taoteching.json.bak1

{
    "Chapter 1": "The Way that can be walked is not the eternal Way.\nThe name that can be named is not the eternal name.\nThe nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth.\nThe named is the mother of all things.\nTherefore:\nFree from desire you see the mystery.\nFull of desire you see the manifestations.\nThese two have the same origin but differ in name.\nThat is the secret,\nThe secret of secrets,\nThe gate to all mysteries.",
    "Chapter 2": "When everyone in the world sees beauty,\nThen ugly exists.\nWhen everyone sees good,\nThen bad exists.\nTherefore:\nWhat is and what is not create each other.\nDifficult and easy complement each other.\nTall and short shape each other.\nHigh and low rest on each other.\nVoice and tone blend with each other.\nFirst and last follow each other.\nSo, the sage acts by doing nothing,\nTeaches without speaking,\nAttends all things without making claim on them,\nWorks for them without making them dependent,\nDemands no honor for his deed.\nBecause he demands no honor,\nHe will never be dishonored.",
    "Chapter 3": "Not praising the deserving\nPrevents envy.\nNot valuing wealth\nPrevents theft.\nNot displaying what's desirable\nPrevents confusion of the senses.\nTherefore:\nThe sage governs by emptying senses and filling bellies,\nCurbing strife and strengthening backs,\nKeeping the people ignorant and without desire,\nMaking the learned afraid to act.\nIf he acts without action, order will prevail.",
    "Chapter 4": "The Way is empty, yet inexhaustible,\nLike an abyss!\nIt seems to be the origin of all things.\nIt dulls the sharpness,\nUnties the knots,\nDims the light,\nBecomes one with the dust.\nDeeply hidden, as if it only might exist.\nI do not know whose child it is.\nIt seems to precede the ancestor of all.",
    "Chapter 5": "Heaven and Earth are not kind.\nThey regard all things as offerings.\nThe sage is not kind.\nHe regards people as offerings.\nIs not the space between Heaven and Earth like a bellows?\nIt is empty, but lacks nothing.\nThe more it moves, the more comes out of it.\nA multitude of words is tiresome,\nUnlike remaining centered.",
    "Chapter 6": "The valley spirit never dies.\nIt is called the mystical female.\nThe entrance to the mystical female\nIs called the root of Heaven and Earth.\nThough gossamer,\nAs if barely existing,\nIt is used but never spent.",
    "Chapter 7": "Heaven is eternal and Earth is lasting.\nHow can they be eternal and lasting?\nBecause they do not live for themselves.\nThat is how they can be eternal.\nTherefore:\nThe sage puts himself last and becomes the first,\nNeglects himself and is preserved.\nIs it not because he is unselfish that he fulfills himself?",
    "Chapter 8": "Supreme good is like water.\nWater greatly benefits all things, without conflict.\nIt flows through places that people loathe.\nThereby it is close to the Way.\nA good dwelling is on the ground.\nA good mind is deep.\nA good gift is kind.\nA good word is sincere.\nA good ruler is just.\nA good worker is able.\nA good deed is timely.\nWhere there is no conflict, there is no fault.",
    "Chapter 9": "Filling all the way to the brim\nIs not as good as halting in time.\nPounding an edge to sharpness\nWill not make it last.\nKeeping plenty of gold and jade in the palace\nMakes no one able to defend it.\nDisplaying riches and titles with pride\nBrings about one's downfall.\nTo retreat after a work well done is Heaven's Way.",
    "Chapter 10": "Can you make your soul embrace the One\nAnd not lose it?\nCan you gather your vital breath\nAnd yet be tender like a newborn baby?\nCan you clean your inner reflection\nAnd keep it spotless?\nCan you care for the people and rule the country\nAnd not be cunning?\nCan you open and close the gate of Heaven\nAnd act like a woman?\nCan you comprehend everything in the four directions\nAnd still do nothing?\nTo give birth to them and nourish them,\nCarry them without taking possession of them,\nCare for them without subduing them,\nRaise them without steering them.\nThat is the greatest virtue.",
    "Chapter 11": "Thirty spokes are joined in the wheel's hub.\nThe hole in the middle makes it useful.\nMold clay into a bowl.\nThe empty space makes it useful.\nCut out doors and windows for the house.\nThe holes make it useful.\nTherefore, the value comes from what is there,\nBut the use comes from what is not there.",
    "Chapter 12": "The five colors blind the eye.\nThe five tones deafen the ear.\nThe five flavors dull the mouth.\nRacing through the field and hunting make the mind wild.\nSearching for precious goods leads astray.\nTherefore, the sage attends to the belly,\nAnd not to what he sees.\nHe rejects the latter and chooses the former.",
    "Chapter 13": "Praise and disgrace cause fear.\nHonor and great distress are like the body.\nWhat does it mean that praise and disgrace cause fear?\nPraise leads to weakness.\nGetting it causes fear, losing it causes fear.\nThis is why praise and disgrace cause fear.\nWhat does it mean that honor and great distress are like \nthe body?\nThe reason for great distress is the body.\nWithout it, what distress could there be?\nTherefore:\nHe who treasures his body as much as the world\nCan care for the world.\nHe who loves his body as much as the world\nCan be entrusted with the world.",
