Translation Info: beck | blakney | byrn | feng | ganson | gnl | hansen | legge | mccarroll | mcdonald | merel | merel2 | mitchell | muller | rosenthal |
| ganson Prev Next | Chapter 25 All Translations . beck . blakney . byrn . feng . ganson . gnl . hansen . legge . mccarroll . mcdonald . merel . merel2 . mitchell . muller . rosenthal . | headers Prev Chapter Chapter 25 Next Chapter |


There is something mysterious,
without beginning, without end,
that existed before the heavens and earth.
Unmoving; infinite; standing alone; never changing.
It is everywhere and it is inexhaustible.
It is the mother of all.

I do not know its name.
If I must name it I call it Tao
and I hail it as supreme.

Supreme means never-ending;
never-ending means far-reaching;
and far-reaching means returning.
Thus Tao is supreme, the heavens are supreme,
earth is supreme, and man is supreme.
There are four supremes in the universe;
man is one of them.

Man is subject to the laws of the earth,
the earth is subject to the laws of the universe,
the universe is subject to the laws of Tao,
and Tao is subject to the laws of its own nature.


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