Part 18 (1/2)

If they did not laugh at it, it would not really be the Way.

And so the common saying has it: The clearest Way seems obscure; The Way ahead seems to lead backward; The most level Way seems uneven; Highest Virtue seems like a valley; Great purity seems sullied, Ample Virtue seems insufficient; Solid Virtue seems unstable; The simple and genuine seems fickle; The great square has no corners; The great vessel takes long to perfect; The great note sounds faint; The great image is without shape;79 The Way is hidden and without name.80 Only the Way is good at providing and completing.

Chapter Forty-Two.

The Way produces the One.

The One produces two.

Two produces three.

Three produces the myriad creatures.81 The myriad creatures shoulder yin and embrace yang, and by blending these qi, ”vital energies,” they attain harmony.

People most despise being orphaned, desolate, or forlorn, and yet barons and kings take these as their personal appellations.82 And so sometimes diminis.h.i.+ng a thing adds to it; Sometimes adding to a thing diminishes it.

What others teach, I too teach: ”The violent and overbearing will not die a natural death.”

I shall take this as the father of all my teachings.

Chapter Forty-Three.

The most supple things in the world ride roughshod over the most rigid.

That which is not there can enter even where there is no s.p.a.ce.

This is how I know the advantages of nonaction!

The teaching that is without words,83 The advantages of nonaction, Few in the world attain these.

Chapter Forty-Four.

Your name or your body, which do you hold more dear?

Your body or your property, which is of greater value?

Gain or loss, which is the greater calamity?

And so, deep affections give rise to great expenditures.

Excessive h.o.a.rding results in great loss.

Know contentment and avoid disgrace;84 Know when to stop and avoid danger;85 And you will long endure.

Chapter Forty-Five.

Great perfection seems wanting but use will not wear it out.

Great fullness seems empty but use will not drain it.

Great straightness seems crooked; Great skillfulness seems clumsy; Great speech seems to stammer.

Agitation overcomes cold.

Stillness overcomes heat.

Purity and stillness rectify Heaven and earth.

Chapter Forty-Six.

When the world has the Way, fleet-footed horses are used to haul dung.

When the world is without the Way, war horses are raised in the suburbs.86 The greatest misfortune is not to know contentment.87 The worst calamity is the desire to acquire.

And so those who know the contentment of contentment are always content.

Chapter Forty-Seven.