I observe my family, and all others grow familiar.
I study this world, and others come within my knowledge.
How else should I come to know the laws which govern all things, save thus, that I observe them in myself?
55
The man who is saturated with Virtue is like a little child.
Scorpions will not sting him, wild beasts will not seize him, nor will birds of prey pluck at him.
His young bones are not hard, neither are his sinews strong, yet his grasp is firm and sure.
He is full of vitality, though unconscious of his sex.
Though he should cry out all day, yet he is never hoarse.
Herein is shown his harmony with Nature.
The knowledge of this harmony is the eternal Tao.
The knowledge of the eternal Tao is illumination.
Habits of excess grow upon a man, and the mind, giving way to the passions, they increase day by day.
And when the passions have reached their climax, they fall.
This is against the nature of Tao.
And what is contrary to Tao soon comes to an end.
56
He who knows the Tao does not discuss it, and those who babble about it do not know it.
To keep the lips closed, to t the doors of sight and sound, to smooth off the corners, to temper the glare, and to be on a level with the dust of the earth, this is the mysterious virtue.
Whoever observes this will regard alike both frankness and reserve, kindness and injury, honour and degradation.
For this reason he will be held in great esteem of all men.
57
The righteous man may rule the nation.
The strategic man may rule the army.
But the man who refrains from active measures should be the king.
How do I know this:-
When the actions of the people are controlled by prohibited laws, the country becomes more and more impoverished.
When the people are allowed the free use of arms, the Government is in danger.
The more crafty and dexterous the people become, the more do artificial things come into use.
And when those cunning arts are publicly esteemed, then do rogues prosper.
Therefore the wise man says:-
I will design nothing: and the people will shape themselves.
I will keep quiet; and the people will find their rest.
I will not assert myself; and the people will come forth.
I will discountenance ambition; and the people will revert to their natural simplicity.
58
A free and generous government gives the people a chance to develop.
When a government is rigid and exacting the people are cramped and miserable.
Misery is but the shadow of happiness.
Happiness is but the cloak of misery.
When will there be an end to them?
If we dispense with rectitude, distortion will assert itself; and what was good in its way will give place to what is evil.
Verily the people have been under a cloud for a long time.
Therefore the wise man is full of rectitude, but he does not chirp and carve at others.
He is just, but he does not admonish others.
He is upright, but he does not straighten others.
He is enlightened, but he does not offend with his brightness.
59
In ruling men and in serving Heaven there is nothing like moderation.
By means of it one attains to his first estate.
When this is attained a man is possessed of an indefinite store of virtue.
With such a store of virtue he will overcome everything.
And of this mastery there will be no limit.
Thus, without hindrance, he may possess the Kingdom.
Such a man has the mother-constitution, and will endure indefinitely.
He is like the plant whose roots are deep and whose stem is firm.
Thus may a man live long and see many days.
60
The state should be governed as we cook small fish, without much business.
Bringing the Tao to the governing of the Kingdom will give rest to the shades of the dead.
Not that the Spirits will be inactive, but they will cease to trouble the people.
But what is of more importance, the wise ruler of the people will not hurt them.
And in so far as they do not interfere with one another, their influences conspire to the general good!
61
The kingdom, like a river, becomes great by being lowly; it is thereby the centre to which all the world tends.
It is similar in the case of woman:
She conquers man by continual quietness.
And quietness is the same as submission.
Therefore a great state, by condescension to those beneath it, may gain the government of them.
Likewise a small state, by submission to one that is greater, may secure its alliance.
Thus the one gains adherence, and the other obtains favours.
Although the great state desires to annex and to nourish others, yet the small state desires to be allied to and serve the greater.
Thus both will be satisfied, if only the greater will condescend.
62
Tao is the secret guardian of all things.
It enriches the good man and forfends the evildoer.
Its counsel is always in season; its benevolence is always in demand.
Even those who are not good it does not forsake.
Therefore, when the Emperor takes his throne and appoints his nobles, he who comes before him bearing the insignia of a prince and escorted by a mounted retinue is not to be compared with one who humbly presents this Tao.
For why did the ancients hold it in such esteem?
Was it not because it could be had without much seeking, and because by means of it man might escape from sin?
For this it was esteemed the greatest thing in the world.
63
Acting without design, occupying oneself without making a business of it, finding the great in what is the small, and the many in the few, repaying injury with kindness, effecting difficult things while they are easy, and managing great things in their beginnings, is the method of Tao.
All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and the great things in that which is small.
Therefore the wise man can accomplish great things without even attempting them.
He who lightly assents will seldom keep his word.
He who accounts all things easy will have many difficulties.
Therefore the Sage takes great account of small things, and so never has any difficulty.
64
What is small is easily held.
What is expected is easily provided for.
What is brittle is easily broken.
What is small is soon dispersed.
Transact your business before it takes shape.
Regulate things before confusion begins.
The tree which fills the arms grew from a tender shoot.
The castle of nine storeys was raised on a heap of earth.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Whoever designs only destroys.
Whoever grasps, loses.
The Sage does not act thus, therefore he does no harm.
He does not grasp, and therefore he never loses.
But the common people, in their undertakings, fail on the eve of success.
If they were as prudent at the end as they are at the beginning, there would be no such failures.
Therefore the Sage is only ambitious of what others despise, and sets no value on things difficult to obtain.
He acquires no common learning, but returns to that which people have passed by.
Thus he aims at simple development in all things, and acts without design.
65
The ancients who practiced the Tao did not make use of it to render the people brilliant, but to make them simple and natural.
