unequalled under Heaven.
57
THE TRUE INFLUENCE
One may govern a state by restriction; weapons may be used with skilland
cunning; but one acquireth true command only by freedom, given andtaken.
How am I aware of this? By experience that to multiply restrictive laws
in the kingdom impoverisheth the people; the use of machines causeth
disorder in state and race alike. The more men use skill and cunning,
the more machines there are; and the more laws there are, the morefelons
there are.
A wise man has said this: I will refrain from doing, and the peoplewill
act rightly of their own accord; I will love Silence, and the peoplewill
instinctively turn to perfection; I will take no measures, and thepeople
will enjoy true wealth; I will restrain ambition, and the people will
attain simplicity.
58
ADAPTATION TO ENVIRONMENT
The government that exerciseth the least care serveth the people best;
that which meddleth with everybody's business worketh all manner ofharm.
Sorrow and joy are bedfellows; who can divine the final result of either?
Shall we avoid restriction? Yea; restriction distorteth nature, so that
even what seemeth good in it is evil. For how long have men suffered
from misunderstanding of this.
The wise man is foursquare, and avoideth aggression; his corners donot
injure others. He moveth in a straight line and turneth not aside therefrom;
he is brilliant but doth not blind with his brightness.
59
WARDING THE TAO
.
To balance our earthly nature and cultivate our heavenly nature, tread
the Middle Path.
This Middle Path alone leadeth to the Timely Return to the True Nature.
This Timely Return resulteth from the constant gathering of Magick
Powers. With that Gathering cometh Control. This Control we know
to be without Limit and he who knoweth the Limitless may rule the state.
He who possesseth the Tao continueth long. He is like a plant with well-
set roots and strong stems. Thus it secureth long continuance of its
life.
60
THE DUTY OF GOVERNMENT
The government of a kingdom is like the cooking of fish.
If the kingdom be ruled according to the Tao, the spirits of our
ancestors will not manifest their Teh. These spirits have this Teh,but
will not turn it against men. It is able to hurt men; so also is the
Wise King; but he doth not.
When these powers are in accord, their Good Will produceth the Teh,
endowing the people therewith.
61
THE MODESTY OF THE THE
A state becometh powerful when it resembleth a great river, deep-seated;
to it tend all the small streams under Heaven.
It is as with the female, that conquereth the male by her Silence.
Silence is a form of Gravity.
Thus a great state attracteth small states by meeting their views, and
small states attract the great state by revering its eminence. In the
first case this Silence gaineth supporters; in the second, favour.
The great state uniteth men and nurtureth them; the small state wisheth
the good will of the great, and offereth service; thus each gainethits
advantage. But the great state must keep Silence.
62
THE WORKINGS OF THE TAO
The Tao is the most exalted of all things. It is the ornament of the
good, and the protection and purification of the evil.
Its words are the fountain of honour, and its deeds the engine of
achievement. It is present even in evil.
Though the Son of Heaven were enthroned with his three Dukes appointedto
serve him, and he were offered a round symbol- of-rank as great asmight
fill the hands, with a team of horses to follow, this gift were notto be
matched against the Tao, which might be offered by the humblest ofmen.
Why did they of old time set such store by the Tao? Because he that
sought it might find it, and because it was the Purification from all
evil. Therefore did all men under Heaven esteem it the most exaltedof
all things.
63
FORETHOUGHT AT THE OUTSET
Act without lust of result; work without anxiety; taste without
attachment to flavour; esteem small things great and few things many;
repel violence with gentleness.
Do great things while they are yet small, hard things while they areyet
easy; for all things, how great or hard soever, have a beginning when
they are little and easy. So thus the wise man accomplisheth the
greatest tasks without undertaking anything important.
Who undertaketh thoughtlessly is certain to fail in attainment; who
estimateth things easy findeth them hard. The wise man consideretheven
easy things hard, so that even hard things are easy to him.
