Tao Te Ching, Chapter 81, Lao Tzu

Daodejing by Laozi
Chapter 81


"Truth has no need for fine words;
Fine words may not be true words.
The man of Tao does not try to convince by argument:
He who argues is not a man of Tao.
Wisdom does not consist in knowing everything;
The know-alls do not know the Tao.
The Sage does not hoard. The more he spends himself for others, the more he enriches himself.
The more he fives, the more he gains.
For the Tao of Heaven penetrates all things but harms none.
This, too, is the Tao of the Sage, who acts without contending."
-  Translated by Herman Ould, 1946, Chapter 81  


"Words born of the mind are not true
True words are not born of the mind
Those who have virtue do not look for faults
Those who look for faults have no virtue
Those who come to know it do not rely on learning
Those who rely on learning do not come to know it
The Sage sees the world as an expansion of his own self
So what need has he to accumulate things?
By giving to others he gains more and more
By serving others he receives everything
Heaven gives and all things turn out for the best
The Sage lives, and all things go as Tao goes all things move as the wind blows"
-  Translated by Jonathan Star, 2001, Chapter 81


Sincere words are not fine; fine words are not sincere.
Those who are skilled in the Tao do not dispute about it; the disputatious are not skilled in it.
Those who know the Tao are not extensively learned; the extensively learned do not know it.
The sage does not accumulate for himself.
The more that he expends for others, the more does he possess of his own;
The more that he gives to others, the more does he have himself.
With all the sharpness of the Way of Heaven, it injures not;
Wth all the doing in the way of the sage he does not strive."
-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 81  

"True words are not fine-sounding;
Fine-sounding words are not true.
A good man does not argue;
he who argues is not a good man.
The wise one does not know many things;
He who knows many things is not wise.

The Sage does not accumulate for himself.
He lives for other people,
And grows richer himself;
He gives to other people,
And has greater abundance.

The Tao of Heaven
Blesses, but does not harm.
The Way of the Sage
Accomplishes, but does not contend."
-  Translated by Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 81

信言不美.
美言不信.
善者不辯.
辯者不善.
知者不博.
博者不知.
聖人不積.
既以為人己愈有.
既以與人己愈多.
天之道利而不害.
聖人之道為而不爭.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 81

xin yan bu mei.
mei yan bu xin.
shan zhe bu bian.
bian zhe bu shan.
zhi zhe bu bo,
bo zhe bu zhi.
sheng ren bu ji.
ji yi wei ren ji yu you.
ji yi yu ren ji yu duo.
tian zhi dao li er bu hai.
sheng ren zhi dao wei er bu zheng.
-  Pinyin Romanization, Daodejing, Chapter 81

"Sincere words are not fine,

Fine words are not sincere,

The Faithful friend will stick to the end,

But the flatterer tickles the ear.

The skillful do not debate,

Debaters lack in skill,

For truth is found by looking around,

And words are weapons of ill.

The knowing are not most learned,

The most learned do not know,

For knowledge is grown from thought alone,

While learning from others must grow.

The sage lays up no treasure,

No hoard of goods or gold,

For they who keep a store-house deep,

A constant watch must hold.

The more he works for others

The more he works for his own,

For it grows by use, is lost by abuse,

And he gathers by what he has sown.

The more he gives away,

The more does he have himself,

For thought's a thing that from thought will spring,

Which is quite the reverse of pelf.

The Way of Heaven is sharp,

But it never will cut nor wound,

For they who swim with the flowing stream

Will ever be safe and sound.

T'is the way of the sage to act,

He acts but never strives,

For striving breaks whatever it makes,

And only a wreck survives."
-  Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 81 

"Credible words do not sound pretty, pretty words are not credible.
A nice person is not good at arguing, a person who is good at arguing is not nice.
A person who has real knowledge does not show off,
A person who shows off does not have real knowledge.
Great men do not accumulate things for themselves.
The more they do for others, the more they have,
The more they give to others, the more they get.
The law of the heavens is to benefit everything without harming it,
The law of great men is to do things for the world without fighting for the credit."
-  Translated by Xiaolin Yang, Chapter 81


"Sincere words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not sincere.
Good men are not argumentative, the argumentative are not good.
One who knows is not erudite; the erudite one does not know.
The sage does not take to hoarding.
The more he lives for others, the fuller is his life.
The more he gives, the more he abounds.
The Way of Heaven benefits and does not harm.
The Way of the sage works and does not compete with anyone."
-  Translated by Tien Cong Tran, Chapter 81

"Believed words lack embellishment
 Embellished words lack belief.
Those who value lack argument
Those who argue lack valuing
Those who know lack learning
Those who learn lack knowing.
The sages are without accumulating
Grasping, it happens they act
Others later gain presence
Grasping, it happens they give
Others later gain abundance.  
The Tao of the heavens
Benefitting yet without spoiling
The Tao of the sages
Acting yet without contending."
-  Translated by David Lindauer, Chapter 81 

"Las palabras sinceras no son agradables, las palabras agradables no son sinceras.
Las buenas personas no son discutidoras, las discutidoras no son buenas.
Las personas sabias no son eruditas, las eruditas no son sabias.
El Sabio no toma nada para acaparar, cuanto más vive para los demás, más plena es su vida.
Cuanto más da, más nada en la abundancia.
La Ley del Cielo es beneficia, no perjudicar.
La Ley del sabio es cumplir su deber, no luchar contra nadie."
-  Translated in English by John C. H. Wu, Spanish version by Alfonso Colodrón, 2007, Capítulo 81   



"Les paroles sincères ne sont pas élégantes; les paroles élégantes ne sont pas sincères.
L'homme vertueux n'est pas disert; celui qui est disert n'est pas vertueux.
Celui qui connaît le Tao n'est pas savant; celui qui est savant ne le connaît pas.
Le Saint n'accumule pas les richesses.
Plus il emploie sa vertu dans l'intérêt des hommes, et plus elle augmente.
Plus il donne aux hommes et plus il s'enrichit.
Telle est la voie du ciel, qu'il est utile aux êtres et ne leur nuit point.
Telle est la voie du Saint, qu'il agit et ne dispute point."
-  Translated by Stanislas Julien, 1842, Chapter 81



"Faithful words may not be beautiful,
Beautiful words may not be faithful.
Those who love do not quarrel,
Those who quarrel do not love.
Those who know are not learned,
Those who are learned do not know.
The riches of the self-controlled man are in the Inner Life.
When he spends for others, he has more for himself.
When he gives to others, he has much more for himself.
Heavenly Tao blesses all and hurts no one.
The way of the self-controlled man is to act and not to fight."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 81  



"Sincere words and not pretty.
Pretty words are not sincere.
Good people do not quarrel.
Quarrelsome people are not good.
The wise are not learned.
The learned are not wise.
The Sage is not acquisitive - Has enough By doing for others,
Has even more By giving to others.
Heaven's Tao Benefits and does not harm.
The Sage's Tao Acts and does not contend."
-  Translated by Stephen Addis, 1993, Chapter 81  



A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes up to 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 3 or 4 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin Romanization of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 1 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Chapter 81, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey