CHINESE ORIGINAL
重为轻根，静为躁君。
是以圣人终日行不离辎重。
虽有荣观，燕处超然。
奈何万乘之主，而以身轻天下？
轻则失本，躁则失君。
ENGLISH · JAMES LEGGE, 1891
Gravity is the root of lightness; stillness, the ruler of movement.
Therefore a wise prince, marching the whole day, does not go far from his baggage waggons. Although he may have brilliant prospects to look at, he quietly remains (in his proper place), indifferent to them. How should the lord of a myriad chariots carry himself lightly before the kingdom? If he do act lightly, he has lost his root (of gravity); if he proceed to active movement, he will lose his throne.
Legge’s translation uses nineteenth-century English. Parentheses are the translator’s; English chapter headings are editorial reading aids. Sources & method ↗
READ IN CONTEXT
Self-cultivation
Begin with the way you attend to your own life: quietness, humility, honesty, and the patient work of knowing yourself.
Self-cultivation