Tao Te Ching, Chapter 79

Daodejing, Laozi
Chapter 79

"Compromise with great resentment will surely yield lingering resentment;
How can this be seen as good?
For this reason,
The sage holds the debtor's side of a contract and does not make claims upon others.
Therefore,
The man of integrity attends to his debts;
The man without integrity attends to his exactions.
The Way of heaven is impartial, yet is always with the good person."
-  Translated by Victor H. Mair, 1990, Chapter 79 

"harmonizing great resentments and injuries
requires a soft but steady equilibrium
but even in a gentle balancing of the scales
some friction and pain will always remain
harmony can still be reached
if the sage wise man doesn't push
for complete unity
the sage wise man come to understand that flawless justice
is impossible
so he holds an even temperament instead
great knowledge comes from the left hand
holding something broken an flawed
accept the small inequities
a bodymind embracing the tao way of life
doesn't need perfection
a bodymind rejects the tao way of life
striving for perfection
remember
heaven lends its strength to those who
follow the natural laws of the universe."
-  Translated by John Bright-Fey, Chapter 79  


"Reconciliation of a great grudge
Surely will leave some ill-will.
How can this be considered as good?
Therefore, the sage holds the left-hand part of the contract and does not blame the other person.
The man with virtue is likely to keep the contract;
The man without virtue is likely to collect the tax.
The way of Heaven has no favor;
It is constantly with the good man."
-  Translated by Yi Wu, Chapter 79 


"Return love for great hatred.
Otherwise, when a great hatred is reconciled, some of it will surely remain.
How can this end in goodness?
Therefore the Sage holds to the left half of an agreement, but does not exact what the other holder ought to do.
The virtuous resort to agreement.
The virtueless resort to exaction.
The Tao of heaven shows no partiality;
It abides always with good men."
-  Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 79  


和大怨, 必有餘怨,
安可以為善?
是以聖人執左契而
不責於人.
有德司契,
無德司徹.
天道無親,
常與善人.-  Chinese characters, Chapter 79, Tao Te Ching


he da yuan, bi you yu yuan,
an ke yi wei shan?
shi yi sheng ren zhi zuo qi
er bu ze yu ren.
you de si qi,
wu de si che.
tian dao wu qin,
chang yu shan ren.
-  Pinyin Romanization, Chapter 79, Daodejing

"There's little good in making peace
If resentment lingers
You'll never see an end to blame
If everyone is pointing fingers

It's better to be pointing
At the peaceful and creative place
Where you see naught but emptiness
And others say they see your face."
-  Translated by Jim Clalfelter, 2000, Chapter 79 


"You can resolve great rancor, but rancor always lingers on.
Understanding the more noble way,
a sage holds the creditor's half of contracts
and yet asks nothing of others.
Those with Integrity tend to such contracts;
those without Integrity tend to the collection of taxes.
The Way of heaven is indifferent, always abiding with people of nobility."
-  Translated by David Hinton, Chapter 79  


"When the principle of a dispute has been settled some accessory grievances always remain,
and things do not return to the state they were in before.
Therefore, the Sage never questions it, despite his right.
Keeping his half of the agreement, he does not exact the execution of what is written.
He who knows how to conduct himself after the Virtue of the Principle, lets his written agreements sleep.
He who does not know how to conduct himself thus, exacts his due.
Heaven is impartial.
If it were capable of some partiality, it would give advantage to good people.
It would overwhelm them, because they ask for nothing."
-  Translated by Derek Bryce, 1999, Chapter 79 


"El que consigue apaciguar un gran resentimiento, siempre deja subsistir algún resentimiento.
¿Esto puede considerarse un bien?
Por esto, el santo guarda la mitad izquierda de la talla, pero no reclama nada a los demás.
El que tiene la virtud no tiene interés más que por la talla,
El que no tiene la virtud not tiene interés más que por percibir lo que se le debe.
El camino del cielo ignora el favoritismo, recompensa siempre al hombre de bien."
-  Translated by Alba, 1998, Capítulo 79  


"When a bad grudge is settled,
Some enmity is bound to remain.
How can this be considered acceptable?
Therefore the Sage keeps to his side of the contract
But does not hold the other party to their promise.
He who has Virtue will honour the contract,
Whilst he who is without Virtue expects others to meet their obligations.
It is the Way of Heaven to be impartial;
It stays always with the good man."
-  Translated by Keith Seddon, Chapter 79

"When a great wound is healed,
There will still remain a scar.
Can this be a desirable state of affairs?
Therefore, the Sage, holding the left-hand tally,
Performs his part of the covenant,
But lays no claims upon others.
The virtuous attends to his duties;
The virtueless knows only to levy duties upon the people.
The Way of Heaven has no private affections,
But always accords with the good."
-  Translated by John C. H. Wu, 1961, Chapter 79 

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 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 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 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 79, 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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