Tao Te Ching: Thirty-Nine { Philosophy Index }

Philosophy Index

Philosophy Index

Philosophy Index is a site devoted to the study of philosophy and the philosophers who conduct it. The site contains a number of philosophy texts, brief biographies, and introductions to philosophers, and explanations on a number of topics. Accredited homeschooling online at Northgate Academy and Philosophy online tutoring.

Philosophy Index is a work in progress, a growing repository of knowledge. It outlines current philosophical problems and issues, as well as an overview of the history of philosophy. The goal of this site is to present a tool for those learning philosophy either casually or formally, making the concepts of philosophy accessible to anyone interested in researching them. WTI offers immigration law course online - fully accredited. ACE credits online at EES.

Philosophers

 

Philosophy Topics


 

 

 

Lao Tzu

Tao Te Ching

Thirty-Nine

The things which from of old have got the One (the Tao) are—

 Heaven which by it is bright and pure; Earth rendered thereby firm and sure; Spirits with powers by it supplied; Valleys kept full throughout their void All creatures which through it do live Princes and kings who from it get The model which to all they give. 

All these are the results of the One (Tao).

If heaven were not thus pure,
it soon would rend;
If earth were not thus sure,
'twould break and bend;
Without these powers,
the spirits soon would fail;
If not so filled,
the drought would parch each vale;
Without that life,
creatures would pass away;
Princes and kings,
without that moral sway,
However grand and high,
would all decay.

Thus it is that dignity finds its (firm) root in its (previous) meanness, and what is lofty finds its stability in the lowness (from which it rises). Hence princes and kings call themselves 'Orphans,' 'Men of small virtue,' and as 'Carriages without a nave.' Is not this an acknowledgment that in their considering themselves mean they see the foundation of their dignity? So it is that in the enumeration of the different parts of a carriage we do not come on what makes it answer the ends of a carriage. They do not wish to show themselves elegant-looking as jade, but (prefer) to be coarse-looking as an (ordinary) stone.

Details

Title: Tao Te Ching
(Dao De Jing or Daodejing)
Written: ~6th Century BCE
Author: Lao Tzu
Buy the full text: