| A person of high virtue is not conscious of virtue and therefore possesses Virtue. A person of little virtue tries to be virtuous and therefore lacks Virtue. A person of high vir-tue does not make a fuss and is not seen. A person of little virtue always makes a fuss and is always seen. A truly good person functions without ulterior motive. A moralist acts out of private desires. A ritualist acts and, when no one responds, rolls up a sleeve and marches. When we lose the Tao, we turn to Virtue. When we lose Virtue, we turn to kindness. When we lose kindness, we turn to morality. When we lose morality, we turn to ritual. Ritual is the mere husk of good faith and loyalty and the beginning of disorder. Knowledge of what is to come may be a flower of the Tao, but it is the beginning of folly. Hence, the well-formed person relies on what is solid and not on what is flimsy, on the fruit and not the flower. Therefore, such a person lets go of that without and is cont:ent with this within. |
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