Laozi
重為輕根，靜為躁君。 是以聖人終日行不離輜重。 雖有榮觀，燕處超然。 奈何萬乘之主，而以身輕天下？ 輕則失本，躁則失君。
James Legge
Gravity is the root of lightness; stillness, the ruler of movement.
Therefore a wise prince, marching the whole day, does not go far from his baggage waggons. Although he may have brilliant prospects to look at, he quietly remains (in his proper place), indifferent to them. How should the lord of a myriad chariots carry himself lightly before the kingdom? If he do act lightly, he has lost his root (of gravity); if he proceed to active movement, he will lose his throne.
Victor H. Mair
Heavy is the root of light; Calm is the ruler of haste. For these reasons, The superior man may travel the whole day without leaving his heavy baggage cart. Though inside the courtyard walls of a noisy inn, he placidly rises above it all. How then should a king with ten thousand chariots conduct himself lightly before all under heaven? If he treats himself lightly, he will lose the taproot; If he is hasty, he will lose the rulership.
C. Spurgeon Medhurst
Lightness has its roots in heaviness. Restlessness has a master in stillness. Therefore, the Holy Man travels all day without leaving the baggage wagon. [^1] Surrounded by sensuous enjoyments he remains peaceful and free.
How, then, can the Lord of ten thousand chariots [^2] regard his personality as of less importance than his royal trust? By levity he will loose his ministers; by restlessness he will loose his throne.
The frail leaves of the woods owe their stability to the mountains in which the trees are rooted. It is the mighty flood which is the origin of the fleecy, fleeting clouds in the summer sky. The very conception of “heaviness” would be impossible without the idea of “lightness.” Woe to that man whose passing moods have no foundation in a weighty soul. He will be swept as driftwood hither and thither, and never reach port.
All movement starts from rest, and is controlled by the still. It is the quiet river-bed which directs the course of the impetuous torrent. The restless wind is scattered by the passive block of masonry. It is the man whose heart is still who comes to the front as one of the world’s rulers. Restlessness in the citadel of the soul will overthrow the loftiest prince. Even the Lord Jesus would have become tainted when he ate with publicans and sinners had he possessed no unchanging point of rest within. [**]
“See, O see, the flashing gold From a thousand suns outglancing, See the starry Heavens unrolled, And the skies around me dancing: Yet I feel a softer splendor, Flowing o’er my heart, like balm, O how thrilling, and how tender! It is Christ!—Creation’s Calm.”
[^1] i.e. He never throws aside his gravity.
In the eighth chapter of the first book of the Confucian Analects we read, “Confucius remarked, If the Wise Man is not serious he will not inspire respect, nor will his learning be solid.”
[^2] The reigning Sovereign.
^46:* I am indebted for these thoughts to Victor von Straus. See his Lao-Tse’s Tao Te King, in loc.
Ursula K. Le Guin
Heavy is the root of light. Still is the master of moving.
So wise souls make their daily march with the heavy baggage wagon.
Only when safe in a solid, quiet house do they lay care aside.
How can a lord of ten thousand chariots let his own person weigh less in the balance than his land? Lightness will lose him his foundation, movement will lose him his mastery.
Note UKLG: I take heaviness to be the root matters of daily life, the baggage we bodily beings have to carry, such as food, drink, shelter, safety. If you go charging too far ahead of the baggage wagon you may be cut off from it; if you treat your body as unimportant you risk insanity or inanity. The first two lines would make a nice motto for the practice of T’ai Chi.