THE TAO TEH KING
(LIBER CLVII)
A New Translation By
KO YUEN
(ALEISTER CROWLEY)
THE EQUINOX (Volume III, No. VIII.)
INTRODUCTION
I bound myself to devote my life to Magick at Easter
1898, and received my first initiation on November 18 of
that year.
My friend and climbing companion, Oscar Eckenstein,
gave me my first instructions in learning the control of
the mind early in 1901 in Mexico City. Shri Parananda,
Solicitor General of Ceylon and an eminent writer upon
and teacher of Yoga from the orthodox Shaivite
standpoint, and Bhikkhu Ananda Metteya, the great English
Adept, who was one of my earliest instructors in Magick
and joined the Sangha in Burma in 1902, gave me my first
groundings in mystical theory and practice. I spent some
months of 1901 in Kandy, Ceylon, with the latter until
success crowned my work.
I also studied all varieties of Asiatic philosophy,
especially with regard to the practical question of
spiritual development, the Sufi doctrines, the
Upanishads, the Sankhya, Vedanta, the Bagavad Gita and
Purana, the Dhammapada, and many other classics, together
with numerous writings on the Tantra and Yoga of such men
as Patanjali, Vivekananda, etc. etc. Not a few of these
teachings are as yet wholly unknown to scholars. I made
the scope of {1} my studies as comprehensive as possible,
omitting no school of thought however unimportant or
repugnant.
I made a critical examination of all these teachers in
the light of my practical experiences. The physiological
and psychological uniformity of mankind guaranteed that
the diversity of expression concealed a unity of
significance. This discovery, furthermore, was confirmed
by reference to Jewish, Greek and Celtic traditions. One
quintessential truth was common to all cults, from the
Hebrides to the Yellow Sea, and even the main branches
proved essentially identical. It was only the foliage
that exhibited incompatibility.
When I walked across China in 1905-6, I was fully
armed and accoutred by the above qualifications to attack
the till-then-insoluble problem of the Chinese conception
of religious truth. Practical studies of the psychology
of such Mongolians as I had met in my travels, had
already suggested to me that their acentric conception of
the universe might represent the correspondence in
consciousness of their actual psychological
characteristics. I was therefore prepared to examine the
doctrines of their religious and {2} philosophical
Masters without prejudice such as had always rendered
nugatory the efforts of missionary sinologists and indeed
all oriental scholars with the single exception of Rhys
Davids. Until his time translators had invariably
assumed, with absurd naivite, or more often arrogant
bigotry, that a Chinese writer must either be putting
forth a more or less distorted and degraded variation of
some Christian conception, or utterly puerile
absurdities. Even so great a man as Max Muller in his
introduction to the Upanishads seems only half inclined
to admit that the apparent triviality and folly of many
passages in these so-called sacred writings might owe
their appearance to our ignorance of the historical and
religious circumstances, a knowledge of which would
render them intelligible.
During my solitary wanderings among the mountainous
wastes of Yun Nan, the spiritual atmosphere of China
penetrated my consciousness, thanks to the absence of any
intellectual impertinences from the organ of knowledge.
The TAO TEH KING revealed its simplicity and sublimity to
my soul, little by little, as the conditions of my
physical life, no less than of my spiritual, penetrated
the {3} sanctuaries of my spirit. The philosophy of Lao
Tze communicated itself to me, in despite of the
persistent efforts of my mind to compel it to conform
with my preconceived notions of what the text must mean.
This process, having thus taken root in my innermost
intuition during those tremendous months of wandering
across Yun Nan, grew continually throughout succeeding
years. Whenever I found myself able once more to withdraw
myself from the dissipations and distractions which
contact with civilisation forces upon one, no matter how
vigorously he may struggle against their insolence, to
the sacred solitude of the desert, whether among the
sierras of Spain, or the sands of the Sahara, I found
that the philosophy of Lao Tze resumed its sway upon my
soul, subtler and stronger on each successive occasion.
But neither Europe nor Africa can show such desolation
as America. The proudest, stubbornest, bitterest peasant
of deserted Spain; the most primitive and superstitious
Arab of the remotest oases, these are a little more than
kin and never less than kind at their worst; whereas in
the United States one is almost always conscious of an
instinctive lack of sympathy and understanding with even
the {4} most charming and cultured people. It was
therefore during my exile in America that the doctrines
of Lao Tze developed most rapidly in my soul, even
forcing their way outwards until I felt it imperious, nay
inevitable, to express them in terms of conscious
thought.
No sooner had this resolve taken possession of me than
I realized that the task approximated to impossibility.
His very simplest ideas, the primitive elements of his
thought, had no true correspondences in any European
terminology. The very first word "Tao"
presented a completely insoluble problem. It had been
translated "Reason," the "Way,"
"TO ON." None of these covey the faintest
conception of the Tao.
The Tao is "Reason" in this sense, that the
substance of things may be in part apprehended as being
that necessary relation between the elements of thought
which determines the laws of reason. In other words, the
only reality is that which compels us to connect the
various forms of illusion as we do. It is thus evidently
unknowable, and expressible neither by speech nor by
silence. All that we can know about it is that there is
inherent in it a {5} power (which, however, is not
itself) by virtue whereof all beings appear in forms
congruous with the nature of necessity.
The Tao is also the Way -- in the following sense.
Nothing exists except as a relation with other similarly
postulated ideas. Nothing can be known in itself, but
only as one of the participants in a series of events.
Reality is therefore in the motion, not in the things
moved. We cannot apprehend anything except as one
postulated element of an observed impression of change.
We may express this in other terms as follows. Our
knowledge of anything is in reality the sum of our
observations of its successive movements, that is to say,
of its path from event to event. In this sense the Tao
may be translated as the Way. It is not a thing in itself
in the sense of being an object susceptible of
apprehension by sense or mind. It is not the cause of any
thing, but the category underlying all existence or
event, and therefore true and real as they are illusory,
being merely landmarks invented for convenience in
describing our experiences. The Tao possesses no power to
cause anything to exist or to take place. Yet our
experience when analyzed tells {6} us that the only
reality of which we may be sure is this path or Way which
resumes the whole of our knowledge.
As for TO ON, which superficially might seem the best
translation of Tao as described in the text, it is the
most misleading of the three. For TO ON possesses an
extensive connotation implying a whole system of Platonic
concepts than which nothing can be more alien to the
essential quality of the Tao. Tao is neither being nor
not-being in any sense which Europe could understand. It
is neither existence nor a condition or form of
existence. At the same time, TO MH ON gives no idea of
Tao. Tao is altogether alien to all that class of
thought. From its connection with "that principle
which necessarily underlies the fact that events
occur" one might suppose that the
"Becoming" of Heraclitus might assist us to
describe the Tao. But the Tao is not a principle at all
of that kind. To understand it requires an altogether
different state of mind to any with which European
thinkers in general are familiar. It is necessary to
pursue unflinchingly the path of spiritual development on
the lines indicated by the Sufis, the Hindus and the
Buddhists; {7} and having reached the Trance called
Nerodha-Sammapati, in which are destroyed all forms
soever of consciousness, there appears in that abyss of
annihilation the germ of an entirely new type of idea,
whose principal characteristic is this: that the entire
concatention of one's previous experiences and
conceptions could not have happened at all, save by
virtue of this indescribable necessity.
