Chapter 64 — Guarding the small守微

以其安不忘危，持之不忘亡，謀之無功之勢，故曰易也。

At rest he does not forget danger, and while holding it he does not forget losing it; and he plans while the situation has as yet brought nothing about. Therefore it says this is easy.

治身治國安靜者，易守持也。

When governing the body and governing the state are at rest and still, they are easy to hold and keep.

情欲禍患未有形兆時，易謀止也。

While feelings and desires, calamity and trouble have not yet shown shape or sign, it is easy to plan and bring them to a stop.

禍亂未動於朝，情欲未見於色，如脆弱易破除。

When calamity and disorder have not yet stirred in the court, and feelings and desires have not yet shown in the face, they are easy to break down, like what is soft and weak.

雖失無入有，以其微脆之故，未足以興大功，故易也。此四者，皆說慎終也。不可以無之故而不持，不可以微之故而弗散也。無而弗持則生有焉，微而不散則生大焉。故慮終之患，如始之禍，則無敗事。

Though it has already lost nonbeing and entered into being, because it is small and soft it is not yet enough to raise up a great work, and so it is easy. These four all speak of being careful about the end. One must not fail to hold a thing because it is not yet there, and one must not fail to scatter it because it is small. Fail to hold what is not yet there and being comes to life from it; fail to scatter what is small and greatness comes to life from it. So if one worries over the trouble at the end as over the disaster at the beginning, nothing will be ruined.

其未彰著，微小易散去也。

While it is not yet manifest and is slight and small, it is easy to scatter away.

謂其安未兆也。

This refers to its being at rest and showing no sign yet.

欲有所為，當於未有萌芽之時塞其端也。

If there is something you would do, you should block its tip before the sprout breaks out.

謂微脆也。

This refers to its being small and soft.

治身治國於未亂之時，當豫閉其門也。

Governing the body and governing the state are done before disorder comes; one should shut their gate beforehand.

當以慎終除微，慎微除亂，而以施為治之，形名執之，反生事原，巧辟滋作，故敗失也。

One ought to be careful about the end and so remove a thing while it is small, and be careful about the small and so remove disorder. But govern by bestowing and acting, and grip things by shape and name, and one instead gives birth to the source of affairs, so that cleverness and partiality rise up all the more. Therefore he ruins it and loses it.

從小成大。

From the small the great is completed.

從卑立高。

From the low the high is raised.

從近至遠。

From the near one reaches the far.

有為於事，廢於自然；有為於義，廢於仁；有為於色，廢於精神也。

Act upon affairs and what is so of itself falls away; act upon righteousness and benevolence falls away; act upon color and the spirit falls away.

執利遇患，執道全身，堅持不得，推讓反還。

Grip gain and you meet trouble; grip the Dao and you keep the body whole. Hold fast and you do not get it; push it away and yield, and it comes back to you.

不慎終也。

It is because they are not careful about the end.

聖人不為華文，不為色利，不為殘賊，故無壞敗。

The sage does not work at showy ornament, does not work for color and gain, and does not harm cruelly; and so he has nothing that crumbles and is ruined.

聖人有德以教愚，有財以與貧，無所執藏，故無所失於人也。

The sage has virtue and so teaches the foolish; he has goods and so gives to the poor; he grips and hides nothing, and so he has nothing to lose to others.

從，為也。民之為事，常於功德幾成，而貪位好名，奢泰盈滿而自敗之也。

Doing (從) is acting. In their affairs the people always, just when merit and virtue are close to being completed, covet position and love fame, grow extravagant and overfull, and so ruin it themselves.

好欲雖微，爭尚為之，興難得之貨雖細，貪盜為之起也。

Though liking and wanting be slight, contend over them and exalt them and they become just that; and though goods hard to come by be small, coveting and stealing rise up by way of them.

終當如始，不當懈怠。

The end should be as the beginning, and one must not grow slack.

聖人欲人所不欲。人欲彰顯，聖人欲伏光；人欲文飾，聖人欲質樸；人欲色，聖人欲於德。

The sage wants what people do not want. People want to show themselves plainly, but the sage wants to hide his light; people want ornament, but the sage wishes to be plain and unadorned; people want color, but the sage wants virtue.

聖人不眩為服，不賤石而貴玉。

The sage does not make dazzling things his clothing, and does not hold stone cheap or jade precious.

不學而能者，自然也，喻於不學者，過也。故學不學，以復眾人之過。

To be able without learning is being so of oneself. Measured against not learning, learning has gone past it. Therefore he learns not to learn, and so turns back to what the crowd has passed by.

聖人學人所不能學。人學智詐，聖人學自然；人學治世，聖人學治身；守道真也。

The sage learns what people cannot learn. People learn cleverness and deceit, but the sage learns what is so of itself; people learn to govern the age, but the sage learns to govern the body — he keeps the truth of the Dao.

眾人學問反，過本為末，過實為華。復之者，使反本也。

The crowd's learning is turned backward: it passes the root and chases the tips, passes the substance and chases the flower. To turn back is to make them return to the root.

教人反本實者，欲以輔助萬物自然之性也。

Teaching people to return to the root and the substance is to help the nature of the ten thousand things be so of itself.

聖人動作因循，不敢有所造為，恐遠本也。

When the sage moves, he follows what is so of itself and does not dare to fabricate anything, for he fears growing far from the root.