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1. the way

to experience without intention is to sense the world;
to experience with intention is to anticipate the world.
these two experiences are indistinguishable;
their construction differs but their effect is the same.

beyond the gate of experience flows the way,
which is ever greater and more subtle than the world.
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2. abstraction

so alive and dead are abstracted from nature,
difficult and easy abstracted from progress,
long and short abstracted from contrast,
high and low abstracted from depth,
song and speech abstracted from melody,
after and before abstracted from sequence.

the sage experiences without abstraction,
and accomplishes without action;
he accepts the ebb and flow of things,
nurtures them, but does not own them,
and lives, but does not dwell.
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3. without action

in this manner the sage governs people:
emptying their minds,
filling their bellies,
weakening their ambitions,
and strengthening their bones.

if people lack knowledge and desire
then they can not act;
if no action is taken
harmony remains.
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4. limitless

5. nature

nature is like a bellows,
empty, yet never ceasing its supply.
the more it moves, the more it yields;
so the sage draws upon experience
and cannot be exhausted.
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6. experience

7. complete

the sage places himself after and finds himself before,
ignores his desire and finds himself content.

he is complete because he does not serve himself.
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8. water

so the sage:
lives within nature,
thinks within the deep,
gives within impartiality,
speaks within trust,
governs within order,
crafts within ability,
acts within opportunity.

he does not contend, and none contend against him.
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9. retire

10. harmony

bearing and nurturing,
creating but not owning,
giving without demanding,
this is harmony.
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11. tools

12. substance

in this manner the sage cares for people:
he provides for the belly, not for the senses;
he ignores abstraction and holds fast to substance.
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13. self

therefore,
who distinguishes himself from the world may be given the world,
but who regards himself as the world may accept the world.
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14. mystery

in its rising there is no light,
in its falling there is no darkness,
a continuous thread beyond description,
lining what can not occur;
its form formless,
its image nothing,
its name silence;
follow it, it has no back,
meet it, it has no face.

attend the present to deal with the past;
thus you grasp the continuity of the way,
which is its essence.
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15. enlightenment

cautious as one crossing thin ice,
undecided as one surrounded by danger,
modest as one who is a guest,
unbounded as melting ice,
genuine as unshaped wood,
broad as a valley,
seamless as muddy water.

who stills the water that the mud may settle,
who seeks to stop that he may travel on,
who desires less than may transpire,
decays, but will not renew.
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16. decay and renewal

this return is peaceful;
it is the flow of nature,
an eternal decay and renewal.
accepting this brings enlightenment,
ignoring this brings misery.

who accepts nature's flow becomes all-cherishing;
being all-cherishing he becomes impartial;
being impartial he becomes magnanimous;
being magnanimous he becomes natural;
being natural he becomes one with the way;
being one with the way he becomes immortal:
though his body will decay, the way will not.
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17. rulers

when the best rulers achieve their purpose
their subjects claim the achievement as their own.
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18. hypocrisy

when harmonious relationships dissolve
then respect and devotion arise;
when a nation falls to chaos
then loyalty and patriotism are born.
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19. simplify

yet such remedies treat only symptoms
and so they are inadequate.

people need personal remedies:
reveal your naked self and embrace your original nature;
bind your self-interest and control your ambition;
forget your habits and simplify your affairs.
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20. wandering

the people are merry as if at a magnificent party
or playing in the park at springtime,
but i am tranquil and wandering,
like a newborn before it learns to smile,
alone, with no true home.

the people have enough and to spare,
where i have nothing,
and my heart is foolish,
muddled and cloudy.

the people are bright and certain,
where i am dim and confused;
the people are clever and wise,
where i am dull and ignorant;
aimless as a wave drifting over the sea,
attached to nothing.

the people are busy with purpose,
where i am impractical and rough;
i do not share the peoples' cares
but i am fed at nature's breast.
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21. accept

the way is without form or quality,
but expresses all forms and qualities;
the way is hidden and implicate,
but expresses all of nature;
the way is unchanging,
but expresses all motion.

beneath sensation and memory
the way is the source of all the world.
how can i understand the source of the world?
by accepting.
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22. home

the sage accepts the world
as the world accepts the way;
he does not display himself, so is clearly seen,
does not justify himself, so is recognized,
does not boast, so is credited,
does not pride himself, so endures,
does not contend, so none contend against him.

the ancients said, "accept and you become whole",
once whole, the world is as your home.
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23. words

who accepts harmony, becomes harmonious.
who accepts loss, becomes lost.
for who accepts harmony, the way harmonizes with him,
and who accepts loss, the way cannot find.
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24. indulgence

these behaviours are wasteful, indulgent,
and so they attract disfavour;
harmony avoids them.
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25. beneath abstraction

being limitless, it flows away forever;
flowing away forever, it returns to my self:

the way is limitless,
so nature is limitless,
so the world is limitless,
and so i am limitless.

