Therefore the noble takes the humble as it root,
And the high takes the low as its ground.
Just for this reason kings and princes call themselves the orphaned, the solitary and the unworthy.
Is it not regarding the humble as the root of the noble?
Is it not so?
Therefore to seek too much honour means to lose honour wholly.
So neither the noble jade, nor the humble rocks should one strive to be.
40
Reversion is the movement of Tao,
Weakness is the function of Tao.
All things under Heaven come into being from (visible) concrete beings,
An all beings come into being from invisible nonexistence (Tao).
41
When the highest shi hear Tao, they diligently practice it.
When the average shi hear Tao, they half believe it.
When the lowest shi hear Tao, (thinking it empty) they laugh greatly at it.
If they didn't laugh, it would be contrary to Tao.
Therefore there are some old sayings:
"The Tao that is bright seems to be dark;
The Tao that goes forward seems to retreat;
The Tao that is level seems to be uneven;
The lofty De (Virtue) looks like a humble valley;
The greatest glory looks like disgrace;
The greatest De looks insufficient;
The vigorous De looks inert;
The simple purity looks changeable;
The great square has no corners;
The valuable vessel is always completed lastly;
The greatest sound sounds faint;
The greatest form looks formless."
Tao is hidden and nameless,
It is only Tao that initiates all beings and brings them to completion.
42
Tao gives birth to the unified thing (One),
The One splits itself into two opposite aspects (Two),
The Two gives birth to another (Three),
The newborn Third produces a myriad of things.
The myriad of things contain the Yin and Yang within themselves as opposite forces,
Both of them (Yin and Yang) are unified with harmony in the invisible breath.
People disdain the "orphaned," "solitary" or "unworthy,"
And yet they are the very names by which kings and dukes call themselves.
Therefore all things may increase when purposely diminished,
And they may diminish when increased.
What people teach each other, I also teach:
"The violent and strong does not die his natural death,"
I will make that fact the beginning of my teaching.
43
The softest thing under Heaven is able to run in and out of the hardest.
The invisible force is able to penetrate that in which there is no crevice.
Thereby I come to know the advantage of doing nothing.
The instructiveness of not speaking and the benefits of nonaction are incomparable under Heaven.
44
Which is more dear to me, credit or life?
Which is more valuable, life or wealth?
Which is more harmful, gain or loss?
Therefore the excessive stint must cause enormous expenses,
The rich hoard must suffer a serious loss.
Whoever is contented will meet no disgrace,
Whoever knows when and where to stop will meet no danger,
And he is able to endure long without worry.
45
What is most perfect seems to be incomplete,
But its utility cannot be impaired.
What is most full seems to be empty,
But its utility cannot be exhausted.
The most straight seems to be crooked,
The greatest skill seems to be clumsy,
The greatest eloquence seems to stammer.
Rapid walking overcomes cold,
Being quiet overcomes heat.
By remaining quiet and tranquil, one will be the chief under Heaven.
46
When state politics are on the right track, war horses are used in farming.
When state politics are off track, even mares with foal have to be used in battle.
There is no calamity greater than discontentment.
There is no guilt greater than covetousness.
Therefore the contentment with knowing contentment is always contented.
47
Without going out of the door, one can now things under Heaven.
Without looking through the window, one can see the Way (Tao) of Heaven.
The farther one goes, the less one knows.
Therefore the sage knows without going through,
Understands without seeing,
And accomplishes without doing anything.
48
The pursuit of learning is to increase (knowledge) day after day.
The pursuit of Tao is to decrease (knowledge) day after day.
Decreasing and decreasing again, till one has reached nonaction (wu-wei).
Nonaction and yet there is nothing that is not done by it.
To govern all under Heaven one usually should not take any arbitrary action.
If one tends to do anything arbitrarily,
One is not qualified to govern all under Heaven.
49
The sage has no fixed personal will,
He regards the people's will as his own.
I take the people's will, if it is good, as good.
I take the people's will, if it is not good, as good too.
Thus goodness is attained.
I believe the people's will, if it is believable.
I also believe the people's will, even if it is unbelievable.
Thus faith is attained.
The sage dwells under Heaven, harmoniously keeping all the people under Heaven in confusion,
(While all the people concentrate upon their own eyes and ears),
Thus the sage treats them all as ignorant infants without desires.
50
When one is born, he will eventually naturally meet his death.
Three out of every ten people will enjoy long life,
While three out of every ten people will meet premature death.
Chances that one strives to live and will die are also three out of ten.
And for what reason?
Because that one intensively craves life (and contrarily he fails to attain his objective).
I heard that one who is good at preserving his life is not afraid of meeting tigers or rhinoceroses when traveling on the land, and he will not be injured of killed in fighting battles.
(To those who are good at preserving their lives)
The rhinoceros cannot butt its horns against him,
The tiger cannot fasten its claws in him,
And weapons cannot thrust their blades into him.
For what reason are all these?
Because he is out of the range of death.
51
Tao begets all beings,
And De fosters them.
The physical gives them forms,
And the vessels mark them accomplished.
Therefore all beings without exception venerate Tao and value De.
The veneration of Tao and valuing De, is not out of obedience to any orders, but is always like this.
Therefore Tao begets all beings,
And De fosters them, grows and raises them, makes them fruitful and mature, breeds them and protects them.
To give birth to them without taking possession of them,
To put them in motion without vaunting this as its merits,
And to be their sovereign without controlling them,
- These are called the profound De.
52
All the things in the world have their origin in something, which is their foundation (mother).
Having grasped the Mother as the foundation of all things, one can know her children as all things.
