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Laotze
Dao De Jing

English Version by Bob Gonzalez

TWENTY-EIGHT
Know the male, guard the female. Be a flowing stream under Heaven.
Being a flowing stream under Heaven, eternal excellence remains and one regains infancy.
Know the white, guard the black. Be a pattern under Heaven.
Being a pattern under Heaven, eternal excellence remains and one regains the Infinite.
Know the glorious, guard the humble. Be a valley under Heaven.
Being a valley under Heaven, eternal excellence thrives,
and one returns to the simplicity of the uncarved block.
When the uncarved block is cut into pieces, it is made into different things.
The sage uses it in its original state and thus becomes the ruler.
Great leaders do not cut.

TWENTY-NINE
If you desire to take over the world and do something to it, you will fail.
The world is a sacred vessel; nothing needs to be done to it.
If you interfere with it, you will ruin it. If you hold onto it, you will lose it.
At times things lead; at times they follow. At times they blow hot; at times they blow cold.
At times they are strong; at times they are weak.
At times they are up; at times they are down.
Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excess and extravagance.

THIRTY
When you assist a ruler with the Way, advise against using force to dominate the country.
Using force results in retaliation. Where armies camp, thorns grow.
In the wake of great war, famine surely follows.
Accomplish your aim, then stop. Do not exploit your advantage.
Accomplish your aim but do not boast. Accomplish your aim but do not gloat.
Accomplish your aim but do not be arrogant. Accomplish your aim but only as a last resort.
Accomplish your aim but without violence.
Things in their prime that use force soon grow old. They go against the Way.
That which goes against the Way soon perishes.

THIRTY-ONE
Even the finest weapons are still instruments of evil. All hate them.
Those who pursue the Way shun them.
The good prefer the left. Warriors prefer the right. Weapons are instruments of evil.
The good do not use them unless forced to. Then they do so with utmost restraint.
If victorious, they do not rejoice because this is to delight in killing.
To do so is to fail in life.
When rejoicing, the left is honored. When mourning, the right is honored.
The lieutenant's place is on the left. The general's place is on the right.
These are funeral rites.
When thousands are killed, they should be mourned.
The victorious should observe funeral rites.

THIRTY-TWO
The Way is constant and nameless.
Though the uncarved block is small, no one under Heaven can master it.
If rulers hold to it, all things obey willingly.
Heaven and Earth unite and sweet dew falls. It naturally falls evenly over all.
When the block is carved, names are needed. When names come, it is time to stop.
Knowing when it is time to stop avoids danger.
The Way is to the world what the ocean is to the rivers.

THIRTY-THREE
One who knows others is learned. One who knows self is illumined.
One who conquers others is forceful. One who conquers self is strong.
One who is content is rich. One who perseveres has purpose.
One who remains steady endures. One who dies, but not in memory, lives long.

THIRTY-FOUR
The great Way flows everywhere, left and right.
All things need it to live, and it holds nothing back.
It does its job but does not take credit.
It loves and protects all things, but does not rule over them.
It is desireless; it may be called "small." All things return to it; it may be called "great."
Greatness is not its purpose, but it achieves greatness.

THIRTY-FIVE
Hold the Great Idea and all under Heaven will come and meet no harm,
only harmony and peace.
Music and food attract passersby, but the Way when spoken has no flavor.
Unseen, unheard, endlessly useful.

THIRTY-SIX
If you feel shrunken, you must at some time have grown big.
If you feel weakened, you must at some time have grown strong.
If you feel rejected, you must at some time have been accepted.
If you feel you have lost, you must at some time have gained.
This subtle insight also states that
if you bend, you can win over the unbending;
if you are soft, you can conquer the hard.
Fish belong in deep waters. Swords belong in their sheaths.

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English Version by Bob Gonzalez

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