    "Chapter 14": "Look, it cannot be seen,\nSo it is called invisible.\nListen, it cannot be heard,\nSo it is called soundless.\nTouch, it cannot be caught,\nSo it is called elusive.\nThese three cannot be examined,\nSo they unite into one.\nAbove it there is no light,\nBelow it there is no darkness.\nEndlessness beyond description.\nIt returns to non-existence.\nIt is called the shapeless shape,\nThe substance without form.\nIt is called obscurely evasive.\nMeet it and you do not see its beginning,\nFollow it and you do not see its end.\nHold on to the ancient Way to master the present,\nAnd to learn the distant beginning.\nThis is called the unbroken strand of the Way.",
    "Chapter 15": "Ancient masters of excellence had a subtle essence,\nAnd a depth too profound to comprehend.\nBecause they were impossible to comprehend,\nI will try to describe them by their appearance.\nCautious, like crossing a river in the winter.\nWary, as if surrounded by strangers.\nDignified, like a guest.\nYielding, like ice about to melt.\nSimple, like uncarved wood.\nOpen, like a valley.\nObscure, like muddy waters.\nWho can wait in stillness while the mud settles?\nWho can rest until the moment of action?\nHe who holds on to the Way seeks no excess.\nSince he lacks excess,\nHe can grow old in no need to be renewed.",
    "Chapter 16": "Attain utmost emptiness.\nAbide in steadfast stillness.\nAll things arise in unison.\nThereby we see their return.\nAll things flourish,\nAnd each returns to its source.\nReturning to the source is stillness.\nIt is returning to one's fate.\nReturning to one's fate is eternal.\nKnowledge of the eternal is realization.\nNot knowing of the eternal leads to unfortunate errors.\nKnowledge of the eternal is all-embracing.\nTo be all-embracing leads to righteousness,\nWhich is majestic.\nTo be majestic leads to the Heavenly.\nTo be Heavenly leads to the Way.\nThe Way is eternal.\nUntil your last day, you are free from peril.",
    "Chapter 17": "The supreme rulers are hardly known by their subjects.\nThe lesser are loved and praised.\nThe even lesser are feared.\nThe least are despised.\nThose who show no trust will not be trusted.\nThose who are quiet value the words.\nWhen their task is completed, people will say:\nWe did it ourselves.",
    "Chapter 18": "When the great Way is abandoned,\nBenevolence and righteousness arise.\nWhen wisdom and knowledge appear,\nGreat pretense arises.\nWhen family ties are disturbed,\nDevoted children arise.\nWhen people are unsettled,\nLoyal ministers arise.",
    "Chapter 19": "Abandon wisdom, discard knowledge,\nAnd people will benefit a hundredfold.\nAbandon benevolence, discard duty,\nAnd people will return to the family ties.\nAbandon cleverness, discard profit,\nAnd thieves and robbers will disappear.\nThese three, though, are superficial, and not enough.\nLet this be what to rely on:\nBehave simply and hold on to purity.\nLessen selfishness and restrain desires.\nAbandon knowledge and your worries are over.",
    "Chapter 20": "What's the difference between yes and no?\nWhat's the difference between beautiful and ugly?\nMust one dread what others dread?\nOh barbarity! Will it never end?\nOther people are joyous, like on the feast of the ox,\nLike on the way up to the terrace in the spring.\nI alone am inert, giving no sign,\nLike a newborn baby who has not learned to smile.\nI am wearied, as if I lacked a home to go to.\nOther people have more than they need,\nI alone seem wanting.\nI have the mind of a fool,\nUnderstanding nothing.\nThe common people see clearly,\nI alone am held in the dark.\nThe common people are sharp,\nOnly I am clumsy,\nLike drifting on the waves of the sea,\nWithout direction.\nOther people are occupied,\nI alone am unwilling, like the outcast.\nI alone am different from the others,\nBecause I am nourished by the great mother.",
    "Chapter 21": "The greatest virtue is to follow the Way utterly.\nIts nature is utterly vague and evasive.\nHow evasive and vague!\nYet its center has form.\nHow vague and evasive!\nYet its center has substance.\nHow deep and obscure!\nYet its center has essence.\nThis essence is real,\nSo, its center can be trusted.\nFrom now back to antiquity,\nIts name has not been lost.\nThereby, see the origin of all.\nHow do I know it is the origin of all?\nBy this.",
    "Chapter 22": "Hulk to be whole.\nBend to be straight.\nEmpty to be filled.\nWear down to be renewed.\nReduce to gain.\nExcess confuses.\nTherefore, the sage embraces the one,\nAnd is an example to the world.\nHe does not show off, therefore he shines.\nHe does not justify himself, therefore he is revered.\nHe does not boast, therefore he is honored.\nHe does not praise himself, therefore he remains.\nBecause he opposes no one,\nNo one in the world can oppose him.\nThe ancients said:\nHulk to be whole.\nAre these just empty words?\nIndeed, he shall remain whole.",
