CHINESE ORIGINAL
天下有道，却走马以粪。
天下无道，戎马生于郊。
祸莫大于不知足；咎莫大于欲得。
故知足之足，常足矣。
ENGLISH · JAMES LEGGE, 1891
When the Tao prevails in the world, they send back their swift horses to (draw) the dung-carts. When the Tao is disregarded in the world, the war-horses breed in the border lands.
There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; no fault greater than the wish to be getting. Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is an enduring and unchanging sufficiency.
Legge’s translation uses nineteenth-century English. Parentheses are the translator’s; English chapter headings are editorial reading aids. Sources & method ↗
READ IN CONTEXT
Everyday living
Water, an empty bowl, a modest home. Ordinary images open questions about desire, sufficiency, generosity, and how to live with others.
Everyday living