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THE TAO TE CHING,
OR
THE TAO AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS
by Lao Tzu
translated by James Legge
(Edited by Zee Sing*)
Selection 10
Tao has of all things the most honoured place.
No treasures give good men so rich a grace;
Bad men it guards, and doth their ill efface.
Its admirable words can purchase honour; (its) admirable deeds
can raise their performer above others. Even men who are not good
are
not abandoned by it.
Therefore when the sovereign occupies his place as the Son of
Heaven, and he has appointed his three ducal ministers, though a
prince were to send in a round symbol-of-rank large enough to fill
both the hands, and that as the precursor of the team of horses
(in
the court-yard), such an offering would not be equal to(a lesson
of
this Tao, which one might present on his knees.
Why was it that the ancients prized this Tao so much? Was it not
because it could be got by seeking for it, and the guilty could
escape
(from the stain of their guilt) by it? This is the reason why all
under heaven consider it the most valuable thing.
It is the way of the Tao to act without thinking of acting;
to conduct affairs without feeling the trouble of them; to taste
without discerning any flavour; to consider what is small as great,
and a few as many; and to recompense injury with kindness.
The master of it anticipates things that are difficult while they
are easy, and does things that would become great while they are
small. All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from
a
previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from
one
in which they were small. Therefore the sage, while he never does
what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the greatest
things.
One who lightly promises is sure to keep but little faith; One
who is
continually thinking things easy is sure to find them difficult.
Therefore the sage sees difficulty even in what seems easy, and
so
never has any difficulties.
That which is at rest is easily kept hold of; before a thing
has given indications of its presence, it is easy to take measures
against it; that which is brittle is easily broken; that which is
very
small is easily dispersed. Action should be taken before a thing
has
made its appearance; order should be secured before disorder has
begun.
The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout; the
tower of nine storeys rose from a (small) heap of earth; the journey
of a thousand li commenced with a single step.
One who acts with an ulterior purpose does harm; one who takes
hold
of a thing in the same way loses his hold. The sage does not act
so, and therefore does no harm. The sage does not lay hold, and
therefore does not lose boldness. But people in their conduct of
affairs are constantly ruining them when they are on the eve of
success. If they were careful at the end, as they should be at the
beginning, they would not so ruin them.
Therefore the sage desires what other people do not desire, and
does
not prize things difficult to get. The sage learns what other people
do not
learn, and turns back to what the multitude of them have passed
by.
Thus he helps the natural development of all things, and does not
dare
to act with an ulterior purpose.
Selection 1, 2,
3, 4,
5, 6,
7, 8,
9, 10,
11, 12,
13, 14,
15
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*Because the Legge translation is
rather old, it has been edited slightly to update the language to
a more contemporary standard.
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