Laozi
道常無名。樸雖小， 天下莫能臣也。侯王若能守之， 萬物將自賓。天地相合， 以降甘露，民莫之令而自均。 始制有名，名亦既有， 夫亦將知止，知止所以不殆。 譬道之在天下，猶川谷之與江海。
James Legge
The Tao, considered as unchanging, has no name.
Though in its primordial simplicity it may be small, the whole world dares not deal with (one embodying) it as a minister. If a feudal prince or the king could guard and hold it, all would spontaneously submit themselves to him.
Heaven and Earth (under its guidance) unite together and send down the sweet dew, which, without the directions of men, reaches equally everywhere as of its own accord.
As soon as it proceeds to action, it has a name. When it once has that name, (men) can know to rest in it. When they know to rest in it, they can be free from all risk of failure and error.
The relation of the Tao to all the world is like that of the great rivers and seas to the streams from the valleys.
Victor H. Mair
The Way is eternally nameless. Though the unhewn log is small, No one in the world dares subjugate it. If feudal lords and kings could maintain it, The myriad creatures would submit of themselves. Heaven and earth unite to suffuse sweet dew. Without commanding the people, equality will naturally ensue. As soon as one begins to divide things up, there are names; Once there are names, one should also know when to stop; Knowing when to stop, one thereby avoids peril. In metaphorical terms, The relationship of all under heaven to the Way is like that of valley streams to the river and sea.
C. Spurgeon Medhurst
Tao—the Eternally Nameless.
Though primordial simplicity is infinitesimal, none dare make it a public servant.
Were princes and monarchs able to maintain it, all creation would spontaneously submit. Heaven and earth harmonized, there would be an abundance of nourishing agencies; the people unbidden, would co-operate of their own accord.
Names arose when differentiation commenced; once there were names it became important to know where to stop. This being known, danger ceased.
The Tao spread throughout the world, may be compared to mountain rivulets and streams flowing towards the sea.
One Life pervades all, the names by which men identify the phenomenal aspects of The One being but attributes of That. Infinitesimal! It defies analysis but is nevertheless The Force above all forces and in all forces. Were the rulers of earth able to emulate It and so cease to arouse opposition; were they able to maintain this Primordial Simplicity, which being impersonal, generates no force with self-gratification as its objective, everything would be harmonized, for there would be no loss of effort, as there must inevitably be where the full force of action is broken by the personal side wishes of its generator. Then the intellectual and the emotional, the ratiocinative and the spiritual, the aesthetic and the scientific, the strength of the man and the tenderness of the woman, the experience of the adult and the innocence of the child would be diffused into one grand, homogeneous, all-comprehensive consciousness—the whole man, memory, imagination, reason, co-ordinated and united in the worship of the Unseen. “The Tao into whom,” in the words of the Gita, “all desires flow as rivulets flow into the ocean, which is filled with water, but remaineth unmoved, would be spread throughout the world.”
Yet the differences in creation, which have given rise to names, have their uses—danger arises only when man stops at the name, instead of passing on to the Nameless. “And He gave some to be apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints … till we all attain to the unity of the faith … unto a full grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. iv, 11, 13.)
Ursula K. Le Guin
The way goes on forever nameless. Uncut wood, nothing important, yet nobody under heaven dare try to carve it. If rulers and leaders could use it, the ten thousand things would gather in homage, heaven and earth would drop sweet dew, and people, without being ordered, would be fair to one another.
To order, to govern, is to begin naming; when names proliferate it’s time to stop. If you know when to stop you’re in no danger.
The Way in the world is as a stream to a valley, a river to the sea.
Note UKLG: The second verse connects to the uncut, the uncarved, the unusable, to the idea of the unnamed presented in the first chapter: “name’s the mother of the ten thousand things.” You have to make order, you have to make distinctions, but you also have to know when to stop before you’ve lost the whole in the multiplicity of parts. The simplicity or singleness of the Way is that of water, which always rejoins itself.