CHINESE ORIGINAL
执大象,天下往。
往而不害,安平太。
乐与饵,过客止。
道之出口,淡乎其无味,视之不足见,听之不足闻,用之不足既。
ENGLISH · JAMES LEGGE, 1891
To him who holds in his hands the Great Image (of the invisible Tao), the whole world repairs. Men resort to him, and receive no hurt, but (find) rest, peace, and the feeling of ease.
Music and dainties will make the passing guest stop (for a time). But though the Tao as it comes from the mouth, seems insipid and has no flavour, though it seems not worth being looked at or listened to, the use of it is inexhaustible.
Legge’s translation uses nineteenth-century English. Parentheses are the translator’s; English chapter headings are editorial reading aids. Sources & method ↗
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The Way
The source that cannot be fully named. Explore the language of emptiness, return, and the patterns through which things arise.
The Way