Chapter on the Beginning of Truth
有始者，有未始有有始者，有未始有夫未始有有始者。有有者，有無者，有未始有有無者，有未始有夫未始有有無者。
There is a stage that has a beginning; there is a stage that has not yet begun to have a beginning; there is a stage that has not yet begun to have the 'has not yet begun to have a beginning'. There is 'being'; there is 'non-being'; there is a stage that has not yet begun to have 'being and non-being'; there is a stage that has not yet begun to have the 'has not yet begun to have being and non-being'.
所謂有始者，繁憤未發，萌兆牙櫱，未有形埒垠堮，無無蝡蝡，將欲生興而未成物類。有未始有有始者，天氣始下，地氣始上，陰陽錯合，相與優遊競暢於宇宙之間，被德含和，繽紛蘢蓯，欲與物接而未成兆朕。有未始有夫未始有有始者，天含和而未降，地懷氣而未揚，虛無寂寞，蕭條霄雿，無有彷彿，氣遂而大通冥冥者也。有有者，言萬物摻落，根莖枝葉，青蔥苓蘢，萑蔰炫煌，蠉飛蝡動，蚑行噲息，可切循把握而有數量。有無者，視之不見其形，聽之不聞其聲，捫之不可得也，望之不可極也，儲與扈冶，浩浩瀚瀚，不可隱儀揆度而通光耀者。有未始有有無者，包裹天地，陶冶萬物，大通混冥，深閎廣大，不可為外，析豪剖芒，不可為內，無環堵之宇而生有無之根。有未始有夫未始有有無者，天地未剖，陰陽未判，四時未分，萬物未生，汪然平靜，寂然清澄，莫見其形，若光燿之間於無有，退而自失也，曰：「予能有無，而未能無無也。及其為無無，至妙何從及此哉！」
What is called having a beginning is when the flourishing vital energy has not yet come forth, sprouts and buds have not yet formed borders, writhing and stirring, about to rise but not yet forming kinds of things. What is called not yet having a beginning is when heaven's qi starts to descend and earth's qi starts to rise, yin and yang intermingle, and they roam leisurely and compete in freedom in the universe, clothed in virtue and holding harmony, lush and luxuriant, wishing to meet things but not yet forming any sign. What is called the not yet having the 'has not yet begun to have a beginning' is when heaven holds harmony but has not yet descended, earth embraces qi but has not yet risen, empty and silent, desolate and vacant, with no hint of shadow or shape, qi penetrating and greatly connected in the darkness. What is called 'being' refers to the myriad things scattered about, roots, stems, branches, and leaves, green and lush, bright and resplendent, flying and wriggling, crawling and breathing, which can be touched and grasped and have number. What is called 'non-being' is that looking at it you cannot see its form, listening to it you cannot hear its sound, touching it you cannot feel it, gazing at it you cannot see its edge, wide and vast, unable to be measured by any instrument, yet it can penetrate to brilliance. What is called not yet having 'being and non-being' is wrapping heaven and earth and molding the myriad things, greatly connected and mixed in obscurity, deep, vast, and great, so large that it cannot be made outside, so fine that splitting a hair or dividing a tip cannot make it inside, with no walled house, yet giving rise to the root of being and non-being. What is called not yet having the 'has not yet begun to have being and non-being' is when heaven and earth are not yet split, yin and yang not yet divided, the four seasons not yet separated, and the myriad things not yet born; vast and calm, silent and clear, no one has seen its form, like a flash of light between being and non-being, and when drawn back it is lost to oneself, saying: "I can have being and non-being, but I cannot yet make non-non-being. When it is made into non-non-being, from where will the supreme subtlety catch up with this!"
夫大塊載我以形，勞我以生，逸我以老，休我以死。善我生者，乃所以善我死也。夫藏舟於壑，藏山於澤，人謂之固矣。雖然，夜半有力者負而趨，寐者不知，猶有所遁。若藏天下於天下，則無所遁其形矣。
The great earth carries me by form, wearies me by life, gives me ease by old age, and lets me rest by death. To treat my life well is precisely to treat my death well. If one hides a boat in a valley and hides a mountain in a great marsh, people think it secure. Even so, in the middle of the night a strong man comes and carries it off on his back, and the sleeper does not know; still there is something that escapes. If one hides the world in the world, there is nowhere for its form to escape.
物豈可謂無大揚攉乎？一範人之形而猶喜。若人者，千變萬化而未始有極也。弊而復新，其為樂也，可勝計邪！譬若夢為鳥而飛於天，夢為魚而沒於淵，方其夢也，不知其夢也，覺而後知其夢也。今將有大覺，然後知今此之為大夢也。始吾未生之時，焉知生之樂也？今吾未死，又焉知死之不樂也？昔公牛哀轉病也，七日化為虎。其兄掩戶而入覘之，則虎搏而殺之。是故文章成獸，爪牙移易，志與心變，神與形化。方其為虎也，不知其嘗為人也；方其為人，不知其且為虎也。二者代謝舛馳，各樂其成形。狡猾鈍惛，是非無端，孰知其所萌！
Can one say that things have no rough outline at all? Once cast in a mold into human form, one is glad. A person like this goes through a thousand changes and ten thousand transformations and never has an end. When worn out he is renewed again; how could the joy of that be counted! It is like dreaming that one becomes a bird and flies up to the sky, or dreaming that one becomes a fish and sinks into the deep; while dreaming one does not know it is a dream, and only after waking does one know it was a dream. Now there will be a great awakening, and only then will we know that this present life is a great dream. When I had not yet been born, how could I know the joy of living? Now that I have not yet died, how can I know that death is not joyful? Long ago Gong Niu'ai fell ill with a disease of transformation and in seven days turned into a tiger. His elder brother closed the door and went in to peek, and the tiger sprang and killed him. So the pattern became that of a beast, the claws and teeth changed, the will and mind changed, spirit and form were transformed. When he was a tiger, he did not know that he had been a man; when he was a man, he did not know that he would become a tiger. The two replace each other and race by turns, each delighted in the form already taken. Cunning and dullness, right and wrong have no starting point; who knows from where they sprout!