I am only too painfully aware that the above
exposition is faulty in every respect. In particular it
presupposes in the reader considerable familiarity with
the substance, thus practically begging the question. It
must also prove almost wholly unintelligible to the
average reader, him in fact whom I especially aim to
interest. For his sake I will try to elucidate the matter
by an analogy. Consider electricity. It would be absurd
to say that electricity is any of the phenomena by which
we know it. We take refuge in the petitio principii of
saying that electricity is that form of energy which is
the principle cause of such and such phenomena. Suppose
now that we eliminate this idea as evidently illogical.
What remains? We must not hastily answer, "Nothing
{8} remains." There is some thing inherent in the
nature of consciousness, reason, perception, sensation,
and of the universe of which they inform us, which is
responsible for the fact that we observe these phenomena
and not others; that we reflect upon them as we do, and
not otherwise. But even deeper than this, part of the
reality of the inscrutable energy which determines the
form of our experience, consists in determining that
experience should take place at all. It should be clear
that this has nothing to do with any of the Platonic
conceptions of the nature of things.
The least abject asset in the intellectual bankruptcy
of European thought is the Hebrew Qabalah. Properly
understood it is a system of symbolism infinitely
elastic, assuming no axioms, postulating no principles,
asserting no theorems, and therefore adaptable, if
managed adroitly, to describe any conceivable doctrine.
It has been my continual study since 1898, and I have
found it of infinite value in the study of the Tao Teh
King. By its aid I was able to attribute the ideas of Lao
Tze to an order with which I was exceedingly familiar,
and whose practical worth I had repeatedly proved by
using {9} it as the basis of the analysis and
classification of all Aryan and Semitic religions and
philosophies. Despite the essential difficulty of
correlating the ideas of Lao Tze with any others, the
persistent application of the Qabalistic keys eventually
unlocked his treasure-house. I was able to explain to
myself his teachings in terms of familiar systems.
This achievement broke the back of my Sphinx. Having
once reduce Lao Tze to Qabalistic form, it was easy to
translate the result into the language of philosophy. I
had already done much to create a new language based on
English with the assistance of a few technical terms
borrowed from Asia, and above all by the use of a novel
conception of the idea of Number and algebraic and
arithmetical proceedings, to convey the results of
spiritual experience to intelligent students.
It is therefore not altogether without confidence that
I present this translation of the Tao Teh King to the
public. I hope and believe that careful study of the
text, as elucidated by my commentary, will enable serious
aspirants to the hidden wisdom to understand with fair
accuracy what Lao Tze taught. It must however be laid to
{10} heart that the essence of his system will inevitably
elude intellectual apprehension unless it be illuminated
from above by actual living experience of the truth. Such
experience is only to be attained by unswerving
application to the practices which he advocates. Nor must
the aspirant content himself with the mere attainment of
spiritual enlightenment, however sublime. All such
achievements are barren unless they be regarded as the
means rather than the end of spiritual progress, and
allowed to infiltrate every detail of the life, not only
of the spirit, but of the senses. The Tao can never be
known until it interpret the most trivial actions of
everyday routine. It is a fatal mistake to discriminate
between the spiritual importance of meditation and
playing golf. To do so is to create an internal conflict.
"Let there be no difference made among you between
any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there
cometh hurt." He who knows the Tao knows it to be
the source of all things soever; the most exalted
spiritual ecstasy and the most trivial internal
impression are from our point of view equally illusions,
worthless masks, which hide, with grotesque painted
pasteboard false and lifeless, {11} the living face of
truth. Yet, from another point of view, they are equally
expressions of the ecstatic genius of truth -- natural
images of the reaction between the essence of onesself
and one's particular environment at the moment of their
occurrence. They are equally tokens of the Tao, by whom,
in whom, and of whom, they are. To value them for
themselves is deny the Tao and to be lost in delusion. To
despise them is to deny the omnipresence of the Tao, and
to suffer the illusion of sorrow. To discriminate between
them is to set up the accursèd dyad, to permit the
insanity of intellect, to overwhelm the intuition of
truth, and to create civil war in the consciousness.
From 1908 to 1918, the Tao Teh King was my continual
study. I constantly recommended it to my friends as the
supreme masterpiece of initiated wisdom, and I was as
constantly disappointed when they declared that it did
not impress them, especially as my preliminary
descriptions of the book had aroused their keenest
interest. I thus came to see that the fault lay with
Legge's translation, and I felt myself impelled to
undertake the {12} task of presenting Lao Tze in language
informed by the sympathetic understanding which
initiation and spiritual experience had conferred on me.
During my Great Magical Retirement on Aesopus Island in
the Hudson River during the summer of 1918, I set myself
to this work, but I discovered immediately that I was
totally incompetent. I therefore appealed to an Adept
named Amalantrah, with whom I was at that time in almost
daily communion. He came readily to my aid and exhibited
to me a codex of the original, which conveyed to me with
absolute certitude the exact significance of the text. I
was able to divine without hesitation or doubt the
precise manner in which Legge had been deceived. He had
translated the Chinese with singular fidelity, yet in
almost every verse the interpretation was altogether
misleading. There was no need to refer to the text from
the point of view of scholarship. I had merely to
paraphrase his translation in the light of actual
knowledge of the true significance of the terms employed.
Anyone who cares to take the trouble to compare the two
versions will be astounded to see how slight a remodeling
of a paragraph is sufficient to disperse the obstinate
{13} obscurity of prejudice, and let loose a fountain and
a flood of living light, to kindle the gnarled prose of
stolid scholarship into the burgeoning blossom of lyrical
flame.
I completed my translation within three days, but
during the last five years I have constantly reconsidered
every sentence. The manuscript has been lent to a number
of friends, scholars who have commended my work, and
aspirants who have appreciated its adequacy to present
the spirit of the Master's teaching. Those who had been
disappointed with Legge's version were enthusiastic about
mine. This circumstance is in itself sufficient to assure
me that Love's labour has not been lost, and to fill me
with enthusiastic confidence that the present publication
will abundantly contribute to the fulfillment of my True
Will for which I came to earth, and wring labour and
sorrow to the utmost of which humanity is capable, the
Will to open the portals of spiritual attainment to my
fellow men, and bring them to the enjoyment of that
realisation of Truth, beneath all veils of temporal
falsehood, which has enlightened mine eyes and filled my
mouth with song.
CHAPTER I
THE NATURE OF THE TAO.
1. The Tao-Path is not the All-Tao. The Name is not
the Thing named.
2. Unmanifested, it is the Secret Father of
__________ ____ ____
Heaven __________ and Earth ____ ____
__________ ____ ____;
manifested, it is their Mother.
3. To understand this Mystery, one must be fulfilling
one's will, and if one is not thus free, one will but
gain a smattering of it.
4. The Tao is one, and the Teh but a phase thereof.
The abyss of this Mystery is the Portal of
Serpent-Wonder.
[WEH NOTE: Footnote #2 above, extended here. In
the original each of the eleven places is enclosed in a
circle for one of the ten Sephiroth and Da'at. This chart
presents problems. Crowley did not properly draw the
trigrams, but mostly with unbroken lines. He also appears
to have written in the wrong names for some of the
Trigrams. These difficulties have been corrected by
reference to the diagram Crowley made on the blank page
preceding the table of content in his copy of the Legge
Yi King. See OTO NEWSLETTER, V. I, No. 3, p. 15.]
The Tao
.