    "Chapter 23": "To be of few words is natural.\nStrong winds do not last all morning,\nHard rains do not last all day.\nWhat cause them?\nHeaven and Earth.\nIf Heaven and Earth are unable to persist,\nHow could man?\nThose who follow the Way are one with the Way.\nThose who live virtuously are one with virtue.\nThose who deprive themselves are one with deprivation.\nThose who are one with the Way are welcomed by the Way.\nThose who are one with virtue are welcomed by virtue.\nThose who are one with deprivation are deprived of deprivation.\nThose who do not show trust will not be trusted.",
    "Chapter 24": "Those who stand on their toes are not steady.\nThose who take long steps cannot keep the pace.\nThose who show off do not shine.\nThose who are self-righteous are not prominent.\nThose who boast are not respected.\nThose who praise themselves do not prevail.\nTo the Way,\nSuch people are surplus provisions and useless actions.\nThey are rejected by many.\nTherefore:\nThose who follow the Way do not remain with them.",
    "Chapter 25": "There was something that finished chaos,\nBorn before Heaven and Earth.\nSo silent and still!\nSo pure and deep!\nIt stands alone and immutable,\nEver-present and inexhaustible.\nIt can be called the mother of the whole world.\nI do not know its name. I call it the Way.\nFor the lack of better words I call it great.\nGreat means constant flow.\nConstant flow means far-reaching.\nFar-reaching means returning.\nThat is how the Way is great.\nHeaven is great,\nEarth is great,\nAnd the king is also great.\nIn the world there are four greats,\nAnd the king is one of them.\nMan is ruled by Earth.\nEarth is ruled by Heaven.\nHeaven is ruled by the Way.\nThe Way is ruled by itself.",
    "Chapter 26": "Heavy is the root of light.\nStillness is the ruler of haste.\nTherefore:\nAlthough he travels all day,\nThe sage never loses sight of his luggage carts.\nOnly when he rests securely inside the walls,\nHe relaxes his attention.\nWhy would a ruler with ten thousand chariots\nLook lightly on himself or his domain?\nIn lightness the root is lost.\nIn haste the ruler is lost.",
    "Chapter 27": "A good wanderer leaves no trace.\nA good speaker does not stutter.\nA good counter needs no calculator.\nA good door needs no lock,\nStill it can't be opened.\nA good mooring needs no knot,\nStill no one can untie it.\nTherefore the sage takes care of all people,\nForsaking no one.\nHe takes care of all things,\nForsaking nothing.\nThis is called following the light.\nSo, a good person is the bad person's teacher.\nA bad person is the good person's task.\nThe one who does not honor the teacher\nAnd the one who does not honor the task,\nAlthough ever so knowledgeable,\nThey are confused.\nThis is called the subtle essence.",
    "Chapter 28": "Knowing the manly, but clinging to the womanly,\nYou become the valley of the world.\nBeing the valley of the world,\nEternal virtue will never desert you,\nAnd you become like a little child anew.\nKnowing the bright, but clinging to the dark,\nYou become a model to the world.\nBeing a model to the world,\nEternal virtue will never falter in you,\nAnd you return to the boundless.\nKnowing honor, but clinging to disgrace,\nYou become the valley of the world.\nBeing the valley of the world,\nEternal virtue will be full in you,\nAnd you return to the state of uncarved wood.\nWhen the uncarved wood is split,\nIts parts are put to use.\nWhen the sage is put to use,\nHe becomes the head.\nThe best way to carve is not to split.",
    "Chapter 29": "Conquering the world and changing it,\nI do not think it can succeed.\nThe world is a sacred vessel that cannot be changed.\nHe who changes it will destroy it.\nHe who seizes it will lose it.\nSo, among all things,\nSome lead and some follow,\nSome sigh and some pant,\nSome are strong and some are weak,\nSome overcome and some succumb.\nTherefore the sage avoids extremity, excess, and extravagance.",
    "Chapter 30": "Those who advice the ruler on the Way,\nDo not want the world subdued with weapons.\nSuch deeds bring on retaliation.\nThorn bushes grow where armies have camped.\nBattles are followed by years of famine.\nTherefore, good leaders reach solutions,\nAnd then stop.\nThey do not dare to rely on force.\nSolutions without arrogance,\nSolutions without scorn,\nSolutions without pride,\nSolutions without benefit,\nSolutions without domination.\nThings exalted then decay.\nThis is going against the Way.\nWhat goes against the Way meets an early end.",
    "Chapter 31": "Weapons are ominous tools.\nThey are abhorred by all creatures.\nAnyone who follows the Way shuns them.\nIn peaceful times, the noble ruler honors the left side.\nAt war, he honors the right side.\nWeapons are ominous tools.\nThey are not the noble ruler's tools.\nHe only uses them when he can't avoid it.\nPeace and quiet are preferred.\nVictory should not be praised.\nThose who praise victory relish manslaughter.\nThose who relish manslaughter\nCannot reach their goals in the world.\nAt times of joy, the left side is honored.\nAt times of grief, the right side is honored.\nAt battle, the second in command stands to the left,\nAnd the commander in chief to the right.\nThis means they stand as in funerals.\nWhen many people are killed\nThey should be mourned and lamented.\nThose who are victorious in war\nShould follow the rites of funerals.",