for i am abstracted from the world,
the world from nature,
nature from the way,
and the way from what is beneath abstraction.
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26. calm

a lone traveller will journey all day, watching over his belongings;
yet once safe in his bed he will lose them in sleep.

the captain of a great vessel will not act lightly or hastily.
acting lightly, he loses sight of the world,
acting hastily, he loses control of himself.

a captain can not treat his great ship as a small boat;
rather than glitter like jade
he must stand like stone.
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27. perfection

so the sage nurtures all men
and abandons no one.
he accepts everything
and rejects nothing.
he attends to the smallest details.

so the strong must guide the weak,
for the weak are raw material to the strong.
if the guide is not respected,
or the material is not cared for,
confusion will result, no matter how clever one is.

this is the secret of perfection:
when raw wood is carved, it becomes a tool;
when a man is employed, he becomes a tool;
the perfect carpenter leaves no wood to be carved.
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28. becoming

using strength, being weak,
being the root of the world,
you complete harmony
and become as unshaped wood.

using the light, being dark,
being the world,
you perfect harmony
and return to the way.
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29. ambition

the world is shaped by the way;
it cannot be shaped by the self.
trying to change it, you damage it;
trying to possess it, you lose it.

so some will lead, while others follow.
some will be warm, others cold
some will be strong, others weak.
some will get where they are going
while others fall by the side of the road.

so the sage will be neither wasteful nor violent.
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30. violence

a general is well advised
to achieve nothing more than his orders:
not to take advantage of his victory.
nor to glory, boast or pride himself;
to do what is dictated by necessity,
but not by choice.

for even the strongest force will weaken with time,
and then its violence will return, and kill it.
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31. armies

weapons are tools of violence,
not of the sage;
he uses them only when there is no choice,
and then calmly, and with tact,
for he finds no beauty in them.

whoever finds beauty in weapons
delights in the slaughter of men;
and who delights in slaughter
cannot content himself with peace.

so slaughters must be mourned
and conquest celebrated with a funeral.
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32. shapes

the way is shaped by use,
but then the shape is lost.
do not hold fast to shapes
but let sensation flow into the world
as a river courses down to the sea.
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33. virtues

34. control

it nurtures all things,
though it does not control them;
it has no intention,
so it seems inconsequential.

it is the substance of all things;
though it does not control them;
it has no exception,
so it seems all-important.

the sage would not control the world;
he is in harmony with the world.
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35. peace

the way lacks art and flavour;
it can neither be seen nor heard,
but its benefit cannot be exhausted.
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36. opposition

this is the subtlety by which the weak overcome the strong:
fish should not leave their depths,
and swords should not leave their scabbards.
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37. tranquillity

nature does not possess desire;
without desire, the heart becomes quiet;
in this manner the whole world is made tranquil.

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38. ritual

harmony does not care for harmony, and so is naturally attained;
but ritual is intent upon harmony, and so can not attain it.

harmony neither acts nor reasons;
love acts, but without reason;
justice acts to serve reason;
but ritual acts to enforce reason.

when the way is lost, there remains harmony;
when harmony is lost, there remains love;
when love is lost, there remains justice;
but when justice is lost, there remains ritual.

ritual is the end of compassion and honesty,
the beginning of confusion;
belief is a colourful hope or fear,
the beginning of folly.

the sage goes by harmony, not by hope;
he dwells in the fruit, not the flower;
he accepts substance, and ignores abstraction.
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39. support

but, losing clarity, the sky tore;
losing stability, the earth split;
losing strength, the mountains sank;
losing water, the riverbeds cracked;
losing fertility, nature disappeared;
and losing support, the rulers fell.

rulers depend upon their subjects,
the noble depend upon the humble;
so rulers call themselves orphaned, hungry and alone,
to win the people's support.
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40. motion and use

41. following

therefore it is said:
who understands the way seems foolish;
who progresses on the way seems to fail;
who follows the way seems to wander.

for the finest harmony appears plain;
the brightest truth appears coloured;
the richest character appears incomplete;
the bravest heart appears meek;
the simplest nature appears inconstant.

the square, perfected, has no corner;
music, perfected, has no melody;
love, perfected, has no climax;
art, perfected, has no meaning.

the way can be neither sensed nor known:
it transmits sensation and transcends knowledge.
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42. mind

as others have taught, so do i teach,
"who loses harmony opposes nature";
this is the root of my teaching.
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43. overcoming

yet benefit without action,
and experience without abstraction,
are practiced by very few.
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44. contentment

great love incurs great expense,
and great riches incur great fear,
but contentment comes at no cost;
who knows when to stop
does not continue into danger,
and so may long endure.
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45. quiet

great truth seems contradictory;
great cleverness seems stupid;
great eloquence seems awkward.

