Volume Twelve
老子曰：上古真人，呼吸陰陽，而群生莫不仰其德以和順，當此之時，領理隱密，自成純樸，純樸未散，而萬物大優。及世之衰也，至伏羲氏，昧昧懋懋，皆欲離其童蒙之心，而覺悟乎天地之間，其德煩而不一。及至神農、黃帝，核領天下，紀綱四時，和調陰陽，於是萬民莫不竦身而思，戴聽而視，故治而不和。下至夏、殷之世，嗜慾達於物，聰明誘於外，性命失其真。施及周室，澆醇散樸，離道以為偽，險德以為行，智巧萌生，狙學以擬聖，華誣以脅眾，琢飾詩書，以賈名譽，各欲以行其智偽，以容於世，而失大宗之本，故世有喪性命，衰漸所由來久矣。是故至人之學也，欲以反性於無，遊心於虛，世俗之學，擢德攓性，內愁五藏，暴行越知，以譊名聲於世，此至人所不為也。擢德自見也，攓性絕生也，若夫至人定乎死生之意，通乎榮辱之理，舉世譽之而不益勸，舉世非之而不加沮，得至道之要也。
Laozi said: The true people of high antiquity breathed in yin and yang, and all living beings looked up to their virtue and were harmonious. At that time they governed in secrecy, and of themselves became pure and simple; while purity and simplicity had not been scattered, the myriad things were greatly at ease. When the age declined, and it came to Fuxi, they were dim and striving, all wishing to leave the heart of the uninstructed child and awaken to what lay between heaven and earth, and their virtue became complicated and not single. By the time of Shennong and the Yellow Emperor, they examined and led the world, regulated the four seasons, and harmonized yin and yang, and so none of the myriad people did not stand straight and think, lift their ears and look; so there was order but no harmony. Down to the age of Xia and Yin, desires reached out to things, ears and eyes were lured by the outside, and nature and fate lost their truth. Extending to the house of Zhou, the pure was thinned and the simple scattered; people left the Way to make falsehood, put danger and thinness in the place of virtue in their conduct, clever tricks sprouted, they imitated the sages in a sneaky learning, cheated the crowd with flowery deception, polished the Odes and Documents to buy a reputation, each wanting to be accepted in the world by cunning and falsehood, and lost the root of the great ancestor. So there were those in the world who lost their nature and fate, and the decline has come from far back. Therefore the learning of the utmost person aims to return nature to nothingness and let the heart roam in emptiness; the learning of the common world lifts up virtue and pulls at nature, troubles the five organs within, and runs ahead of knowledge in violent conduct, clamoring for fame in the world, which the utmost person does not do. Lifting up virtue is displaying oneself, and pulling at nature is cutting off life. As for the utmost person, he settles the meaning of life and death, penetrates the principle of glory and disgrace, and when the whole world praises him he is not more encouraged, and when the whole world blames him he is not more discouraged; this is gaining the essentials of the utmost Way.
老子曰：古者被髮而無卷領，以王天下，其德生而不殺，與而不奪，天下非其服，同懷其德，當此之時，陰陽和平，萬物蕃息，飛鳥之巢可俯而探也，走獸可係而從也。及其衰也，鳥獸蟲蛇，皆為民害，故鑄鐵鍛刃以禦其難，故民迫其難則求其便，因其患則操其備，各以其智去其所害，就其所利，常故不可循，器械不可因，故先王之法度，有變易者也，故曰：名可名，非常名也。五帝異道而德覆天下，三王殊事而名後世，因時而變者也。譬猶師曠之調五音也，所推移上下無常，尺寸以度，而靡不中者，故通於樂之情者能作，音有本主於中。而知規矩鉤繩之所用者能治人，故先王之制，不宜即廢之，末世之事善即著之。故聖人之制禮樂者，而不制於禮樂，制物者，不制於物，製法者，不制於法，故曰：道可道，非常道也。
Laozi said: In ancient times people wore their hair loose and had no wrapped collars, and ruled the world; their virtue gave life and did not kill, gave and did not take, the world did not submit to them, yet together cherished their virtue. At that time yin and yang were at peace, the myriad things multiplied, birds' nests could be reached by stooping, and wild animals could be tethered and followed. When it declined, birds, beasts, insects and snakes all harmed the people, so they cast iron and forged blades to resist the trouble. The people, pressed by trouble, sought convenience, and, driven by hardship, prepared defenses, each used his wits to remove what harmed him and went toward what benefited him. Old habits cannot be followed and implements cannot be relied on, so the laws of the former kings were subject to change. So it is said: the name that can be named is not the constant name. The Five Emperors had different ways yet their virtue covered the world, and the Three Kings differed in affairs yet their names have remained for later ages, because they changed with the times. It is like Shi Kuang tuning the five notes: what he shifted up and down had no constant, and measured with the inch it never failed to hit. So one who understands the feelings of music can compose; sound has a root that governs within, and one who knows how to use compass, square, hook and line can govern people. So do not abolish the institutions of the former kings hastily; and in the affairs of a late age, make known what is good. So the sage makes rites and music but is not made by rites and music; makes things but is not made by things; makes laws but is not made by laws. So it is said: the Way that can be spoken is not the constant Way.
