| 第四十一章 同異 |
Chapter 41 The Unreality of Appearance |
| 上士聞道，勤而行之﹔ |
The superior scholar when he considers Dao earnestly practices it; |
| 中士聞道，若存若亡﹔ |
An average scholar listening to Dao sometimes follows it and sometimes loses it; |
| 下士聞道，大笑之。不笑不 足以為道。 |
An inferior scholar listening to Dao ridicules it. Were it not thus ridiculed it could not be regarded as Dao. |
| 故建言有之： |
Therefore the writer says: |
| 明道若昧﹔進道若退﹔夷道若纇﹔ |
Those who are most illumined by Dao are the most obscure. Those advanced in Dao are most retiring. Those best guided by Dao are the least prepossessing. |
| 上德若谷﹔大 白若辱﹔廣德若不足﹔ |
The high in virtue (de [teh]) resemble a lowly valley; the whitest are most likely to be put to shame; the broadest in virtue resemble the inefficient. |
| 建德若偷﹔質真若渝﹔大方無隅﹔ |
The most firmly established in virtue resemble the remiss. The simplest chastity resembles the fickle, the greatest square has no corner, |
| 大器晚成﹔大音 希聲﹔大象無形﹔ |
the largest vessel is never filled. The greatest sound is void of speech, the greatest form has no shape. |
| 道隱無名。夫唯道，善貸且成。 |
Tao is obscure and without name, and yet it is precisely this Dao that alone can give and complete. |
| 第四十二章 道化 |
Chapter 42 The Transformation of Dao |
| 道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物。 |
Tao produces unity; unity produces duality; duality produces trinity; trinity produces all things. |
| 萬物負陰而抱陽，沖氣以為和。人 之所惡， |
All things bear the negative principle (yin) and embrace the positive principle (yang). Immaterial vitality, the third principle (chi), makes them harmonious. |
| 唯孤、寡、不谷，而王公以為稱。故物或損之而益， |
Those things which are detested by the common people, namely to be called orphans, inferiors, and unworthies, are the very things kings and lords take for titles. There are some things which it is a gain to lose, and a loss to gain. |
| 或益之而損 。 |
I am teaching the same things which are taught by others. |
| 人之所教，我亦教之。強梁者不得其死，吾將以為教父。 |
But the strong and aggressive: ones do not obtain a natural death (i.e., self-confident teachers do not succeed). I alone expound the basis of the doctrine of the Dao. |
| 第四十三章 偏用 |
Chapter 43 The Function of the Universal |
| 天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅。 |
The most tender things of creation race over the hardest. |
| 無有入無間。 |
A non-material existence enters into the most impenetrable. |
| 吾是以知無為之有益，不言 之教，無為之益，天下希及之。 |
I therefore recognize an advantage in the doctrine of not doing (wu wei) and not speaking. But there are few in the world who obtain the advantage of non-assertion (wu wei) and silence. |
| 第四十四章 立戒 |
Chapter 44 Precepts |
| 名與身孰親？身與貨孰多？得與亡孰病？ |
Which is nearer, a name or a person? Which is more, personality or treasure? Is it more painful to gain or to suffer loss? |
| 是故甚愛必大費﹔多藏必厚亡。 |
Extreme indulgence certainly greatly wastes. Much hoarding certainly invites severe loss. |
| 故知足不辱，知止不殆，可以長久。 |
A contented person is not despised. One who knows when to stop is not endangered; he will be able therefore to continue. |
| 第四十五章 洪德 |
Chapter 45 The Virtue (de [teh]) of Greatness |
| 大成若缺，其用不弊。大盈若沖，其用不窮。 |
Extreme perfection seems imperfect, its function is not exhausted. Extreme fullness appears empty, its function is not exercised. |
| 大直若屈，大巧若拙，大辯若訥。 |
Extreme straightness appears crooked; great skill, clumsy; great eloquence, stammering. |
| 靜勝躁，寒勝熱。清靜為天下正。 |
Motion conquers cold, quietude conquers heat. Not greatness but purity and clearness are the world’s standard. |
| 第四十六章 儉欲 |
Chapter 46 Limitation of Desire |
| 天下有道，卻走馬以糞。天下無道，戎馬生于郊。禍莫大于不知足﹔ |
When the world yields to Dao, race horses will be used to haul manure. When the world ignores Dao war horses are pastured on the public common. |
| 咎莫 大于欲得。 |
There is no sin greater than desire. There is no misfortune greater than discontent. There is no calamity greater than acquisitiveness. |
| 故知足之足，常足矣。 |
Therefore to know extreme contentment is simply to be content. |
| 第四十七章 鑒遠 |
Chapter 47 Seeing the Distant |
| 不出戶，知天下﹔不窺牖，見天道。其出彌遠，其知彌少。 |
Not going out of the door I have knowledge of the world. Not peeping through the window I perceive heaven’s Dao. The more one wanders to a distance the less he knows. |
| 是以聖人不行而知，不見而明，不為而成。 |
Therefore the wise man does not wander about but he understands, he does not see things but he defines them, he does not labor yet he completes. |
| 第四十八章 忘知 |
Chapter 48 To Forget Knowledge |
| 為學日益，為道日損。損之又損，以至于無為。無為而無不為。 |
He who attends daily to learning increases in learning. He who practices Dao daily diminishes. Again and again he humbles himself. Thus he attains to non-doing (wu wei). He practices non-doing and yet there is nothing left undone. |
| 取天下常以無事，及其有事，不足以取天下。 |
To command the empire one must not employ craft. If one uses craft he is not fit to command the empire. |
| 第四十九章 任德 |
Chapter 49 The Virtue of Trust |
| 聖人常無心，以百姓心為心。善者，吾善之﹔ |
The wise man has no fixed heart; in the hearts of the people he finds his own. |
| 不善者，吾亦善之﹔德善。 信者，吾信之﹔不信者，吾亦信之﹔ |
The good he treats with goodness; the not-good he also treats with goodness, for de [teh] is goodness. The faithful ones he treats with good faith; the unfaithful he also treats with good faith, for de [teh] is good faith. |
| 德信。聖人在天下，歙歙焉，為天下 渾其心，百姓皆注其耳目，聖人皆孩之。 |
The wise man lives in the world but he lives cautiously, dealing with the world cautiously. He universalizes his heart; the people give him their eyes and ears, but he treats them as his children. |
| 第五十章 貴生 |
Chapter 50 Esteem Life |
| 出生入死。 |
Life is a going forth; death is a returning home. |
| 生之徒十有三﹔死之徒十有三。 |
Of ten, three are seeking life, three are seeking death, and three are dying. |
| 人之生，動之于死地，亦十有 三。夫何故？以其生生之厚。 |
What is the reason? Because they live in life’s experience. (Only one is immortal.) |
| 蓋聞善攝生者，路行不遇兕虎，入軍不被甲 兵。兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃。夫何故？以其無死地 。 。 |
I hear it said that the sage when he travels is never attacked by rhinoceros or tiger, and when coming among soldiers does not fear their weapons. The rhinoceros would find no place to horn him, nor the tiger a place for his claws, nor could soldiers wound him. What is the reason? Because he is invulnerable. |