The Teh, The Tao,
source of the Mother source of the
Father
____ ____ __________
Heaven
__________
__________
__________
Ch'ien
Water Fire
____ ____ {had ____ ____
{water____ ____ Li, this _________Tui
usually_________ is Chen} __________
is K'an}
Sun
__________ {had Chen,
____ ____ this is Li}
__________
Sun
__________ __________
Air __________ ____ ____ Earth
____ ____ ____ ____ Ken
Moon
____ ____
__________ K'an
____ ____
Earth
____ ____
____ ____ K'un
____ ____
{1}
CHAPTER II
THE ENERGY - SOURCE OF THE SELF.
1. All men know that beauty and ugliness are
correlatives, as are skill and clumsiness; one implies
and suggests the other.
2. So also existence and non-existence pose the one
the other; so also is it with ease and difficulty, length
and shortness; height and lowness. Also Musick exists
through harmony of opposites; time and space depend upon
contraposition.
3. By the use of this method, the sage can fulfil his
will without action, and utter his word without speech.
4. All things arise without diffidence; they grow, and
none interferes; they change according to their natural
order, without lust of result. The work is accomplished;
yet continueth in its orbit, without goal. This work is
done unconsciously; this is {2} why its energy is
indefatigable.
{3}
CHAPTER III
QUIETING FOLK.
1. To reward merit is to stir up emulation; to prize
rarities is to encourage robbery; to display desirable
things is to excite the disorder of covetousness.
2. Therefore, the sage governeth men by keeping their
minds and their bodies at rest, contenting the one by
emptiness, the other by fullness. He satisfieth their
desires, thus fulfilling their wills, and making them
frictionless; and he maketh them strong in body, to a
similar end.
3. He delivereth them from the restlessness of
knowledge and the cravings of discontent. As to those who
have knowledge already, he teacheth them the way of
non-action. This being assured, there is no disorder in
the world. {4}
CHAPTER IV
THE SPRING WITHOUT SOURCE.
1. The Tao resembleth the emptiness of Space; to
employ it, we must avoid creating ganglia. Oh Tao, how
vast art Thou, the Abyss of Abysses, thou Holy and Secret
Father of all Fatherhoods of Things!
2. Let us make our sharpness blunt; let us loosen our
complexes; let us tone down our brightness to the general
obscurity. Oh Tao, how still art thou, how pure,
continuous One beyond Heaven!
3. This Tao hath no Father; it is beyond all other
conceptions, higher than the highest. {5}
CHAPTER V
THE FORMULA OF THE VACUUM.
1. Heaven and earth proceed without motive, but
casually in their order of nature, dealing with all
things carelessly, like used talismans. So also the sages
deal with their people, not exercising benevolence, but
allowing the nature of all to move without friction.
2. The Space between heaven and earth is their
breathing apparatus: Exhalation is not exhaustion, but
the complement of Inhalation, and this equally of that.
Speech exhausteth; guard thyself, therefore, maintaining
the perfect freedom of thy nature. {6}
CHAPTER VI
THE PERFECTING OF FORM.
1. The Teh is the immortal enemy of the Tao, its
feminine aspect. Heaven and Earth issued from her Gate;
this Gate is the Root of their World-Sycamore. Its
operation is of pure Joy and Love, and faileth never. {7}
CHAPTER VII
THE CONCEALMENT OF THE LIGHT.
1. Heaven and Earth are mighty in continuance, because
their work is delivered from the lust of result.
2. Thus also the sage, seeking not any goal, attaineth
all things; he doth not interfere in the affairs of his
body, and so that body acteth without friction. It is
because he meddleth not with personal aims that these
come to pass with simplicity. {8}
CHAPTER VIII
THE NATURE OF PEACE.
1. Admire thou the High Way of Water! Is not Water the
soul of the life of things, whereby they change? Yet it
seeketh its level, and abideth content in obscurity. So
also it resembleth the Tao, in this Way thereof!
2. The virtue of a house is to be well-placed; of the
mind, to be at ease in silence as of Space; of societies,
to be well-disposed; of governments, to maintain
quietude; of work, to be skillfully performed; and of all
motion, to be made at the right time.
3. Also it is the virtue of a man to abide in his
place without discontent; thus offendeth he no man. {9}
CHAPTER IX
THE WAY OF RETICENCE.
1. Fill not a vessel, lest it spill in carrying.
Meddle not with a sharpened point by feeling it
constantly, or it will soon become blunted.
2. Gold and jade endanger the house of their
possessor. Wealth and honors lead to arrogance and envy,
and bring ruin. Is thy way famous and thy name becoming
distinguished? Withdraw, thy work once done, into
obscurity; this is the way of Heaven. {10}
CHAPTER X
THINGS ATTAINABLE.
1. When soul and body are in the bond of love, they
can be kept together. By concentration on the breath it
is brought to perfect elasticity, and one becomes as a
babe. By purifying oneself from Samadhi one becomes
whole.
2. In his dealing with individuals and with society,
let him move without lust of result. In the management of
his breath, let him be like the mother-bird. Let his
intelligence comprehend every quarter; but let his
knowledge cease.
3. Here is the Mystery of Virtue. It createth all and
nourisheth all; yet it doth not adhere to them; it
operateth all, but knoweth not of it, nor proclaimeth it;
it directeth all, but without conscious control. {11}
CHAPTER XI
THE VALUE OF THE UNEXPRESSED.
1. The thirty spokes join in their nave, that is one;
yet the wheel dependeth for use upon the hollow place for
the axle. Clay is shapen to make vessels; but the
contained space is what is useful. Matter is therefore of
use only to mark the limits of the space which is the
thing of real value. {12}
CHAPTER XII
THE WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EXTERNAL.
1. The five colors film over Sight; The five sounds
make Hearing dull; The five flavours conceal Taste;
occupation with motion and action bedevil Mind; even so
the esteem of rare things begetteth covetousness and
disorder.
2. The wise man seeketh therefore to content the
actual needs of the people; not to excite them by the
sight of luxuries. He banneth these, and concentrateth on
those. {13}
CHAPTER XIII
THE CONTEMPT FOR CIRCUMSTANCE.
1. Favor and disgrace are equally to be shunned;
honour and calamity to be alike regarded as adhering to
the personality.
2. What is this which is written concerning favour and
disgrace? Disgrace is the fall from favour. He then that
hath favour hath fear, and its loss begetteth fear yet
greater of a further fall. What is this which is written
concerning honour and calamity? It is this attachment to
the body which maketh calamity possible; for were one
bodiless, what evil could befall him?
3. Therefore let him that regardeth himself rightly
administer also a kingdom; and let him govern it who
loveth it as another man loveth himself. {14}
CHAPTER XIV
THE SHEWING-FORTH OF THE MYSTERY.
1. We look at it, and see it not; though it is
Omnipresent; and we name it the Root-Balance.
We listen for it, and hear it not, though it is
Omniscient; and we name it the Silence.
We feel for it, and touch it not, though it is
Omnipotent; and we name it the Concealed.
These three Virtues hath it, yet we cannot describe it as
consisting of them; but, mingling them aright, we
apprehend the One.
2. Above, it shineth not; below, it is not dark. It
moveth all continuously, without Expression, returning
into Naught. It is the Form of That which is beyond Form;
it is the Image of the Invisible; it is Change, and
Without Limit.
3. We confront it, and see not its Face; {15} we
pursue it, and its Back is hidden from us. Ah! but apply
the Tao as in old Time to the work of the present; know
it as it was known in the Beginning; follow fervently the
Thread of the Tao. {16}
CHAPTER XV
THE APPEARANCE OF THE TRUE NATURE.
1. The adepts of past ages were subtle and keen to
apprehend this Mystery, and their profundity was
obscurity unto men. Since then they were not known, let
me declare their nature.
