Propounding the essential

Faithful words are not pleasant.

Pleasant words are not faithful.

The good ones not dispute.

Who dispute the ones not are good.

The knowing ones not are learned.

The learned ones not know.

The holy man not hoards.

Having thereby worked for others;

he himself the more exceedingly will acquire.

Having thereby given to the people 

he himself the more exceedingly will have plenty.

Heaven's reason benefits but not injures.

The holy man's reason to act but not to quarrel.

Alone standing

 

A small country few people 

let have over ten men hundred men,

men as their officers but not use their power.

Let the people esteem death and not to a distance move.

Though they have ships carriages,

they have no occasion to ride in them.

Though they have armors weapons

they have no occasion to don them.

Let the people return to knotted cords and use them;

delight in their food;

be proud of their clothes;

be content with their dwellings;

rejoice in their customs.

A neighboring country mutually might be in sight,

Cocks dogs their voice mutually might be heard.

The people will reach old age and die,

not mutually they will visit or come and go.

Sustain contracts

Reconciling a great hatred,

surely there will remain some hatred.

Whereby to make good?

Therefore the holy man holds the left side of his contract

and not exacts from others.

Have virtue keep contract.

Have not virtue insist on claims.

Heaven's reason has no preference

always helps the good man.

 

Trust in faith

 

In the world in tenderness in weakness
nothing can more surpass than water,

And who attacks the hard the strong the ones,

no one of them can surpass.

Among things there is none which herein takes the place of it.

The weak being conquerors of the strong

The tender being conquerors of the stiff.

In the world there is no one not knows,

no one can practise.

Therefore the the holy man declares:

Who is charged with the country's sin,

this one is called of the altar's millet the master.

Who is charged with the country's unblessings, this one is called the empire's king.

True words seem paradoxical.

Heaven's reason

 

Heaven's reason,

it resembles the stretching of a bow.

Oh! The higher one brings down it.

The lower one raises it.

Who have abundance, 

the ones, diminishes them.

Who not have enough 

the ones, gives to them.

Heaven's reason

It diminishes have abundance 

and completes not enough.

Man's reason is not so.

It diminishes not enough

thereby to serve have abundance.

Who can have abundance

for the purpose of serving the world?

Therefore the holy man makes,

yet not claims.

Merit he accomplishes,

yet not dwells there.

He not wishes to let be seen his excellence.

Does he?

Beware of strength

 

Man is his life,
is indeed tender weak.

He dies, he is indeed hard stiff.

The ten thousand things,

the grass, trees in their life are indeed tender delicate.

They die, they are indeed rigid dry.

Therefore the hard stiff ones 

death's companions

The tender weak ones

life's companions.

Therefore arms are strong,

then they will not conquer.

Trees strong,

then they will be doomed.

The strong great stay below.

The tender, the weak stay above.

Greediness' loss

 

The people's starvation from their superior's consuming of taxes too much.

Therefore they starve.

The people's difficult to govern comes from their superiors' being too active.

Therefore it is difficult to govern.

The people's making light of death from their seeking life's intensity,

therefore they make light of death.

Now just not on life bent,

the one this one is more moral than esteem life.

To overcome delusion

The people not fear death,

in what way

how with death 

one frighten them?

If we make people always fear death,

but make innovations,

that one,

I take seize and kill him,

who will dare?

Always there is an executioner to kill,

one kills.

Now taking the place of the executioner to kill,

of the one kills,

this is called taking the place of the great carpenter hews.

Now takes the place of the great carpenter hews,

the one,

rare it is not he injures his hands.

 

Daring to act

 

Courage, to daring then leads to death.

Courage to not-daring then leads to life.

These two things sometimes beneficial,

sometimes are harmful.

Heaven's what is hated by,

who knows its reason?

Therefore the holy man even deems difficult it.

Heaven's reason not quarrels yet well it conquers;

not it speaks yet well it responds;

not it summons yet itself it comes.

in a lenient manner,

yet good.

Heaven's net is vast,

so vast:

wide-meshed and yet not it loses.

To cherish oneself

The people not are afraid of the dreadful,

the great dreadful will come, indeed!

Do not render narrow their place where they dwell.

Do not make wearisome their place where they live.

Now only when not they are made wearisome,

thereby not they are wearisome.

Therefore the holy man himself knows,

not himself he regards.

Himself cherishes not himself he treasures.

Therefore he discards the latter

chooses the former.