夫水嚮冬則凝而為冰，冰迎春則泮而為水，冰水移易於前後，若周員而趨，孰暇知其所苦樂乎！是故形傷於寒暑燥溼之虐者，形苑而神壯；神傷乎喜怒思慮之患者，神盡而形有餘。故罷馬之死也，剝之若槁；狡狗之死也，割之猶濡。是故傷死者其鬼嬈，時既者其神漠。是皆不得形神俱沒也。夫聖人用心，杖性依神，相扶而得終始，是故其寐不夢，其覺不憂。
Water turns toward winter and freezes into ice, and ice meets spring and melts into water; ice and water change places in sequence, running in a circle like the circumference; who has leisure to know what is bitter or sweet for them! So those whose form is injured by cold, heat, dryness, and damp have a withered form while the spirit is still strong; those whose spirit is injured by joy, anger, thought, and worry have an exhausted spirit while the form still has surplus. So when a worn-out horse dies, split open it is like dry wood; when a cunning dog dies, cut open it is still moist. So those who die of injury have ghosts that trouble people; those whose years are spent have spirits that are faint. These are cases where form and spirit could not sink together. The sage uses the heart, relies on nature, depends on spirit, and the two support each other and so reach end and beginning; so he sleeps without dreaming and wakes without worry.
古之人有處混冥之中，神氣不蕩於外，萬物恬漠以愉靜，攙搶衡杓之氣莫不彌靡，而不能為害。當此之時，萬民猖狂，不知東西，含哺而遊，鼓腹而熙，交被天和，食於地德，不以曲故是非相尤，茫茫沈沈，是謂大治。於是在上位者，左右而使之，毋淫其性；鎮撫而有之，毋遷其德。是故仁義不布而萬物蕃殖，賞罰不施而天下賓服。其道可以大美興，而難以算計舉也。是故日計之不足，而歲計之有餘。
The people of ancient times lived in the muddled obscurity, their spirit and qi not swaying outward, the myriad things calm and quiet and joyful; evil influences like comets, meteors, and ill-omened stars all fell away and could not become harm. At that time the myriad people roamed freely and were content, not knowing east from west, wandering with food in their mouths and playing with swollen bellies, taking turns wrapped in heaven's harmony and eating earth's virtue, not blaming each other with cleverness and right and wrong, dim and deep; this is called great order. Those in high positions then used them left and right, not letting their nature go astray; they soothed and kept them, not letting their virtue change. So benevolence and righteousness were not dispensed and yet the myriad things multiplied; rewards and punishments were not applied and yet the world submitted. That Way can be raised up with great beauty but is hard to enumerate by calculation. So counting by days it seems not enough, but counting by years it is more than enough.
夫魚相忘於江湖，人相忘於道術。古之真人，立於天地之本，中至優遊，抱德煬和，而萬物雜累焉，孰肯解構人間之事，以物煩其性命乎！夫道有經紀條貫，得一之道，連千枝萬葉。是故貴有以行令，賤有以忘卑，貧有以樂業，困有以處危。夫大寒至，霜雪降，然後知松柏之茂也。據難履危，利害陳於前，然後知聖人之不失道也。是故能戴大員者履大方，鏡太清者視大明，立太平者處大堂，能遊冥冥者與日月同光。是故以道為竿，以德為綸，禮樂為鉤，仁義為餌，投之於江，浮之於海，萬物紛紛，孰非其有！
Fish forget each other in rivers and lakes, and people forget each other in the way of the Way. The true persons of ancient times stood on the root of heaven and earth, centered and at ease, embracing virtue and warming themselves in harmony, with the myriad things stacked in disorder there; who would be willing to entangle himself in human affairs and use outer things to trouble his nature and life! The Way has threads and strands, and one who obtains this one Way can link a thousand branches and ten thousand leaves. So the noble have what they use to give commands, the lowly have what they use to forget lowliness, the poor have what they use to delight in their work, and the distressed have what they use to dwell in danger. When great cold arrives and frost and snow fall, only then do we know the flourishing of the pine and cypress. Holding fast in difficulty and treading on danger, with benefit and harm arrayed before him, only then do we know that the sage does not lose the Way. So one who can bear the great round heaven treads the great square earth; one who can be a mirror of the Great Purity sees the great brightness; one who can stand in Great Peace dwells in the great hall; one who can roam in the obscure shares the light of sun and moon. So he takes the Way as his fishing rod, virtue as his line, ritual and music as the hook, benevolence and righteousness as the bait, and casts them into the river, floating in the great sea; the myriad things in profusion, which of them is not his!
夫挾依於跂躍之術，提挈人間之際，撢掞挺挏世之風俗，以摸蘇牽連物之微妙，猶得肆其志，充其欲，何況懷瑰瑋之道，忘肝膽，遺耳目，獨浮游無方之外，不與物相弊摋，中徙倚無形之域而和以天地者乎！若然者，偃其聰明而抱其太素，以利害為塵垢，以死生為晝夜，是故目觀玉輅琬象之狀，耳聽白雪、清角之聲，不能以亂其神。登千仞之谿，臨蝯眩之岸，不足以滑其和。譬若鍾山之玉，炊以鑪炭，三日三夜而色澤不變。則至德天地之精也。是故生不足以使之，利何足以動之；死不足以禁之，害何足以恐之。明於死生之分，達於利害之變，雖以天下之大，易骭之一毛，無所概於志也。
Those who rely on the petty arts of hopping and jumping, who carry the dealings among people, who stir and shove the customs of the world, groping at and linking the subtleties of things, can still indulge their will and fill their desires; how much more one who embraces the magnificent Way, forgets liver and gall, discards ears and eyes, floats alone beyond all directions, is not mutually destroyed with things, and leans halfway in the region of the formless and is in harmony with heaven and earth! Such a person sets down cleverness and embraces great plainness, regards benefit and harm as dust and dirt, and regards life and death as day and night; so his eyes may look on the forms of jade carriages and fine ivory, his ears may hear the sounds of White Snow and Qing Jue, and none can disturb his spirit. Climbing a valley a thousand fathoms deep and standing at a cliff that makes monkeys dizzy is not enough to stir his harmony. It is like the jade of Zhong Mountain, cooked in a furnace of coals for three days and three nights without any change in luster; that is supreme virtue, the essence of heaven and earth. So life is not enough to command him, and how could profit move him; death is not enough to restrain him, and how could harm frighten him. Understanding the division between life and death and penetrating the shifts of benefit and harm, even if offered the whole world in exchange for a single hair on his shin, his will would not be touched.