2. To all seeming, they were fearful as men that cross
a torrent in winter flood; they were hesitating like a
man in apprehension of them that are about him; they were
full of awe like a guest in a great house; they were
ready to disappear like ice in thaw; they were unassuming
like unworked wood; they were empty as a valley; and dull
as the waters of a marsh.
3. Who can clear muddy water? Stillness will
accomplish this. Who can obtain rest? Let motion continue
equably, and it will itself be peace.
4. The adepts of the Tao, conserving its way, seek not
to be actively self-conscious. By their emptiness of Self
{17} they have no need to show their youth and
perfection; to appear old and imperfect is their
privilege. {18}
CHAPTER XVI
THE WITHDRAWAL TO THE ROOT.
1. Emptiness must be perfect, and Silence made
absolute with tireless strength. All things pass through
the period of action; then they return to repose. They
grow, bud, blossom and fruit; then they return to the
root. This return to the root is this state which we name
Silence; and this Silence is Witness of their Fulfilment.
2. This cycle is the universal law. To know it is the
part of intelligence; to ignore it bringeth folly of
action, whereof the end is madness. To know it bringeth
understanding and peace; and these lead to the
identification of the Self with the Not-Self. This
identification maketh man a king; and this kingliness
groweth unto godhood. That godhood beareth fruit in the
mastery of the Tao. Then the man, the Tao permeating him,
endureth; and his bodily principles are in harmony, {19}
proof against decay, until the hour of his Change. {20}
CHAPTER XVII
THE PURITY OF THE CURRENT.
1. In the Age of Gold, the people were not conscious
of their rulers; in the Age of Silver, they loved them,
with songs; in the Age of Brass, they feared them; in the
Age of Iron, they despised them. As the rulers lost
confidence, so also did the people lose confidence in
them.
2. How hesitating did they seem, the Lords of the Age
of Gold, speaking with deliberation, aware of the weight
of their word! Thus they accomplished all things with
success; and the people deemed their well-being to be the
natural course of events. {21}
CHAPTER XVIII
THE DECAY OF MANNERS.
1. When men abandoned the Way of the Tao, benevolence
and justice became necessary. Then also was need of
wisdom and cunning, and all fell into illusion. When
harmony ceased to prevail in the six spheres it was
needful to govern them by manifesting Sons.
When the kingdoms and races became confused, loyal
ministers had to appear. {22}
CHAPTER XIX
RETURNING TO THE PURITY OF THE CURRENT.
1. If we forgot our statesmanship and our wisdom, it
would be an hundred times better for the people. If we
forgot our benevolence and our justice, they would become
again like sons, folk of good will. If we forget our
machines and our business, there would be no knavery.
2. These new methods despised the olden Way, inventing
fine names to disguise their baneness. But simplicity in
the doing of the will of every man would put an end to
vain ambitions and desires. {23}
CHAPTER XX
THE WITHDRAWAL FROM THE COMMON WAY.
1. To forget learning is to end trouble. The smallest
difference in words, such as "yes" and
"yea", can make endless controversy for the
scholar. Fearful indeed is death, since all men fear it;
but the abyss of questionings, shoreless and bottomless,
is worse!
2. Consider the profane man, how he preeneth, as if at
feast, or gazing upon Spring from a tower! But as for me,
I am as one who yawneth, without any trace of desire. I
am like a babe before its first smile. I appear sad and
forlorn, like a man homeless. The profane man hath his
need filled, ay, and more also. For me, I seem to have
lost all I had. My mind is as it were stupefied; it hath
no definite shape. The profane man looketh lively and
keen-witted; I alone appear blank in my mind. They seem
eagerly critical; I appear careless and without
perception. I seem to be as one adrift upon the sea, with
{24} no thought of an harbor. The profane have each one
his definite course of action; I alone appear useless and
uncomprehending, like a man from the border. Yea, thus I
differ from all other men: but my jewel is the
All-Mother! {25}
CHAPTER XXI
THE INFINITE WOMB.
1. The sole source of energy is the Tao. Who may
declare its nature? It is beyond Sense, yet all form is
hidden within it. It is beyond Sense, yet all
Perceptibles are hidden within it. It is beyond Sense,
yet all Perceptibles are hidden within it. It is beyond
Sense, yet all Being is hidden within it. This Being
excites Perception, and the Word thereof. As it was in
the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, its Name
operateth continuously, causing all to flow in the cycle
of Change, which is Love and Beauty. How do I know this?
By my comprehension of the Tao. {26}
CHAPTER XXII
THE GUERDON OF MODESTY.
1. The part becometh the whole. The curve becometh
straight; the void becometh full; the old becometh new.
He who desireth little accomplisheth his Will with ease;
who desireth many things becometh distracted.
2. Therefore, the sage concentrateth upon one Will,
and it is as a light to the whole world. Hiding himself,
he shineth; withdrawing himself, he attracteth notice;
humbling himself, he is exalted; dissatisfied with
himself, he gaineth force to achieve his Will. Because he
striveth not, no man may contend against him.
3. That is no idle saw of the men of old; "The
part becometh the whole"; it is the Canon of
Perfection. {27}
CHAPTER XXIII
THE VOID OF NAUGHT.
1. To keep silence is the mark of one who is acting in
full accordance with his Will. A fierce wind soon
falleth; a storm-shower doth not last all day. Yet Heaven
and Earth cause these; and if they fail to make violence
continue, how much less can man abide in spasm of
passion!
2. With him that devoteth him to Tao, the devotees of
Tao are in accord; so also are the devotees of Teh, yea,
even they who fail in seeking those are in accord.
3. So then his brothers in the Tao are joyful,
attaining it; and his brothers in the Teh are joyful,
attaining it; and they who fail in seeking these are
joyful, partaking of it. But if he himself realize not
the Tao with calm of confidence, then they also appear
lacking in confidence. {28}
CHAPTER XXIV
EVIL MANNERS.
1. He who standeth a-tiptoe standeth not firm; he who
maketh rigid his legs walketh ill. He who preeneth
himself shineth not; he who talketh positively is vulgar;
he who boastheth is refused acceptance; he who is wise in
his own conceit is thought inferior. Such attitudes, to
him that hath the view given by understanding the Tao,
seem like garbage or like cancer, abhorrent to all. They
then who follow the Way do not admit them. {29}
CHAPTER XXV
IMAGES OF THE MYSTERY.
1. Without Limit and Perfect, there is a Becoming,
beyond Heaven and Earth. It hath nor motion nor Form; it
is alone, it changeth not; it extendeth all ways; it hath
no Adversary. It is like the All-Mother.
2. I know not its Name, but I call it the Tao.
Moreover, I exert myself, and call it Vastness.
3. Vastness, the Becoming! Becoming, it flieth afar.
Afar, it draweth near. Vast is this Tao; Heaven also is
Vast; Earth is vast; and the Holy King is vast also. In
the Universe are Four Vastnesses, and of these is the
Holy King.
4. Man followeth the formula of Earth; Earth followeth
that of Heaven, and Heaven that of the Tao. The formula
of the Tao is its own Nature. {30}
CHAPTER XXVI
THE NATURE OF MASS.
1. Mass is the fulcrum of mobility; stillness is the
father of motion.
2. Therefore the sage King, though he travel afar,
remaineth near his supplies. Though opportunity tempt
him, he remaineth quietly in proper disposition,
indifferent. Should the master of an host of chariots
bear himself frivolously? If he attack without support,
he loseth his base; if he become a raider, he forfeiteth
his throne. {31}
CHAPTER XXVII
SKILL IN THE METHOD.
