take death lightly. Only those who do not make living their whole concern are wiser than those who prize life.

76#

When people are born they are soft and supple; when they die they are hard and stiff. When the ten thousand plants and trees are alive they are soft and tender; when they die they are dry and withered. So the hard and stiff are companions of death; the soft and supple are companions of life. So an army that is too strong will not win, and a tree that is too strong will be cut down. The strong and great sit below; the soft and supple rise above.

77#

The way of heaven, is it not like drawing a bow? What is high is pressed down, what is low is raised up; what has too much is reduced, what has too little is filled. The way of heaven takes from what has too much and gives to what has too little. The way of people is not so: it takes from those who have too little to serve those who have too much. Who can take what he has in excess and offer it to the world? Only one who has the Way. So the sage acts without presuming, finishes the work without dwelling in it, and has no wish to display his worth.

78#

Nothing in the world is softer or weaker than water, yet for attacking the hard and strong nothing can surpass it, because nothing can take its place. That the weak overcomes the strong and the soft overcomes the hard, everyone in the world knows, yet no one can practise it. So the sage says: whoever takes on the filth of the state is called the lord of its altars; whoever takes on the misfortunes of the state is the king of the world. Straight words seem to say the opposite.

79#

When a great grievance is settled, some grievance always remains. How can this be counted as good? So the sage holds the left half of the tally and makes no demands on others. One with virtue keeps the tally; one without virtue collects the tax. The way of heaven has no favourites; it is always with the good.

80#

A small state with few people. Let there be tools for ten or a hundred hands, and let them go unused. Let the people take death seriously and not move far away. Though they have boats and carriages, let there be no occasion to ride them; though they have armour and weapons, let there be no occasion to display them. Let people go back to knotting cords for their records. Let them find their food sweet, their clothes beautiful, their homes peaceful, their customs a joy. Neighbouring states can see each other, and the sound of their roosters and dogs can be heard from one to the other, yet the people grow old and die without ever going back and forth between them.

81#

True words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not true. The good do not argue; those who argue are not good. Those who know are not learned in everything; those learned in everything do not know. The sage does not hoard. The more he does for others, the more he has; the more he gives to others, the more he has left. The way of heaven benefits and does not harm. The way of the sage acts and does not compete.