04道德经英译本85种-第346章
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Why threaten them with death?
If; afraid of death; they were still unruly;
Who would dare seize and kill them?
The great executioner kills those who kill。
To take his place is like
Handling the hatchet for a master carpenter。
Whoever handles the hatchet for a master carpenter
Usually gets his hands cut。
75
When people are starving;
Their rulers are taxing them heavily。
That is why they are starving。
When people are hard to govern;
Their rulers are something…doing。
That is why they are hard to govern。
When people make light of death;
Their rulers make much of life。
That is why they make light of death。
Not interfering with life
Is better than glamorizing life。
76
A man lives soft and weak;
Dies hard and stiff。
The grass; the trees; the then thousand things
Live soft and supple;
Die brittle and dry。
Hence
The hard and stiff
Are followers of death;
The soft and weak
Are followers of life。
For
When armies are stiff; they will lose;
When trees are stiff; they will fall。
The stiff and mighty will be cast down;
The soft and weak will be lifted up。
77
Heaven's Tao is like a stretched bow:
The top goes down and the bottom goes up。 What has much is shortened;
What has little is increased。
Heaven's Tao takes from those with much
And gives to those with little。
Man's way is not so:
It takes from those with little
And gives to those with much。
Who uses muchness
To serve beneath heaven?
Only he who has Tao!
Therefore the sage
Does but does not claim;
Completes his work but takes no credit。
He does not want his merit seen。
78
Nothing beneath heaven
Is softer and weaker than water。
Nothing is better
To attack the hard and strong;
And nothing can take its place。
The weak overcome the strong;
The soft overcome the hard。
There is no one beneath heaven who doesn't know this;
And no one who practices it。
Therefore the sage says:
To bear the dirt of the country
Is to be master of the grain…shrines。
To bear the sins of the country
Is to be the lord of beneath…heaven。
Indeed; straight words seem crooked!
79
When great ill…will is reconciled;
There remains ill…will。
How shall it be made good?
By the sage holding the left…hand tally
And laying no guilt on others。
If you have virtue; you do what you should。
If you have no virtue; you levy claims。
The Tao of heaven plays no favorites;
But it always succors the good。
80
Oh for a small country with few people!
There may be contrivances
In ten…fold or hundred…fold abundance;
But the people don't use them。
Let the people mind death
And not move away。
Tough there are boats and carriages;
There is no occasion to ride them。
Though there are weapons and arms;
There is no occasion to show them。
Let the people again knot cords。
Let them enjoy their food;
Take pleasure in their clothes;
Find contentment in their houses;
And delight in their tasks。
Another country may be so near
That each hears the noise
Of the other's cocks and dogs;
But until the end of their days;
The two people never mingle。
81
True words are not nice;
Nice words are not true。
A good man does not argue;
An arguer is not good。
The wise are not learned;
The learned are not wise。
The sage does not hoard。
The more he does for others;
The more he has himself。
The more he gives;
The more he gets。
The way of Heaven is
To benefit but not to harm。
The way of the sage is
To work but not compete。
English_McCarroll_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
Chinese … English by
Tolbert McCarroll; 1982
1
The Tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Tao。
The name that can be named is not the eternal name。
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth。
The name is the mother of the ten thousand things。
Send your desires away and you will see the mystery。
Be filled with desire
and you will see only the manifestation。
As these two come forth they differ in name。
Yet at their source they are the same。
This source is called a mystery。
Darkness within darkness;
the gateway to all mystery。
2
All under heaven see beauty as beauty
only because they also see ugliness。
All announce that good is good
only because they also denounce what is bad。
Therefore; something and nothing give birth to one another
Difficult and easy complete one another。
Long and short fashion one another。
High and low arise from one another。
Notes and tones harmonize with one another。
Front and back follow one another。
Thus; the True Person acts without striving
and teaches without words。
Deny nothing to the ten thousand things。
Nourish them without claiming authority;
Benefit them without demanding gratitude;
Do the work; then move on。
And; the fruits of your labor will last forever。
3
Not exalting the talented prevents rivalry。
Not valuing goods that are hard to obtain
prevents stealing。
Not displaying desirable things
prevents confusion of the heart。
Therefore; the True Person governs by
emptying the heart of desire
and filling the belly with food;
weakening ambitions
and strengthening bones。
If the people are simple and free from desire;
then the clever ones never dare to interfere。
Practice action without striving
and all will be in order。
4
The Tao is like an empty bowl;
yet it may be used
without ever needing to be filled。
It is the deep and unfathomable source
of the ten thousand things。
Blunt the sharpness。
Untie the knot。
Soften the glare。
Settle with the dust。
It is hidden deep yet ever present。
I do not know whose child it is。
It existed before the common ancestor。
5
Heaven and earth are not moved
by offerings of straw…dogs。
The Trne Person is not moved
by offerings of straw…dogs。
The space between heaven and earth is like a bellows。
It is empty and yet never exhausted。
The more it works the more comes out。
Many words lead to exhaustion。
Better to hold fast to your center。
6
The valley spirit never dies。
It is the unknown first mother;
whose gate is the root
from which grew heaven and earth。
It is dimly seen; yet always present。
Draw from it all you wish;
it will never run dry。
7
Heaven and earth last forever。
The reason why heaven and earth last forever
is that they do not live for themselves。
Hence; they last forever。
Therefore; the True Person
leaves self behind
and thus is found in front;
is not guarded and thus is preserved;
is self…free and thus is able
to find fulfillment。
8
The highest good is like water。
For water benefits the ten thousand things without striving。
It settles in places that people avoid
and so is like the Tao。
In choosing your horne look to the land。
In preparing your heart go deep。
In associating with others value gentleness。
In speaking exhibit good faith。
In governing pruvide good order。
In the conduct of business be competent。
In action be timely。
Then there is no strife; nothing goes amiss。
9
Better to stop in time than to fill to the brim。
Hone a blade to the sharpest point;
and it will soon be blunt。
Fill your house with gold and jade;
and no one can protect it。
Be prideful about wealth and position;
and you bring disasters upon yourself。
Retire when the work is done。
This is the way of heaven。
10
While