老子曰：昔者之聖王，仰取象於天，俯取度於地，中取法於人，調陰陽之氣，和四時之節，察陵陸水澤肥墽高下之宜，以立事生財，除飢寒之患，闢疾疢之災，中受人事，以制禮樂，行仁義之道，以治人倫。列金木水火土之性，以立父子之親而成家，聽五音清濁六律相生之數，以立君臣之義而成國，察四時孟仲季之序，以立長幼之節而成官，列地而州之，分國而治之，立大學以教之，此治之綱紀也。得道則舉，失道則廢，夫物未嘗有張而不弛，盛而不敗者也。唯聖人可盛而不敗，聖人初作樂也，以歸神杜淫，反其天心，至其衰也，流而不反，淫而好色，不顧正法，流及後世，至於亡國，其作書也，以領理百事，愚者以不忘，智者以記事，及其衰也，為姦偽以解有罪而殺不辜，其作囿也，以成宗廟之具，簡士卒以戒不虞，及其衰也，馳騁弋獵以奪民時，以罷民力，其上賢也，以平教化，正獄訟，賢者在位，能者在職，澤施於下，萬民懷德，至其衰也，朋黨比周，各推其所與，廢公趣私，外內相舉，姦人在位，賢者隱處。天地之道，極則反，益則損，故聖人治弊而改制，事終而更為，其美在和，其失在權。聖人之道曰：非修禮義，廉恥不立，民無廉恥，不可以治，不知禮義，法不能正，非崇善廢醜，不嚮禮義，無法不可以為治，不知禮義不可以行法，法能殺不孝者，不能使人孝，能刑盜者不能使人廉。聖王在上，明好惡以示人，經非譽以導之，親而進之，賤不肖而退之，刑錯而不用，禮義修而任賢德也。故天下之高，以為三公，一州之高，以為九卿，一國之高，以為二十七大夫，一鄉之高，以為八十一元士。智過萬人者謂之英，千人者謂之俊，百人者謂之傑，十人者謂之豪。明於天地之道，通於人情之理，大足以容眾，惠足以懷遠，智足以知權，人英也。
Laozi said: The sage kings of old looked up to take images from heaven, looked down to take measures from earth, and in the middle took models from people; they harmonized the breath of yin and yang, regulated the rhythm of the four seasons, examined what suited hills, plains, waters and marshes, fertile and barren land, high and low, in order to establish enterprises and produce wealth, remove the trouble of hunger and cold, and avoid the calamity of sickness. In the middle they received human affairs to make rites and music, practice the Way of benevolence and righteousness, and order human relations. They laid out the natures of metal, wood, water, fire and earth to establish the affection of father and son and complete the family; they listened to the clear and turbid of the five notes and the numbers of the six pitch-pipes' mutual generation to establish the righteousness of ruler and minister and complete the state; they examined the order of the first, middle and last months of the four seasons to establish the measure between elder and younger and complete the offices. They divided the land into provinces, divided the states and governed them, and set up a great school to teach them; this is the framework of government. When the Way is attained they rise, when the Way is lost they are abolished. Nothing has ever been stretched without slackening, or flourished without decline. Only the sage can flourish without decline. When the sage first made music, it was to gather the spirits, block excess, and return to the heart of heaven; when it declined, it flowed on and did not return, indulged in excess and sensual pleasure, disregarded proper law, flowed on to later ages, and reached the point of ruining states. He made writing to manage the hundred affairs, so that the foolish would not forget and the wise could record events; when it declined, people made falsehoods to excuse the guilty and kill the innocent. He made parks to complete the equipment for the ancestral temple, to review the soldiers and guard against the unforeseen; when it declined, they galloped and shot to take the people's time and wear out their strength. He promoted the worthy to level teaching and transformation and correct lawsuits, with the worthy in position and the able in office, benefit spreading below and the myriad people cherishing his virtue; when it declined, they formed cliques and favored each other, each pushing his own associates, abandoning the public for the private, inside and outside promoting each other, the wicked in office and the worthy in seclusion. The Way of heaven and earth is that when it reaches an extreme it reverses, and when it increases it diminishes. So the sage cures abuses by changing institutions, and