64
ATTENDING TO DETAILS
It is easy to grasp what is not yet in motion, to withstand what isnot
yet manifest, to break what is not yet compact, to disperse what isnot
yet coherent. Act against things before they become visible; attendto
order before disorder ariseth.
The tree which filleth the embrace grew from a small shoot; the tower
nine-storied rose from a low foundation; the ten-day journey beganwith a
single step.
He who acteth worketh harm; he who graspeth findeth it a slip. The wise
man acteth not, so worketh no harm; he doth not grasp, and so dothnot
let go. Men often ruin their affairs on the eve of success, becausethey
are not as prudent at the end as in the beginning.
The wise man willeth what others do not will, and valueth not things
rare. He learneth what others learn not, and gathered up what theydespise.
Thus he is in accord with the natural course of events, and is notoverbold
in action.
65
THE PURITY OF THE THE
They of old time that were skilled in the Tao sought not to enlightenthe
people, but to keep them simple.
The difficulty of government is the vain knowledge of the people. Touse
cleverness in government is to scourge the kingdom; to use simplicityis
to anoint it.
Know these things, and make them thy law and thine example. To possess
this Law is the Secret Perfection of rule. Profound and Extended isthis
Perfection; he that possesseth it is indeed contrary to the rest, buthe
attracteth them to full accordance.
66
PUTTING ONE'S SELF LAST
The oceans and the rivers attract the streams by their skill in being
lower than they; thus are they masters thereof. So the Wise Man, tobe
above men, speaketh lowly; and to precede them acteth with humility.
Thus, though he be above them, they feel no burden; nor, though he
precede them, do they feel insulted.
So then do all men delight to honour him, and grow not weary of him.He
contendeth not against any man; therefore no man is able to contend
against him.
67
THE THREE JEWELS
They say that while this Tao of mine is great, yet it is inferior.This
is the proof of its greatness. If it were like anything else, its
smallness would have long been known.
I have three jewels of price whereto I cleave; gentleness, economy,and
humility.
That gentleness maketh me courageous, that economy generous, that
humility honoured. Men of today abandon gentleness for violence, economy
for extravagance, humility for pride: this is death.
Gentleness bringeth victory in fight; and holdeth its ground with
assurance. Heaven wardeth the gentle man by that same virtue.
68
ASSIMILATING ONE'S SELF TO HEAVEN
He that is skilled in war maketh no fierce gestures; the most efficient
fighter bewareth of anger. He who conquereth refraineth from engagingin
battle; he whom men most willingly obey continueth silently with his
Work. So it is said: 'He is mighty who fighteth not; he ruleth who
uniteth with his subjects; he shineth whose will is that of Heaven.'
69
THE USE OF THE MYSTERIOUS WAY
A great strategist saith: 'I dare not take the offensive. I preferthe
defensive. I dare not advance an inch; I prefer to retreat a foot.'
Place therefore the army where there is no army; prepare for actionwhere
there is no engagement; strike where there is no conflict; advance
against the enemy where the enemy is not.
There is no error so great as to engage in battle without sufficient
force. To do so is to risk losing the gentleness which is beyond price.
Thus when the lines actually engage, he who regretteth the necessityis
the victor.
70
THE DIFFICULTY OF RIGHT APPREHENSION
My words are easy to understand and to perform; but is there anyonein
the world who can understand them and perform them?
My words derive from a creative and universal Principle, in accord with
the One Law. Men, not knowing these, understand me not.
Few are they that understand me; therefore am I the more to be valued.
The Wise Man weareth sack-cloth, but guardeth his jewel in his bosom.
71
THE DISTEMPER OF KNOWLEDGE
To know, yet to know nothing, is the highest; not to know, yet to pretend
to knowledge, is a distemper.
Painful is this distemper; therefore we n it. The wise man hath it
not. Knowing it to be bound up with Sorrow, he putteth it away fromhim.
72
CONCERNING LOVE OF SELF
When men fear not that which is to be feared, that which they fearcometh
upon them.
Let them not live, without thought, the superficial life.
Let them not weary of the Spring of Life!
