Laozi
昔之得一者：天得一以清； 地得一以寧；神得一以靈； 谷得一以盈；萬物得一以生； 侯王得一以為天下貞。 其致之，天無以清，將恐裂； 地無以寧，將恐發；神無以靈， 將恐歇；谷無以盈，將恐竭； 萬物無以生，將恐滅；侯王無以貴高將恐蹶。 故貴以賤為本，高以下為基。 是以侯王自稱孤、寡、不穀。 此非以賤為本耶？非乎？ 故致數譽無譽。不欲琭琭如玉， 珞珞如石。
James Legge
The things which from of old have got the One (the Tao) are—
Heaven which by it is bright and pure; Earth rendered thereby firm and sure; Spirits with powers by it supplied; Valleys kept full throughout their void All creatures which through it do live Princes and kings who from it get The model which to all they give. All these are the results of the One (Tao).
If heaven were not thus pure, it soon would rend; If earth were not thus sure, ‘twould break and bend; Without these powers, the spirits soon would fail; If not so filled, the drought would parch each vale; Without that life, creatures would pass away; Princes and kings, without that moral sway, However grand and high, would all decay.
Thus it is that dignity finds its (firm) root in its (previous) meanness, and what is lofty finds its stability in the lowness (from which it rises). Hence princes and kings call themselves ‘Orphans,’ ‘Men of small virtue,’ and as ‘Carriages without a nave.’ Is not this an acknowledgment that in their considering themselves mean they see the foundation of their dignity? So it is that in the enumeration of the different parts of a carriage we do not come on what makes it answer the ends of a carriage. They do not wish to show themselves elegant-looking as jade, but (prefer) to be coarse-looking as an (ordinary) stone.
Victor H. Mair
In olden times, these attained unity: Heaven attained unity, and thereby became pure. Earth attained unity, and thereby became tranquil. The spirits attained unity, and thereby became divine. The valley attained unity, and thereby became full. Feudal lords and kings attained unity, and thereby all was put right. Yet, pushed to the extreme, It implies that, If heaven were ever pure, it would be likely to rend. It implies that, If earth were ever tranquil, it would be likely to quake. It implies that, If the spirits were ever divine, they would be likely to dissipate. It implies that, If the valley were ever full, it would be likely to run dry. It implies that, If feudal lords and kings were ever noble and thereby exalted, they would be likely to fall. Therefore, It is necessary to be noble, and yet take humility as a basis. It is necessary to be exalted, and yet take modesty as a foundation. Now, for this reason, Feudal lords and kings style themselves “orphaned,” “destitute,” and “hapless.” Is this not because they take humility as their basis? Therefore, Striving for an excess of praise, one ends up without praise. Consequently, Desire not to be jingling as jade nor stolid as stone.
C. Spurgeon Medhurst
The things which from of old harmonized with the One are:—The heavens, which through the One are clear; the earth, which through the One is reposeful; the gods, which through the One are spiritual; space, which through the One is full; whatever has form, which through the One develops; princes and monarchs, which through the One adjust the empire: these are all effects of the One.
Were the heavens not thus clear they would be liable to rend; were the earth not thus reposeful, it would be liable to frothiness; were the gods not thus spiritual, they would be liable to imbecility; were space not thus full, it would be liable to exhaustion; were that which has form not thus developed, it would be liable to annihilation; were princes and monarchs not thus regulated, their dignities and honors would be liable to a downfall.
Hence humility is the root of honor; lowliness the foundation of loftiness. It is on this account that princes and monarchs style themselves “kithless,” “friendless,” “unworthies.” Do they not thus acknowledge humility as their root?
The enumeration of the parts of a carriage do not make a carriage.
Desire neither the polish of the gem, nor the roughness of the stone.
When the senses rule they become vehicles of death and deceit. The emotions when uncontrolled, impart their color to every conclusion; when the desires are unregulated they compel the reason to think that their wishes are without blame, so that, until he has risen above sensation and desire, and can view himself as a being apart, man is unable to discriminate the true from the false and is liable to destruction. Until he rests in the undivided harmony of his spirit, and knows that pleasure and pain exist only in his phenomenal self, without any counterpart in his real life, man regards virtue and vice with blurred eyes, but “if thine eye be single, thy whole body is full of light.” A truth-seeker must be selfless or he will fail in his search, an eye to personal results will vitiate his every inference and cause him to mistake parts of the carriage for the whole. Seek, therefore, THE ONE alone, and do not be drawn aside by desire, whether desire for the beauty of the gem or the roughness of the stone. Be identified with the spirit, not with the form. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding.” Humility is the root of honor, lowliness the foundation of loftiness.
Ursula K. Le Guin
Those who of old got to be whole:
Heaven through its wholeness is pure; earth through its wholeness is steady; spirit through its wholeness is potent; the valley through its wholeness flows with rivers; the ten thousand things through their wholeness live; rulers through their wholeness have authority. Their wholeness makes them what they are.
Without what makes it pure, heaven would disintegrate; without what steadies it, earth would crack apart; without what makes it potent, spirit would fail; without what fills it, the valley would run dry; without what quickens them, the ten thousand things would die; without what authorizes them, rulers would fall.
The root of the noble is in the common, the high stands on what’s below. Princes and kings call themselves “orphans, widowers, beggars,” to get themselves rooted in the dirt.
A multiplicity of riches is poverty. Jade is praised as precious, but its strength is being stone.