1. The experienced traveler concealeth his tracks; the
clever speaker giveth no chance to the critic; the
skilled mathematician useth no abacus; the ingenious
safesmith baffleth the burglar without the use of bolts,
and the cunning binder without ropes and knots. So also
the sage, skilled in man-emancipation-craft, useth all
men; understanding the value of everything, he rejecteth
nothing. This is called the Occult Regimen.
2. The adept is then master to the zelator, and the
zelator assisteth and honoreth the adept. Yet unless
these relations were manifest, even the most intelligent
observer might be perplexed as to which was which. This
is called the Crown of Mystery. {32}
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE RETURN TO SIMPLICITY.
1. Balance thy male strength with thy female weakness
and thou shalt attract all things, as the ocean absorbeth
all rivers; for thou shalt formulate the excellence of
the Child eternal, simple, and perfect.
Knowing the light, remain in the Dark. Manifest not
thy Glory, but thine obscurity. Clothed in this
Child-excellence eternal, thou hast attained the Return
of the First State. Knowing splendour of Fame, cling to
Obloquy and Infamy; then shalt thou remain as in the
Valley to which flow all waters, the lodestone to
fascinate all men. Yea, they shall hail in thee this
Excellence, eternal, simple and perfect, of the Child.
2. The raw material, wrought into form, produceth
vessels. So the sage King formulateth his Wholeness in
divers Offices; and his Law is without violence or
constraint. {33}
CHAPTER XXIX
REFRAINING FROM ACTION.
1. He that, desiring a kingdom, exerteth himself to
obtain it, will fail. A Kingdom is of the nature of
spirit, and yieldeth not to activity. He who graspeth it,
destroyeth it; he who gaineth it, loseth it.
2. The wheel of nature revolveth constantly; the last
becometh first, and the first last; hot things grow cold,
and cold things hot; weakness overcometh strength; things
gained are lost anon. Hence the wise man avoideth effort,
desire and sloth. {34}
CHAPTER XXX
A WARNING AGAINST WAR.
1. If a king summon to his aid a Master of the Tao,
let Him not advise recourse to arms. Such action
certainly bringeth the corresponding reaction.
2. Where armies are, are weeds. Bad harvests follow
great hosts.
3. The good general striketh decisively, once and for
all. He does not risk by overboldness. He striketh, but
doth not vaunt his victory. He striketh according to
strict law of necessity, not from desire of victory.
4. Things become strong and ripe, then age. This is
discord with the Tao; and what is not at one with the Tao
soon cometh to an end. {35}
CHAPTER XXXI
COMPOSING QUARREL.
1. Arms, though they be beautiful, are of ill omen,
abominable to all created beings. They who have the Tao
love not their use.
2. The place of honour is on the right in wartime; so
thinketh the man of distinction. Sharp weapons are
ill-omened, unworthy of such a man; he useth them only in
necessity. He valueth peace and ease, desireth not
violence of victory. To desire victory is to desire the
death of men; and to desire that is to fail to propitiate
the people.
3. At feasts, the left hand is the high seat; at
funerals, the right. The second in command of the army
leadeth the left wing, the commander-in-chief, the right
wing; it is as if the battle were a rite of mourning! He
that hath slain most men should weep for them most
bitterly; so then the place of the victor is assigned to
him with philosophical propriety. {36}
CHAPTER XXXII
THE WISDOM OF TEH.
1. The All-Tao hath no name.
2. It is That Minute Point yet the whole world dare
not contend against him that hath it. Did a lord or king
gain it and guard it, all men would obey him of their own
accord.
3. Heaven and Earth combining under its spell, shed
forth dew, extending throughout all things of its own
accord, without man's interference.
4. Tao, in its phase of action, hath a name. Then men
can comprehend it; when they do this, there is no more
risk of wrong or ill-success.
5. As the great rivers and the oceans are to the
valley streams, so is the Tao to the whole universe. {37}
CHAPTER XXXIII
THE DISCRIMINATION (VIVEKA) OF TEH.
1. He who understandeth others understandeth Two; but
he who understandeth himself understandeth One. He who
conquereth others is strong; but he who conquereth
himself is stronger yet.
Contentment is riches; and continuous action is Will.
2. He that adapteth himself perfectly to his
environment, continueth for long; he who dieth without
dying, liveth for ever. {38}
CHAPTER XXXIV
THE METHOD OF ATTAINMENT.
1. The Tao is immanent; it extendeth to the right hand
as to the left.
2. All things derive from it their being; it createth
them, and all comply with it. Its work is done, and it
proclaimeth it not. It is the ornament of all things, yet
it claimeth not fief of them; there is nothing so small
that it inhabiteth not, and informeth it.
All things return without knowledge of the Cause
thereof; there is nothing so great that it inhabiteth
not, and informeth it.
3. In this manner also may the Sage perform his Works.
It is by not thrusting himself forward that he winneth to
his success. {39}
CHAPTER XXXV
THE GOOD WILL OF THE TEH.
1. The whole world is drawn to him that hath the
likeness of the Tao. Men flock unto him, and suffer no
ill, but gain repose, find peace, enjoy all ease.
2. Sweet sounds and cates lure the traveler from his
way. But the Word of the Tao; though it appear harsh and
insipid, unworthy to hearken or to behold; hath his use
all inexhaustible. {40}
CHAPTER XXXVI
THE HIDING OF THE LIGHT.
1. In order to draw breath, first empty the lungs; to
weaken another, first strengthen him; to overthrow
another, first exalt him; to despoil another, first load
him with gifts; this is called the Occult Regimen.
2. The soft conquereth the hard; the weak pulleth down
the strong.
3. The fish that leaveth ocean is lost; the method of
government must be concealed from the people. {41}
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE RIGHT USE OF GOVERNMENT.
1. The Tao proceedeth by its own nature, doing
nothing; therefore there is no doing which it
comprehendeth not.
2. If kings and princes were to govern in this manner,
all things would operate aright by their own motion.
3. If this transmutation were my object, I should call
it Simplicity. Simplicity hath no name nor purpose;
silently and at ease all things go well. {42}
PART II
CHAPTER XXXVIII
CONCERNING THE TEH.
1. Those who possessed perfectly the powers did not
manifest them, and so they preserved them. Those who
possessed them imperfectly feared to lose them, and so
lost them.
2. The former did nothing, nor had need to do. The
latter did, and had need to do.
3. Those who possessed benevolence exercised it, and
had need it; so also was it with them who possessed
justice.
4. Those who possessed the conventions displayed them;
and when men would not agree, they made ready to fight
them.
5. Thus, when the Tao was lost, the Magick Powers
appeared; then, by successive degradations, came
Benevolence, Justice, Convention. {43}
6. Now convention is the shadow of loyalty and good
will, and so the herald of disorder. Yea, even
Understanding is but a Blossom of the Tao, and
foreshadoweth Stupidity.
7. So then the Tao-Man holdeth to Mass, and avoideth
Motion; he is attached to the Root, not to the flower. He
leaveth the one, and cleaveth to the other. {44}
CHAPTER XXXIX
THE LAW OF THE BEGINNING.
1. These things have possessed the Tao from the
beginning: Heaven, clear and shining; Earth, steady and
easy; Spirits, mighty in Magick; Vehicles, overflowing
with Joy; all that hath life; and the rulers of men. All
these derive their essence from the Tao.
2. Without the Tao, Heaven would dissolve Earth
disrupt, Spirits become impotent; Vehicles empty; living
things would perish and rulers lose their power.