夫貴賤之於身也，猶條風之時麗也；毀譽之於己，猶蚊虻之一過也。夫秉皓白而不黑，行純粹而不糅，處玄冥而不闇，休於天鈞而不䃣，孟門、終隆之山不能禁，雖體道能不敗，湍瀨旋淵、呂梁之深不能留也，太行石澗、飛狐、句望之險不能難也。是故身處江海之上，而神遊魏闕之下。非得一原，孰能至於此哉！
Honor and humility are to his body like the east wind blowing by for a moment; praise and blame are to him like a mosquito or gadfly flying past once. Holding to whiteness without turning black, practicing purity without becoming mixed, dwelling in the dark without being dim, resting at the heavenly wheel without being damaged, the mountains of Mengmen and Zhonglong cannot hold him, and even if he embodies the Way he can remain unharmed; the depths of rapids, whirlpools, and Lüliang cannot detain him, and the dangers of the Taihang stone gorges, Feihu, and Juwang cannot make trouble for him. So his body is on the river and sea while his spirit roams beneath the palace gates. Without having attained that single source, who could reach this point!
是故與至人居，使家忘貧，使王公簡其富貴而樂卑賤，勇者衰其氣，貪者消其欲。坐而不教，立而不議，虛而往者實而歸，故不言而能飲人以和。是故至道無為，一龍一蛇，盈縮卷舒，與時變化。外從其風，內守其性，耳目不燿，思慮不營。其所居神者，臺簡以遊太清，引楯萬物，群美萌生。是故事其神者神去之，休其神者神居之。道出一原，通九門，散六衢，設於無垓坫之宇，寂漠以虛無。非有為於物也，物以有為於己也。是故舉事而順於道者，非道之所為也，道之所施也。
So one who lives with the perfect person lets his household forget poverty, lets kings and lords make light of wealth and rank and delight in lowliness, lets the brave diminish their spirit and the greedy dissolve their desires. Sitting, he does not teach; standing, he does not discuss; those who go empty come back full, so without speaking he lets people drink of harmony. So the supreme Way is non-action, now a dragon, now a snake, filling and contracting, curling and unfolding, changing with the times. Outwardly he follows the wind and inwardly he guards his nature, ears and eyes not dazzled and thought not troubled. Where he lets his spirit rest is on the terrace of simplicity, roaming in the Great Clarity, drawing in the myriad things as all beauty sprouts. So one who employs his spirit has it leave him, and one who lets his spirit rest has it dwell with him. The Way comes forth from a single source, passes through nine gates, and spreads to six crossroads, set within a boundless universe, silent and empty. It is not that it does something to things, but that things do something to themselves. So work that follows the Way is not what the Way does but what the Way bestows.
夫天之所覆，地之所載，六合所包，陰陽所呴，雨露所濡，道德所扶，此皆生一父母而閱一和也。是故槐榆與橘柚合而為兄弟，有苗與三危通為一家。夫目視鴻鵠之飛，耳聽琴瑟之聲，而心在雁門之間，一身之中，神之分離剖判，六合之內，一舉而千萬裡。是故自其異者視之，肝膽胡、越；自其同者視之，萬物一圈也。百家異說，各有所出，若夫墨、楊、申、商之於治道，猶蓋之無一橑，而輪之無一輻，有之可以備數，無之未有害於用也。己自以為獨擅之，不通之於天地之情也。今夫治工之鑄器，金踴躍於鑪中，必有波溢而播棄者，其中地而凝滯，亦有以象於物者矣。其形雖有所小用哉，然未可以保於周室之九鼎也，又況比於規形者乎？其與道相去亦遠矣！
What heaven covers, what earth bears, what the six directions enclose, what yin and yang breathe warmth on, what rain and dew moisten, what the Way and virtue support, all these come from one father and mother and pass through the same harmony. So the locust and elm join as brothers with the orange and pomelo, and the Youmiao and Sanwei are connected as one family. The eyes watch swans flying and the ears listen to the sound of zithers while the mind is among the Yanmen passes. Within one body the spirit can separate and divide; within the six directions a single movement is thousands of miles. So seen from difference, the liver and gall are like Hu and Yue; seen from sameness, the myriad things are a single circle. The hundred schools have different teachings, each coming from somewhere. As for Mo, Yang, Shen, and Shang regarding the Way of governing, they are like a carriage canopy lacking one rib or a wheel lacking one spoke: with it the count is complete, and without it use is not necessarily harmed. To consider oneself uniquely in charge is not to understand the real conditions of heaven and earth. Now when a smith casts a vessel, the metal leaps in the furnace, and there must be some that overflows and is spilled, and what falls to the ground and congeals may also resemble some thing. Though that form has a little use, it cannot be kept like the Nine Tripods of the house of Zhou, let alone compared to forms that match the compass! It is also far from the Way!
