Oriente

Waley
What is in the end to be shrunk Must first be stretched. Whatever is to be weakened Must begin by being made strong. What is to be overthrown Must begin by being set up. He who would be a taker Must begin as a giver. This is called “dimming” one’s light. It is thus that the soft overcomes the hard And the weak, the strong. “It is best to leave the fish down in his pool; Best to leave the State’s sharpest weapons wherenone can see them.”
Wieger
A. Le commencement de la (…)

Waley
He who holding the Great From goes about his work in the empire Can go about his, yet do no harm. All is peace, quietness and security. Sound of music, smell of good dishes Will make the passing stranger pause. How difference the words that Tao gives forth! So thin, so flavourless! If one looks for Tao, there is nothing solid to see; If one listens for it, there is nothing loud enough to hear. Yet if one uses it, it is inexhaustible.
Wieger
A. Parce qu’il ressemble au grand (…)

Waley
Great Tao is like a boat that drifts; It can go this way; it can go that. The ten thousand creatures owe their existence to it and it does not disown them; Yet having produced them, it does not take possession of them. Makes no claim to be master over them, (And asks for nothing from them.) Therefore it may be called the Lowly. The ten thousand creatures obey it, Though they know not that they have a master; Therefore it is called the Great. So too the Sage just because he never at (…)

Waley
To understand others is to have knowledge; To understand oneself is to be illumined. To conquer others needs strength; To conquer oneself is harder still. To be content with what one has is to be rich. He that works through violence may get his way; But only what stays in its place Can endure. When one dies one is not lost, there is no other longevity.
Wieger
A. Connaître les autres, c’est sagesse ; mais se connaître soi même, c’est sagesse supérieure, (la nature propre étant (…)

Waley
Tao is eternal, but has no fame (name); The Uncarved Block, though seemingly of small account, Is greater than anything that is under heaven. If kings and barons would but possess themselves of it, The ten thousand creatures would flock to do them homage; Heaven-and-earth would conspire To send Sweet Dew, Without law or compulsion, men would dwell in harmony. Once the block is carved, there will be names, And so soon as there are names, Know that it is time to stop. Only by knowing (…)

Waley
Fine weapons are none the less ill-omened things. (People despise them, therefore, Those in possession of the Tao do not depend on them.) That is why, among people of good birth, In peace the left-hand side is the place of honour, But in war this is reversed and the right-hand side is the place of honour. (Weapons are ill-omened things, which the superior man should not depend on. When he has no choice but to use them, The best attitude is to retain tranquil and peaceful.) The (…)

Waley
He who by Tao purposes to help a ruler of men Will oppose all conquest by force of arms; For such things are wont to rebound. Where armies are, thorn and brambles grow. The raising of a great host Is followed by a year of dearth. Therefore a good general effects his purpose and then stops; he does not take further advantage of his victory. Fulfils his purpose and does not glory in what he has done; Fulfils his purpose and does not boast of what he has done; Fulfils his purpose, but (…)

Waley
Those that would gain what is under heaven by tampering with it - I have seen that they do not succeed. For that which is under heaven is like a holy vessel, dangerous to tamper with. Those that tamper with it, harm it. Those that grab at it, lose it. For among the creatures of the world some go in front, some follow; Some blow hot when others would be blowing cold. Some are feeling vigorous just when others are worn out. Therefore the Sage “discards the absolute, the all-inclusive, (…)

Waley
“He who knows the males, yet cleaves to what is female Because like a ravine, receiving all things under heaven,” And being such a ravine He knows all the time a power that he never calls upon in vain. This is returning to the state of infancy. He who knows the white, (yet cleaves to the black Becomes the standard by which all things are tested; And being such a standard He has all the time a power that never errs, He returns to the Limitless. He who knows glory,) yet cleaves to (…)

Waley
Perfect activity leaves no track behind it; Perfect speech is like a jade-worker whose tool leaves no mark. The perfect reckoner needs no counting-slips; The perfect door has neither bolt nor bar, Yet cannot be opened. The perfect knot needs neither rope nor twine, Yet cannot be united. Therefore the Sage Is all the time in the most perfect way helping men, He certainly does not turn his back on men; Is all the time in the most perfect way helping creatures, He certainly does not (…)