violence of victory. To desire victory is to desire the death of men;
and to desire that is to fail to propitiate the people.
At feasts, the left hand is the high seat; at funerals, the right. The
second in command of the army leadeth the left wing, the commander-in-
chief, the right wing; it is as if the battle were a rite of mourning!
He that hath slain most men should weep for them most bitterly; sothen
the place of the victor is assigned to him with philosophical propriety.
32
THE WISDOM OF THE
The All-Tao hath no name.
It is That Minute Point yet the whole world dare not contend
against him that hath it. Did a lord or king gain it and guard it,all
men would obey him of their own accord.
Heaven and Earth combining under its spell, shed forth dew, extending
throughout all things of its own accord, without man's interference.
Tao, in its phase of action, hath a name. Then men can comprehend it;
when they do this, there is no more risk of wrong or ill-success.
As the great rivers and the oceans are to the valley streams, so isthe
Tao to the whole universe.
33
THE DISCRIMINATION (VIVEKA) OF THE
He who understandeth others understandeth Two; but he who understandeth
himself understandeth One. He who conquereth others is strong; buthe
who conquereth himself is stronger yet. Contentment is riches; andcontinuous
action is Will.
He that adapteth himself perfectly to his environment, continueth for
long; he who dieth without dying, liveth for ever.
34
THE METHOD OF ATTAINMENT
The Tao is immanent; it extendeth to the right hand as to the left.
All things derive from it their being; it createth them, and all comply
with it. Its work is done, and it proclaimeth it not. It is the
ornament of all things, yet it claimeth not fief of them; there is
nothing so small that it inhabiteth not, and informeth it.
All things return without knowledge of the Cause thereof; there is
nothing so great that it inhabiteth not, and informeth it.
In this manner also may the Sage perform his Works. It is by not
thrusting himself forward that he winneth to his success.
35
THE GOOD WILL OF THE TEH
The whole world is drawn to him that hath the likeness of the Tao.
Men flock unto him, and suffer no ill, but gain repose, find
peace, enjoy all ease.
Sweet sounds and cates lure the traveler from his way. But the Wordof
the Tao; though it appear harsh and insipid, unworthy to hearken orto
behold; hath his use all inexhaustible.
36
THE HIDING OF THE LIGHT
In order to draw breath, first empty the lungs; to weaken another,first
strengthen him; to overthrow another, first exalt him; to despoil
another, first load him with gifts; this is called the Occult Regimen.
The soft conquereth the hard; the weak pulleth down the strong.
The fish that leaveth ocean is lost; the method of government must be
concealed from the people.
37
THE RIGHT USE OF GOVERNMENT
The Tao proceedeth by its own nature, doing nothing; therefore thereis
no doing which it comprehendeth not.
If kings and princes were to govern in this manner, all things would
operate aright by their own motion.
If this transmutation were my object, I should call it Simplicity.
Simplicity hath no name nor purpose; silently and at ease all thingsgo
well.
38
CONCERNING THE THE
Those who possessed perfectly the powers did not manifest them,
and so they preserved them. Those who possessed them imperfectly feared
to lose them, and so lost them.
The former did nothing, nor had need to do. The latter did, and had
need to do.
Those who possessed benevolence exercised it, and had need it; so also
was it with them who possessed justice.
Those who possessed the conventions displayed them; and when men would
not agree, they made ready to fight them.
Thus, when the Tao was lost, the Magick Powers appeared; then, by
successive degradations, came Benevolence, Justice, Convention.
Now convention is the shadow of loyalty and good will, and so the herald
of disorder. Yea, even Understanding is but a Blossom of the Tao, and
foreshadoweth Stupidity.
So then the Tao-Man holdeth to Mass, and avoideth Motion; he is attached
to the Root, not to the flower. He leaveth the one, and cleaveth tothe
other.
39
THE LAW OF THE BEGINNING
These things have possessed the Tao from the beginning: Heaven, clearand
shining; Earth, steady and easy; Spirits, mighty in Magick;
Vehicles, overflowing with Joy; all that hath life; and the rulersof men.
All these derive their essence from the Tao.
Without the Tao, Heaven would dissolve Earth disrupt, Spirits become
impotent; Vehicles empty; living things would perish and rulers lose
their power.
