Chapter 51
Original Text
道生之，德畜之，物行之，勢成之。是以萬物莫不尊道而貴德。道之尊，德之貴，夫莫之爵，而常自然。故道生之、畜之，長之、育之，亭之、毒之，養之、覆之。生而不有，為而不恃，長而不宰，是謂玄德。
Translation
Dao givesbrings them to life, De nurturestends them,to Thingstheir keeping,
things set them in motion, momentumand bringscircumstance themcompletes tothem.
completion.
ThusSo among the myriadten thousand beings, none fail
to revere Dao and prizehold De.De precious.
The reverence forDao Dao,commands, the preciousness ofworth De --carries No—
oneno conferstitle rankis conferred upon them,
Yetyet they are always soalways, of themselves.themselves, it is so.
Therefore Dao givesbrings them to life and nurturestends them,to Rearstheir keeping,
rears them and fosters them,
Bringssteadies them to stand and bringstempers themthem,
to ripeness,
Sustainsnourishes them and shelters them.
It gives life yet doeslays notno possess,claim,
Itit acts yet does not presume,lean Itupon its works,
it rears yet does not rule.lord over them.
This is called mysteriousthe far-reaching De.
Word Notes
- 畜 — "to nurture; to rear": also carries the sense of generating life.
- 爵 — "rank; title of nobility": a conferral of position or honors.
- 亭 — "to bring to stand; to establish": the appearance of standing tall and fully formed.
- 毒 — "to bring to ripeness; to temper": subjecting the myriad beings to frost and cold in order to mature them.
Chapter Explanation
All things in the world are generated by Dao. Yet Dao's generation of things cannot be seen. When Dao stirs, it becomes De. De endows the myriad beings with their natures and generates all the various kinds. It further borrows the qi of yin and yang to give them form. Following the natural momentum of things, they grow to completion. For this reason, the myriad beings all revere Dao and prize De. The reverence for Dao, the preciousness of De — no one has ever conferred rank or title upon them, yet naturally, of themselves, they are naturally and of their own accord revered and prized.
Therefore Dao gives life to the myriad beings, and De nurtures them. It further rears and fosters them, brings them to stand and brings them to ripeness, sustains and shelters them. And yet Dao gives life to the myriad beings without regardingclaiming it as its own achievement; it acts to cultivate the myriad beings without relyingleaning onupon its laborsworks; it rears the myriad beings without servinglording asover their masterthem. This is called the most profoundly far-reaching De.
Discourse
The myriad beings are all generated by Dao and nurtured by De. Though human beings are the most sentient ofamong the myriad beings, they areremain stillbut one member amongof them.that company. The life that human beings are born intoreceive and are nourished by is nothing other than Dao and De. Since human beingswe are generated and nourished by Dao and De, theywe need only revere Dao and prizehold De precious — why must theywe valuecling to life alone?
People valuecling to life for no other reason than their wish to be honored in the world. But they do not realize that worldly honor is not truly honorable. What Zhao Meng ennobles, Zhao Meng can debase. How much better to revere Dao and prizehold De,De precious, bestowing De upon others, so that people naturally honor you. And though people honor you, you dolay notno claim creditto it and do not presumelean upon your De, so that peopleno one can neither ennoble you noror debase you. Only then can one be honored forever.