3. The root of grandeur is humility, and the strength
of exaltation in its base. Thus rulers speak of
themselves as "Fatherless," "Virtueless,'
"Unworthy," proclaiming by this that their
Glory is in their shame. So also the virtue of a Chariot
is not any of the parts of a Chariot, if they be
numbered. They do not seek to appear fine like jade, but
inconspicuous like common stone. {45}
CHAPTER XL
OMITTING UTILITY.
1. The Tao proceeds by correlative curves, and its
might is in weakness.
2. All things arose from the Teh, and the Teh budded
from the Tao. {46}
CHAPTER XLI
THE IDENTITY OF THE DIFFERENTIAL.
1. The best students, learning of the Tao, set to work
earnestly to practice the Way. Mediocre students now
cherish it, now let it go.
The worst students mock at it. Were it not thus
mocked, it were unworthy to be Tao.
2. Thus spake the makers of Saws: the Tao at its
brightest is obscure. Who advanceth in that Way,
retireth. Its smooth Way is rough. Its summit is a
valley. Its beauty is ugliness. Its wealth is poverty.
Its virtue, vice. Its stability is change. Its form is
without form. Its fullness is vacancy. Its utterance is
silence. Its reality is illusion.
3. Nameless and imperceptible is the Tao; but it
informeth and perfecteth all things. {47}
CHAPTER XLII
THE VEILS OF THE TAO.
1. The Tao formulated the One.
The One exhaled the Two.
The Two were parents of the Three.
The Three were parents of all things.
All things pass from Obscurity to Manifestation, inspired
harmoniously by the Breath of the Void.
2. Men do not like to be fatherless, virtueless,
unworthy: yet rulers describe themselves by these names.
Thus increase bringeth decrease to some, and decrease
bringeth increase to others.
3. Others have taught thus; I consent to it. Violent
men and strong die not by natural death. This fact is the
foundation of my law. {48}
CHAPTER XLIII
THE COSMIC METHOD.
1. The softest substance hunteth down the hardest; the
unsubstantial penetrateth where there is no opening. Here
is the Virtue of Inertia.
2. Few are they who attain: whose speech is Silence,
whose Work is Inertia. {49}
CHAPTER XLIV
MONITORIAL.
1. What shall it profit a man if he gain fame or
wealth, and lose his life?
2. If a man cling to fame or wealth, he risketh what
is worth more.
3. Be content, not fearing disgrace. Act not, and risk
not criticism. Thus live thou long, without alarm. {50}
CHAPTER XLV
THE OVERFLOWING OF TEH.
1. Despise thy masterpieces; thus renew the vigor of
thy creation.
Deem thy fullness emptiness; thus shall thy fullness
never be empty.
Let the straight appear crooked to thee, thy Craft
clumsiness; thy Musick discord.
2. Exercise moderateth cold; stillness heat. To be
pure and to keep silence, is the True Law of all that are
beneath Heaven. {51}
CHAPTER XLVI
THE WITHDRAWAL FROM AMBITION.
1. When the Tao beareth away on Earth, men put swift
horses to night-carts. When it is neglected, they breed
chargers in the border marches.
2. There is no evil worse than ambition; no misery
worse than discontent; no crime greater than greed.
Content of mind is peace and satisfaction eternal. {52}
CHAPTER XLVII
THE VISION OF THE DISTANT.
1. One need not pass his threshold to comprehend all
that is under Heaven, nor to look out from his lattice to
behold the Tao Celestial. Nay! but the farther a man
goeth, the less he knoweth.
2. The sages acquired their knowledge without travel;
they named all things aright without beholding them; and,
acting without aim, fulfilled their Wills. {53}
CHAPTER XLVIII
OBLIVION OVERCOMING KNOWLEDGE.
1. The scholar seeketh daily increase of knowing; the
sage of Tao daily decrease of doing.
2. He decreaseth it, again and again, until he doth no
act with the lust of result. Having attained this Inertia
all accomplisheth itself.
3. He who attracteth to himself all that is under
Heaven doth so without effort. He who maketh effort is
not able to attract it. {54}
CHAPTER XLIX
THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE TEH.
1. The wise man hath no fixed principle; he adapteth
his mind to his environment.
2. To the good I am good, and to the evil I am good
also; thus all become good. To the true I am true, and to
the false I am true; thus all become true.
3. The sage appeareth hesitating to the world, because
his mind is detached. Therefore the people look and
listen to him, as his children; and thus doth he shepherd
them. {53}
CHAPTER L
THE ESTIMATION OF LIFE.
1. Man cometh into life, and returneth again into
death.
2. Three men in ten conserve life; three men in ten
pursue death.
3. Three men also in ten desire to live, but their
acts hasten their journey to the house of death. Why is
this? Because of their efforts to preserve life.
4. But this I have heard. He that is wise in the
economy of his life, whereof he is warden for a season,
journeyeth with no need to avoid the tiger or the
rhinoceros, and goeth uncorsleted among the warriors with
no fear of sword or lance. The rhinoceros findeth in him
no place vulnerable to its horn, the tiger to its claws,
the weapon to its point. Why is this? Because there is no
house of death in his whole body. {56}
CHAPTER LI
THE TEH AS THE NURSE.
1. All things proceed from the Tao, and are sustained
by its forth-flowing virtue. Every one taketh form
according to his nature, and is perfect, each in his
particular Way. Therefore, each and every one of them
glorify the Tao, and worship its forth-flowing Virtue.
2. This glorifying of the Tao, this worship of the
Teh, is constantly spontaneous, and not by appointment of
Law.
3. Thus the Tao buddeth them out, nurtureth them,
developeth them, sustaineth them, perfecteth them,
ripeneth them, upholdeth them, and reabsorbeth them.
4. It buddeth them forth, and claimeth not lordship
over them; it is overseer of their changes, and boasteth
not of his puissance; perfecteth them, and interfereth
not with their Ways; this is called the Mystery of its
Virtue. {57}
CHAPTER LII
THE WITHDRAWAL INTO THE SILENCE.
1. The Tao buddeth forth all things under Heaven; it
is the Mother of all.
2. Knowing the Mother, we may know her offspring. He
that knoweth his Mother, and abideth in Her nature,
remaineth in surety all his days.
3. With the mouth closed, and the Gates of Breath
controlled, he remaineth at ease all his days. With the
mouth open, and the Breath directed to outward affairs,
he hath no surety all his days.
4. To perceive that Minute Point is True Vision; to
maintain the Soft and Gentle is True Strength.
5. Employing harmoniously the Light Within so that it
returneth to its Origin, one guardeth even one's body
from evil, and keepeth Silence before all men. {58}
CHAPTER LIII
THE WITNESS OF GREED.
1. Were I discovered by men, and charged with
government, my first would be lest I should become proud.
2. The true Path is level and smooth; but men love
by-paths.
3. They adorn their courts, but they neglect their
fields, and leave their storehouses empty. They wear
elaborate and embroidered robes; they gird themselves
with sharp swords; they eat and drink with luxury; they
heap up goods; they are thievish and vainglorious. All
this is opposite to the Way of Tao. {59}
CHAPTER LIV
THE WITNESS OF WISDOM.
1. If a man plant according to the Tao it will never
be uprooted; if he thus gather, it will never be lost.
His sons and his son's sons, one following another, shall
honour the shrine of their ancestor.
