Daodejing, Laozi, Chapter 18

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter 18

"When humankind strayed from the natural way of life,
Relative social disciplines began to appear.
When intelligence and cleverness of mind are admired,
Great hypocrisy is born.
When disharmony manifested in family relations,
Children who respected their parents
And parents who respected their children
Became rare examples.
When chaos prevailed in the county,
Only a few loyal ministers were recognized.
Let all people return to their true nature.
Love, kindness, wisdom, family harmony, and loyalty
Should not be taught one by one,
Separately from an honest life.
Then, once again,
People will regain the natural virtue of wholeness.
The world will be naturally ordered.
There will be no one who singly and cunningly
Works for personal interest alone."
-  Translated by Hua-Ching Ni, 1979, Chapter 18   

"When the great Tao perishes
There is jen and justice.
When intelligence is manifest
There is great deception.
When the six relationships are not in harmony
There is filial piety and compassion.
When the country is in chaos
Loyal ministers appear."
-  Translated by Charles Muller, 1891, Chapter 18 

"On the decline of the great Tao,
The doctrine of "humanity" and "justice" arose.
When knowledge and cleverness appeared,
Great hypocrisy followed in its wake.
When the six relationships no longer lived at peace,
There was praise of "kind parents" and "filial sons."
When a country fell into chaos and misrule,
There was praise of "loyal ministers." "
-  Translated by Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 18 


"Separated from the origin there is talk of humaneness and justice.
Where wisdom gives way to smartness cunning and lying appear.
Separated from the All-relatedness and All-union man seeks a substitute in human relationships and family ties.
When consciousness of the unity of mankind vanished clans and peoples and feud without end arose."
- Translated by K. O. Schmidt, 1975, Chapter 18


"And when the olden way of rule declined,
The words for love and serve came in.
Next came knowledge and keen thought,
Advent of lying, sham, and fraud.
When kinsmen lost their kind concord,
They honoured child- and parent-love.
In dark disorder ruling houses
Turned to loyal devoted vassals."
- Translated by Moss Roberts, 2001, Chapter 18

"It was when the Great Way declined

That human kindness and morality arose;
It was when intelligence and knowledge appeared
That the Great Artifice began.
It was when the six near ones were no longer at peace
That there was talk of “dutiful sons”;
Nor till fatherland was dark with strife
Did we hear of “loyal slaves”."
-  Translated by Arthur Waley, 1934, Chapter 18


"The mighty Way declined among the folk
And then came kindness and morality.
When wisdom and intelligence appeared,
They brought with them a great hypocrisy.
The six relations were no more at peace,
So codes were made to regulate our homes.
The fatherland grew dark, confused by strife:
Official loyalty became the style."
-  Translated by Raymond Blakney, 1955, Chapter 18  


大道廢,
有仁義,
智慧出,
有大偽,
六親不和,
有孝慈國家昏亂,
有忠臣.-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 18


ta tao fei,
yu jên yi,
hui chih ch'u,
yu ta wei,
liu ch'in pu ho,
yu hsiao tz'u kuo chia hun luan,
yu chung ch'ên.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 18 


"Wherever the cosmic order is neglected,
Goodness and morality are born.
When the heart’s awareness is repressed,
The intellect is led into hypocrisy.
When the family loses its natural harmony,
The rules of duty and honor are enforced.
When the natural society is disrupted,
The dragon of state arises,
And powerful leaders take over."
-  Translated by Brian Donohue, 2005, Chapter 18   


"When Tao is abandoned,
Benevolence and morality arise.
When wisdom and knowledge arise,
Hypocrisy flourishes.
When there is discord in the family,
Filial piety and parental affection arise.
When the country is in darkness and turmoil,
Loyal ministers appear."
-  Translated by Keith H. Seddon, Chapter 18   


"Cuando se abandona el Tao
aparecen la "ética" y la "moral".
Con la "verdad" y la "justicia"
surgen los grandes hipócritas.
Cuando no existe armonía entre los parientes,
hablan de "lealtad a la familia" y de "honrar a los padres".
Cuando hay revueltas en el reino,
aparecen el "patriotismo" y el "nacionalismo",
inventando así la fidelidad del buen súbdito.
Cuando el Tao se pierde aparece la falsedad."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 18   

"When people lost sight of the way to live
Came codes of love and honesty,
Learning came, charity came,
Hypocrisy took charge;
When differences weakened family ties
Came benevolent fathers and dutiful sons;
And when lands were disrupted and misgoverned
Came ministers commended as loyal."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 18


"When the great Way declines, there is "humanity and justice".
 When cleverness and knowledge appear, there is "great artificiality".
 When the six degrees of kinship do not live in harmony, there are "filial sons".
 When state and dynasty are plunged in disorder, there are "loyal ministers"."
 -  Translated by Jan J. L. Duyvendak, 1954, Chapter 18  


"When the Way is forgotten
Duty and justice appear;
Then knowledge and wisdom are born
Along with hypocrisy.
When harmonious relationships dissolve
Then respect and devotion arise;
When a nation falls to chaos
Then loyalty and patriotism are born."
- Translated by Peter Merel, Chapter 18

"When the great Tao is lost spring forth benevolence and righteousness.
When wisdom and sagacity arise, there are great hypocrites.
When family relations are no longer harmonious, we have filial children and devoted parents.
When a nation is in confusion and disorder, patriots are recognised.
Where Tao is, equilibrium is. When Tao is lost, out come all the differences of things."
-  Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 18 

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, and other resources for that Chapter.  Each webpage includes a Google Translate drop down menu at the top that enables you to read the webpage in over 100 languages.

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