Chapter 25 — Images of the origin象元

混然不可得而知，而萬物由之以成，故曰混成也。不知其誰之子，故先天地生。

Being a blend, it cannot be known, yet the ten thousand things are completed by way of it. This is why it says it is formed out of a blend. Whose child it is cannot be known, and so it was born before heaven and earth.

謂道無形，混沌而成萬物，乃在天地之前。

This says that the Dao has no form and, while still a blend, completes the ten thousand things, so that it stands before heaven and earth.

寂寥，無形體也。無物之匹，故曰獨立也。返化終始，不失其常，故曰不改也。

Jiliao (寂寥) is to have neither form nor body. There is no thing to match it, and so it says it stands alone. It turns and changes, ending and beginning, yet does not lose what is constant in it, and so it says it does not change.

寂者，無音聲。寥者，空無形。獨立者，無匹雙。不改者，化有常。

Ji (寂) is to be without sound, and liao (寥) is to be empty and without form. Standing alone is to have no mate, and not changing is that through all its shifting there is always what is constant.

周行無所不至而免殆，能生全大形也，故可以為天下母也。

It moves everywhere, with no place it does not reach, and yet escapes danger, and it can give birth to the great form and keep it whole. This is why it can be the mother of all under heaven.

道通行天地，無所不入，在陽不焦，託蔭不腐，無不貫穿，而不危怠也。

The Dao moves everywhere through heaven and earth, and there is no place it does not enter. In the sunlight it does not burn, and lodged in the shade it does not rot; there is nothing it does not pierce through, and so it is neither in danger nor slack.

道育養萬物精氣，如母之養子。

The Dao nourishes the vital essence of the ten thousand things as a mother rears her child.

名以定形，混成無形，不可得而定，故曰，不知其名也。

A name settles a form, but what is formed out of a blend has no form and cannot be settled. This is why it says, I do not know its name.

我不見道之形容，不知當何以名之，見萬物皆從道所生，故字之曰道。

I have not seen the shape of the Dao and do not know what to name it, but I have seen that the ten thousand things are all born from the Dao, and so I gave it the style name Dao.

夫名以定形，字以稱可言，道取於無物而不由也。是混成之中，可言之稱最大也。

A name settles a form, while a style name (字) is a term for what can be spoken. The Dao is taken from this, that it has no thing and yet there is nothing that does not come by way of it. Among what is formed out of a blend, this is the greatest of the terms that can be spoken.

吾所以字之曰道者，取其可言之稱最大也。責其字定之所由，則繫於大，大有繫，則必有分，有分則失其極矣。故曰，强為之名曰大。

In giving it the style name Dao, I took the greatest of the terms that can be spoken. If one presses for the reason that style name was settled upon, it is tied to greatness; where there is a tie to greatness there must be division, and where there is division its utmost is lost. This is why it says that, forcing a name upon it, I call it great.

不知其名，強曰大者，高而無上，羅而無外，無不包容，故曰大也。

Its name is not known, so a name was forced upon it and it was called great: it is so high that nothing is above it, so widely spread that nothing is outside it, and there is nothing it does not hold within. This is why it was called great.

逝，行也。不守一大體而已。周行無所不至，故曰逝也。

Shi (逝) means to pass on. It does not keep to one great body alone. It moves everywhere, with no place it does not reach, and so it says it passes on.

其為大，非若天常在上，非若地常在下，乃復逝去，無常處所也。

Its greatness is not always above, as heaven is, nor always below, as earth is; it passes on again and has no place where it always stays.

遠，極也。周無所不窮極，不偏於一逝，故曰遠也。不隨於所適，其體獨立，故曰反也。

Yuan (遠) is the utmost. It moves everywhere, with nothing it does not exhaust, and is not partial to any one passing on, and so it says it goes far. It does not follow where it goes, and its body stands alone, and so it says it turns back.

言遠者，窮乎無窮，布氣天地，無所不通也。

Going far says that it reaches to where there is no end, spreading its breath through heaven and earth, with no place it does not reach through.

言其遠不越絕，乃復反在人身也。

This says that in going far it does not break away altogether, but turns back again and is present in the human body.

天地之性，人為貴，而王是人之主也。雖不職大亦復為大與三匹，故曰，王亦大也。

Among the natures of heaven and earth the human is the precious one, and the king is the master of people. Though greatness is not his office, he too is called great and is matched with the other three. This is why it says that the king too is great.

