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跂者不立。跨者不行。自見者不明。自是者不彰。自伐者無功。自矜者不長。其在道曰餘食贅行。物或惡之。故有道者不處。 Translation Stand on tiptoe — you cannot hold your ground. Stride too wide — you cannot walk. Display yourself — you will not be luminous. Insist you are right — you will not be distinguished. Boast of yo...

有物渾成。先天地生。寂兮寥兮。獨立而不改。周行而不殆。可以為天下母。吾不知其名。字之曰道。強為之名曰大。大曰逝。逝曰遠。遠曰反。故道大。天大。地大。王亦大。域中有四大。而王居其一焉。人法地。地法天。天法道。道法自然。 Translation Something there is, whole and undivided, born before Heaven and Earth. Silent, boundlessly open — standing alone, it does not change. Movin...

重為輕根，靜為躁君。是以聖人終日行，不離輜重。雖有榮觀，燕處超然。奈何萬乘之主，而以身輕天下。輕則失根，躁則失君。 Translation The heavy is the root of the light; the still is the master of the restless. Thus the Sage travels all day yet never strays from his supply wagon. Though splendid vistas rise before him, he ...

善行無轍跡，善言無瑕謫，善計不用籌策，善閉無關鍵而不可開，善結無繩約而不可解。是以聖人常善救人，故無棄人；常善救物，故無棄物。是謂襲明。故善人不善人之師，不善人善人之資。不貴其師，不愛其資，雖知大迷。是謂要妙。 Translation One skilled in traveling leaves no ruts or tracks; one skilled in speaking leaves no flaw to censure; one skilled in reckoning uses no tallies...

知其雄，守其雌，為天下溪。常德不離，復歸於嬰兒。知其白，守其黑，為天下式。常德不忒，復歸於無極。知其榮，守其辱，為天下谷。常德乃足，復歸於樸。樸散則為器，聖人用之，則為官長。故大制不割。 Translation Know the masculine, yet hold to the feminine — become a stream in the valley for all under Heaven. Constant De never departs; one returns to the innocence...

將欲取天下而為之，吾見其不得已。天下神器，不可為也。為者敗之，執者失之。故物或行或隨，或噓或吸，或強或羸，或載或隳。是以聖人去甚，去奢，去泰。 Alternate editions read: 或挫 for 或載. Translation Whoever would seize all under Heaven and impose upon it — I foresee he shall not succeed. All under Heaven is a sacred vessel: it cannot be ...

以道佐人主者，不以兵強天下。其事好還。師之所處，荊棘生焉。大兵之後，必有凶年。善者果而已，不敢以取強。果而勿矜，果而勿伐，果而勿驕，果而不得已，果而勿強。物壯則老，是謂不道。不道早已。 Translation One who assists the ruler through Dao does not use arms to overpower all under Heaven. Such deeds readily rebound. Where armies have camped, thorns and bra...

夫佳兵者，不祥之器。物或惡之，故有道者不處。君子居則貴左，用兵則貴右。兵者不祥之器，非君子之器。不得已而用之，恬淡為上。勝而不美，而美之者，是樂殺人。夫樂殺人者，不可得志於天下矣。吉事尚左，凶事尚右。偏將軍居左，上將軍居右。言以喪禮處之。殺人眾多，以悲哀泣之。戰勝以喪禮處之。 Translation Now, fine weapons are instruments of ill omen. All beings may despise them; therefore one who holds to the Da...

道無常名。樸雖小，天下不敢臣。侯王若能守，萬物將自賓。天地相合，以降甘露。人莫之令而自均。始制有名，名亦既有，夫亦將知止。知止，所以不始。譬道之在天下，猶川穀之於江海。 Translation Dao has no fixed name. The unhewn wood, though small, none under Heaven dare treat it as a subject. If lords and kings could hold to it, the myriad beings would co...

知人者智，自知者明。勝人者有力，自勝者強。知足者富，強行者有志。不失其所者久，死而不亡者壽。 Translation To know others is cleverness; to know oneself is illumination. To overcome others takes force; to overcome oneself is true strength. To know contentment is wealth; to act with perseverance is resolve. ...

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 turns none away; its work complete, it claims no cr...

執大象，天下往。往而不害，安平泰。樂與餌，過客止。道之出口，淡乎其無味。視之不足見，聽之不足聞，用之不可既。 Translation Hold the Great Image, and all under Heaven will come — coming without harm, in peace, in calm, in sureness. Music and fine food draw the passing traveler to pause. But Dao, when put into words,...

將欲歙之，必固張之。將欲弱之，必固強之。將欲廢之，必固興之。將欲奪之，必固與之。是謂微明。柔勝剛，弱勝強。魚不可脫於淵，邦之利器不可以示人。 Translation What is about to be contracted must first be stretched open. What is about to be weakened must first be strengthened. What is about to be cast aside must first be raised up. Wha...

道常無為而無不為。侯王若能守，萬物將自化。化而欲作，吾將鎮之以無名之樸。無名之樸，亦將不欲。不欲以靜，天下將自正。 Translation Dao abides in constant nonaction, yet nothing is left undone. If lords and kings could hold to this, the myriad beings would transform of themselves. Transformed, should desire stir, I would...

上德不德，是以有德。下德不離德，是以無德。上德無為而無以為，下德為之而有以為。上仁為之而無以為，上義為之而有以為。上禮為之而莫之應，則攘臂而仍之。故離道而後德，失德而後仁，失仁而後義，失義而後禮。夫禮者，忠信之薄，而亂之首也。前識者，道之華，而愚之始也。是以大丈夫處其厚不處其薄，居其實而不居其華。故去彼取此。 Translation Upper De does not regard itself as De — and so it truly possesses De. Lower De never departs...

昔之得一者：天得一以清，地得一以寧，神得一以靈，谷得一以盈，萬物得一以生，侯王得一以為天下貞。其致之一也。天無以清，將恐裂；地無以寧，將恐發；神無以靈，將恐歇；谷無以盈，將恐竭；萬物無以生，將恐滅；侯王無以貞而貴高，將恐蹶。故貴以賤為本，高以下為基。是以侯王自稱孤、寡、不穀。此其以賤為本耶？非乎？故致數輿無輿。不欲碌碌如玉，落落如石。 Translation In ages past, those that attained the One: Heaven attained the One and so was c...

反者道之動，弱者道之用。天下之物生於有，有生於無。 Translation Reversal is how Dao moves; yielding is how Dao works. All things under Heaven are born from being; being is born from nonbeing. Word Notes 反 — "reversal": Going to the opposite; turning back. Contains both "return to the ...

上士聞道，動而行之。中士聞道，若存若亡。下士聞道，大笑之。不笑不足以為道。故建言有之：明道若昧，進道若退，夷道若類；上德若谷，大白若辱，廣德若不足，建德若偷，質直若渝；大方無隅，大器晚成，大音希聲，大象無形；道隱無名。夫惟道，善貸且成。 Translation The high scholar hears of Dao and at once lives it. The middle scholar hears of Dao and half holds on, half lets go. The low scho...