今夫萬物之疏躍枝舉，百事之莖葉條櫱，皆本於一根，而條循千萬也。若此則有所受之矣，而非所授者。所受者無授也而無不受也。無不受也者，譬若周雲之蘢蓯，遼巢彭濞而為雨，沈溺萬物而不與為溼焉。今夫善射者有儀表之度，如工匠有規矩之數，此皆所得以至於妙。然而奚仲不能為逢蒙，造父不能為伯樂者，是曰諭於一曲，而不通於萬方之際也。今以涅染緇則黑於涅，以藍染青則青於藍。涅非緇也，青非藍也，茲雖遇其母而無能復化已。是何則？以諭其轉而益薄也。何況夫未始有涅藍造化之者乎，其為化也，雖鏤金石，書竹帛，何足以舉其數！由此觀之，物莫不生於有也，小大優遊矣。
Now the myriad things spread out and leap up, branches stretching forth, and the stems, leaves, shoots, and sprouts of the hundred affairs all stem from a single root yet follow their threads into the thousands and ten thousands. In this way, there is something that receives, but there is no giver. What is received has no single giver, yet there is nothing that does not receive. Because there is nothing that does not receive, it is like dense clouds, lush and thick, billowing into rain that drowns the myriad things without itself getting wet along with them. Now a good archer has bearing and rules, like a craftsman with the numbers of compass and square, and all of these reached the wonderful because they gained something. But Xizhong could not be Pang Meng, and Zao Fu could not be Bo Le; this says that they penetrated one corner but did not penetrate the ends of the ten thousand directions. Now dyeing black with black dye makes it darker than the dye, and dyeing blue with indigo makes it bluer than indigo. The dye is not the black, and the blue is not the indigo, and here even if one met its mother again it could not change further. Why is this? To show that it grows thinner with each turn. How much more so for that which has not yet begun to have a dye or indigo to transform: its changes, even if engraved in metal and stone or written on bamboo and silk, how could they exhaust the number! From this we see that nothing is not born from being, and large and small can all roam freely.
夫秋豪之末，淪於無間而復歸於大矣；蘆苻之厚，通於無㙬而復反於敦龐。若夫無秋豪之微，蘆苻之厚，四達無境，通於無圻，而莫之要御夭遏者，其襲微重妙，挺挏萬物，揣丸變化，天地之間何足以論之！夫疾風絎木，而不能拔毛髮；雲臺之高，墮者折脊碎腦，而鶫勁適足以翱翔。夫與蚑蟯同乘天機，夫受形於一圈，飛輕微細者，猶足以脫其命，又況未有類也？由此觀之，無形而生有形，亦明矣。是故聖人託其神於靈府，而歸於萬物之初，視於冥冥，聽於無聲，冥冥之中獨見曉焉，寂漠之中獨有照焉。其用之也以不用，其不用也而後能用之；其知也乃不知，其不知也而後能知之也。
At the tip of an autumn hair it sinks to a place without any gap, yet returns again to greatness; as thin as a reed membrane, it reaches without limit, yet returns again to thickness. As for what lacks even the fineness of an autumn hair or the thickness of a reed membrane, it reaches in all four directions with no boundary, through to where there is no shore, and nobody can bind or block it; it follows the subtle and values the wondrous, shoves the myriad things and juggles transformations; how could heaven and earth be enough to discuss it! A fierce wind can snap trees (the received text has a variant character here, which older collations mostly take as 'snap') but cannot pull out a hair; from a terrace as high as the Cloud Terrace, a person who falls breaks his spine and smashes his brain, yet a small bird finds it just enough for soaring. Riding the heavenly mechanism together with tiny insects and receiving form from the same circle, those who fly lightly and have a fine body can still escape its fate; how much more what has no kind yet? From this it is clear that the formless gives birth to the formed. So the sage entrusts his spirit to the spirit-house, returns to the beginning of the myriad things, looks in the darkness and listens in the silence; in the darkness alone he sees brightness, and in silence alone he has illumination. His use relies on non-use, and only because of non-use can he use; his knowledge is non-knowing, and only because of non-knowing can he know.
夫天不定，日月無所載；地不定，草木無所植；所立於身者不寧，是非無所形。是故有真人然後有真知。其所持者不明，庸詎知吾所謂知之非不知歟？今夫積惠重厚，累愛襲恩，以聲華嘔苻嫗掩萬民百姓，使知之訢訢然，人樂其性者，仁也。舉大功，立顯名，體君臣，正上下，明親疏，等貴賤，存危國，繼絕世，決挐治煩，興毀宗，立無後者，義也。閉九竅，藏心志，棄聰明，反無識，芒然仿佯於塵埃之外，而消搖於無事之業，含陰吐陽，而萬物和同者，德也。是故道散而為德，德溢而為仁義，仁義立而道德廢矣。
If heaven is not settled, the sun and moon have nowhere to be carried; if earth is not settled, plants and trees have nowhere to be planted; if the thing on which one establishes oneself is not at peace, right and wrong have nowhere to take form. So only when there is a true person is there true knowledge. What he holds is not clear, so how can he know that what I call knowledge is not non-knowledge? Now to pile up kind favors and heap up love, to warm the myriad people with sound and splendor, making them rejoice so that each delights in his own nature, this is benevolence. To raise great merit, establish a famous name, embody the relation of ruler and minister, set above and below right, mark close and distant, distinguish noble from humble, preserve endangered states, continue broken lines, settle disorder, govern the troublesome, revive ruined clans, and establish heirs for those without descendants, this is righteousness. To close the nine orifices, hide the will, cast away cleverness, return to non-awareness, wander dimly beyond the dust, roam freely in the work of no-work, containing yin and exhaling yang, in harmony with the myriad things, this is virtue. So when the Way is dispersed it becomes virtue, and when virtue overflows it becomes benevolence and righteousness, and once benevolence and righteousness are established, the Way and virtue are discarded.
