DAO DE JING · THE DE
Chapter 73
勇於敢則殺，
勇於不敢則活。
此兩者，或利或害。
天之所惡，孰知其故？是以聖人猶難之。
天之道，不爭而善勝，
不言而善應，
不召而自來，
繟然而善謀。
天網恢恢，疏而不失。
JAMES LEGGE · ENGLISH TRANSLATION
1. He whose boldness appears in his daring (to do wrong, in defiance of the laws) is put to death; he whose boldness appears in his not daring (to do so) lives on. Of these two cases the one appears to be advantageous, and the other to be injurious. But
When Heaven's anger smites a man, Who the cause shall truly scan?
On this account the sage feels a difficulty (as to what to do in the former case).
2. It is the way of Heaven not to strive, and yet it skilfully overcomes; not to speak, and yet it is skilful in obtaining a reply; does not call, and yet men come to it of themselves. Its demonstrations are quiet, and yet its plans are skilful and effective. The meshes of the net of Heaven are large; far apart, but letting nothing escape.
About these texts
The Chinese follows the Wang Bi recension in the Sibu Beiyao edition, transcribed on Wikisource. The English is James Legge’s translation.
They are paired by chapter number. Wording and punctuation can differ between editions. The historical text and translation are distinct from any AI reflection.
The Chinese transcription is adapted by extracting chapter text and omitting commentary. Editorial contributions are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0; the historical work is public domain. English source: Project Gutenberg, ebook 216; the underlying Legge translation is public domain in the USA.