Chapter 4 — Without a source無源

夫執一家之量者，不能全家。執一國之量者，不能成國。窮力舉重，不能為用，故人雖知，萬物治也，治而不以二儀之道，則不能贍也。地雖形魄，不法於天則不能全其寧。天雖精象，不法於道則不能保其精。沖而用之，用乃不能窮，滿以造實，實來則溢，故沖而用之，又復不盈，其為無窮亦已極矣。形雖大，不能累其體，事雖殷，不能充其量，萬物舍此而求主，主其安在乎。不亦淵兮似萬物之宗乎。銳挫而無損，紛解而不勞，和光而不汙，其體同塵而不渝其真，不亦湛兮似或存乎。地守其形，德不能過其載，天慊其象，德不能過其覆，天地莫能及之，不亦似帝之先乎。帝，天帝也。

Whoever grasps the vessel of a single household cannot keep that household whole, and whoever grasps the vessel of a single state cannot bring that state to completion. One who lifts a heavy thing with all his strength cannot become of use. Therefore, though a person may have knowledge, the ten thousand things are governed only by the Dao of the two agencies, heaven and earth; governed otherwise, it cannot be sufficient. Though earth has form and body, if it does not take heaven as its model it cannot keep its repose whole; though heaven has a finely wrought semblance, if it does not take the Dao as its model it cannot preserve that fineness. It is used while it remains empty, and so its use cannot be exhausted. Fill it full and make it solid, and the moment solidity arrives it overflows. Therefore, used while it remains empty, it never overflows again, and its inexhaustibility has already reached the utmost. Though forms be large, they cannot bind its body; though affairs be many, they cannot fill its vessel. If the ten thousand things cast this aside and sought a master, where would that master be? Deep indeed: is it not like the ancestor of the ten thousand things? Blunt its sharpness and nothing is diminished; untie its tangles and there is no toil; soften its glare and it is not soiled; let its body join with the dust and its genuineness does not change. Clear indeed: is it not as though it were there? Earth keeps to its form, so its virtue cannot exceed what it bears up; heaven is content with its semblance, so its virtue cannot exceed what it covers over. Even heaven and earth do not reach it, so does it not seem to come before the Lord on high? Di (帝) is the sovereign of heaven.

沖，中也。道匿名藏譽，其用在中。

Emptiness means the middle. The Dao hides its name and conceals the praise it is given, so its use lies in the middle.

或，常也。道常謙虛不盈滿。

Huo (或) means "always." The Dao is always humble and empty, never brimming over.

道淵深不可知，似為萬物之宗祖。

The Dao is deep beyond deep and cannot be known, so it seems to be the head and forefather of the ten thousand things.

銳，進也。人欲銳精進取功名，當挫止之，法道不自見也。

Sharpness means advancing. When a person sharpens his spirit to seize merit and renown, he ought to blunt it and bring it to a halt; this is taking the Dao as his model and not putting himself on display.

紛，結恨也。當念道無為以解釋。

A tangle is pent-up resentment. One ought to call to mind the Dao’s doing-nothing, and so loosen it.

言雖有獨見之明，當知闇昧，不當以擢亂人也。

This says that even if one has the brightness of seeing alone, one ought to know oneself to be dim and dull, and ought not to brandish that brightness to throw others into confusion.

當與眾庶同垢塵，不當自別殊。

One ought to share grime and dust together with the common crowd, and ought not to set oneself apart as different.

言當湛然安靜，故能長存不亡。

This says that one ought to be clear and still, for only then can one endure long and not perish.

老子言：我不知，道所從生。

Laozi (老子) said: I do not know what the Dao came forth from.

道自在天帝之前，此言道乃先天地之生也。至今在者，以能安靜湛然，不勞煩，欲使人修身法道。

The Dao was there before the Lord on high; this says that the Dao existed before heaven and earth were born. That it is here even now is because it is still and clear and does not toil and trouble itself — the point being to make people cultivate their own persons and take the Dao as their model.