道大者，包羅天地，無所不容也。天大者，無所不蓋也。地大者，無所不載也。王大者，無所不制也。

The Dao is great in that it wraps heaven and earth about and there is nothing it does not hold. Heaven is great in that there is nothing it does not cover, earth is great in that there is nothing it does not bear up, and the king is great in that there is nothing he does not govern.

四大，道、天、地、王也。凡物有稱有名，則非其極也，言道則有所由，有所由然後謂之為道，然則是道，稱中之大也，不若無稱之大也。無稱不可得而名曰域也，道天地王皆在乎無稱之內，故曰，域中有四大者也。

The four great things are the Dao, heaven, earth, and the king. Whenever a thing has a term and has a name, that is not its utmost. To say Dao is to have something it comes by way of, and only where there is something it comes by way of is it called the Dao. If so, this Dao is the great one among terms, and falls short of the greatness that has no term. Where there is no term it cannot be named, and so it was called the world (域), and the Dao, heaven, earth, and the king all lie within what has no term. This is why it says that in the world there are four great things.

四大，道、天、地、王也。凡有稱有名，則非其極也。言道則有所由，有所由然後謂之為道，然則是道稱中之大也，不若無稱之大也，無稱不可而得為名，曰域也。天地王皆在乎無稱之內也，故曰域中有四大者也。

The four great things are the Dao, heaven, earth, and the king. Wherever there is a term and there is a name, that is not the utmost. To say Dao is to have something it starts from, and only once there is something it starts from is it called the Dao. If so, this is the great one among what has terms, and falls short of the greatness that has no term. What has no term cannot be given a name, and so it was called the world. Heaven, earth, and the king all lie within what has no term, and this is why it says that in the world there are four great things.

處人主之大也。

He dwells in the greatness of being the master of people.

八極之內有四大，王居其一也。

Within the eight ends there are four great things, and the king holds one of them.

法，謂法則也。人不違地，乃得全安，法地也。地不違天，乃得全載，法天也。天不違道，乃得全覆，法道也。道不違自然，乃得其性，法自然者。在方而法方，在圓而法圓，於自然無所違也。自然者，無稱之言，窮極之辭也。用智不及無知，而形魄不及精象，精象不及無形，有儀不及無儀，故轉相法也。道順自然，天故資焉。天法於道，地故則焉。地法於天，人故象焉。所以為主其一之者，主也。

Fa (法) says to take as a rule. Only if people do not go against earth can they be wholly at ease, and this is taking earth as their rule. Only if earth does not go against heaven can it wholly bear things up, and this is taking heaven as its rule. Only if heaven does not go against the Dao can it wholly cover things, and this is taking the Dao as its rule. Only if the Dao does not go against what is so of itself does it gain its nature, and this is taking what is so of itself as its rule. Where it is square it takes squareness as its rule, and where it is round it takes roundness as its rule, so that in nothing does it run counter to what is so of itself. What is so of itself is a word with no term, a word carried to the very end. Using wisdom falls short of having no knowledge; form and soul fall short of the fine image; the fine image falls short of having no form; having a bearing falls short of having no bearing. This is why each in turn takes the next as its rule. Because the Dao follows what is so of itself, heaven takes it as its stock; because heaven takes the Dao as its rule, earth takes it as its pattern; because earth takes heaven as its rule, people model themselves upon it. And the reason one of them is made master is that he is the master.

人當法地安靜和柔也，種之得五穀，掘之得甘泉，勞而不怨也，有功而不置也。

People ought to take as their rule the ease, the stillness, and the softness of earth. Plant in it and you get the five grains; dig in it and you get sweet springs. It labors without resentment, and though it has merit it does not put itself forward.

天澹泊不動，施而不求報，生長萬物，無所收取。

Heaven is calm and does not stir; it gives without looking for return, and it gives birth to the ten thousand things and rears them without gathering anything back for itself.

道清靜不言，陰行精氣，萬物自成也。

The Dao is clear and still and does not speak; it moves the vital essence unseen, and so the ten thousand things are completed of themselves.

道性自然，無所法也。

The nature of the Dao is so of itself, and there is nothing it takes as its rule.