The Tao Teh King or The Tao And Its Characteristics

Chapter 1
The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring andunchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring andunchanging name.
(Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heavenand earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of allthings.
Always without desire we must be found,If its deep mystery we would sound;But if desire always within us be,Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.
Under these two aspects, it is really the same; but as developmenttakes place, it receives the different names. Together we call themthe Mystery. Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all thatis subtle and wonderful.

Chapter 2
All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doingthis they have (the idea of) what ugliness is; they all know the skillof the skilful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what thewant of skill is.
So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to(the idea of) the other; that difficulty and ease produce the one (theidea of) the other; that length and shortness fashion out the one thefigure of the other; that (the ideas of) height and lowness arise fromthe contrast of the one with the other; that the musical notes andtones become harmonious through the relation of one with another; andthat being before and behind give the idea of one following another.
Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, andconveys his instructions without the use of speech.
All things spring up, and there is not one which declines to showitself; they grow, and there is no claim made for their ownership;they go through their processes, and there is no expectation (of areward for the results). The work is accomplished, and there is noresting in it (as an achievement).
The work is done, but how no one can see;'Tis this that makes the power not cease to be.

Chapter 3
Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way tokeep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articleswhich are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becomingthieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires isthe way to keep their minds from disorder.
Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, emptiestheir minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthenstheir bones.
He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and withoutdesire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep themfrom presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence fromaction, good order is universal.
Chapter 4
The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in ouremployment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. Howdeep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor ofall things!
We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications ofthings; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves intoagreement with the obscurity of others. How pure and still the Taois, as if it would ever so continue!
I do not know whose son it is. It might appear to have been beforeGod.
Chapter 5
Heaven and earth do not act from (the impulse of) any wish to bebenevolent; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealtwith. The sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent; theydeal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with.
May not the space between heaven and earth be compared to abellows?
'Tis emptied, yet it loses not its power;'Tis moved again, and sends forth air the more.Much speech to swift exhaustion lead we see;Your inner being guard, and keep it free.

Chapter 6
The valley spirit dies not, aye the same;The female mystery thus do we name.Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.Long and unbroken does its power remain,Used gently, and without the touch of pain.

Chapter 7
Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reasonwhy heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long isbecause they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they areable to continue and endure.
Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found inthe foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him,and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has nopersonal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised?
Chapter 8
The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellenceof water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying,without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all mendislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao.
The excellence of a residence is in (the suitability of) the place;that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of associations is intheir being with the virtuous; that of government is in its securinggood order; that of (the conduct of) affairs is in its ability; andthat of (the initiation of) any movement is in its timeliness.
And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle (abouthis low position), no one finds fault with him.
Chapter 9
It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt tocarry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has beensharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.
When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep themsafe. When wealth and honours lead to arrogance, this brings its evilon itself. When the work is done, and one's name is becomingdistinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.