04道德经英译本85种-第443节
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But it is the beginning of folly。
Therefore the full…grown man takes his stand upon the solid substance
And not upon the mere husk;
Upon the fruit and not upon the flower。
Truly; 揾e reject that and takes this?
39
As for the things that from of old have understood the Whole ?br》 The sky through such understanding remains limpid;
Earth remains steady;
The spirits keep their holiness;
The abyss is replenished;
The ten thousand creatures bear their kind;
Barons and princes direct their people。
It is the Whole that causes it。
Were it not so limpid; the sky would soon get torn;
Were is not for steadiness; the earth would soon tip over;
Were it not for their holiness; the spirit would soon wither away。
Were it not for this replenishment; the abyss would soon go dry;
Were it not that ten thousand creatures can bear their kind;
They would soon become extinct。
Were the barons and princes no longer directors of their people
And for that reason honoured and exalted; they would soon be overthrown。
Truly ?the humble is the stem upon which the mighty grows;
The low is the foundation upon which the high is laid。?br》 That is why barons and princes refer to themselves as 揟he Orphan?
揟he Needy? 揟he Ill…provided。
Is this not indeed a case of might rooting itself upon humility?
True indeed are the sayings:
揈numerate the parts of a carriage;
And you still have not explained what a carriage is;?br》 And They did not want themselves to tinkle like jade…bells;
While others resounded like stone chimes?
40
In Tao the only motion is returning;
The only useful quality; weakness。
For though all creatures under heaven are the products of Being;
Being itself is the product of Not…being。
41
When the man of highest capacities hears Tao
He does his best to put it into practice。
When the man of middling capacity hears Tao
He is in two minds about it。
When the man of low capacity hears Tao
He laughs loudly at it。
If he did not laugh; it would not be worth the name of Tao。
Therefore the proverb has it:
揟he way out into the light often looks dark;
The way that goes ahead often looks as if it went back。?br》 The way that is least hilly often looks as if it went up and down;
The 損ower?that is really loftiest looks like an abyss;
What is sheerest white looks blurred。
The 損ower?that is most sufficing looks inadequate;
The 損ower?that stands firmest looks flimsy。
What is in its natural; pure state looks faded;
The largest square has no corners;
The greatest vessel takes the longest to finish;
Great music has the faintest notes;
The Great From is without shape。
For Tao is hidden and nameless。
Yet Tao alone supports all things and brings them to fulfillment。
42
Tao gave birth to the One;
The One gave birth successively to two things;
Three things; up to ten thousand。
These ten thousand creatures cannot turn their backs to the shade
Without having the sun on their bellies;
And it is on this blending of the breaths that their harmony depends。
To be orphaned; needy; ill…provided is what men most hate;
Yet princes and dukes style themselves so。
Truly; 搕hings are often increased by seeking to diminish them
And diminished by seeking to increase them。?br》 The maxims that others use in their teaching I too will use in mine。
Show me a man of violence that came to a good end;
And I will take him for my teacher。
43
What is of all things most yielding
Can overwhelm that which is of all things most hard。
Being substanceless it can enter even where is no space;
That is how I know the value of action that is actionless。
But that there can be teaching without words;
Value in action that is actionless;
Few indeed can understand。
44
Fame or one's own self; which matters to one most?
One's own self or things bought; which should count most?
In the getting or the losing; which is worse?
Hence he who grudges expense pays dearest in the end;
He who has hoarded most will suffer the heaviest loss。
Be content with what you have and are; and no one can despoil you;
Who stops in time nothing can harm。
He is forever safe and secure。
45
What is most perfect seems to have something missing;
Yet its use is unimpaired。
What is most full seems empty;
Yet its use will never fail。
What is most straight seems crooked;
The greatest skill seems like clumsiness;
The greatest eloquence like stuttering。
Movement overcomes cold;
But staying still overcomes heat。
So he by his limpid calm
Puts right everything under heaven。
46
When there is Tao in the empire
The galloping steeds are turned back to fertilize the ground by their droppings。
When there is not Tao in the empire
War horses will be reared even on the sacred mounds below the city walls。
(No lure is greater than to possess what others want;)
No disaster greater than not to be content with what one has;
No presage of evil greater than men should be wanting to get more。
Truly:
揌e who has once known the contentment that comes simply through being content;
Will never again be otherwise than contented?
47
Without leaving his door
He knows everything under heaven。
Without looking out of his window
He knows all the ways of heaven。
For the further one travels
The less one knows。
Therefore the Sage arrives without going;
Sees all without looking;
Does nothing; yet achieves everything。
48
Learning consists in adding to one's stock day by day;
The practice of Tao consists in 搒ubtracting day by day;
Subtracting and yet again subtracting
Till one has reached inactivity。
But by this very inactivity
Everything can be activated。?br》 Those who of old won the adherence of all who live under heaven
All did so not interfering。
Had they interfered;
They would never have won this adherence。
49
The Sage has no heart of his own;
He uses the heart of the people as his heart。
Of the good man I approve;
But of the bad I also approve;
And thus he gets goodness。
The truthful man I believe; but the liar I also believe;
And thus he gets truthfulness。
The Sage; in the dealings with the world; seems like one dazed with fright;
For the world's sake be dulls his wits。
The Hundred Families all the time strain their eyes and ears;
The Sage all the time sees and hears no more than an infant sees and hears。
50
He who aims at life achieves death。
If the 揷ompanions of life?are thirteen;
So likewise are the 揷ompanions of death?thirteen。
How is it that the 揹eath…stops?in man's life
And activity are also thirteen?
It is because men feed life too grossly。
It is said that he who has a true hold on life;
When he walks on land does not meet tigers or wild buffaloes;
In battle he is not touched by weapons of war。
Indeed;
A buffalo that attacked him would find nothing for its horns to butt;
A tiger would find nothing for its claws to tear;
A weapon would find no place for its point to enter in。
And why?
Because such men have no 揹eath…spot?in them。
51
Tao gave them birth;
The 損ower?of Tao reared them;
Shaped them according to their kinds;
Perfected them; giving to each its strength。
Therefore
Of the ten thousand things there is not one that does not worship Tao
And do homage to its 損ower?
No mandate ever went forth that accorded to Tao the right to be worshipped;
Nor to its 損ower?the right to be worshipped;
Nor to its 損ower?the right to receive homage。
It was always and of itself so。
Therefore as Tao bore them and the 損ower?of Tao reared them;
Made them grow; fostered them;
Harboured them;
Brewed for them;
So you must rear them; but not lay claim to them;
Control them; but never lean upon them;
Be chief among them; but not manage them。
This is called the mysterious power。?br》
52
That which was the beginning of all things under heaven
We may speak of as the 搈other?of all things。
He who apprehends the mother
Thereby knows the sons。
And he who has known the sons;
Will hold all the tighter to the mother;
And to the end of his days suffer no harm;
揃lock the passages; shut the doors;
And till the end your strength shall not fail。
Open up the passages; increase your doings;
And till your last day no help shall come to you。?br》 As good sight means seeing what is very small
So strength means holding on to what is weak。
He who having used the outer…light can return to the innerlight
Is thereby preserved from all harm。
This is called resorting to the always…so。
53
He who has the least scrap of