The root of grandeur is humility, and the strength of exaltation inits
base. Thus rulers speak of themselves as 'Fatherless,' 'Virtueless,'
'Unworthy,' proclaiming by this that their Glory is in their shame.So
also the virtue of a Chariot is not any of the parts of a Chariot,if they be
numbered. They do not seek to appear fine like jade, but inconspicuouslike
common stone.
40
OMITTING UTILITY
The Tao proceeds by correlative curves, and its might is in weakness.
All things arose from the Teh, and the Teh budded from the Tao.
41
THE IDENTITY OF THE DIFFERENTIAL
The best students, learning of the Tao, set to work earnestly to practice
the Way. Mediocre students now cherish it, now let it go.
The worst students mock at it. Were it not thus mocked, it were unworthy
to be Tao.
Thus spake the makers of Saws: the Tao at its brightest is obscure.Who
advanceth in that Way, retireth. Its smooth Way is rough. Its summitis
a valley. Its beauty is ugliness. Its wealth is poverty. Its virtue,
vice. Its stability is change. Its form is without form. Its fullness
is vacancy. Its utterance is silence. Its reality is illusion.
Nameless and imperceptible is the Tao; but it informeth and perfecteth
all things.
42
THE VEILS OF THE TAO
The Tao formulated the One. The One exhaled the Two.
The Two were parents of the Three. The Three were parents of all things.
All things pass from Obscurity to Manifestation, inspired harmoniouslyby
the Breath of the Void.
Men do not like to be fatherless, virtueless, unworthy: yet rulers
describe themselves by these names. Thus increase bringeth decreaseto
some, and decrease bringeth increase to others.
Others have taught thus; I consent to it. Violent men and strong dienot
by natural death. This fact is the foundation of my law.
43
THE COSMIC METHOD
The softest substance hunteth down the hardest; the unsubstantial
penetrateth where there is no opening. Here is the Virtue of Inertia.
Few are they who attain: whose speech is Silence, whose Work is Inertia.
44
MONITORIAL
What shall it profit a man if he gain fame or wealth, and lose hislife?
If a man cling to fame or wealth, he risketh what is worth more.
Be content, not fearing disgrace. Act not, and risk not criticism. Thus
live thou long, without alarm.
45
THE OVERFLOWING OF THE
Despise thy masterpieces; thus renew the vigor of thy creation.
Deem thy fullness emptiness; thus shall thy fullness never be empty.
Let the straight appear crooked to thee, thy Craft clumsiness; thyMusick
discord.
Exercise moderateth cold; stillness heat. To be pure and to keep
silence, is the True Law of all that are beneath Heaven.
46
THE WITHDRAWAL FROM AMBITION
When the Tao beareth away on Earth, men put swift horses to night-carts.
When it is neglected, they breed chargers in the border marches.
There is no evil worse than ambition; no misery worse than discontent;no
crime greater than greed. Content of mind is peace and satisfaction
eternal.
47
THE VISION OF THE DISTANT
One need not pass his threshold to comprehend all that is under Heaven,
nor to look out from his lattice to behold the Tao Celestial. Nay!but
the farther a man goeth, the less he knoweth.
The sages acquired their knowledge without travel; they named all things
aright without beholding them; and, acting without aim, fulfilled their
Wills.
48
OBLIVION OVERCOMING KNOWLEDGE
The scholar seeketh daily increase of knowing; the sage of Tao daily
decrease of doing.
He decreaseth it, again and again, until he doth no act with the lustof
result. Having attained this Inertia all accomplisheth itself.
He who attracteth to himself all that is under Heaven doth so without
effort. He who maketh effort is not able to attract it.
49
49.THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE THE
The wise man hath no fixed principle; he adapteth his mind to his
environment.
To the good I am good, and to the evil I am good also; thus all become
good. To the true I am true, and to the false I am true; thus all become
true.
The sage appeareth hesitating to the world, because his mind is detached.
Therefore the people look and listen to him, as his children; and thus
doth he shepherd them.
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50
THE ESTIMATION OF LIFE
Man cometh into life, and returneth again into death.
