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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Could any but the Great Man accomplish this easily 2? ‘Life is the follower of death, and death is the predecessor of life; but who knows. the Arranger (of this connexion between them)*? The life is due to the collecting of the breath. When that is collected, there is life; when it is dispersed, there is death. Since death and life thus attend on each other, why should I account (either of) them an evil ? ‘Therefore all things go through one and the same experience. (Life) is accounted beautiful because it is spirit-like and wonderful, and death is accounted ugly because of its foetor and putridity. But the foetid and putrid is transformed again into the spirit-like and wonderful, and the spirit-like and wonderful is transformed again into the foetid and ' See the Tao Teh King, chaps. 38 and 48. * This sentence is metaphorical of the T4o, whose spell is broken by the intrusion of Knowledge. 5 This ‘ Arranger’ is the T4o. al 60 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXII, putrid. Hence it is said, “ All under the sky there is one breath of life, and therefore the sages prized that unity '.”’ Knowledge? said to Hwang-Tt?, ‘I asked Dumb Inaction ?, and he did not answer me. Not only did he not answer me, but he did not know how to answer me. I asked Heedless Blurter, and while he wanted to tell me, he yet did not do so. Not only did he not tell me, but while he wanted to tell me, he forgot all about my questions. Now I have asked you, and you knew (all about them) ;—why (do you say that) you are not near doing so?’ Hwang-Tt replied, ‘Dumb Inaction? was truly right, because he did not know the thing. Heedless Blurter? was nearly right, because he forgot it. I and you are not nearly right, because we know it. Heedless Blurter? heard of (all this), and considered that Hwang-Tt? knew how to express himself (on the subject). 2. (The operations of) Heaven and Earth proceed in the most admirable way, but they say nothing about them; the four seasons observe the clearest laws, but they do not discuss them ; all things have their complete and distinctive constitutions, but they say nothing about them ®. The sages trace out the adtnirable operations of - Heaven and Earth, and reach to and understand the distinctive constitutions of all things; and thus it is that the Perfect Man (is said to) do nothing and the Greatest Sage to originate nothing, such language showing that they look to Heaven and Earth as 1 I have not been able to trace this quotation to its source. 2 See note 2, p. 57. 5 Compare Analects XVII, xix, 3. PT,II,SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 61 their model?. Even they, with their spirit-like and most exquisite intelligence, as well as all the tribes that undergo their transformations, the dead and the living, the square and the round, do not understand their root and origin, but nevertheless they all from the oldest time by it preserve their being.
2Even they, with their spirit-like and most exquisite intelligence, as well as all the tribes that undergo their transformations, the dead and the living, the square and the round, do not understand their root and origin, but nevertheless they all from the oldest time by it preserve their being. Vast as is the space included within the six cardinal points, it all (and all that it contains) lies within (this twofold root of Heaven and Earth) ; small as is an autumn hair, it is indebted to this for the completion of its form. All things beneath the sky, now rising, now descending, ever continue the same through this, The Yin and Yang, and the four seasons revolve and move by it, each in its proper order. Now it seems to be lost in obscurity, but it continues ; now it seems to glide away, and have no form, but it is still spirit-like. All things are nourished by it, without their knowing it. This is what is called the Root and Origin; by it we may obtain a view of what we mean by Heaven *. 3, Nieh Xhiieh® asked about the T Ao from Phei-i*, who replied, ‘If you keep your body as it should be, and look only at the one thing, the Harmony of Heaven will come to you. Call in your knowledge, and make your measures uniform, and the spiritual (belonging to you) will come and lodge with you; the Attributes (of the T4o) will be your beauty, and the T4o (itself) will be your dwelling-place. You will have the simple look of a new-born calf, and 1 Compare the Tao Teh Xing, ch. 25. ? The binomial ‘ Heaven and Earth’ here gives place to the one term ‘ Heaven,’ which is often a synonym of T4o. 8 See his character in Book XII, par. 5, where Phei-? also is mentioned. 62 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK, XXII. will not seek to know the cause (of your being what you are). Phei-f had not finished these words when the other dozed off into a sleep. Phei-t was greatly pleased, and walked away, singing as he went, , ‘Like stump of rotten tree his frame, Like lime when slaked his mind became’. Real is his wisdom, solid, true, Nor cares what's hidden to pursue. O dim and dark his aimless mind! No one from him can counsel find. What sort of man is he?’ 4. Shun asked (his attendant) Aang’, saying, ‘Can I get the T4o and hold it as mine?’ The reply was, ‘ Your body is not your own to hold ;— how then can you get and hold the Téo?’ Shun resumed, ‘If my body be not mine to possess and hold, who holds it?’ ang said, ‘It is the bodily form entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Life is not yours to hold. It is the blended harmony (of the Yin and Yang), entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Your nature, constituted as it is, is not ” yours to hold. It is entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth to act in accordance with it. Your grandsons and sons are not yours to hold. They are the exuviae® entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Therefore when we walk, we should not know where we are going; when we stop and rest, we should not know what to occupy ourselves with ;