when affairs have run their course changes them; their beauty is in harmony, their fault is in expediency. The Way of the sages says: if ritual and righteousness are not cultivated, integrity and shame are not established; if the people have no integrity or shame, they cannot be governed; if they do not know ritual and righteousness, law cannot correct them. If one does not esteem the good and discard the ugly, they do not turn toward ritual and righteousness; without law there can be no government, and without knowing ritual and righteousness law cannot be enforced. Law can kill the unfilial but cannot make people filial; it can punish thieves but cannot make people honest. When a sage king is above, he shows people his likes and dislikes with clarity, guides them through praise and blame, draws near and advances them, despises the unworthy and removes them, and punishments are set aside and unused; this is cultivating ritual and righteousness and employing the worthy and virtuous. So the highest in the world is made one of the Three Dukes; the highest of a province is made one of the Nine Ministers; the highest of a state is made one of the twenty-seven grand masters; the highest of a district is made one of the eighty-one primary scholars. One whose wisdom surpasses ten thousand people is called ying, one who surpasses a thousand is called jun, one who surpasses a hundred is called jie, and one who surpasses ten is called hao. One who is clear about the Way of heaven and earth, penetrates the principle of human feeling, is great enough to hold the multitude, generous enough to win those afar, and wise enough to know expedients, is a ying among men.
德足以教化，行足以隱義，信足以得眾，明足以照下，人俊也。行可以為儀表，智足以決嫌疑，信可以守約，廉可以使分財，作事可法，出言可道，人傑也。守職不廢，處義不比，見難不苟免，見利不苟得，人豪也。英俊豪傑，各以大小之材處其位，由本流末，以重製輕，上唱下和，四海之內，一心同歸，背貪鄙，嚮仁義，其於化民，若風之靡草。今使不肖臨賢，雖嚴刑不能禁其姦，小不能制大，弱不能使強，天地之性也。故聖人舉賢以立功，不肖之主舉其所與同，觀其所舉，治亂分矣，察其黨與，賢不肖可論也。
One whose virtue is enough to teach and transform, whose conduct is enough to conceal righteousness, whose good faith is enough to win the multitude, and whose clarity is enough to illuminate those below, is a jun among men. One whose conduct can serve as a model, whose wisdom is enough to settle doubts, whose good faith can keep an agreement, whose integrity can be trusted to divide wealth, whose actions can be taken as examples and whose words can be spoken, is a jie among men. One who keeps his post without neglect, stays righteous without forming cliques, does not escape difficulty carelessly, and does not take profit carelessly, is a hao among men. Ying, jun, jie and hao each fill their positions with talent great or small, from the root to the branch, using the heavy to control the light, with those above leading and those below following, so all within the four seas share one heart and return together, turn their backs on greed and meanness and turn toward benevolence and righteousness, and in transforming the people they are like wind making grass bend. Now if the unworthy are made to rule the worthy, even severe punishment cannot stop their wickedness. The small cannot control the large, and the weak cannot command the strong; this is the nature of heaven and earth. So the sage promotes the worthy to establish merit, while an unworthy ruler promotes those like himself. Observe whom he promotes and order and disorder are distinguished; examine his associates and the worthy and unworthy can be judged.