2. The Tao, applied to oneself, strengtheneth the
Body, to the family, bringeth wealth; to the district,
prosperity; to the state, great fortune. Let it be the
Law of the Kingdom, and all men will increase in virtue.
3. Thus we observe its effect in every case, as to the
person, the family, the district, the state, and the
kingdom.
4. How do I know that this is thus universal under
Heaven?
By experience. {60}
CHAPTER LV
THE SPELL OF THE MYSTERY.
1. He that hath the Magick powers of the Tao is like a
young child. Insects will not sting him or beasts or
birds of prey attack him.
2. The young child's bones are tender and its sinews
are elastic, but its grasp is firm. It knoweth nothing of
the Union of Man and Woman, yet its Organ may be excited.
This is because of its natural perfection. It will cry
all day long without becoming hoarse, because of the
harmony of its being.
3. He who understandeth this harmony knoweth the
mystery of the Tao, and becometh a True Sage. All devices
for inflaming life, and increasing the vital Breath, by
mental effort are evil and factitious.
4. Things become strong, then age. This is in discord
with the Tao, and what is not at one with the Tao soon
cometh to an end. {61}
CHAPTER LVI
THE EXCELLENCE OF THE MYSTERY.
1. Who knoweth the Tao keepeth Silence; he who
babbleth knoweth it not.
2. Who knoweth it closeth his mouth and controlleth
the Gates of his Breath. He will make his sharpness
blunt; he will loosen his complexes; he will tone down
his brightness to the general obscurity. This is called
the Secret of Harmony.
3. He cannot be insulted either by familiarity or
aversion; he is immune to ideas of gain or loss, of
honour or disgrace; he is the true man, unequalled under
Heaven. {62}
CHAPTER LVII
THE TRUE INFLUENCE.
1. One may govern a state by restriction; weapons may
be used with skill and cunning; but one acquireth true
command only by freedom, given and taken.
2. How am I aware of this? By experience that to
multiply restrictive laws in the kingdom impoverisheth
the people; the use of machines causeth disorder in state
and race alike. The more men use skill and cunning, the
more machines there are; and the more laws there are, the
more felons there are.
3. A wise man has said this: I will refrain from
doing, and the people will act rightly of their own
accord; I will love Silence, and the people will
instinctively turn to perfection; I will take no
measures, and the people will enjoy true wealth; I will
restrain ambition, and the people will attain simplicity.
{63}
CHAPTER LVIII
ADAPTATION TO ENVIRONMENT.
1. The government that exerciseth the least care
serveth the people best; that which meddleth with
everybody's business worketh all manner of harm. Sorrow
and joy are bedfellows; who can divine the final result
of either?
2. Shall we avoid restriction? Yea; restriction
distorteth nature, so that even what seemeth good in it
is evil. For how long have men suffered from
misunderstanding of this.
3. The wise man is foursquare, and avoideth
aggression; his corners do not injure others. He moveth
in a straight line and turneth not aside therefrom; he is
brilliant but doth not blind with his brightness. {64}
CHAPTER LIX
WARDING THE TAO.
1. To balance our earthly nature and cultivate our
heavenly nature, tread the Middle Path.
2. This Middle Path alone leadeth to the Timely Return
to the True Nature. This Timely Return resulteth from the
constant gathering of Magick Powers. With that Gathering
cometh Control. This Control we know to be without Limit
and he who knoweth the Limitless may rule the state.
3. He who possesseth the Tao continueth long. He is
like a plant with well-set roots and strong stems. Thus
it secureth long continuance of its life. {65}
CHAPTER LX
THE DUTY OF GOVERNMENT.
1. The government of a kingdom is like the cooking of
fish.
2. If the kingdom be ruled according to the Tao, the
spirits of our ancestors will not manifest their Teh.
These spirits have this Teh, but will not turn it against
men. It is able to hurt men; so also is the Wise King;
but he doth not.
3. When these powers are in accord, their Good Will
produceth the Teh, endowing the people therewith. {66}
CHAPTER LXI
THE MODESTY OF THE TEH.
1. A state becometh powerful when it resembleth a
great river, deep-seated; to it tend all the small
streams under Heaven.
2. It is as with the female, that conquereth the male
by her Silence. Silence is a form of Gravity.
3. Thus a great state attracteth small states by
meeting their views, and small states attract the great
state by revering its eminence. In the first case this
Silence gaineth supporters; in the second, favour.
4. The great state uniteth men and nurtureth them; the
small state wisheth the good will of the great, and
offereth service; thus each gaineth its advantage. But
the great state must keep Silence. {67}
CHAPTER LXII
THE WORKINGS OF THE TAO.
1. The Tao is the most exalted of all things. It is
the ornament of the good, and the protection and
purification of the evil.
2. Its words are the fountain of honour, and its deeds
the engine of achievement. It is present even in evil.
3. Though the Son of Heaven were enthroned with his
three Dukes appointed to serve him, and he were offered a
round symbol- of-rank as great as might fill the hands,
with a team of horses to follow, this gift were not to be
matched against the Tao, which might be offered by the
humblest of men.
4. Why did they of old time set such store by the Tao?
Because he that sought it might find it, and because it
was the Purification from all evil. Therefore did all men
under Heaven esteem it the most exalted of all things.
{68}
CHAPTER LXIII
FORETHOUGHT AT THE OUTSET.
1. Act without lust of result; work without anxiety;
taste without attachment to flavour; esteem small things
great and few things many; repel violence with
gentleness.
2. Do great things while they are yet small, hard
things while they are yet easy; for all things, how great
or hard soever, have a beginning when they are little and
easy. So thus the wise man accomplisheth the greatest
tasks without undertaking anything important.
3. Who undertaketh thoughtlessly is certain to fail in
attainment; who estimateth things easy findeth them hard.
The wise man considereth even easy things hard, so that
even hard things are easy to him. {69}
CHAPTER LXIV
ATTENDING TO DETAILS.
1. It is easy to grasp what is not yet in motion, to
withstand what is not yet manifest, to break what is not
yet compact, to disperse what is not yet coherent. Act
against things before they become visible; attend to
order before disorder ariseth.
2. The tree which filleth the embrace grew from a
small shoot; the tower nine-storied rose from a low
foundation; the ten-day journey began with a single step.
3. He who acteth worketh harm; he who graspeth findeth
it a slip. The wise man acteth not, so worketh no harm;
he doth not grasp, and so doth not let go. Men often ruin
their affairs on the eve of success, because they are not
as prudent at the end as in the beginning.
4. The wise man willeth what others do not will, and
valueth not things rare. He learneth what others learn
not, and gathered up what they despise. Thus he is in
accord with the natural course of events, and is not
overbold in action. {70}
CHAPTER LXV
THE PURITY OF THE TEH.
1. They of old time that were skilled in the Tao
sought not to enlighten the people, but to keep them
simple.
2. The difficulty of government is the vain knowledge
of the people. To use cleverness in government is to
scourge the kingdom; to use simplicity is to anoint it.
3. Know these things, and make them thy law and thine
example. To possess this Law is the Secret Perfection of
rule. Profound and Extended is this Perfection; he that
possesseth it is indeed contrary to the rest, but he
attracteth them to full accordance. {71}
CHAPTER LXVI
PUTTING ONE'S SELF LAST.
1. The oceans and the rivers attract the streams by
their skill in being lower than they; thus are they
masters thereof. So the Wise Man, to be above men,
speaketh lowly; and to precede them acteth with humility.
2. Thus, though he be above them, they feel no burden;
nor, though he precede them, do they feel insulted.
