Chapter 39
"The things which from of old have got the One, the Tao, are:
Heaven which by it is bright and pure;
Earth rendered thereby firm and sure;
Spirits with powers by it supplied;
Valleys kept full throughout their void
All creatures which through it do live
Princes and kings who from it get
The model which to all they give.
All these are the results of the One, the Tao.
If heaven were not thus pure, it soon would rend;
If earth were not thus sure, it would break and bend;
Without these powers, the spirits soon would fail;
If not so filled, the drought would parch each vale;
Without that life, creatures would pass away;
Princes and kings, without that moral sway,
However grand and high, would all decay.
Thus it is that dignity finds its firm root in its previous meanness, and what is lofty finds its stability in the lowness from which it rises.
Hence princes and kings call themselves 'Orphans,' 'Men of small virtue,' and as 'Carriages without a nave.'
Is not this an acknowledgment that in their considering themselves mean they see the foundation of their dignity?
So it is that in the enumeration of the different parts of a carriage we do not come on what makes it answer the ends of a carriage.
They do not wish to show themselves as elegant-looking as jade, but prefer to be coarse-looking as an ordinary stone."
- Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 39
"From of old these things have obtained oneness:
Heaven by oneness becometh pure.
Earth by oneness can endure.
Minds by oneness souls procure.
Valleys by oneness repletion secure.
All creatures by oneness to life have been called.
And kings were by oneness as models installed.
Such is the result of oneness.
Were heaven not pure it might be rent.
Were earth not stable it might be bent.
Were minds not ensouled they'd be impotent.
Were valleys not filled they'd soon be spent.
When creatures are lifeless who can their death prevent?
Are kings not models, but on haughtiness bent,
Their fall, forsooth, is imminent.
Thus, the nobles come from the commoners as their root, and the high rest upon the lowly as their foundation.
Therefore, princes and kings call themselves orphaned, lonely, and unworthy.
Is this not because they take lowliness as their root?
The several parts of a carriage are not a carriage.
Those who have become a unity are neither anxious to be praised with praise like a gem, nor disdained with disdain like a stone."
- Translated by Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 39
"In mythical times all things were whole:
All the sky was clear,
All the earth was stable,
All the mountains were firm,
All the riverbeds were full,
All of nature was fertile,
And all the rulers were supported.
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."
- Translation by Peter Merel, 1992, Chapter 39
No comments:
Post a Comment