The difficulty in governing the people is through overmuch policy.
He who tries to govern the kingdom by policy is only a scourge to it; while he who governs without it is a blessing.
To know these two things is the perfect knowledge of government, and to keep them continually in view is called the virtue of simplicity.
Deep and wide is this simple virtue; and though opposed to other methods it can bring about a perfect order.
66
That by which the great rivers and seas receive the tribute of all the streams, is the fact of their being lowly; that is the cause of their superiority.
Thus the Sage, wishing to govern the people, speaks of himself as beneath them; and wishing to lead them, places himself behind them.
So, while he is yet above them, they do not feel his weight; and being before them, he yet causes no obstruction.
Therefore all men exalt him with acclamation, and none is offended.
And because he does not strive, no man is his enemy.
67
All the world avows that while my Taoism is great, it is yet incompetent!
It is its greatness which makes it appear incompetent.
If it were like others, it would long ago have been recognized as incompetent.
But I hold fast to three precious things, which I also cherish.
The first is gentleness.
The second is economy.
The third is humility.
With such gentleness I can be daring.
With such economy I can be generous.
With such humility I can be great in service, as a vessel of honour.
But in these days men forsake gentleness and become only obtrusive.
They abandon economy and become only excessive.
They relinquish humility and strive for precedence, and thus for death.
Gentleness is ever victorious in attack and secure in defence.
Therefore when Heaven would preserve a man it enfolds him with gentleness.
68
The good commander is not imperious.
The good fighter is not wrathful.
The greatest conqueror does not wage war.
The best master governs by condescension.
This is the virtue of not contending.
This is the virtue of persuasion.
This is the imitation of Heaven, and this was the highest aim of the ancients.
69
A great warrior has said, "I dare not be the host, I would rather be the guest; I dare not advance an inch, I would rather retire a foot."
Now this I call filling in without marshalling the ranks; baring the arms without preparing to fight; grasping the sword without unsheathing it; and advancing upon the enemy without coming into conflict.
There is nothing so unfortunate as entering lightly into battle.
For in doing so we are in danger of losing that which is most precious.
Thus it happens that when opposing forces meet in battle, he who feels the pity of is assuredly conquers.
70
Easy are my words to know, and also to practice.
Yet none is able to understand nor yet to practice them.
For there is a remote origin for my words, and a supreme law for my actions.
Not knowing these, men cannot know me.
Those who know me are few, and by them I am esteemed.
For the wise man is outwardly poor, but he carries his jewel in his bosom.
71
To know one's ignorance is the best part of knowledge.
To be ignorant of such knowledge is a disease.
If one only regards it as a disease, he will soon be cured of it.
The wise man is exempt from this disease.
He knows it for what it is, and so is free from it.
72
When men do not have a right fear of present dangers, they run into extremes of peril.
Let them beware of enlarging the house, being wary of present conditions.
If they do not despise it, no such weariness will arise.
This is why the Sage, while possessed of self-knowledge, does not parade himself.
He loves, but does not value himself highly.
Thus he can put away pride, and is content.
73
He whose courage is expressed in daring will soon meet death.
He whose courage is shown in self-restraint will be preserved.
There are, then, two kinds of courage; the one is injurious and the other of advantage.
But who is to say why one of them should incur the judgement of Heaven?
That is why the Sage finds it difficult to act.
The celestial Tao does not strive, and yet overcomes everything.
It does not speak, yet is skilful in replying.
It does not call, yet things come to it readily.
It is quiet in its methods, yet its plans are thoroughly effective.
The net of Heaven has large meshes, and yet nothing escapes it!
74
When the people do not fear death, of what use is it to overawe them with it as a penalty?
And if they were always held in fear of death, and I could lay my hand upon all evil doers and slay them, would I dare to do it?
There is always the Great Executioner!
For one to usurp that office is like a novice cutting out the work of a great architect.
Such a one rarely fails to cut his own hands!
75
The people suffer from famine on account of the heavy taxation put upon them.
This is the cause of their need.
The people are difficult to govern because of the overbearing of their superiors.
This is the cause of their trouble.
The people make light of dying because of the great hardships of trying to live.
This is the reason for their indifference to death.
Therefore to keep living in obscurity is better than making overmuch of it.
76
Man at his birth is supple and tender, but in death he is rigid and strong.
It is the same with everything.
Trees and plants in their early growth are pliant and soft, but at the end they are withered and tough.
Thus rigidity and strength are concomitants of death, but softness and gentleness are companions of life.
Therefore the warrior who relies on his strength cannot conquer death, while the powerful tree becomes a mere timber support.
For the place of the strong and the firm is below, while that of the gentle and yielding is above.
77
Like the bending of an archer's bow is the Tao of Heaven!
It brings down that which is high, and raises up that which is depressed.
It takes away where there is excess, and gives where there is deficiency.
The Tao of Heaven makes all things equal.
This Tao is not of man.
Man takes from the needy to add to his own excess.
Who is he that, having a superabundance, can bring it to the service of the world?
Only he who has the Tao.
This is why the wise man acts without expectation of reward, and completes his task without claiming merit.
For thus he hides his wealth.
78
Nothing on earth is so weak and yielding as water, but for breaking down the firm and strong it has no equal.
This admits of no alternative.
All the world knows that the soft can wear away the hard, and the weak can conquer the strong, but none can carry it out in practice.
Therefore the Sage says: He who bears the reproach of his country is really the lord of the land. He who bears the woes of the people is in truth their king.