百圍之木，斬而為犧尊，鏤之以剞𠜾，雜之以青黃，華藻鎛鮮，龍蛇虎豹，曲成文章，然其斷在溝中，壹比犧尊、溝中之斷，則醜美有間矣，然而失木性，鈞也。是故神越者其言華，德蕩者其行偽。至精亡於中，而言行觀於外，此不免以身役物矣。夫趨舍行偽者，為精求於外也，精有湫盡，而行無窮極，則滑心濁神，而惑亂其本矣。其所守者不定，而外淫於世俗之風，所斷差跌者，而內以濁其清明，是故躊躇以終，而不得須臾恬澹矣。
A great tree a hundred spans around is cut down and made into a sacrificial wine vessel, carved with an engraver's knife (the received text has a rare character for 'carve' here), mixed with blue and yellow, its patterns bright and brilliant, with dragons, snakes, tigers, and leopards woven in winding patterns; yet the section cut off from it is thrown away in the ditch. Compare the sacrificial vessel with the piece in the ditch: ugliness and beauty differ, but in losing the nature of wood they are the same. So those whose spirit is dispersed have flowery speech, and those whose virtue is dissolute have false conduct. The utmost essence is lost within, while words and actions are watched without, and this is unavoidably using oneself to be driven by things. The pursuits, rejections, and false conduct are the essence seeking outside; essence has a time when it dries up, but conduct has no end, and so it disorders the heart, muddies the spirit, and confuses its root. What he holds is not settled, and outwardly he is also drowned in worldly custom; his decisions err, and inside the clear brightness is muddied, so he hesitates to the end and cannot have even a moment of calm.
是故聖人內修道術，而不外飾仁義，不知耳目之宣，而遊於精神之和。若然者，下揆三泉，上尋九天，橫廓六合，揲貫萬物，此聖人之遊也。若夫真人，則動溶於至虛，而遊於滅亡之野，騎蜚廉而從敦圄，馳於外方，休乎宇內，燭十日而使風雨，臣雷公，役夸父，妾宓妃，妻織女，天地之間，何足以留其志！是故虛無者道之舍，平易者道之素。
So the sage cultivates the Way within and does not decorate benevolence and righteousness outside; he does not care about the dazzle of ears and eyes but roams in the harmony of the spirit. Such a person can below measure the Three Springs and above reach the Nine Heavens, can open the six directions horizontally and thread through the myriad things; this is the roaming of a sage. As for the true person, he moves in the utmost emptiness and roams in the wilds of extinction, rides Feilian and follows Dunyu, gallops beyond the borders and rests within the universe, shines like ten suns, commands wind and rain, takes Lei Gong as minister, employs Kuafu, takes Fufei as concubine and the Weaver Girl as wife; between heaven and earth, how could anything hold his will! So emptiness is the lodging of the Way and ease is the substance of the Way.
夫人之事其神而嬈其精，營慧然而有求於外，此皆失其神明而離其宅也。是故凍者假兼衣於春，而暍者望冷風於秋，夫有病於內者必有色於外矣。夫梣木色青翳，而蠃瘉蝸睆，此皆治目之藥也。人無故求此物者，必有蔽其明者。聖人之所以駭天下者，真人未嘗過焉；賢人之所以矯世俗者，聖人未嘗觀焉。夫牛蹄之涔，無尺之鯉；塊阜之山，無丈之材。所以然者何也？皆其營宇狹小，而不能容巨大也。又況乎以無裹之者邪！此其為山淵之勢亦遠矣。夫人之拘於世也，必形繫而神洩，故不免於虛。使我可係羈者，必其有命在於外也。
When a person drives his own spirit and disturbs his own essence, busying his cleverness and seeking outside, all of this is losing the spirit-light and leaving its house. So one who suffers from cold wears extra clothes even in spring, one who suffers from heat longs for a cool wind even in autumn, and one who has an illness within must have a complexion outside. The ash tree can cure eye films, and shellfish can heal eye disease; all these are medicines for the eyes. When a person for no reason seeks these things, something must be obscuring his sight. What the sage startles the world with, the true person has not passed through; what the worthy uses to correct custom, the sage has not looked at. In the water pooled in an ox's hoofprint there is no carp a foot long; on a hill as small as a clod there is no timber ten feet long. Why is this? Because their dwellings are narrow and cannot contain what is huge. How much more so for one who wraps himself with 'nothing'! This is also far from the force of mountains and abysses. A person bound by the world must have his form tied while his spirit leaks out, so he cannot avoid emptiness. If I can be tied and bridled, there must be a fate outside.
至德之世，甘瞑於溷澖之域，而徙倚於汗漫之宇，提挈天地而委萬物，以鴻濛為景柱，而浮揚乎無畛崖之際。是故聖人呼吸陰陽之氣，而群生莫不顒顒然，仰其德以和順。當此之時，莫之領理，決離隱密而自成，渾渾蒼蒼，純樸未散，旁薄為一，而萬物大優，是故雖有羿之知而無所用之。
In the age of supreme virtue, people gladly closed their eyes in the realm of vast containment, leaned in the universe of boundless expanse, supported heaven and earth while handing the myriad things away, took the primal vapor as a shadow-post, and floated about at a boundless edge without borders. So the sage breathes the qi of yin and yang, and all living things look up to him, relying on his virtue to be in harmony. At that time no one governed; separation, concealment, and secrecy accomplished themselves, vast and indistinct, purity had not yet scattered, and all merged into one; the myriad things were greatly at ease, so even an intellect like Yi's would have had no place to be used.
