Dao De Jing, Chapter 72, Laozi

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 72

"If the people do not fear the dreadful, the great dreadful will come, surely.  
Let them not deem their lives narrow.
Let them not deem their lot wearisome.
When it is not deemed wearisome, then it will not be wearisome. 
Therefore the holy man knows himself but does not display himself.
He holds himself dear but does not honor himself.
Thus he discards the latter and chooses the former."
-  Translated by D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 72  


"When the people are not afraid of the ruler, the ruler is in the most danger.
Do not bother the people, do not suppress the people.
Only when you do not suppress the people, will they not be annoyed with you.
So, the great men understood everything but did not let themselves be known.
They valued their lives but did not let themselves be worshipped.
Therefore, keep the former and discard the latter."
-  Translated by Xiaolin Yang, Chapter 72    

"When the people do not fear worldly power
a greater power will arrive
Don't limit the view of yourself
Don't despise the conditions of your birth
Don't resist the natural course of your life
In this way you will never weary of this world
The Sage knows himself, but not as himself he loves himself,
but not as himself he honours himself, but not as himself
Thus, he discards the view of his own self
and chooses the view of the universe"
-  Translated by Jonathan Star, 2001, Chapter 72 

"He who lives with fear cannot become strong.
The strength of consciousness can be gained only if one lives without fear.
So rid yourself of the ability to despise others!
He who despises others is despicable before Tao! 
Rid yourself of violence in relations with others!
He who does violence to others will be subjected to violence. 
Renounce the ability to deceive people!
He who deceives others deceives himself. 
Live in love! 
Do not strive to show yourself off!
The wise who cognized his Higher Essence is not engaged in self-admiration
and does not elevate himself over others.
He who got rid of egocentrism gains the possibility to achieve Tao."
-  Translated by Mikhail Nilolenko, Chapter 72 



民不畏威.
則大威至.
無狎其所居, 無厭其所生.
夫唯不厭.
是以不厭.
是以聖人自知不自見.
自愛不自貴.
故去彼取此.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 72


min pu wei wei.
tsê ta wei chih.
wu hsia ch'i so chü, wu yen ch'i so shêng. 
fu wei pu yen.
shih yi pu yen.
shih yi shêng jên tzu chih pu tzu chien.
tzu ai pu tzu kuei. 
ku ch'ü pi ch'ü tz'u. 
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 72 


"When the people fear no power,
Then great power has indeed arrived.
Do not disturb them in their dwellings,
Do not weary them in their living.
It is because you do not weary (pu yen) them,
That they are not wearied of you.
Therefore the sage knows himself (tzu chih),
But does not see himself (tzu chien).
He loves himself (tzu ai),
But does not exalt himself (tzu kuei).
Therefore he leaves that and takes this."
-  Translated by Ellen Chen, Chapter 72


"The sage retains a sense of awe, and of propriety.
He does not intrude into others' homes;
does not harass them,
nor interfere without request,
unless they damage others.
So it is that they return to him.
Though the sage knows himself
he makes no show of it;
he has self-respect, but is not arrogant,
for he develops the ability to let go of that
which he no longer needs."
-  Translated by Stan Rosenthal, 1984, Chapter 72



"Cuando a los hombres les falta el sentido del temor, sucederá un desastre.
No entremeterse en sus casas, no atosigarlos en el trabajo.
Si no se interfiere, no se hastiarán.
Por esto mismo, el sabio se conoce pero no se exhibe.
Se respeta a sí mismo, pero no es arrogante.
Abandona aquello y elige esto."
-  Translated by Cristina Bosch, 2002, Capítulo 72

"When the people do not fear what is majestic,
Great Majesty will soon visit them.
Do not limit their dwellings
nor suppress their livelihoods.
Simply because you do not oppress them,
they will not grow tired of you.
For this reason,
Sages are self-aware,
but do not flaunt themselves;
they are self-focused,
but do not glorify themselves.
They out-grow the one and adopt the other."
-  Translated by Jerry C. Welch, 1998, Chapter 72

"Upon those who defy authority
It shall be visited,
But not behind prison walls
Nor through oppression of their kin;
Men sanely led
Are not led by duress.
To know yourself and not show yourself,
To think well of yourself and not tell of yourself,
Be that your no and your yes."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 72 




A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 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, phrases, 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, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Chapter 72, 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

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