3Your grandsons and sons are not yours to hold. They are the exuviae® entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Therefore when we walk, we should not know where we are going; when we stop and rest, we should not know what to occupy ourselves with ; 1 See the account of Nan-kwo 3ze-4At in Book II, par. 1. 2 Not the name of a man, but an office. 8 The term in the text denotes the cast-off skin or shell of insects, snakes, and crabs. See the account of death and life in par. 1. PT.II, SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 63 when we eat, we should not know the taste of our food ;—all is done by the strong Yang influence of Heaven and Earth'. How then can you get (the To), and hold it as your own ?’ 5. Confucius asked Lado Tan, saying, ‘ Being at leisure to-day, I venture to ask you about the Perfect T4o.’ Lao Tan replied, ‘You must, as by fasting and vigil, clear and purge your mind, wash your spirit white as snow, and sternly repress your knowledge. The subject of the T4o is deep, and difficult to describe ;—I will give you an outline of its simplest attributes. ‘The Luminous was produced from the Obscure ; the Multiform from the Unembodied ; the Spiritual from the T4o; and the bodily from the seminal essence. After this all things produced one another from their bodily organisations. Thus it is that those which have nine apertures are born from the womb, and those with eight from eggs*% But their coming leaves no trace, and their going no monument; they enter by no door; they dwell in no apartment * :—they are in a vast arena reaching in all directions. They who search for and find (the To) in this are strong in their limbs, sincere and far-reaching in their thinking, acute in their hearing, and clear in their seeing. They exercise their minds without being toiled; they respond to everything aright without regard to place or circumstance. Without this heaven would not be high, nor earth 1 It is an abstruse point why only the Yang is mentioned here, and described as ‘ strong.’ ? It is not easy to see the pertinence of this illustration. 8’ Hf Wan-ying says, ‘ With this one word our author sweeps away the teaching of Purgatorial Sufferings.’ 64 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXII. broad; the sun and moon would not move, and nothing would flourish :—such is the operation of the T4o. ‘Moreover, the most extensive knowledge does not necessarily know it; reasoning will not make men wise in it;—the sages have decided against both these methods. However you try to add to it, it admits of no increase; however you try to take from it, it admits of no diminution ;—this is what the sages maintain about it. How deep it is, like the sea! How grand it is, beginning again when it has come to an end! If it carried along and sustained all things, without being overburdened or weary, that would be like the way of the superior man, merely an external operation ; when all things go to it, and find their dependence in it ;—this is the true character of the TAo.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Could any but the Great Man accomplish this easily 2? ‘Life is the follower of death, and death is the predecessor of life; but who knows. the Arranger (of this connexion between them)*? The life is due to the collecting of the breath. When that is collected, there is life; when it is dispersed, there is death. Since death and life thus attend on each other, why should I account (either of) them an evil ? ‘Therefore all things go through one and the same experience. (Life) is accounted beautiful because it is spirit-like and wonderful, and death is accounted ugly because of its foetor and putridity. But the foetid and putrid is transformed again into the spirit-like and wonderful, and the spirit-like and wonderful is transformed again into the foetid and ' See the Tao Teh King, chaps. 38 and 48. * This sentence is metaphorical of the T4o, whose spell is broken by the intrusion of Knowledge. 5 This ‘ Arranger’ is the T4o. al 60 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXII, putrid. Hence it is said, “ All under the sky there is one breath of life, and therefore the sages prized that unity '.”’ Knowledge? said to Hwang-Tt?, ‘I asked Dumb Inaction ?, and he did not answer me. Not only did he not answer me, but he did not know how to answer me. I asked Heedless Blurter, and while he wanted to tell me, he yet did not do so. Not only did he not tell me, but while he wanted to tell me, he forgot all about my questions. Now I have asked you, and you knew (all about them) ;—why (do you say that) you are not near doing so?’ Hwang-Tt replied, ‘Dumb Inaction? was truly right, because he did not know the thing. Heedless Blurter? was nearly right, because he forgot it. I and you are not nearly right, because we know it. Heedless Blurter? heard of (all this), and considered that Hwang-Tt? knew how to express himself (on the subject). 2. (The operations of) Heaven and Earth proceed in the most admirable way, but they say nothing about them; the four seasons observe the clearest laws, but they do not discuss them ; all things have their complete and distinctive constitutions, but they say nothing about them ®. The sages trace out the adtnirable operations of - Heaven and Earth, and reach to and understand the distinctive constitutions of all things; and thus it is that the Perfect Man (is said to) do nothing and the Greatest Sage to originate nothing, such language showing that they look to Heaven and Earth as 1 I have not been able to trace this quotation to its source. 2 See note 2, p. 57. 5 Compare Analects XVII, xix, 3. PT,II,SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 61 their model?. Even they, with their spirit-like and most exquisite intelligence, as well as all the tribes that undergo their transformations, the dead and the living, the square and the round, do not understand their root and origin, but nevertheless they all from the oldest time by it preserve their being.
