Chapter XXXIX
(Chapter 39)

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Ko Yuen Translation

The Law of the Beginning
1. These things have possessed the Tao from the beginning:  Heaven, clear and shining; Earth, steady and easy; Spirits1, mighty in Magick; Vehicles1, overflowing with Joy; all that hath life; and the rulers of men.  All these derive their essence from the Tao.
2. Without the Tao, Heaven would dissolve Earth disrupt, Spirits become impotent; Vehicles empty; living things would perish and rulers lose their power.
3. The root of grandeur is humility, and the strength of exaltation in its base.  Thus rulers speak of themselves as "Fatherless," "Virtueless,' "Unworthy," proclaiming by this that their Glory is in their shame2.  So also the virtue of a Chariot is not any of the parts of a Chariot, if they be numbered3.  They do not seek to appear fine like jade, but inconspicuous like common stone4.

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S. Mitchell Translation
In harmony with the Tao,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creature flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.

When man interferes with the Tao,
the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.

The Master views the parts with compassion,
because he understands the whole.
His constant practice is humility.
He doesn't glitter like a jewel
but lets himself be shaped by the Tao,
as rugged and common as stone.

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James Legge Translation
1. 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).
2. 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.
3. 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.

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GNL not Lao

Support
In mythical times all things were whole:
All the sky was clear,
All the earth was stable,
All the mountains were firm,
All the riverbeds were full,
All of nature was fertile,
And all the rulers were supported.

But, losing clarity, the sky tore;
Losing stability, the earth split;
Losing strength, the mountains sank;
Losing water, the riverbeds cracked;
Losing fertility, nature disappeared;
And losing support, the rulers fell.

Rulers depend upon their subjects,
The noble depend upon the humble;
So rulers call themselves orphaned, hungry and alone,
To win the people's support.

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Ko Yuen Commentary
1. "Spirits" and "Vehicles" refer to the Lance and Cup, correlatives of Heaven and Earth.

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2. It is the invisible that is all-important:  See Cap. II.

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3. Cf. "The Questions of King Milinda." where is the discussion of what a carriage really is.

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4. English good manners are similarly inconspicuous, and were so devised as a protection.  Jade is liable to be seized and carved; ordinary stone may escape.  (Cf. Kwang- tze on the rotten tree, etc.  Zan Kien Shieh.  S. B. E. XXXIX, p. 217.)

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