Chapter 64
"What is small is easily held.
What is expected is easily provided for.
What is brittle is easily broken.
What is small is soon dispersed.
Transact your business before it takes shape.
Regulate things before confusion begins.
The tree which fills the arms grew from a tender shoot.
The castle of nine stories was raised on a heap of earth.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Whoever designs only destroys.
Whoever grasps, loses.
The Sage does not act thus, therefore he does no harm.
He does not grasp, and therefore he never loses.
But the common people, in their undertakings, fail on the eve of success.
If they were as prudent at the end as they are at the beginning, there would be no such failures.
Therefore the Sage is only ambitious of what others despise, and sets no value on things difficult to obtain.
He acquires no common learning, but returns to that which people have passed by.
Thus he aims at simple development in all things, and acts without design."
- Translated by Walter Gorn Old, 1904, Chapter 64
"That which is at rest is easy to be kept hold of,
And what has made no sign, and is
yet concealed from all,
Is easy to be taken care of then
by proper measures,
Break it while it is feeble,
scatter it while it is small.
Act before it exists, regulate
before disorder,
The mighty tree that fills the
arms has grown from a tiny sprout,
From a little mound of earth was
raised the tower of nine stories,
And the journey of a thousand
miles began with the first step out.
He that makes mars, he that grasps
loses;
The sage will neither make, nor
mar, nor grasp, and cannot lose,
But people fail in business, on
the verge of its succeeding,
By losing at the end the care they
first began to use.
And so the sage does not desire
the things desired by others,
He does not prize the treasures
that are difficult to obtain,
He learns what others do not
learn, he turns back to their leavings,
And helps spontaneous nature, but
dares not to constrain."
- Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 64
- Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 64
Events foreseen by him are easily arranged for.
By him weak things are easily bent,
And small things are easily scattered.
He can stop an evil before it comes into existence.
He can keep a twig straight before it becomes crooked.
Behold the girth of this tree!
It grew from a small filament of a stalk.
This tower of nine stories has its base upon a small space on the earth.
The journey of a thousand miles began with a footstep on the ground.
He who makes, unmakes.
He who grasps, lets go.
That is why the self-controlled man by Inner Life can make and by Inner life unmake, by Inner Life can grasp and by Inner Life let go.
Men in business affairs come near perfection, then fail.
If they were as attentive at the end as at the beginning their business would succeed.
That is why the self-controlled man desires to have no wishes; he sets no value upon rare objects; he learns without study; he helps all beings by the outflow of his personality; and he does this without planning to do it."
- Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 64
"Things are easier to control while things are quiet.
Things are easier to plan far in advance.
Things break easier while they are still brittle.
Things are easier hid while they are still small.
Prevent problems before they arise.
Take action before things get out of hand.
The tallest tree
begins as a tiny sprout.
The tallest building
starts with one shovel of dirt.
A journey of a thousand miles
starts with a single footstep.
If you rush into action, you will fail.
If you hold on too tight, you will lose your grip.
Therefore the Master lets things take their course
and thus never fails.
She doesn't hold on to things
and never loses them.
By pursing your goals too relentlessly,
you let them slip away.
If you are as concerned about the outcome
as you are about the beginning,
then it is hard to do things wrong.
The master seeks no possessions.
She learns by unlearning,
thus she is able to understand all things.
This gives her the ability to help all of creation."
- Translated by John H. McDonald, 1996, Chapter 64
其安易持.
其未兆易謀.
其脆易泮.
其微易散.
為之於未有.
治之於未亂.
合抱之木, 生於毫末.
九層之臺, 起於累土.
千里之行, 始於足下.
為者敗之.
執者失之.
是以聖人無為故無敗.
無執故無失.
民之從事, 常於幾成而敗之.
慎終如始, 則無敗事.
是以聖人欲不欲, 不貴難得之貨.
學不學, 復衆人之所過, 以輔萬物之自然而不敢為.
- Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 64
qi an yi chi.
qi wei zhao yi mou.
qi cui yi pan.
qi wei yi san.
wei zhi yu wei you.
zhi zhi yu wei luan.
he bao zhi mu, sheng yu hao mo.
jiu ceng zhi tai, qi yu lei tu.
qian li zhi xing, shi yu zu xia.
wei zhe bai zhi.
zhi zhe shi zhi.
shi yi sheng ren wu wei gu wu bai.
wu zhi gu wu shi.
min zhi cong shi, chang yu ji cheng er bai zhi.
shen zhong ru shi ze wu bai shi.
shi yi sheng ren yu bu yu, bu gui nan de zhi huo.
xue bu xue, fu zhong ren zhi suo guo, yi fu wan wu zhi zi ran er bu gan wei.
- Hanyu Pinyin Romanization, Daodejing, Chapter 64
"Tackle difficulties when they are easy,
Accomplish great things when they are small.
Handle what is going to be rough
when it is still smooth.
Control what has not yet formed its force.
Deal with a dangerous situation while it is safe.
Manage what is hard while it is soft.
Eliminate what is vicious
before it becomes destructive.
This is called "attending to great things at small beginnings.
A tree so big it can fill the span of a man's arms
grows from a tiny sprout.
A terrace nine stories high
rises from a shovel-full of earth.
A journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step.
Thus, one of integral virtue
never sets about grandiose things,
yet is able to achieve great things.
Lightly made promises inspire little confidence.
Making light of things at the beginning,
one will meet with failure in the end.
Being prepared for hardship,
one will not be overcome by it.
In handing their affairs, people often ruin them
just as they are on the verge of success.
With heedfulness in the beginning
and all the way through to the end,
nothing is ruined."
- Translation by Hua-Ching Ni, 1979, Chapter 64
The Complete Works of Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching and Hua Hu Ching.
"Lo que está en reposo es fácil de retener.
Lo que no ha sucedido es fácil de resolver.
Lo que es frágil es fácil de romper.
Lo que es pequeño es fácil de dispersar.
Prevenir antes de que suceda,
y ordenar antes de que aparezca el desorden.
El árbol que casi no puede rodearse con los brazos,
brotó de una semilla minúscula.
La torre de nueve pisos,
comenzó siendo un montón de tierra.
Un viaje de mil leguas,
comienza con el primer paso.
Al manejar sus asuntos, la gente suele estropearlos
justo al borde de su culminación.
Prestando total atención al principio y con paciencia al final,
nada se echa a perder.
Por eso, el Sabio carece de deseos,
no codicia los bienes de difícil alcance,
aprende a olvidar lo que le habían inculcado.
Le devuelve a los hombres la fluidez que han perdido,
y así, sin dominarlos,
favorece la evolución natural de los diez mil seres."
- Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 64
"That which lies still is easy to hold;
That which is not yet manifest is easy to forestall;
That which is brittle (like ice) easily melts;
That which is minute easily scatters.
Deal with a thing before it is there;
Check disorder before it is rife.
A tree with a full span's girth begins from a tiny sprout;
A nine-storied terrace begins with a clod of earth.
A journey of a thousand li beings at one's feet.
He who acts, spoils;
He who grasps, lets slip.
Because the Sage does not act, he does not spoil,
Because he does not grasp, he does not let slip.
The affairs of men are often spoiled within an ace of
completion.
By being careful at the end as at the beginning
Failure is averted.
Therefore the Sage desires to have no desire,
And values not objects difficult to obtain.
Learns that which is unlearned,
And restores what the multitude have lost.
That he may assist in the course of Nature
And not presume to interfere."
- Translated by Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 64
Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching
Taoism: A Selected Reading List
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