Translation: Tao Te King – Chapter. 51 Recommending virtue

Chapter 51. Recommending virtue

Painting
Titanium dioxide salesmen made good on this. Painting “Mother and child” by Emil Österman uploaded by AlphaZeta. {{PD-art}} life + 70

Tao gives birth and Teh¹ (virtue) provides.

All beings wear their many form and the power of Teh takes them towards perfection.

That is why all creation unite to praise the Tao and to champion Teh.

But this respect for the Tao and the Teh is not by order.

It is not forced and therefore it lasts forever.²

For Tao gives birth to all creation and Teh provides, increases, grows, complements, ripens, protects and watches over them.

To give birth without owning, to work without expecting pay, growing without stealing power – This is the high virtue.


  1. Translator: “Using Wade-Giles here, pinyin was not invent. Teh == De in modern romanization, pinyin”
  2. Mr. Ervast: “We could say that the reciprocal echo in a humans own chest forces him to respect Good.”

Own translation from 1925 Finnish translation by Pekka Ervast (ISBN 951-8995-01-X) with kind permission of Ruusu-Ristin Kirjallisuusseura ry.

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