及世之衰也，至伏羲氏，其道昧昧芒芒然，吟德懷和，被施頗烈，而知乃始昧昧晽晽，皆欲離其童蒙之心，而覺視於天地之間，是故其德煩而不能一。乃至神農、黃帝，剖判大宗，竅領天地，襲九竅，重九窽，提挈陰陽，嫥捖剛柔，枝解葉貫，萬物百族，使各有經紀條貫，於此萬民睢睢盱盱然，莫不竦身而載聽視，是故治而不能和下。棲遲至於昆吾、夏後之世，嗜慾連於物，聰明誘於外，而性命失其得。施及周室之衰，澆淳散樸，雜道以偽，儉德以行，而巧故萌生。周室衰而王道廢，儒墨乃始列道而議，分徒而訟。於是博學以疑聖，華誣以脅眾，絃歌鼓舞，緣飾《詩》、《書》以買名譽於天下。繁登降之禮，飾紱冕之服，聚眾不足以極其變，積財不足以贍其費，於是萬民乃始慲觟離跂，各欲行其知偽，以求鑿枘於世而錯擇名利，是故百姓曼衍於淫荒之陂，而失其大宗之本。夫世之所以喪性命，有衰漸以然，所由來者久矣。
When the world declined, it came to the House of Fuxi, whose Way was dim and vague, containing virtue and embracing harmony, his bestowal still broad and fierce, but intelligence had begun to see dimly and clearly, all wanting to leave the mind of childhood and see by awakening between heaven and earth, so his virtue was complicated and could not be one. Later came Shennong and the Yellow Emperor, who split open the great source, opened up heaven and earth, followed the nine orifices, layered the nine orifices, supported yin and yang, juggled hardness and softness, divided and threaded the branches and leaves, and gave the myriad things and hundred clans each their threads and strands, so that the myriad people opened their eyes wide and none failed to stand tall to listen and look; so they could govern but could not harmonize those below. Passing to the ages of Kunwu and the House of Xia, cravings were tied to outer things, cleverness was lured outside, and nature and destiny lost what they should have had. Extending to the decline of the house of Zhou, purity was thinned, simplicity was scattered, falsehood was mixed into the Way, conduct was used to pare down virtue, and cunning arose. When the house of Zhou declined and the kingly way was abandoned, the Confucians and Mohists began to discuss the Way separately and split into disciples to dispute. Then they used broad learning to cast doubt on the sage and used flashy, deceiving words to coerce the multitude, singing, strumming, drumming, and dancing, decorating the Odes and Documents to buy fame from the world. Fussy rituals of ascending and descending, ornamented robes and caps, gathering a multitude did not suffice to exhaust their changes, and piling up goods and wealth did not suffice to supply their expense; so the myriad people began to strain and stretch on tiptoe, each wanting to apply cleverness and falsehood to fit together tenon and mortise in the world and pick profit and fame; so the common people crept onto the slopes of license and lost the root of the great source. That the world has lost nature and destiny is a gradual decline like this, and it has been so for a very long time.
是故聖人之學也，欲以返性於初，而遊心於虛也。達人之學也，欲以通性於遼廓，而覺於寂漠也。若夫俗世之學也則不然，握德𢶊性，內愁五藏，外勞耳目，乃始招蟯振繾物之豪芒，搖消掉捎仁義禮樂，暴行越智於天下，以招號名聲於世。此我所羞而不為也。
So the sage's learning is to return nature to the beginning and let the mind roam in emptiness. The learning of the accomplished is to open nature to the vast and awaken in the silence. The learning of the common world is not like this: it grasps virtue and disturbs nature (the received text has a rare character here), inside it grieves the five organs, outside it tires the ears and eyes, and then begins to tease and pull at the tips of hairs of things, shake off and toy with benevolence, righteousness, ritual, and music, and expose its conduct and cleverness to the world in order to call out for fame. This I am ashamed of and will not do.
是故與其有天下也，不若有說也；與其有說也，不若尚羊物之終始也，而條達有無之際。是故舉世而譽之不加勸，舉世而非之不加沮，定於死生之境，而通於榮辱之理，雖有炎火洪水彌靡於天下，神無虧缺於胸臆之中矣。若然者，視天下之間，猶飛羽浮芥也，孰肯分分然以物為事也！水之性真清而土汨之，人性安靜而嗜慾亂之。夫人之所受於天者，耳目之於聲色也，口鼻之於芳臭也，肌膚之於寒燠，其情一也，或通於神明，或不免於痴狂者，何也？其所為制者異也。是故神者智之淵也，淵清則智明矣；智者心之府也，智公則心平矣。
So rather than possess the world, it is better to possess that delight; rather than possess delight, it is better to wander at ease in the beginning and end of things and to extend through the borders of being and non-being. So when the whole world praises him he is not more diligent, and when the whole world condemns him he is not more downcast; settled in the realm of life and death and penetrating the principle of honor and disgrace, even if blazing fire and great floods filled the world, his spirit would not be diminished in his breast. Such a person looks at the world as flying feathers and floating mustard seeds; who would be willing to busily take outer things as affairs! Water's nature is truly clear, and earth stirs it up; human nature is truly calm, and cravings disturb it. What people receive from heaven, the ears and eyes for sound and color, the mouth and nose for fragrance and stench, the skin for cold and warmth, are the same in feeling; yet some connect with the spirit-light and some cannot avoid madness; why? Because what they use to restrain differs. So the spirit is the depth of wisdom, and when the depth is clear, wisdom is bright; wisdom is the storehouse of the mind, and when wisdom is impartial, the mind is level.
人莫鑑於流沫，而鑑於止水者，以其靜也；莫窺形於生鐵，而窺於明鏡者，以睹其易也。夫唯易且靜，形物之性也。由此觀之，用也必假之於弗用也，是故虛室生白，吉祥止也。夫鑑明者塵垢弗能薶，神清者嗜慾弗能亂。精神已越於外，而事復返之，是失之於本，而求之於末也。外內無符而欲與物接，弊其玄光而求知之於耳目，是釋其炤炤，而道其冥冥也，是之謂失道。心有所至而神喟然在之，反之於虛則消鑠滅息，此聖人之遊也。故古之治天下也，必達乎性命之情。其舉錯未必同也，其合於道一也。
No one looks at himself in flowing foam but looks at still water, because it is still; no one peers at his form in raw iron but peers in a bright mirror, because he sees it as level and smooth. Only what is level and also still is the nature of the form of things. From this we see that use must rely on non-use, so an empty room gives rise to white light and auspiciousness settles there. If a mirror is bright, dust cannot bury it; if the spirit is clear, cravings cannot disturb it. If the spirit has already passed to the outside and then one uses affairs to bring it back, one has lost it at the root and seeks it at the tip. If outer and inner do not correspond and one still wants to meet things, wearing out that mysterious light and seeking knowledge from ears and eyes, one throws away brightness and walks into the dark, which is called losing the Way. When the mind arrives somewhere and the spirit sighs and follows, returning to emptiness dissolves and stills; this is the roaming of the sage. So in ancient times, in governing the world, they necessarily penetrated the true state of nature and destiny. Their measures were not necessarily the same, but their accord with the Way was identical.