老子曰：為禮者雕琢人性，矯拂其情，目雖欲之禁以度，心雖樂之節以禮，趣翔周旋，屈節卑拜，肉凝而不食，酒徵而不飲，外束其形，內愁其德，鉗陰陽之和而迫性命之情，故終身為哀人。何則？不本其所以欲，而禁其所欲，不原其所以樂，而防其所樂，是猶圈獸而不塞其垣，禁其野心，決江河之流而壅之以手，故曰：開其兌，濟其事，終身不救。夫禮者，遏情閉欲，以義自防，雖情心㖥噎，形性飢渴，以不得已自強，故莫能終其天年。禮者，非能使人不欲也，而能止之，樂者，非能使人勿樂也，而能防之。夫使天下畏刑而不敢盜竊，豈若使無有盜心哉！故知其無所用，雖貪者皆辭之，不知其所用，廉者不能讓之。夫人之所以亡社稷，身死人手，為天下笑者，未嘗非欲也，知冬日之扇，夏日之裘，無用於己，萬物變為塵垢矣！故揚湯止沸，沸乃益甚，知其本者，去火而已。
Laozi said: Those who practice ritual carve at human nature and thwart its feelings: though the eyes desire, they are forbidden by measure; though the heart delights, it is restrained by ritual. Hurrying and wheeling, bending joints and bowing low, meat congealed and not eaten, wine clear and not drunk, outwardly binding their bodies and inwardly grieving their virtue, they clamp the harmony of yin and yang and press on the feelings of nature and fate, and so all their lives are sad people. Why? They do not look to what makes desire, yet forbid what is desired; they do not trace what makes joy, yet guard against what is enjoyed. It is like penning a beast without stopping up the wall, and then forbidding its wild heart; or breaching the flow of rivers and then trying to block it with the hand. So it is said: open the orifices of desire to accomplish those affairs, and all one's life one is beyond cure. Ritual restrains feeling and shuts desire, guarding itself with righteousness, and even if the heart is choked and the body and nature hungry and thirsty, they force themselves because there is no help for it, and so none of them can complete their natural years. Ritual cannot make people not desire, but it can stop them; music cannot make people not enjoy, but it can guard against it. To make the world fear punishment and not dare steal is nothing compared with making them have no thought of stealing! So when they know it has no use, even the greedy refuse it; when they do not know what it is used for, even the honest cannot yield it. What makes people lose the altars of the state, die at the hands of others, and be laughed at by the world, has always been desire. Once they know that a fan in winter and a fur coat in summer are of no use to themselves, the myriad things become dust and dirt. So ladling out hot water to stop its boiling makes the boiling worse; one who knows the root simply removes the fire.
老子曰：循性而行謂之道，得其天性謂之德，性失然後貴仁義，仁義立而道德廢，純樸散而禮樂飾，是非形而百姓眩，珠玉貴而天下爭。夫禮者，所以別尊卑貴賤也，義者，所以和君臣父子兄弟夫婦人道之際也。末世之禮，恭敬而交。為義者，佈施而得，君臣以相非，骨肉以生怨也，故水積則生相食之蟲，土積則生自肉之狩，禮樂飾則生詐偽。末世之為治，不積於養生之具，澆天下之醇，散天下之樸，滑亂萬民，以清為濁，性命飛揚，皆亂以營，貞信熳爛，人失其性，法與義相背，行與利相反，貧富之相傾，人君之與僕虜，不足以論。夫有餘則讓，不足則爭，讓則禮義生，爭則暴亂起，故多欲則事不省，求贍則爭不止，故世治則小人守正，而利不能誘也，世亂則君子為姦，而法不能禁也。
Laozi said: To follow nature and act is called the Way, and to obtain one's heavenly nature is called De. When nature is lost, benevolence and righteousness are valued; when benevolence and righteousness are established, Dao and De are abandoned; when purity and simplicity are scattered, ritual and music are adorned; when right and wrong take shape, the common people are dazzled; when pearls and jade are valued, the world contends. Ritual is used to distinguish the honored and lowly, high and low; righteousness is used to harmonize the human way between ruler and minister, father and son, brothers, husband and wife. The ritual of a late age is courtesy in order to exchange; those who practice righteousness give in order to gain something. Ruler and minister therefore criticize each other, and flesh and blood therefore breed resentment. So when water accumulates, insects that eat each other are born; when earth accumulates, beasts that eat their own flesh are born (the base text has a variant character for "beasts"); and when ritual and music are adorned, deceit and falsehood are born. In the governing of a late age, they do not accumulate the tools for sustaining life, they thin the world's purity and scatter its simplicity, confuse the myriad people, turn clear into turbid, so that nature and fate fly about, all are disturbed and bewildered, loyalty and good faith spoil, and people lose their nature. Law and righteousness go against each other, conduct and profit are opposed, poor and rich overturn each other, and ruler and servant are not worth discussing. If there is surplus they yield, if there is lack they contend; yielding produces ritual and righteousness, contending raises violence and disorder. So with many desires affairs are not simplified, and when seeking sufficiency, strife does not stop. Therefore when the age is well governed petty people keep to what is right and profit cannot lure them; when the age is disordered gentlemen turn wicked and law cannot restrain them.