as spring overcomes the cold,
and autumn overcomes the heat,
so calm and quiet overcome the world.
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46. horses

there is no greater mistake than following desire;
there is no greater disaster than forgetting contentment;
there is no greater sickness than seeking attainment;
but one who is content to satisfy his needs
finds that contentment endures.
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47. knowing

the more you experience,
the less you know.
the sage wanders without knowing,
sees without looking,
accomplishes without acting.
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48. inaction

by attrition he reaches a state of inaction
wherein he does nothing, but nothing remains undone.

to conquer the world, accomplish nothing;
if you must accomplish something,
the world remains beyond conquest.
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49. people

he is good to those who are good;
he is also good to those who are not good,
thereby he is good.
he trusts those who are trustworthy;
he also trusts those who are not trustworthy,
thereby he is trustworthy.

the sage lives in harmony with the world,
and his mind is the world's mind.
so he nurtures the worlds of others
as a mother does her children.
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50. death

some are filled with life;
some are empty with death;
some hold fast to life, and thereby perish,
for life is an abstraction.

those who are filled with life
need not fear tigers and rhinos in the wilds,
nor wear armour and shields in battle;
the rhinoceros finds no place in them for its horn,
the tiger no place for its claw,
the soldier no place for a weapon,
for death finds no place in them.
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51. nurture

each follows the way and honours harmony,
not by law,
but by being.

the way bears, nurtures, shapes, completes,
shelters, comforts, and makes a home for them.

bearing without possessing,
nurturing without taming,
shaping without forcing,
this is harmony.
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52. clarity

reserve your judgments and words
and you maintain your influence;
speak your mind and take positions
and nothing can save you.

as observing detail is clarity,
so maintaining flexibility is strength;
use the light but shed no light,
so that you do yourself no harm,
but embrace clarity.
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53. difficult paths

when palaces are kept up
fields are left to weeds
and granaries empty;
wearing fine clothes,
bearing sharp swords,
glutting with food and drink,
hoarding wealth and possessions -
these are the ways of theft,
and far from the way.
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54. cultivate harmony

live with a person to understand that person;
live with a family to understand that family;
live with a community to understand that community;
live with a culture to understand that culture;
live with the world to understand the world.

how can i live with the world?
by accepting.
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55. soft bones

his bones are soft yet his grasp is sure,
for his flesh is supple;
his mind is innocent yet his body is virile,
for his vigour is plentiful;
his song is long-lasting yet his voice is sweet,
for his grace is perfect.

but knowing harmony creates abstraction,
and following abstraction creates ritual.
exceeding nature creates calamity,
and controlling nature creates violence.
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56. impartiality

reserve your judgments and words;
smooth differences and forgive disagreements;
dull your wit and simplify your purpose;
accept the world.

then,
friendship and enmity,
profit and loss,
honour and disgrace,
will not affect you;
the world will accept you.
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57. conquer with inaction

for:
the more morals and taboos there are,
the more cruelty afflicts people;
the more guns and knives there are,
the more factions divide people;
the more arts and skills there are,
the more change obsoletes people;
the more laws and taxes there are,
the more theft corrupts people.

yet take no action, and the people nurture eachother;
make no laws, and the people deal fairly with eachother;
own no interest, and the people cooperate with eachother;
express no desire, and the people harmonize with eachother.
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58. no end

good fortune follows upon disaster;
disaster lurks within good fortune;
who can say how things will end?
perhaps there is no end.

honesty is ever deceived;
kindness is ever seduced;
men have been like this for a long time.

so the sage is firm but not cutting,
pointed but not piercing,
straight but not rigid,
bright but not blinding.
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59. restraint

to govern men in accord with nature
it is best to be restrained;
restraint makes agreement easy to attain,
and easy agreement builds harmonious relationships;
with sufficient harmony no resistance will arise;
when no resistance arises, then you possess the heart of the nation,
and when you possess the nation's heart, your influence will long endure:
deeply rooted and firmly established.
this is the method of far sight and long life.
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60. demons

61. submission

so when a large country submits to a small country
it will adopt the small country;
when a small country submits to a large country
it will be adopted by the large country;
the one submits and adopts;
the other submits and is adopted.

it is in the interest of a large country to unite and gain service,
and in the interest of a small country to unite and gain patronage;
if both would serve their interests,
both must submit.
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62. sin

fine words are often borrowed,
and great deeds are often appropriated;
therefore, when a man falls, do not abandon him,
and when a man gains power, do not honour him;
only remain impartial and show him the way.

why should someone appreciate the way?
the ancients said, "by it, those who seek may easily find,
and those who regret may easily absolve"
so it is the most precious gift.
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63. difficulty

deal with the difficult while it is yet easy;
deal with the great while it is yet small;

the difficult develops naturally from the easy,
and the great from the small;
so the sage, by dealing with the small,
achieves the great.

