Chapter 7

Original Text

天長地久。天地所以能長且久者，以其不自生，故能長生。是以聖人後其身而身先，外其身而身存。非以其無私耶，故能成其私。

Translation

Heaven endures, Earth abides. The reason Heaven and Earth can endure and abide Isis that they do not live for themselves;themselves Therefore— therefore they can live forever. Thus the Sage putsplaces his own personhimself last, yet hisfinds person comeshimself first; Putsregards hishimself own personas outside, yet his personself is preserved. Is it not because he is without self-interest?interest Thereforethat he can truly fulfill what is his self-interest.own?

Word Notes

• 私 — "self-interest": Acting for oneself,oneself; personal gain.

Chapter Explanation

Heaven endures long, Earth lasts far. The reason Heaven and Earth can endure long and last far is that they give life to the myriad beings but do not live for themselves; — therefore they can live forever. For this reason, the Sage putsplaces his own personhimself last in all things, yielding to others — yet his person ends up in front. He putsregards hishimself own personas outside, not contending for power and advantage — yet his personself is preserved. Is it not because he acts without self-interest? By acting without self-interest, he is therefore able to truly fulfill what is his self-interestown.

Discourse

This chapter says that Heaven and Earth were born of the Valley Spirit. The Valley Spirit does not die — no one has seen this. But that Heaven endures — this everyone knows. Since Heaven and Earth can endure, the Valley Spirit can be inferred.

The reason Heaven and Earth can endure is that they give life to the myriad beings but do not live for themselves. Giving life to all things butyet not living for themselves — it seemswould seem they should be immediatelyswiftly extinguished.exhausted. But the underlying principle ofgoverning the space between Heaven and Earth is cyclical. Heaven and Earth give life to the myriad beings, and after the myriad beings have come into existence, their vital energy still returns to Heaven and Earth. Moreover, the myriad beings cannot exist outside of Heaven and Earth. Thus, for Heaven and Earth to give life to the myriad beings is to give life to themselves. If Heaven and Earth did not regard the myriad beings as one body with themselves,themselves and only looked after themselves, they would become merely a single isolated thing — how could that be worthy of being called Heaven and Earth?

The Sage stands alongside Heaven and Earth, and he too treats all under Heaven as one family, all nations as one person. He putsplaces his own personhimself last and putsregards hishimself own personas outside. AndYet through the cycling of Heaven and Earth, what was putplaced last turns around and naturally ends up first.first; Whatwhat iswas putregarded as outside — his personself thereby becomesgrows great beyond all outer limit, enduring through all ages.

Were it otherwise — if one cared only for oneself and scrambled to be first, if one cared only for oneself and scrambled to survive — everyone would seek to destroy such a person. How could he come first? How could he survive?