3. So then do all men delight to honour him, and grow
not weary of him. He contendeth not against any man;
therefore no man is able to contend against him. {72}
CHAPTER LXVII
THE THREE JEWELS.
1. They say that while this Tao of mine is great, yet
it is inferior. This is the proof of its greatness. If it
were like anything else, its smallness would have long
been known.
2. I have three jewels of price whereto I cleave;
gentleness, economy, and humility.
3. That gentleness maketh me courageous, that economy
generous, that humility honoured. Men of today abandon
gentleness for violence, economy for extravagance,
humility for pride: this is death.
4. Gentleness bringeth victory in fight; and holdeth
its ground with assurance. Heaven wardeth the gentle man
by that same virtue. {73}
CHAPTER LXVIII
ASSIMILATING ONE'S SELF TO HEAVEN.
1. He that is skilled in war maketh no fierce
gestures; the most efficient fighter bewareth of anger.
He who conquereth refraineth from engaging in battle; he
whom men most willingly obey continueth silently with his
Work. So it is said: "He is mighty who fighteth not;
he ruleth who uniteth with his subjects; he shineth whose
will is that of Heaven." {74}
CHAPTER LXIX
THE USE OF THE MYSTERIOUS WAY.
1. A great strategist saith: "I dare not take the
offensive. I prefer the defensive. I dare not advance an
inch; I prefer to retreat a foot." Place therefore
the army where there is no army; prepare for action where
there is no engagement; strike where there is no
conflict; advance against the enemy where the enemy is
not.
2. There is no error so great as to engage in battle
without sufficient force. To do so is to risk losing the
gentleness which is beyond price. Thus when the lines
actually engage, he who regretteth the necessity is the
victor. {75}
CHAPTER LXX
THE DIFFICULTY OF RIGHT APPREHENSION.
1. My words are easy to understand and to perform; but
is there anyone in the world who can understand them and
perform them?
2. My words derive from a creative and universal
Principle, in accord with the One Law. Men, not knowing
these, understand me not.
3. Few are they that understand me; therefore am I the
more to be valued. The Wise Man weareth sack-cloth, but
guardeth his jewel in his bosom. {76}
CHAPTER LXXI
THE DISTEMPER OF KNOWLEDGE.
1. To know, yet to know nothing, is the highest; not
to know, yet to pretend to knowledge, is a distemper.
2. Painful is this distemper; therefore we shun it.
The wise man hath it not. Knowing it to be bound up with
Sorrow, he putteth it away from him. {77}
CHAPTER LXXII
CONCERNING LOVE OF SELF.
1. When men fear not that which is to be feared, that
which they fear cometh upon them.
2. Let them not live, without thought, the superficial
life. Let them not weary of the Spring of Life!
3. By avoiding the superficial life, this weariness
cometh not upon them.
4. These things the wise man knoweth, not showeth: he
loveth himself, without isolating his value. He accepteth
the former and rejecteth the latter. {78}
CHAPTER LXXIII
ESTABLISHING THE LAW OF FREEDOM.
1. One man, daring, is executed; another, not daring,
liveth. It would seem as if the one course were
profitable and the other detrimental. Yet when Heaven
smiteth a man, who shall assign the cause thereof?
Therefore the sage is diffident.
2. The Tao of Heaven contendeth not, yet it
overcometh; it is silent, yet its need is answered; it
summoneth none, but all men come to it of their free
will. Its method is quietness, yet its will is efficient.
Large are the meshes of Heaven's Net; wide open, yet
letting none escape. {79}
CHAPTER LXXIV
A RESTRAINT OF MISUNDERSTANDING.
1. The people have no fear of death; why then seek to
awe them by the threat of death? If the people feared
death and I could put to death evil-doers, who would dare
to offend?
2. There is one appointed to inflict death. He who
would usurp that position resembleth a hewer of wood
doing the work of a carpenter. Such an one, presumptuous,
will be sure to cut his own hands. {80}
CHAPTER LXXV
THE INJURY OF GREED.
1. The people suffer hunger because of the weight of
taxation imposed by their rulers. This is the cause of
famine.
2. The people are difficult to govern because their
rulers meddle with them. This is the cause of bad
government.
3. The people welcome death because the toil of living
is intolerable. This is why they esteem death lightly. In
such a state of insecurity it is better to ignore the
question of living than to set store by it. {81}
CHAPTER LXXVI
A WARNING AGAINST RIGIDITY.
1. At the birth of man, he is elastic and weak; at his
death, rigid and unyielding. This is the common law;
trees also, in their youth, are tender and supple; in
their decay, hard and dry.
2. So then rigidity and hardness are the stigmata of
death; elasticity and adaptability, of life.
3. He then who putteth forth strength is not
victorious; even as a strong tree filleth the embrace.
4. Thus the hard and rigid have the inferior place,
the soft and elastic the superior. {82}
CHAPTER LXXVII
THE WAY OF HEAVEN.
1. The Tao of Heaven is likened to the bending of a
bow, whereby the high part is brought down, and the low
part raised up. The extreme is diminished, and the middle
increased.
2. This is the Way of Heaven, to remove excess, and to
supplement insufficiency. Not so is the way of man, who
taketh away from him that hath not to give to him that
hath already excess.
3. Who can employ his own excess to the weal of all
under Heaven? Only he that possesseth the Tao.
4. So the Wise Man acteth without lust of result;
achieveth and boasteth not; he willeth not to proclaim
his greatness. {83}
CHAPTER LXXVIII
A CREED.
1. Nothing in the world is more elastic and yielding
than water; yet it is preeminent to dissolve things rigid
and resistant; there is nothing which can match it.
2. All men know that the soft overcometh the hard, and
the weak conquereth the strong; but none are able to use
this law in action.
3. A Wise Man hath said: "He that taketh on the
burden of the state is a demigod worthy of sacrificial
worship; and the true King of a people is he that
undertaketh the weight of their sorrows."
4. Truth appeareth paradox. {84}
CHAPTER LXXIX
TRUTH IN COVENANT.
1. When enemies are reconciled, there is always an
aftermath of illwill. How can this be useful?
2. Therefore, the Wise Man, while he keepeth his part
of the record of a transaction, doth not insist on its
prompt execution. He who hath the Teh considereth the
situation from all sides, while he who hath it not
seeketh only to benefit himself.
3. In the Tao of Heaven, there is no distinction of
persons in its love; but it is for the True Man to claim
it. {85}
CHAPTER LXXX
ISOLATION.
1. In a little kingdom of few people it should be the
order that though there were men able to do the work of
ten men or five score, they should not be employed.
Though the people regarded death as sorrowful, yet they
should not wish to go elsewhere.
2. They should have boats and wagons, yet no necessity
to travel; corslets and weapons, yet no occasion to
fight.
3. For communication they should use knotted cords.
4. They should deem their food sweet, their clothes
beautiful, their houses homes, their customs delightful.
5. There should be another state within view, so that
its fowls and dogs should be heard; yet to old age, even
to death, the people should hold no traffic with it. {86}
CHAPTER LXXXI
THE SHEWING-FORTH OF SIMPLICITY.
1. True speech is not elegant; elaborate speech is not
truth. Those who know do not argue; the argumentative are
without knowledge. Those who have assimilated are not
learned; those who are gross with learning have not
assimilated.
2. The Wise Man doth not hoard. The more he giveth,
the more he hath; the more he watereth, the more is he
watered himself.
3. The Tao of Heaven is like an Arrow, yet it woundeth
not; and the Wise Man, in all his Works, maketh no
contention. {87}
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