老子曰：衰世之主，鑽山石，挈金玉，擿礱蜃，消銅鐵，而萬物不滋，刳胎焚郊，覆巢毀卵，鳳凰不翔，麒麟不遊，構木為臺，焚林而畋，竭澤而漁，積壤而丘處，掘地而井飲，濬川而為池，築城而為固，拘獸以為畜，則陰陽繆戾，四時失序，雷霆毀折，雹霜為害，萬物焦夭，處於太半，草木夏枯，三川絕而不流，分山川谿谷，使有壤界，計人眾寡，使有分數，設機械險阻以為備，制服色等異貴賤，老賢不肖行賞罰，則兵革起而忿爭生，虐殺不辜，誅罰無罪，於是興矣。
Laozi said: The ruler of a declining age drills into mountain rock, lifts out gold and jade, scrapes and polishes clam shells, melts copper and iron, and the myriad things do not flourish. He cuts open the womb and burns the outskirts, overturns nests and smashes eggs, so the phoenix does not soar and the unicorn does not roam. He builds towers of wood, burns forests to hunt, drains marshes to fish, heaps up earth to dwell on a hill, digs the ground for wells to drink, dredges rivers to make ponds, builds walls for fortress, pens beasts to raise them, and so yin and yang go awry, the four seasons lose their order, thunder breaks and smashes, hail and frost do harm, the myriad things scorch and die young, most of them suffering, grass and trees wither in summer, and the Three Rivers are cut off and do not flow. He divides mountains, rivers, streams and valleys so that they have boundaries of earth; counts the people's numbers so that they have allotments; sets up devices and dangerous barriers for defense; makes clothes and colors of different rank to mark honor and lowliness; examines the worthy and unworthy to dispense rewards and punishments (the base text has a variant character for "worthy"), and so arms arise and anger and strife are born, and cruel killing of the innocent and punishing of the blameless then began.
老子曰：世之將喪性命，猶陰氣之所起也，主闇昧而不明，道廢而不行，德滅而不揚，舉事戾於天，發號逆四時，春秋縮其和，天地除其德，人君處位而不安，大夫隱遁而不言，群臣推上意而壞常，疏骨肉而自容，邪人諂而陰謀遽載，驕主而像其意，亂人以成其事，是故君臣乖而不親，骨肉疏而不附，田無立苖，路無緩步，金積折廉，壁襲無贏，殼龜無腹，蓍筮日施，天下不合而為一家，諸侯製法各異習俗，悖拔其根而棄其本，鑿五刑，為刻削，爭於錐刀之末，斬刈百姓，盡其太半，舉兵為難，攻城濫殺，覆高危安，大沖車，高重壘，除戰隊，使陣死路，犯嚴敵，百姓一反，名聲苟盛，兼國有地，伏屍數十萬，老弱飢寒而死者不可勝計。自此之後，天下未嘗得安其性命，樂其習俗也。賢聖勃然而起，持以道德，輔以仁義，近者進其智，遠者懷其德，天下混而為一，子孫相代輔佐，黜讒佞之端，息未辯之說，除刻削之法，去煩苛之事，屏流言之跡，塞朋黨之門，消智能，循大常，隳枝體，黜聰明，大通混冥，萬物各復歸其根。夫聖人非能生時，時至而不失也，是以不得中絕。
Laozi said: When an age is about to lose its nature and fate, it is as if the breath of yin were rising. The ruler is dim and unclear, the Way is abandoned and not practiced, virtue is extinguished and not displayed, his undertakings go against heaven, and his orders are contrary to the four seasons; spring and autumn shorten their harmony, and heaven and earth strip away their virtue. The ruler stays in his seat without peace, the grand masters go into hiding and do not speak, the ministers push the ruler's wishes and ruin the constant order, estrange flesh and blood to tolerate themselves, wicked people flatter and secretly scheme with haste, flatter the arrogant ruler and imitate his wishes, and disordered people complete his affairs. Therefore ruler and minister part and are not close, flesh and blood grow distant and do not cling, in the fields no seedlings stand (the base text has a variant character for "seedling"), on the roads no one walks slowly, gold is piled up and honesty is broken, jade is stacked up and there is no profit (the base text has a variant character for "jade"), the divining turtle shells have no belly, and yarrow stalks are cast every day. The world is not united as one, the feudal lords make laws with different customs, in perversity they pull up the roots and abandon the base, open up the five punishments