2Even they, with their spirit-like and most exquisite intelligence, as well as all the tribes that undergo their transformations, the dead and the living, the square and the round, do not understand their root and origin, but nevertheless they all from the oldest time by it preserve their being. Vast as is the space included within the six cardinal points, it all (and all that it contains) lies within (this twofold root of Heaven and Earth) ; small as is an autumn hair, it is indebted to this for the completion of its form. All things beneath the sky, now rising, now descending, ever continue the same through this, The Yin and Yang, and the four seasons revolve and move by it, each in its proper order. Now it seems to be lost in obscurity, but it continues ; now it seems to glide away, and have no form, but it is still spirit-like. All things are nourished by it, without their knowing it. This is what is called the Root and Origin; by it we may obtain a view of what we mean by Heaven *. 3, Nieh Xhiieh® asked about the T Ao from Phei-i*, who replied, ‘If you keep your body as it should be, and look only at the one thing, the Harmony of Heaven will come to you. Call in your knowledge, and make your measures uniform, and the spiritual (belonging to you) will come and lodge with you; the Attributes (of the T4o) will be your beauty, and the T4o (itself) will be your dwelling-place. You will have the simple look of a new-born calf, and 1 Compare the Tao Teh Xing, ch. 25. ? The binomial ‘ Heaven and Earth’ here gives place to the one term ‘ Heaven,’ which is often a synonym of T4o. 8 See his character in Book XII, par. 5, where Phei-? also is mentioned. 62 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK, XXII. will not seek to know the cause (of your being what you are). Phei-f had not finished these words when the other dozed off into a sleep. Phei-t was greatly pleased, and walked away, singing as he went, , ‘Like stump of rotten tree his frame, Like lime when slaked his mind became’. Real is his wisdom, solid, true, Nor cares what's hidden to pursue. O dim and dark his aimless mind! No one from him can counsel find. What sort of man is he?’ 4. Shun asked (his attendant) Aang’, saying, ‘Can I get the T4o and hold it as mine?’ The reply was, ‘ Your body is not your own to hold ;— how then can you get and hold the Téo?’ Shun resumed, ‘If my body be not mine to possess and hold, who holds it?’ ang said, ‘It is the bodily form entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Life is not yours to hold. It is the blended harmony (of the Yin and Yang), entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Your nature, constituted as it is, is not ” yours to hold. It is entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth to act in accordance with it. Your grandsons and sons are not yours to hold. They are the exuviae® entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Therefore when we walk, we should not know where we are going; when we stop and rest, we should not know what to occupy ourselves with ;
3Your grandsons and sons are not yours to hold. They are the exuviae® entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Therefore when we walk, we should not know where we are going; when we stop and rest, we should not know what to occupy ourselves with ; 1 See the account of Nan-kwo 3ze-4At in Book II, par. 1. 2 Not the name of a man, but an office. 8 The term in the text denotes the cast-off skin or shell of insects, snakes, and crabs. See the account of death and life in par. 1. PT.II, SECT. XV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 63 when we eat, we should not know the taste of our food ;—all is done by the strong Yang influence of Heaven and Earth'. How then can you get (the To), and hold it as your own ?’ 5. Confucius asked Lado Tan, saying, ‘ Being at leisure to-day, I venture to ask you about the Perfect T4o.’ Lao Tan replied, ‘You must, as by fasting and vigil, clear and purge your mind, wash your spirit white as snow, and sternly repress your knowledge. The subject of the T4o is deep, and difficult to describe ;—I will give you an outline of its simplest attributes. ‘The Luminous was produced from the Obscure ; the Multiform from the Unembodied ; the Spiritual from the T4o; and the bodily from the seminal essence. After this all things produced one another from their bodily organisations. Thus it is that those which have nine apertures are born from the womb, and those with eight from eggs*% But their coming leaves no trace, and their going no monument; they enter by no door; they dwell in no apartment * :—they are in a vast arena reaching in all directions. They who search for and find (the To) in this are strong in their limbs, sincere and far-reaching in their thinking, acute in their hearing, and clear in their seeing. They exercise their minds without being toiled; they respond to everything aright without regard to place or circumstance. Without this heaven would not be high, nor earth 1 It is an abstruse point why only the Yang is mentioned here, and described as ‘ strong.’ ? It is not easy to see the pertinence of this illustration. 8’ Hf Wan-ying says, ‘ With this one word our author sweeps away the teaching of Purgatorial Sufferings.’ 64 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK. XXII. broad; the sun and moon would not move, and nothing would flourish :—such is the operation of the T4o. ‘Moreover, the most extensive knowledge does not necessarily know it; reasoning will not make men wise in it;—the sages have decided against both these methods. However you try to add to it, it admits of no increase; however you try to take from it, it admits of no diminution ;—this is what the sages maintain about it. How deep it is, like the sea! How grand it is, beginning again when it has come to an end! If it carried along and sustained all things, without being overburdened or weary, that would be like the way of the superior man, merely an external operation ; when all things go to it, and find their dependence in it ;—this is the true character of the TAo.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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