Three men in ten conserve life; three men in ten pursue death.
Three men also in ten desire to live, but their acts hasten their journey
to the house of death. Why is this? Because of their efforts to
preserve life.
But this I have heard. He that is wise in the economy of his life,
whereof he is warden for a season, journeyeth with no need to avoidthe
tiger or the rhinoceros, and goeth uncorsleted among the warriors withno
fear of sword or lance. The rhinoceros findeth in him no place vulnerable
to its horn, the tiger to its claws, the weapon to its point. Why is
this? Because there is no house of death in his whole body. {56}
51
THE TEH AS THE NURSE
All things proceed from the Tao, and are sustained by its forth-flowing
virtue. Every one taketh form according to his nature, and is perfect,
each in his particular Way. Therefore, each and every one of them
glorify the Tao, and worship its forth-flowing Virtue.
This glorifying of the Tao, this worship of the Teh, is constantly
spontaneous, and not by appointment of Law.
Thus the Tao buddeth them out, nurtureth them, developeth them,
sustaineth them, perfecteth them, ripeneth them, upholdeth them, and
reabsorbeth them.
It buddeth them forth, and claimeth not lordship over them; it is
overseer of their changes, and boasteth not of his puissance; perfecteth
them, and interfereth not with their Ways; this is called the Mysteryof
its Virtue.
52
THE WITHDRAWAL INTO THE SILENCE
The Tao buddeth forth all things under Heaven; it is the Mother ofall.
Knowing the Mother, we may know her offspring. He that knoweth his
Mother, and abideth in Her nature, remaineth in surety all his days.
With the mouth closed, and the Gates of Breath controlled, he remaineth
at ease all his days. With the mouth open, and the Breath directedto
outward affairs, he hath no surety all his days.
To perceive that Minute Point is True Vision; to maintain the
Soft and Gentle is True Strength.
Employing harmoniously the Light Within so that it
returneth to its Origin, one guardeth even one's body from evil, and
keepeth Silence before all men.
53
THE WITNESS OF GREED
Were I discovered by men, and charged with government, my first wouldbe
lest I should become proud.
The true Path is level and smooth; but men love by-paths.
They adorn their courts, but they neglect their fields, and leave their
storehouses empty. They wear elaborate and embroidered robes; theygird
themselves with sharp swords; they eat and drink with luxury; theyheap
up goods; they are thievish and vainglorious. All this is oppositeto
the Way of Tao.
54
THE WITNESS OF WISDOM
If a man plant according to the Tao it will never be uprooted; if hethus
gather, it will never be lost. His sons and his son's sons, one
following another, shall honour the shrine of their ancestor.
The Tao, applied to oneself, strengtheneth the Body, to the
family, bringeth wealth; to the district, prosperity; to
the state, great fortune. Let it be the Law of the Kingdom, and
all men will increase in virtue.
Thus we observe its effect in every case, as to the person, the family,
the district, the state, and the kingdom.
How do I know that this is thus universal under Heaven?
By experience.
55
THE SPELL OF THE MYSTERY
He that hath the Magick powers of the Tao is like a young child.
Insects will not sting him or beasts or birds of prey attack him.
The young child's bones are tender and its sinews are elastic, but its
grasp is firm. It knoweth nothing of the Union of Man and Woman, yetits
Organ may be excited. This is because of its natural perfection. Itwill
cry all day long without becoming hoarse, because of the harmony ofits
being.
He who understandeth this harmony knoweth the mystery of the Tao, and
becometh a True Sage. All devices for inflaming life, and increasingthe
vital Breath, by mental effort are evil and
factitious.
Things become strong, then age. This is in discord with the Tao, and
what is not at one with the Tao soon cometh to an end.
56
THE EXCELLENCE OF THE MYSTERY
Who knoweth the Tao keepeth Silence; he who babbleth knoweth it not.
Who knoweth it closeth his mouth and controlleth the Gates of his Breath.
He will make his sharpness blunt; he will loosen his complexes; hewill
tone down his brightness to the general obscurity. This is called the
Secret of Harmony.
He cannot be insulted either by familiarity or aversion; he is immuneto
ideas of gain or loss, of honour or disgrace; he is the true man,