By avoiding the superficial life, this weariness cometh not upon them.
These things the wise man knoweth, not showeth: he loveth himself,
without isolating his value. He accepteth the former and rejecteth
the latter.
73
ESTABLISHING THE LAW OF FREEDOM
One man, daring, is executed; another, not daring, liveth. It wouldseem
as if the one course were profitable and the other detrimental. Yetwhen
Heaven smiteth a man, who shall assign the cause thereof? Thereforethe
sage is diffident.
The Tao of Heaven contendeth not, yet it overcometh; it is silent, yet
its need is answered; it summoneth none, but all men come to it oftheir
free will. Its method is quietness, yet its will is efficient. Large
are the meshes of Heaven's Net; wide open, yet letting none escape.
74
A RESTRAINT OF MISUNDERSTANDING
The people have no fear of death; why then seek to awe them by thethreat
of death? If the people feared death and I could put to death evil-doers,
who would dare to offend?
There is one appointed to inflict death. He who would usurp that position
resembleth a hewer of wood doing the work of a carpenter. Such an one,
presumptuous, will be sure to cut his own hands.
75
THE INJURY OF GREED
In such a state of insecurity it is better to ignore the question ofliving
than to set store by it.
76
A WARNING AGAINST RIGIDITY
At the birth of man, he is elastic and weak; at his death, rigid and
unyielding. This is the common law; trees also, in their youth, are
tender and supple; in their decay, hard and dry.
So then rigidity and hardness are the stigmata of death; elasticityand
adaptability, of life.
He then who putteth forth strength is not victorious; even as a strong
tree filleth the embrace.
Thus the hard and rigid have the inferior place, the soft and elasticthe
superior.
77
THE WAY OF HEAVEN
The Tao of Heaven is likened to the bending of a bow, whereby the high
part is brought down, and the low part raised up. The extreme is
diminished, and the middle increased.
This is the Way of Heaven, to remove excess, and to supplement
insufficiency. Not so is the way of man, who taketh away from him that
hath not to give to him that hath already excess.
Who can employ his own excess to the weal of all under Heaven? Onlyhe
that possesseth the Tao.
So the Wise Man acteth without lust of result; achieveth and boasteth
not; he willeth not to proclaim his greatness.
78
A CREED
Nothing in the world is more elastic and yielding than water; yet itis
preeminent to dissolve things rigid and resistant; there is nothingwhich
can match it.
All men know that the soft overcometh the hard, and the weak conquereth
the strong; but none are able to use this law in action.
A Wise Man hath said: 'He that taketh on the burden of the state isa
demigod worthy of sacrificial worship; and the true King of a peopleis
he that undertaketh the weight of their sorrows.'
Truth appeareth paradox.
79
TRUTH IN COVENANT
When enemies are reconciled, there is always an aftermath of illwill.
How can this be useful?
Therefore, the Wise Man, while he keepeth his part of the record ofa
transaction, doth not insist on its prompt execution. He who hath the
Teh considereth the situation from all sides, while he who hath itnot
seeketh only to benefit himself.
In the Tao of Heaven, there is no distinction of persons in its love;but
it is for the True Man to claim it.
80
ISOLATION
In a little kingdom of few people it should be the order that though
there were men able to do the work of ten men or five score, they should
not be employed. Though the people regarded death as sorrowful, yetthey
should not wish to go elsewhere.
They should have boats and wagons, yet no necessity to travel; corslets
and weapons, yet no occasion to fight.
For communication they should use knotted cords.
They should deem their food sweet, their clothes beautiful, their houses
homes, their customs delightful.
There should be another state within view, so that its fowls and dogs
should be heard; yet to old age, even to death, the people should holdno
traffic with it.
81
THE SHEWING-FORTH OF SIMPLICITY
True speech is not elegant; elaborate speech is not truth. Those who
know do not argue; the argumentative are without knowledge. Those who
have assimilated are not learned; those who are gross with learninghave
not assimilated.
The Wise Man doth not hoard. The more he giveth, the more he hath; the