夫夏日之不被裘者，非愛之也，燠有餘於身也。冬日之不用翣者，非簡之也，清有餘於適也。夫聖人量腹而食，度形而衣，節於己而已，貪汙之心奚由生哉！故能有天下者，必無以天下為也；能有名譽者，必無以趨行求者也。聖人有所於達，達則嗜慾之心外矣；孔、墨之弟子，皆以仁義之術教導於世，然而不免於儡。身猶不能行也，又況所教乎？是何則？其道外也。夫以末求返於本，許由不能行也，又況齊民乎！誠達於性命之情，而仁義固附矣，趨舍何足以滑心！
In summer one does not put on fur, not out of cherishing that fur, but because the warmth in one's body is already more than enough. In winter one does not use a fan, not out of slighting that fan, but because coolness is already more than enough for comfort. The sage eats by measuring his belly and dresses by measuring his body, regulating only himself; where could a greedy heart come from! So one who can possess the world is surely one who has not taken the world as a thing of importance; one who can possess a good name is surely one who has not sought it by running about. The sage has what he has penetrated, and once he has penetrated, the heart of craving and desire is outside him. The disciples of Confucius and Mo Di all taught the world with the arts of humaneness and rightness, yet they did not escape defeat. They could not practice them in their own persons, so how much less the people they taught? Why was this? Their Way lay outside. Seeking to return to the root by way of the branches, even Xu You could not do it, how much less ordinary people! If one truly penetrates the nature and destiny, humaneness and rightness will naturally attach, and how could taking or leaving things be enough to disturb the heart!
若夫神無所掩，心無所載，通洞條達，恬漠無事，無所凝滯，虛寂以待，勢利不能誘也，辯者不能說也，聲色不能淫也，美者不能濫也，智者不能動也，勇者不能恐也，此真人之道也。若然者，陶冶萬物，與造化者為人，天地之間，宇宙之內，莫能夭遏。夫化生者不死，而化物者不化，神經於驪山、太行而不能難，入於四海九江而不能濡，處小隘而不塞，橫扃天地之間而不窕。不通此者，雖目數千羊之群，耳分八風之調，足蹀陽阿之舞，而手會綠水之趨，智終天地，明照日月，辯解連環，澤潤玉石，猶無益於治天下也。靜漠恬澹，所以養性也；和愉虛無，所以養德也。外不滑內，則性得其宜；性不動和，則德安其位。養生以經世，抱德以終年，可謂能體道矣。若然者，血脈無鬱滯，五藏無蔚氣，禍福弗能撓滑，非譽弗能塵垢，故能致其極。非有其世，孰能濟焉？有其人不遇其時，身猶不能脫，又況無道乎？且人之情，耳目應感動，心志知憂樂，手足之㩌疾𧒃、闢寒暑，所以與物接也。蜂蠆螫指而神不能憺，蚉蝱噆膚而知不能平，夫憂患之來，攖人心也，非直蜂蠆之螫毒而蚊勁之慘怛也，而欲靜漠虛無，柰之何哉！
As for the spirit having nothing that screens it, the heart having nothing that it carries, being open, clear and unobstructed, calm and free of affairs, without stagnation, awaiting with emptiness and stillness, not lured by power and profit, not moved by eloquent persuaders, not corrupted by music and sensuality, not overflowing with beautiful things, not swayed by the clever, not frightened by the brave: this is the Way of the true person. Such a person molds the myriad things and keeps company with the creator; between heaven and earth and within the universe, nothing can cut him short. He who transforms life does not die, he who transforms things is not transformed; his spirit passes through Mount Li and Mount Taihang without being troubled, enters the four seas and nine rivers without being wetted, dwells in a narrow pass without being blocked and spans the space between heaven and earth without being sparse. One who does not penetrate this, even if his eyes can count flocks of several thousand sheep, his ears distinguish the tunes of the eight winds, his feet tread the Yang A dance, his hands match the rhythm of the Green Water melody, his wisdom exhaust heaven and earth, his clarity illuminate sun and moon, his debate untie linked rings, and his glossy brilliance be like jade, still gains nothing for governing the world. Quiet, still, calm and plain is what nourishes nature; harmonious, joyful and empty is what nourishes virtue. When the outer does not disturb the inner, nature gets what suits it; when nature does not stir up harmony, virtue rests in its place. One who nourishes life to pass through the age and holds virtue to the end of the years may be called able to embody the Way. In such a person the blood vessels have no stagnation and the five organs have no foul air; calamity and fortune cannot disturb him, and blame and praise cannot soil him with dust, so he is able to reach the utmost. If there were not such an age, who could accomplish it? Having such a person but not meeting the times, he cannot even escape himself, how much less if the Way is absent? Moreover, the feelings of a person are such that the ears and eyes respond and are moved, the heart knows sorrow and joy, and the hands and feet swiftly avoid cold and heat, by which he connects with things. When a wasp stings a finger, the spirit cannot be at ease; when a mosquito bites the skin, awareness cannot be level. When sorrow and trouble come and seize a person's heart, it is not merely like the venom of a wasp or the bite of a mosquito, yet one wishes to be still, quiet and empty; what can be done about that!