who finds it easy to promise finds it hard to be trusted;
who takes things lightly finds things difficult;
the sage recognizes difficulty, and so has none.
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64a. care at the beginning

yet a tree broader than a man can embrace is born of a tiny shoot;
a dam greater than a river can overflow starts with a clod of earth;
a journey of a thousand miles begins at the spot under one's feet.

therefore deal with things before they happen;
create order before there is confusion.
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64b. care at the end

the sage desires no-desire,
values no-value,
learns no-learning,
and returns to the places that people have forgotten;
he would help all people to become natural,
but then he would not be natural.
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65. subtlety

it is difficult for knowledgeable people to become natural;
so to use law to control a nation weakens the nation,
but to use nature to control a nation strengthens the nation.

understanding these two paths is understanding subtlety;
subtlety runs deep, ranges wide,
resolves confusion and preserves peace.
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66. lead by following

in order to master people
one must speak as their servant;
in order to lead people
one must follow them.

so when the sage rises above the people,
they do not feel oppressed;
and when the sage stands before the people,
they do not feel hindered.

so the popularity of the sage does not fail,
he does not contend, and no one contends against him.
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67. unimportance

yet here are three treasures
that i cherish and commend to you:
the first is compassion,
by which one finds courage.
the second is restraint,
by which one finds strength.
and the third is unimportance,
by which one finds influence.

those who are fearless, but without compassion,
powerful, but without restraint,
or influential, yet important,
cannot endure.
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68. compassion

therefore,
a good soldier does not inspire fear;
a good fighter does not display aggression;
a good conqueror does not engage in battle;
a good leader does not exercise authority.

this is the value of unimportance;
this is how to win the cooperation of others;
this to how to build the same harmony that is in nature.
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69. ambush

in this manner one may deploy troops without marshalling them,
bring weapons to bear without exposing them,
engage the foe without invading them,
and exhaust their strength without fighting them.

there is no worse disaster than misunderstanding your enemy;
to do so endangers all of my treasures;
so when two well matched forces oppose eachother,
the general who maintains compassion will win.
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70. individuality

my words have meaning; my actions have reason;
yet these cannot be known and i cannot be known.

we are each unique, and therefore valuable;
though the sage wears coarse clothes, his heart is jade.
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71. limitation

72. revolution

do not take away their lands,
and do not destroy their livelihoods;
if your burden is not heavy then they will not shirk it.

the sage maintains himself but exacts no tribute,
values himself but requires no honours;
he ignores abstraction and accepts substance.
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73. fate

fate does not attack, yet all things are conquered by it;
it does not ask, yet all things answer to it;
it does not call, yet all things meet it;
it does not plan, yet all things are determined by it.

fate's net is vast and its mesh is coarse,
yet none escape it.
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74. execution

if people were only afraid of death,
and you executed everyone who did not obey,
no one would dare to disobey you.
then what would be the use of an executioner?

people fear death because death is an instrument of fate.
when people are killed by execution rather than by fate,
this is like carving wood in the place of a carpenter.
those who carve wood in place of a carpenter
often injure their hands.
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75. rebellion

when people act without regard for their own lives
they overcome those who value only their own lives.
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76. flexibility

just as a sapless tree will split and decay
so an inflexible force will meet defeat;
the hard and mighty lie beneath the ground
while the tender and weak dance on the breeze above.
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77. need

it is not so with man.
man decreases those who need more than they have
and increases those who have more than they need.

to give away what you do not need is to follow the way.
so the sage gives without expectation,
accomplishes without claiming credit,
and has no desire for ostentation.
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78. yielding

the soft overcomes the hard,
the yielding overcomes the strong;
every person knows this,
but no one can practice it.

who attends to the people would control the land and grain;
who attends to the state would control the whole world;
truth is easily hidden by rhetoric.
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79. reconciliation

the sage accepts less than is due
and does not blame or punish;
for harmony seeks agreement
where justice seeks payment.

the ancients said: "nature is impartial;
therefore it serves those who serve all."
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80. utopia

live peacefully and delight in your own society;
dwell within cock-crow of your neighbours,
but maintain your independence from them.
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81. the sage

so the sage does not serve himself;
the more he does for others, the more he is satisfied;
the more he gives, the more he receives.
nature flourishes at the expense of no one;
so the sage benefits all men and contends with none.

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caveat

 this work is not a translation, but an interpolation. it doesnot represent the original text; the original, if there was an original,has been jumbled, mistranscribed and reinterpreted many times over manythousands of years, and is here cast into a language that is incapableof presenting its poetic structure and philological connections.

 even an original text, translated as faithfully as possible, mightremain inaccessible to the modern reader unable to place it within itsoriginal context. the intention of this work is to construct a documentthat closely corresponds with the best modern translations of lao tse,but which is blunt, easy and useful to read within a modern context.

structural changes