Tao Te Ching (for Novices)
(The Book of the Way and the Vertical Line)
Le Livre de la Voie
et la Ligne Verticale
(English)
Author: Lao Tzu (6th
Century BC)
French Translator:
Alexandre Ular 1900
Translator/Editor: Nik Marcel 2017
English translated from French.
Copyright
© 2018 Nik Marcel
All
rights reserved.
A Bilingual (Dual-Language) Project
2Language Books
Tao Te Ching (for Novices)
The Book of the Way and the Vertical Line
Part One
Section 1-9
1
The way which is the Way, is not the ordinary way.
The name which is the Name, is not the ordinary
name.
The Unnameable is the essence of the Universal.
The Nameable is the nature of the Individual.
The one who is without desire, is capable of seeing
clearly.
The one who is full of desire, will have unclear
vision.
These two classes are the same, but they manifest
as opposites.
They are the Inexplicable; and the most
inexplicable is the door to the Supreme Mystery.
2
The Human Perception of what is Beautiful
differentiates the Beautiful from the Ugly.
The Human Perception of what is Good differentiates
the Good from the Bad.
Being and Nonbeing is merely Existence
differentiated.
Possible and Impossible is merely Probability
differentiated.
Long and Short is merely Size differentiated.
Superior and Inferior is merely Hierarchy
differentiated.
Pitch and Timbre is merely Sound differentiated.
Before and After is merely Continuity
differentiated.
In accordance with this, the sage elaborates
without concept; legislates without speech; acts without impulse; creates with
nothing; conceives without goal; accomplishes while relinquishing authorship.
In general, Strength is found in the Unknown.
3
Excessive authority is the source of the struggling
mind.
Excessive value given to rare objects is the source
of the criminal mind.
Excessive display of coveted objects is the source
of the resentful mind.
In accordance with this, the Sage governs with a
free heart, an oceanic mind, a weak passion, and a strong character.
He renders the people desireless and without
knowledge, disciplines those who know, and practices inaction. Hence, society
functions.
4
The Way of the Tao is abstract, but its effective
force is inexhaustible.
Unfathomable, it is the regulator of the concrete
World.
It softens the sharp, and unravels the complex.
It harmonises radiance, and coordinates the
elements.
Oh, eternal clarity!
I do not know who could have preceded it.
Was it perhaps the Supreme Being?
5
The Universal does not know Love:
It passes over the individual as over a means.
The Sages do not know love.
They pass over individuals as over means.
The Universe is like a bellows: it is empty and yet
inexhaustible; and when it is set in motion, it always provides an impetus.
Man — an inexhaustible source of words — loses
nothing of Ego.
6
The Vitality of Nature is immortal.
She is the inconceivable Mother.
The inconceivable Mother is the root of the
Universal.
Eternally alive, she does not need impetus.
7
The Universal is eternal.
The Universal is eternal because it does not exist
as a separate individual.
This is the condition for Eternity.
In accordance with this, the Sage becomes
established by vanishing, endures by squandering him- or herself; and becomes
individualized by abandoning the ego.
8
Virtue is like water, which, suited to all, adapts
to all.
The more she distances herself from the Vulgar, the
closer she comes to the Way of the Tao.
It is therefore Location in the context of Life;
Depth in the context of Character; Love in the context of Feeling; Fairness in
the context of Mind; Development in the context of Governance; Vigour in the
context of Activity; and Opportunity in the context of Action.
In general, Adaptation stamps out Evil.
9
It would be better to abstain than to grasp what is
full.
It is impractical to feel and to sharpen.
It is impossible to keep treasures.
Glory, but with no inner restraint, leads to Crime.
To
accomplish, to attain… and to remain empty… this is the Way of the Tao.
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