Chapter 34

Original Text

大道泛兮，其可左右。萬物恃之以生而不辭，功成不名有。愛養萬物而不為主。常無慾，可名於小。萬物歸焉而不知主，可名於大。是以聖人終不為大，故能成其大。

Translation

The Great Dao flows and overflows -- it cannot be grasped as left or right. The myriad beings depend on it for life, and it does not refuse; its work is done, yet it claims no credit. It loves and nourishes all things, yet does not act as their master.

Ever without desire -- it might be called small. The myriad beings return to it, yet it does not know itself as master -- it might be called great.

Therefore the Sage never considers himself great, and so is able to achieve his greatness.

Word Notes

• 泛 — "overflowing": Flowing, drifting, never stagnant; implying ubiquity without fixation.

Chapter Explanation

The Great Dao flows and never stagnates. It cannot be grasped by clinging to one side, whether left or right. The myriad beings all depend on Dao to live and grow, and Dao does not refuse them. When the work of bringing beings to life is accomplished, it does not claim merit over beings. It loves and nourishes all things, yet does not act as their master. From the perspective of its being ever without desire — formless, soundless — one might name it "small." After the myriad beings have been born and transformed, they all return to it, and still it does not consider itself their master. From its capacity to receive all things in its emptiness, one might name it "great." For this reason, the Sage never considers himself great — and therefore achieves a greatness that is boundless, extending beyond all limits.

Discourse

From ancient times, all those fond of warfare have relied upon nothing other than two things: cleverness and strength. With cleverness one can size up the enemy with divine precision; with strength one can win a hundred battles out of a hundred. What they covet is nothing other than a rich state and vast territory, lasting forever. All of this has already been demolished in the preceding chapters. This chapter further demolishes the ambition of swallowing others and aggrandizing oneself.

In all the universe, nothing is as great — without exterior boundary — as Dao. Dao gives life to all things and still does not act as their master. That is how it achieves its greatness.

In former times, the sage-rulers of our nation — Tang of Shang, Kings Wen and Wu of Zhou — learned this very method and, from small states, came to possess all under Heaven. Because they loved the people, the people were grateful. Love one person, and that person is grateful. Love all under Heaven, and all under Heaven submits — and one becomes the true king. One does not seek greatness, yet greatness comes of itself.

If one relies not on virtue but on military force: kill a person, and that person bitterly resents it. Kill all under Heaven, and all under Heaven gnashes its teeth — and one becomes a solitary man. Though one desires greatness, one is in truth small.

Our nation's First Emperor of Qin; Europe's Napoleon; and the present-day Kaiser of Germany — all stand as warnings from the past.

Alas! Even Dao, great as it is, having the grace of nurturing all things, still does not presume to call itself their master. How, then, can one think to annihilate other nations' territory and enslave other nations' people? Truly a great delusion beyond comprehension — hastening one's own destruction.

The First Emperor of Qin has already perished. Napoleon has already died. And the present-day Kaiser has already been placed under confinement. May this serve as a warning to all future First Emperors of Qin, all future Napoleons, and all future Kaisers of Germany.