Having grasped the children as the thing, one must hold to the Mother as the foundation of all things.
Thus one will never encounter danger all his life.
Blocking the vent (of knowledge) and closing the door (of knowledge) can keep one from sickness all his life.
Opening the vent (of knowledge) and completing the enterprise (of knowledge) will make one helpless all his life.
So, perceiving the minute is "sagaciousness,"
Remaining soft and weak is "powerfulness."
Using one's contained light and reverting to one's sagaciousness of knowing the minute,
And thus keeping oneself from disaster, is to become accustomed to the eternal Way.
53
If I have a certain knowledge,
I will go along the highway (Great Tao),
And I will be afraid on nothing but the oblique way.
The highway is very even,
But the people are fond of the shortcut.
(Those who make) the palace very clear and neat, the field uncultivated and weedy, the granary empty and vacant, wearing glorious and coloured clothes, carrying precious and sharp swords, satiated with exquisite food and drink, possessing an abundance of wealth and property, can be called chieftain to robbers.
That is contrary to rationality (Tao).
54
He who is good at building cannot be shaken,
And he who is good at holding can lose nothing.
(According to the principle,) he can enjoy the sacrifice for posterity forever.
His "De" can be pure and true by carrying out the principle in his person;
His "De" can be abundant by carrying it out in his family;
His "De" can lead by carrying it out in the neighbourhood;
His "De" can be powerful by carrying it out in the state;
His "De" can be universal by carrying it out in the kingdom;
So (we should) His "De" can be abundant by carrying it out in his family;
Know a person in the perspective of a person,
Know a family in the perspective of a family,
Know a neighbourhood in the perspective of a neighbourhood,
Know a state in the perspective of a state,
Know the kingdom in the perspective of a kingdom.
How do I know the situation of all the things under Heaven?
By the method mentioned above.
55
The profundity of De contained should be compared to an ignorant infant without desires,
Whom poisonous insects will not sting,
Whom fierce brutes will not seize,
Whom birds of prey will not attack;
Whose bones are weak and whose sinews are soft, but whose grasp is firm;
Who does not yet know about intercourse of male and female but whose virile member may be excited, because it is full of physical essence;
Who cries all day long without its throat becoming hoarse, because it is peaceful and without desires.
To know the peace is called the eternal,
To know the eternal is called wisdom.
The desire for life enjoyment is a disaster,
And to subject physical essence to desire is to boast of powerfulness.
Things begin to become old when they have grown strong, which may be said to be contrary to Tao.
Contrariness to Tao brings death with it very soon.
56
He who knows does not speak,
And he who speaks does not know.
Blocking the vent (of knowledge), closing the door (of knowledge), covering the cutting-edge, going beyond entanglement, containing the light, and mixing with the dust,
- These can be called "the mysterious agreement."
So, (the person with "the mysterious agreement")
Cannot be treated intimately,
Cannot be estranged,
Cannot be given profits,
Cannot be injured,
Cannot be raised to nobility,
And cannot be made humble,
And can therefore be esteemed by all the people under Heaven.
57
A state should be governed in a natural way,
A war should be prosecuted in an unusual way,
And the kingdom should be controlled by doing nothing.
How do I know that it is so?
On the grounds:
In the kingdom the more prohibitive enactments there are, the poorer the people become;
The more weapons the people have, the greater disorder the state and clan fall into;
The more crafts and technics men possess, the more strange contrivances appear;
The more display of statutes there is, the more robbers and thieves there are.
So the sage said:
"I do nothing, then the people submit spontaneously,
I am fond of keeping still, then the people are righteous spontaneously,
I take no trouble, and the people naturally enrich themselves,
I have no desires, then the people naturally remain in primitive simplicity."
58
When the government is generous, the people will be honest and loyal;
When the government is severe, the people will complain.
O Misery! Happiness lies by its side;
O Happiness! Misery lurks beneath it.
Who knows the destination?
There is no master indeed.
The normal can at anytime become the abnormal,
The good can at anytime become the evil.
The delusion of the people (on this point) has persisted for a long time.
Therefore the sages is right as a square, but not stiff, has edges, but cuts nobody.
He is straightforward, but not aggressive, bright, but not dazzling.
59
For the rule of the people and the service of Heaven, there is nothing better than the principle of "parsimony."
Only by "parsimony" can one be unhurried and get ready early.
Being unhurried and getting ready early is what I call the repeated accumulation of the "De" of "parsimony."
With the repeated accumulation of De, one can victoriously overcome any obstacles.
The power which can overcome any obstacles is immeasurable.
With immeasurable power one can govern a state.
Having the foundation of government, one can maintain sovereignty very long.
This is called the Way in which one can plant the roots deep and make the stalks firm and maintain a long life.
60
Governing a great state is like frying a small fish (so frequent disturbance should be avoided).
Applying Tao to the kingdom can render ghosts harmless.
It is not that ghosts cannot function,
But that the function cannot harm men,
It is not that the function cannot harm men,
But that the sage never harms men at all.
So, men and ghosts will not harm each other,
Therefore both (men and ghosts) praise the De of the sage.
61
A great state lies lower (like rivers and seas into which all streams run),
To it all things under Heaven tend,
It considers itself as the female under Heaven.
The female always overcomes the male by stillness, because it is still and lies lower.
Therefore, a great state can, by lowering itself to small states, make the small states rely upon the big states.
Small states can, by lowering themselves to a great state, win trust from it.
Thus a great state sometimes makes small states rely upon it by lowering itself.
And sometimes, small states win the trust from a great state only by lowering themselves.
What the great state desires is to lead the small states,