    "Chapter 32": "The Way is ever nameless.\nThough simple and subtle,\nThe world cannot lead it.\nIf princes and kings could follow it,\nAll things would by themselves abide,\nHeaven and Earth would unite\nAnd sweet dew would fall.\nPeople would by themselves find harmony,\nWithout being commanded.\nAs soon as rules were made, names were given.\nThere are already many names.\nOne must know when it is enough.\nThose who know when it is enough will not perish.\nWhat the Way is to the world,\nThe stream is to the river and the sea.",
    "Chapter 33": "Those who understand others are clever,\nThose who understand themselves are wise.\nThose who defeat others are strong,\nThose who defeat themselves are mighty.\nThose who know when they have enough are rich.\nThose who are unswerving have resolve.\nThose who stay where they are will endure.\nThose who die without being forgotten get longevity.",
    "Chapter 34": "The great Way is all-pervading.\nIt reaches to the left and to the right.\nAll things depend on it with their existence.\nStill it demands no obedience.\nIt demands no honor for what it accomplishes.\nIt clothes and feeds all things without ruling them.\nIt is eternally without desire.\nSo, it can be called small.\nAll things return to it,\nAlthough it does not make itself their ruler.\nSo, it can be called great.\nTherefore, the sage does not strive to be great.\nThereby he can accomplish the great.",
    "Chapter 35": "Hold on to the great image,\nAnd the whole world follows,\nFollows unharmed,\nContent and completely at peace.\nMusic and food make the traveler halt.\nBut words spoken about the Way have no taste.\nWhen looked at, there's not enough to see.\nWhen listened to, there's not enough to hear.\nWhen used, it is never exhausted.",
    "Chapter 36": "What should be shrunken must first be stretched.\nWhat should be weakened must first be strengthened.\nWhat should be abolished must first be cherished.\nWhat should be deprived must first be enriched.\nThis is called understanding the hidden.\nThe soft and weak overcome the hard and strong.\nThe fish cannot leave the deep waters.\nThe state's weaponry should not be displayed.",
    "Chapter 37": "The Way is ever without action,\nYet nothing is left undone.\nIf princes and kings can abide by this,\nAll things will form themselves.\nIf they form themselves and desires arise,\nI subdue them with nameless simplicity.\nNameless simplicity will indeed free them from desires.\nWithout desire there is stillness,\nAnd the world settles by itself.",
    "Chapter 38": "The highest virtue is not virtuous.\nTherefore it has virtue.\nThe lowest virtue holds on to virtue.\nTherefore it has no virtue.\nThe highest virtue does nothing.\nYet, nothing needs to be done.\nThe lowest virtue does everything.\nYet, much remains to be done.\nThe highest benevolence acts without purpose.\nThe highest righteousness acts with purpose.\nThe highest ritual acts, but since no one cares,\nIt raises its arms and uses force.\nTherefore, when the Way is lost there is virtue.\nWhen virtue is lost there is benevolence.\nWhen benevolence is lost there is righteousness.\nWhen righteousness is lost there are rituals.\nRituals are the end of fidelity and honesty,\nAnd the beginning of confusion.\nKnowing the future is the flower of the Way,\nAnd the beginning of folly.\nTherefore,\nThe truly great ones rely on substance,\nAnd not on surface,\nHold on to the fruit,\nAnd not to the flower.\nThey reject the latter and receive the former.",
    "Chapter 39": "These things of old obtained unity with the one.\nHeaven obtained unity and became clear.\nEarth obtained unity and became firm.\nThe spirits obtained unity and became deities.\nThe valleys obtained unity and became abundant.\nAll things obtained unity and became animate.\nPrinces and kings obtained unity and became rulers of \nthe world.\nThey all obtained unity with the one.\nIf Heaven were not clear it might rend.\nIf Earth were not firm it might crumble.\nIf the spirits were not deities they might wither.\nIf the valleys were not abundant they might dry up.\nIf all things were not animate they might perish.\nIf princes and kings were not exalted they might be overthrown.\nTherefore:\nThe noble must make humility his root.\nThe high must make the low its base.\nThat is why princes and kings call themselves \norphaned, desolate, unworthy.\nIs that not to make humility their root?\nThe separate parts make no carriage.\nSo, do not strive for the shine of jade,\nBut clatter like stone.",
    "Chapter 40": "Returning is the movement of the Way.\nYielding is the manner of the Way.\nAll things in the world are born out of being.\nBeing is born out of non-being.",
