Chapter 42

道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物。萬物負陰而抱陽，沖氣以為和。人之所惡，唯孤﹑寡﹑不穀，而王公以為稱。故物或損之而益，或益之而損。

The Way gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to the myriad things. The myriad things carry yin on their backs and embrace yang, and the two qi surge against each other to form harmony. What people dislike are the names "the Orphan," "the Lonely One" and "the Unworthy," yet kings and lords take these as their own titles. Thus things are sometimes gained by being diminished, and sometimes lost by being increased.

人之所教，我亦教之。

What others teach, I also teach.

強梁者不得其死，吾將以為教父。

The violent and fierce do not come to a natural death; I will take this saying as the root of my teaching.

天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅。

The softest thing in the world gallops through the hardest thing in the world.

無有入無間，吾是以知無為之有益。

That which has no form enters where there is no gap; from this I know the benefit of non-action.

不言之教，無為之益，天下希及之。

Teaching without words and the benefit of non-action: few in the world can attain them.

名與身孰親？

Fame or one's life: which is dearer?

身與貨孰多？

One's life or goods: which is worth more?

得與亡孰病？

Gain or loss: which is more harmful?

是故甚愛必大費，多藏必厚亡，

Therefore excessive love of things must lead to great expense, and hoarding much must lead to heavy loss.

知足不辱，知止不殆，可以長久。

One who knows contentment is not disgraced, and one who knows when to stop is not endangered; thus one can last long.

大成若缺，其用不弊。

The greatest completeness seems lacking, yet its use never wears out.

大盈若沖，其用不窮。

The greatest fullness seems empty, yet its use is never exhausted.

大直若屈，其用不居。

The greatest straightness seems bent, yet its use never stalls.

大巧若拙，其用不輟。

The greatest skill seems clumsy, yet its use never breaks off.

大辯若訥，其用不差。

The greatest eloquence seems tongue-tied, yet its use never errs.

躁勝寒，靜勝熱。清靜為天下正。

Brisk movement overcomes cold, and stillness overcomes heat. Purity and stillness are the proper way of the world.

天下有道，卻走馬以糞。

When the world has the Way, even swift war horses are sent back to the fields to haul manure carts.

天下無道，戎馬生於郊。

When the world lacks the Way, even pregnant mares give birth to colts in the fields of the battleground.

禍莫大於不知足；咎莫大於欲得。故知足之足，常足矣。

There is no calamity greater than not knowing contentment, and no fault greater than insatiable greed. So the contentment that comes from knowing contentment is lasting contentment.

不出戶，知天下；不闚牖，見天道。

Without going out the door, one can know the affairs of the world; without looking out the window, one can see the course of Heaven's Way.

其出彌遠，其知彌少。

The farther one goes out, the less one knows.

是以聖人不行而知，不見而名，

Therefore the sage knows without traveling, understands without seeing,

不為而成。

and accomplishes without forcing action.

為學日益，

In pursuit of learning, one gains day by day;

為道日損。

in pursuit of the Way, one loses day by day.

損之又損，以至於無為。無為而無不為。

Losing and losing again, until one reaches non-action. With non-action, there is nothing that is not done.

取天下常以無事，

To govern the world, one must always rely on not stirring up trouble;

及其有事，

once one deliberately stirs up trouble,

不足以取天下。

one is not fit to take the world.

聖人無常心，以百姓心為心。

The sage has no fixed private mind; he takes the minds of the people as his own.

善者，吾善之；不善者，吾亦善之，

To the good I am good; to the not good I am also good,

德善。

and thus true goodness is attained.

信者，吾信之；不信者，吾亦信之，德信。聖人在天下歙歙，為天下渾其心，

To the trustworthy I am trusting; to the untrustworthy I am also trusting, and thus true trust is attained. The sage in the world draws in his own desires, and for the world blends his mind into one.

百姓皆注其耳目,

The people all fix their attention on their own ears and eyes,

聖人皆孩之。

but the sage treats them all as infants.

出生入死。

Coming out into life and going into death.

生之徒，十有三；死之徒，十有三；人之生，動之死地，亦十有三。夫何故？以其生生之厚。蓋聞善攝生者，陸行不遇兕虎，入軍不被甲兵；兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃。夫何故？以其無死地。

Three in ten are followers of life; three in ten are followers of death; and three in ten could have lived but through reckless action move themselves into the place of death. Why is this? Because they nourish life too richly. I have heard that one who is good at preserving life will not meet rhinoceros or tiger when walking on land, and when entering an army need not wear armor or carry weapons; the rhinoceros has nowhere to thrust its horn, the tiger nowhere to sink its claws, and the weapon nowhere to lodge its blade. Why is this? Because in him there is no place of death.

道生之，德畜之，物形之，勢成之。

The Way gives birth to the myriad things, virtue nurtures them, matter gives them form, and circumstance brings them to maturity.

是以萬物莫不尊道而貴德。

Therefore among the myriad things there are none that do not honor the Way and value virtue.

道之尊，德之貴，夫莫之命而常自然。

The Way is honored and virtue valued without anyone commanding it; it is simply so of itself.

故道生之，德畜之。長之育之，亭之毒之，蓋之覆之。

So the Way gives birth to things and virtue nurtures them: making them grow and develop, ripen and bear fruit, and be sheltered and protected.

生而不有，為而不恃，

It gives birth without possessing, acts without presuming on its ability,

長而不宰。是謂玄德。

leads without ruling; this is called Mysterious Virtue.