夫目察秋豪之末，耳不聞雷霆之聲；耳調玉石之聲，目不見太山之高。何則？小有所志而大有所忘也。今萬物之來，擢拔吾性，攓取吾情，有若泉源，雖欲勿稟，其可得邪！今夫樹木者，灌以瀿水，疇以肥壤，一人養之，十人拔之，則必無餘櫱，又況與一國同伐之哉？雖欲久生，豈可得乎！今盆水在庭，清之終日，未能見眉睫；濁之不過一撓，而不能察方員。人神易濁而難清，猶盆水之類也，況一世而撓滑之，曷得須臾平乎！
The eyes can see the tip of an autumn hair, yet the ears cannot hear the sound of thunder; the ears can tune the sounds of jade and stone, yet the eyes cannot see the height of Mount Tai. Why? When one concentrates on the small, one forgets the large. Now when the myriad things come, they pluck out my nature and seize my feelings, like a spring welling up; even if I wished not to accept it, how could I do so! Now one who plants a tree waters it with flowing water and tends it with rich soil; if one person nurtures and ten people uproot it, surely no shoots will be left, how much more if the whole state attacks it together? Even if one wished to live long, how could one obtain it! Now put a basin of water in the courtyard, and let it settle for a whole day, and it may still not reflect even one's eyebrows and lashes; stir it up and with a single disturbance you cannot make out the square or round. A person's spirit is easily muddied and hard to clear, like the basin of water, how much more if one disturbs it for a whole lifetime; how could there be even a moment of calm!
古者至德之世，賈便其肆，農樂其業，大夫安其職，而處士脩其道。當此之時，風雨不毀折，草木不夭，九鼎重味，珠玉潤澤，洛出丹書，河出綠圖，故許由、方回、善卷、披衣得達其道。何則？世之主有欲利天下之心，是以人得自樂其間。四子之才，非能盡善，蓋今之世也，然莫能與之同光者，遇唐、虞之時。逮至夏桀、殷紂，燔生人，辜諫者，為炮烙，鑄金柱，剖賢人之心，析才士之脛，醢鬼侯之女，葅梅伯之骸。當此之時，嶢山崩，三川涸，飛鳥鎩翼，走獸擠腳。當此之時，豈獨無聖人哉？然而不能通其道者，不遇其世。夫鳥飛千仞之上，獸走叢薄之中，禍猶及之，又況編戶齊民乎？由此觀之，體道者不專在於我，亦有繫於世矣。
In the ancient age of supreme virtue, merchants were at ease in their markets, farmers delighted in their work, grand masters were secure in their posts, and retired scholars cultivated their Way. At that time, wind and rain did not break things, plants and trees did not die young, the flavors of the Nine Tripods were rich, pearls and jade were lustrous, the Luo River produced the red writing and the Yellow River produced the green chart, so Xu You, Fang Hui, Shan Juan and Pi Yi could penetrate their Way. Why? The rulers of the world had a heart that wished to benefit the world, so people could take their own joy within it. The talents of these four were not wholly good, probably comparable to those of today, yet none today shines like them, because they met the time of Tang and Yu. When it came to Jie of Xia and Zhou of Yin, they roasted living people, dismembered remonstrators, made the burning pillar and cast bronze pillars, cut open the hearts of worthies and chopped the shins of talented scholars, minced the daughter of the Marquis of Gui into sauce and made the bones of Mei Bo into pickles. At that time Mount Yao collapsed, the three rivers dried up, flying birds broke their wings, and running beasts hurt their feet. At that time, was there really no sage? Yet they could not penetrate their Way, because they did not meet that age. Birds fly a thousand fathoms above and beasts run in thickets and brush, yet calamity still catches up with them, how much more ordinary registered commoners? Looking at it this way, embodying the Way does not rest on me alone, but also depends on the age.
夫歷陽之都，一夕反而為湖，勇力聖知與罷怯不肖者同命。巫山之上，順風縱火，膏夏紫芝與蕭艾俱死。故河魚不得明目，稚稼不得育時，其所生者然也。故世治則愚者不能獨亂，世亂則智者不能獨治。身蹈於濁世之中，而責道之不行也，是猶兩絆騏驥，而求其致千里也。置猿檻中，則與豚同，非不巧捷也，無所肆其能也。舜之耕陶也，不能利其裡；南面王，則德施乎四海，仁非能益也，處便而勢利也。古之聖人，其和愉寧靜，性也；其志得道行，命也。是故性遭命而後能行，命得性而後能明。烏號之弓，谿子之弩，不能無弦而射。越舲蜀艇，不能無水而浮。今矰繳機而在上，罔罟張而在下，雖欲翱翔，其勢焉得？故《詩》云：「采采卷耳，不盈傾筐。嗟我懷人，寘彼周行。」以言慕遠世也。
The city of Liyang in a single night turned over and became a lake, and the brave and strong, the sage and wise, shared one fate with the weak, timid and unworthy. On Mount Wu, when fire is set downwind, the fragrant zizhi herbs die together with the artemisia. So the fish in the river cannot brighten their eyes, and tender crops cannot ripen in season, because the places where they were born make it so. So when the age is well governed, a fool alone cannot throw the age into disorder; when the age is in disorder, a wise man alone cannot set the age right. To be sunk in a turbid age and yet blame the Way for not being practiced is like hobbling the two feet of a fine steed and demanding it run a thousand li. Put a monkey in a cage and it is the same as a pig, not because it is not agile but because there is no place to use its ability. When Shun farmed and made pottery, he could not benefit his village; when he faced south and became king, his virtue extended to the four seas, not because his humaneness had increased but because his position was convenient and the circumstances favorable. The sages of ancient times, harmonious, joyful and tranquil, had that as nature; having their aims fulfilled and the Way practiced was destiny. So nature meets destiny and only then can it act; destiny gets nature and only then can it be made clear. The Wuhao bow and the Xizi crossbow cannot shoot without a string. The Yue boat and the Shu skiff cannot float without water. Now with the trigger of the arrow-and-cord above and nets spread below, even if one wished to soar, how could the circumstances be obtained? So the Classic of Poetry says: "I pick and pick the cocklebur, and still cannot fill my slanted basket. Alas, I long for that person, and set the basket on the great road." This is used to express yearning for a distant age.