    "Chapter 41": "The superior student listens to the Way\nAnd follows it closely.\nThe average student listens to the Way\nAnd follows some and some not.\nThe lesser student listens to the Way\nAnd laughs out loud.\nIf there were no laughter it would not be the Way.\nSo, it has been said:\nThe light of the Way seems dim.\nThe progress of the Way seems retreating.\nThe straightness of the Way seems curved.\nThe highest virtue seems as low as a valley.\nThe purest white seems stained.\nThe grandest virtue seems deficient.\nThe sturdiest virtue seems fragile.\nThe most fundamental seems fickle.\nThe perfect square lacks corners.\nThe greatest vessel takes long to complete.\nThe highest tone is hard to hear.\nThe great image lacks shape.\nThe Way is hidden and nameless.\nStill only the Way nourishes and completes.",
    "Chapter 42": "The Way gave birth to one.\nOne gave birth to two.\nTwo gave birth to three.\nThree gave birth to all things.\nAll things carry yin and embrace yang.\nThey reach harmony by blending with the vital breath.\nWhat people loathe the most\nIs to be orphaned, desolate, unworthy.\nBut this is what princes and kings call themselves.\nSometimes gain comes from losing,\nAnd sometimes loss comes from gaining.\nWhat others have taught, I also teach:\nThe forceful and violent will not die from natural causes.\nThis will be my chief doctrine.",
    "Chapter 43": "The softest in the world\nSurpasses the hardest in the world.\nWhat has no substance\nCan penetrate what has no opening.\nThereby I know the value of non-action.\nThe value of teaching without words\nAnd accomplishing without action\nIs understood by few in the world.",
    "Chapter 44": "Your name or your body,\nWhat is dearer?\nYour body or your wealth,\nWhat is worthier?\nGain or loss,\nWhat is worse?\nGreed is costly.\nAssembled fortunes are lost.\nThose who are content suffer no disgrace.\nThose who know when to halt are unharmed.\nThey last long.",
    "Chapter 45": "The most complete seems lacking.\nYet in use it is not exhausted.\nThe most abundant seems empty.\nYet in use it is not drained.\nThe most straight seems curved.\nThe most able seems clumsy.\nThe most eloquent seems to stutter.\nMovement overcomes cold.\nStillness overcomes heat.\nPeace and quiet govern the world.",
    "Chapter 46": "When the Way governs the world,\nThe proud stallions drag dung carriages.\nWhen the Way is lost to the world,\nWar horses are bred outside the city.\nThere is no greater crime than desire.\nThere is no greater disaster than discontent.\nThere is no greater misfortune than greed.\nTherefore:\nTo have enough of enough is always enough.",
    "Chapter 47": "Without stepping out the door,\nYou can know the world.\nWithout looking through the window,\nYou can see Heaven's Way.\nThe longer you travel, the less you know.\nTherefore:\nThe sage knows without traveling,\nPerceives without looking,\nCompletes without acting.",
    "Chapter 48": "Those who seek knowledge,\nCollect something every day.\nThose who seek the Way,\nLet go of something every day.\nThey let go and let go,\nUntil reaching no action.\nWhen nothing is done,\nNothing is left undone.\nNever take over the world to tamper with it.\nThose who want to tamper with it\nAre not fit to take over the world.",
    "Chapter 49": "The sage has no concern for himself,\nBut makes the concerns of others his own.\nHe is good to those who are good.\nHe is also good to those who are not good.\nThat is the virtue of good.\nHe is faithful to people who are faithful.\nHe is also faithful to people who are not faithful.\nThat is the virtue of faithfulness.\nThe sage is one with the world,\nAnd lives in harmony with it.\nPeople turn their eyes and ears to him,\nAnd the sage cares for them like his own children.",
    "Chapter 50": "We go from birth to death.\nThree out of ten follow life.\nThree out of ten follow death.\nPeople who rush from birth to death\nAre also three out of ten.\nWhy is that so?\nBecause they want to make too much of life.\nI have heard that the one who knows how to live\nCan wander through the land\nWithout encountering the rhinoceros or the tiger.\nHe passes the battlefield\nWithout being struck by weapons.\nIn him, the rhinoceros finds no opening for its horn.\nThe tiger finds no opening for its claws.\nThe soldiers find no opening for their blades.\nWhy is that so?\nDeath has no place in him.",
    "Chapter 51": "The Way gives birth to them.\nVirtue gives them nourishment.\nMatter gives them shape.\nConditions make them whole.\nTherefore:\nOf all things,\nNone does not revere the Way and honor virtue.\nReverence of the Way and honoring virtue\nWere not demanded of them,\nBut it is in their nature.\nSo, the Way gives birth to them,\nNourishes them,\nRaises them,\nNurtures them,\nProtects them,\nMatures them,\nTakes care of them.\nIt gives birth without seizing,\nHelps without claim,\nFosters without ruling.\nThis is called the profound virtue.",
    "Chapter 52": "The world's beginning is its mother.\nTo have found the mother\nIs also to know the children.\nAlthough you know the children,\nCling to the mother.\nUntil your last day you will not be harmed.\nSeal the openings, shut the doors,\nAnd until your last day you will not be exhausted.\nWiden the openings, interfere,\nAnd until your last day you will not be safe.\nSeeing the small is called clarity.\nHolding on to the weak is called strength.\nUse the light to return to clarity.\nThen you will not cause yourself misery.\nThis is called following the eternal.",