and do carving and cutting, contend at the tip of an awl or knife, cut down the common people and consume the greater part of them, raise troops and make trouble, attack cities and kill without limit, overturn the high and endanger the safe, big battering rams and high double ramparts, remove the battle ranks and make the formation a road to death, and attack a stern enemy. The people all turn, the name is recklessly puffed up, they annex states and hold land, with corpses lying by the hundreds of thousands, and the old and weak who die of hunger and cold cannot be counted. After this the world has never been able to be at peace in its nature or to take pleasure in its customs. A worthy sage rises up forcefully, holds fast with Dao and De, assists with benevolence and righteousness, those near offer their wisdom and those far cherish his virtue, the world is blended into one, descendants succeed each other in assistance, he dismisses the sources of slander and flattery, ends the talk of shallow disputation, removes carving and cutting laws, discards vexatious and harsh affairs, banishes the traces of rumor, blocks the gates of cliques, dissolves intelligence and cleverness, follows the great constant, drops the limbs and body, dismisses sharp hearing and clear sight, and in the great opening and merging into obscurity, the myriad things each return again to their roots. The sage is not able to produce the time, but when the time comes he does not lose it. So he cannot but break the cycle midway.
老子曰：酆水之深十仞而不受塵垢，金石在中，形見於外，非不深且清也，魚鱉蛟龍莫之歸也。石上不生五穀，秀山不遊麋鹿，無所蔭蔽也。故為政以苛為察，以切為明，以刻下為忠，以計多為功，如此者譬猶廣革者也，大敗大裂之道也，其政悶悶，其民淳淳，其政察察，其民缺缺。
Laozi said: The Feng water is ten fathoms deep and does not take dust or dirt, with gold and stones in it, their shapes visible from outside; it is not that it is not deep and clear, yet fish, turtles and dragons do not return to it. Five grains do not grow on rocks, and elk and deer do not roam on bare, lofty mountains, because there is no shelter. So to treat harshness as discernment in government, to treat sharpness as clear-sightedness, to treat oppressing those below as loyalty, and to treat counting a lot as achievement, is like stretching hide, the way to great failure and splitting. When government is generous, simple and blunt, the common people are honest and sincere; when government is harsh, discerning and sharp, the common people are thin and lacking.
老子曰：以政治國，以奇用兵。先為不可勝之政，而後求勝於敵，以未治而攻人之亂，是猶以火應火，以水應水也，同莫足以相治，故以異為奇，奇靜為躁奇，治為亂奇，飽為飢奇，逸為勞奇，正之相應，若水火金木之相伐也，何往而不勝，故德均則眾者勝寡，力敵則智者制愚，智同則有數者禽無數。
Laozi said: Govern the state with the Way of the upright, and fight with troops by the method of surprise. First make a government that cannot be defeated, and then seek victory over the enemy. To attack another's disorder with something not yet in order is like answering fire with fire and water with water; the same cannot control the same, so use the different as the surprise: the calm surprises the hasty, order surprises disorder, being full surprises hunger, ease surprises toil. When the upright answer each other, like water, fire, metal and wood overcoming each other, where could one go and not win? So when virtue is equal, the many beat the few; when strength is equal, the wise overcome the foolish; when wisdom is equal, the one with a method captures the one without.