    "Chapter 53": "If I have just an ounce of sense,\nI follow the great Way,\nAnd fear only to stray from it.\nThe great Way is very straight,\nBut people prefer to deviate.\nWhen the palace is magnificent,\nThe fields are filled with weeds,\nAnd the granaries are empty.\nSome have lavish garments,\nCarry sharp swords,\nAnd feast on food and drink.\nThey possess more than they can spend.\nThis is called the vanity of robbers.\nIt is certainly not the Way.",
    "Chapter 54": "What is well planted will not be uprooted.\nWhat is well held will not escape.\nChildren and grandchildren will not cease to praise it.\nCultivate virtue in yourself,\nAnd it will be true.\nCultivate virtue in the family,\nAnd it will be overflowing.\nCultivate virtue in the town,\nAnd it will be lasting.\nCultivate virtue in the country,\nAnd it will be abundant.\nCultivate virtue in the world,\nAnd it will be universal.\nTherefore:\nSee others as yourself.\nSee families as your family.\nSee towns as your town.\nSee countries as your country.\nSee worlds as your world.\nHow do I know that the world is such?\nBy this.",
    "Chapter 55": "The one who is filled by virtue is like a newborn baby.\nWasps, scorpions, and serpents will not sting him.\nBirds of prey and wild beasts will not strike him.\nHis bones are soft, his muscles weak,\nBut his grasp is firm.\nHe has not experienced the union of man and woman,\nStill his penis rises.\nHis manhood is at its very height.\nHe can shout all day without getting hoarse.\nHis harmony is at its very height.\nHarmony is called the eternal.\nKnowing the eternal is called clarity.\nFilling life exceedingly is called ominous.\nLetting the mind control the vital breath is called force.\nThings exalted then decay.\nThis is going against the Way.\nWhat goes against the Way meets an early end.",
    "Chapter 56": "Those who know it do not speak about it.\nThose who speak about it do not know it.\nSeal the openings.\nShut the doors.\nDull the sharpness.\nUntie the knots.\nDim the light.\nBecome one with the dust.\nThis is called the profound union.\nThose who obtain it\nCan neither be seduced nor abandoned.\nThose who obtain it\nCan neither be favored nor neglected.\nThose who obtain it\nCan neither be honored nor humiliated.\nTherefore, they are the most esteemed in the world.",
    "Chapter 57": "Use justice to rule a country.\nUse surprise to wage war.\nUse non-action to govern the world.\nHow do I know it is so?\nAs for the world,\nThe more restrictions and prohibitions there are,\nThe poorer the people will be.\nThe more sharp weapons people have in a country,\nThe bigger the disorder will be.\nThe more clever and cunning people are,\nThe stranger the events will be.\nThe more laws and commands there are,\nThe more thieves and robbers there will be.\nTherefore the sage says:\nI do not act,\nAnd people become reformed by themselves.\nI am at peace,\nAnd people become fair by themselves.\nI do not interfere,\nAnd people become rich by themselves.\nI have no desire to desire,\nAnd people become like the uncarved wood by themselves.",
    "Chapter 58": "When the government is quite unobtrusive,\nPeople are indeed pure.\nWhen the government is quite prying,\nPeople are indeed conniving.\nMisery is what happiness rests upon.\nHappiness is what misery lurks beneath.\nWho knows where it ends?\nIs there nothing correct?\nCorrect becomes defect.\nGood becomes ominous.\nPeople's delusions have certainly lasted long.\nTherefore the sage is sharp but does not cut,\nPointed but does not pierce,\nForthright but does not offend,\nBright but does not dazzle.",
    "Chapter 59": "When leading people and serving Heaven,\nNothing exceeds moderation.\nTruly, moderation means prevention.\nPrevention means achieving much virtue.\nWhen much virtue is achieved,\nNothing is not overcome.\nNothing not overcome means\nNobody knows the limits.\nWhen nobody knows the limits,\nOne can rule the country.\nThe one who rules like the mother lasts long.\nThis is called deep roots and a solid base,\nthe Way to long life and clarity.",
    "Chapter 60": "Ruling a great country is like cooking a small fish.\nWhen the world is ruled according to the Way,\nThe ghosts lose their power.\nThe ghosts do not really lose their power,\nBut it is not used to harm people.\nNot only will their power not harm people,\nNor will the sage harm people.\nSince neither of them causes harm,\nUnified virtue is restored.",
    "Chapter 61": "A great country is like the lower outlet of a river.\nIt is the world's meeting ground, the world's female.\nThe female always surpasses the male with stillness.\nIn her stillness she is yielding.\nTherefore:\nIf a great country yields to a small country,\nIt will conquer the small country.\nIf a small country yields to a great country,\nIt will be conquered by the great country.\nSo, some who yield become conquerors,\nAnd some who yield get conquered.\nA great country needs more people to serve it.\nA small country needs more people to serve.\nSo, if both shall get what they need,\nThe great country ought to yield.",
    "Chapter 62": "The Way is the source of all things,\nGood people's treasure and bad people's refuge.\nFine words are traded.\nNoble deeds gain respect.\nBut people who are not good,\nWhy abandon them?\nSo, when the emperor is crowned\nOr the three dukes are appointed,\nRather than sending a gift of jade\nCarried by four horses,\nRemain still and offer the Way.\nWhy did the ancients praise the Way?\nDid they not say it was because you find what you seek\nAnd are saved from your wrongdoings?\nThat is why the world praises it.",
    "Chapter 63": "Act without action.\nPursue without interfering.\nTaste the tasteless.\nMake the small big and the few many.\nReturn animosity with virtue.\nMeet the difficult while it is easy.\nMeet the big while it is small.\nThe most difficult in the world\nMust be easy in its beginning.\nThe biggest in the world\nIs small in its beginning.\nSo, the sage never strives for greatness,\nAnd can therefore accomplish greatness.\nLightly given promises\nMust meet with little trust.\nTaking things lightly\nMust lead to big difficulties.\nSo, the sage regards things as difficult,\nAnd thereby avoids difficulty.",
    "Chapter 64": "Stillness is easy to maintain.\nWhat has not yet emerged is easy to prevent.\nThe brittle is easy to shatter.\nThe small is easy to scatter.\nSolve it before it happens.\nOrder it before chaos emerges.\nA tree as wide as a man's embrace\nGrows from a tiny shoot.\nA tower of nine stories\nStarts with a pile of dirt.\nA climb of eight hundred feet\nStarts where the foot stands.\nThose who act will fail.\nThose who seize will lose.\nSo, the sage does not act and therefore does not fail,\nDoes not seize and therefore does not lose.\nPeople fail at the threshold of success.\nBe as cautious at the end as at the beginning.\nThen there will be no failure.\nTherefore the sage desires no desire,\nDoes not value rare treasures,\nLearns without learning,\nRecovers what people have left behind.\nHe wants all things to follow their own nature,\nBut dares not act.",
    "Chapter 65": "In ancient times,\nThose who followed the Way\nDid not try to give people knowledge thereof,\nBut kept them ignorant.\nPeople are difficult to rule\nBecause of their knowledge.\nTo rule by knowledge ravages the country.\nTo rule not by knowledge blesses the country.\nTo understand these two is to have precept.\nTo always have precept is called profound virtue.\nProfound virtue is indeed deep and wide.\nIt leads all things back to the great order.",
    "Chapter 66": "The river and the sea can be kings of a hundred valleys,\nBecause they lie below them.\nThat is why they can be the kings of a hundred valleys.\nTherefore:\nIf the sage wants to stand above people,\nHe must speak to them from below.\nIf he wants to lead people,\nHe must follow them from behind.\nTherefore:\nWhen the sage stands above people,\nThey are not oppressed.\nWhen he leads people,\nThey are not obstructed.\nThe world will exalt him\nAnd not grow tired of him.\nBecause he does not resist,\nNone in the world resists him.",
    "Chapter 67": "The whole world says that my Way is great like nothing else.\nIt is great because it is like nothing else.\nIf it were like everything else,\nIt would long ago have become insignificant.\nI have three treasures that I cherish.\nThe first is compassion.\nThe second is moderation.\nThe third is not claiming to be first in the world.\nBy compassion one can be brave.\nBy moderation one can be generous.\nBy not claiming to be first in the world one can rule.\nBut to be brave without compassion,\nGenerous without moderation,\nAnd rule without refraining from being first in the world\nAre certain deaths.\nSo, those who have compassion when they do battle\nWill be victorious.\nThose who likewise defend themselves\nWill be safe.\nHeaven will rescue and protect them with compassion.",
    "Chapter 68": "Excellent warriors are not violent.\nExcellent soldiers are not furious.\nExcellent conquerors do not engage.\nExcellent leaders of people lower themselves.\nThis is called the virtue of no strife.\nThis is called the use of people's capacity.\nThis is called the union with Heaven.\nIt is the perfection of the ancients.",
    "Chapter 69": "Warriors say:\nI dare not be like the host,\nBut would rather be like the guest.\nI dare not advance an inch,\nBut would rather retreat a foot.\nThis is called marching without marching,\nGrabbing without arms,\nCharging without enemy,\nSeizing without weapons.\nNo misfortune is worse\nThan underestimating the enemy.\nUnderestimating the enemy,\nI risk losing my treasure.\nTherefore:\nWhen equal armies battle,\nThe grieving one will be victorious.",
    "Chapter 70": "My words are very easy to understand\nAnd very easy to practice.\nStill, no one in the world\nCan understand or practice them.\nMy words have an origin.\nMy deeds have a sovereign.\nTruly, because people do not understand this,\nThey do not understand me.\nThat so few understand me is why I am treasured.\nTherefore, the sage wears coarse clothes, concealing jade.",
    "Chapter 71": "Knowing that you do not know is the best.\nNot knowing that you do not know is an illness.\nTruly, only those who see illness as illness\nCan avoid illness.\nThe sage is not ill,\nBecause he sees illness as illness.\nTherefore he is not ill.",
    "Chapter 72": "When people do not dread authorities,\nThen a greater dread descends.\nDo not crowd their dwellings.\nDo not make them weary at their work.\nIf you do not make them weary,\nThey will not be weary of you.\nTherefore, the sage knows himself,\nBut does not parade.\nHe cherishes himself,\nBut does not praise himself.\nHe discards the one,\nAnd chooses the other.",
    "Chapter 73": "Those who have the courage to dare will perish.\nThose who have the courage not to dare will live.\nOf those two, one is beneficial and one is harmful.\nWhat Heaven detests, who knows why?\nEven the sage considers it difficult.\nHeaven's Way does not contend,\nYet it certainly triumphs.\nIt does not speak,\nYet it certainly answers.\nIt does not summon,\nYet things come by themselves.\nIt seems to be at rest,\nYet it certainly has a plan.\nHeaven's net is very vast.\nIt is sparsely meshed, yet nothing slips through.",
    "Chapter 74": "If people are not afraid of dying,\nWhy threaten them with death?\nIf people live in constant fear of death,\nAnd if breaking the law is punished by death,\nThen who would dare?\nThere is one appointed supreme executioner.\nTruly, trying to take the place of the supreme executioner\nIs like trying to carve wood like a master carpenter.\nOf those who try to carve wood like a master carpenter,\nThere are few who do not injure their hands.",
    "Chapter 75": "People starve.\nThe rulers consume too much with their taxes.\nThat is why people starve.\nPeople are hard to govern.\nThe rulers interfere with too much.\nThat is why people are hard to govern.\nPeople take death lightly.\nThey expect too much of life.\nThat is why people take death lightly.\nTruly, only acting without thought of one's life\nIs superior to valuing one's life.",
    "Chapter 76": "People are born soft and weak.\nThey die hard and stiff.\nAll things such as grass and trees\nAre soft and supple in life.\nAt their death they are withered and dry.\nSo, the hard and stiff are death's companions.\nThe soft and weak are life's companions.\nTherefore:\nThe unyielding army will not win.\nThe rigid tree will be felled.\nThe rigid and big belong below.\nThe soft and weak belong above.",
    "Chapter 77": "Heaven's Way is like stretching a bow.\nThe high is lowered and the low is raised.\nExcess is reduced and deficiency is replenished.\nHeaven's Way reduces excess and replenishes deficiency.\nPeople's Way is not so.\nThey reduce the deficient and supply the excessive.\nWho has excess and supplies the world?\nOnly the one who follows the Way.\nTherefore, the sage acts without taking credit.\nHe accomplishes without dwelling on it.\nHe does not want to display his worth.",
    "Chapter 78": "Nothing in the world is softer and weaker than water.\nYet, to attack the hard and strong,\nNothing surpasses it.\nNothing can take its place.\nThe weak overcomes the strong.\nThe soft overcomes the hard.\nEverybody in the world knows this,\nStill nobody makes use of it.\nTherefore the sage says:\nTo bear the country's disgrace\nIs to rule the shrines of soil and grain.\nTo bear the country's misfortunes\nIs to be the king of the world.\nTrue words seem false.",
    "Chapter 79": "When bitter enemies make peace,\nSurely some bitterness remains.\nHow can this be solved?\nTherefore:\nThe sage honors his part of the settlement,\nBut does not exact his due from others.\nThe virtuous carry out the settlement,\nBut those without virtue pursue their claims.\nHeaven's Way gives no favors.\nIt always remains with good people.",
    "Chapter 80": "Let the country be small,\nAnd the inhabitants few.\nAlthough there are weapons\nFor tens and hundreds of soldiers,\nThey will not be used.\nLet people take death seriously,\nAnd not travel far.\nAlthough they have boats and carriages,\nThere's no occasion to use them.\nAlthough they have armor and weapons,\nThere's no occasion to wear them.\nLet people return to making knots on ropes,\nInstead of writing.\nTheir food will be tasty.\nTheir clothes will be comfortable.\nTheir homes will be tranquil.\nThey will rejoice in their daily life.\nThey can see their neighbors.\nRoosters and dogs can be heard from there.\nStill, they will age and die\nWithout visiting one another.",
    "Chapter 81": "True words are not pleasing.\nPleasing words are not true.\nThose who are right do not argue.\nThose who argue are not right.\nThose who know are not learned.\nThose who are learned do not know.\nThe sage does not hoard.\nThe more he does for others,\nThe more he has.\nThe more he thereby gives to others,\nThe ever more he gets.\nHeaven's Way\nIs to benefit and not to harm.\nThe sage's Way\nIs to act and not to contend."
}