Laozi
天下皆謂我道大，似不肖。 夫唯大，故似不肖。若肖久矣。 其細也夫！我有三寶，持而保之。 一曰慈，二曰儉，三曰不敢為天下先。 慈故能勇；儉故能廣； 不敢為天下先，故能成器長。 今舍慈且勇；舍儉且廣；舍後且先；死矣！ 夫慈以戰則勝，以守則固。天將救之，以慈衛之。
James Legge
All the world says that, while my Tao is great, it yet appears to be inferior (to other systems of teaching). Now it is just its greatness that makes it seem to be inferior. If it were like any other (system), for long would its smallness have been known!
But I have three precious things which I prize and hold fast. The first is gentleness; the second is economy; and the third is shrinking from taking precedence of others.
With that gentleness I can be bold; with that economy I can be liberal; shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become a vessel of the highest honour. Now-a-days they give up gentleness and are all for being bold; economy, and are all for being liberal; the hindmost place, and seek only to be foremost;—(of all which the end is) death.
Gentleness is sure to be victorious even in battle, and firmly to maintain its ground. Heaven will save its possessor, by his (very) gentleness protecting him.
Victor H. Mair
All under heaven say that I am great, great but unconventional. Now, Precisely because I am unconventional, I can be great; If I were conventional, I would long since have become a trifle. I have always possessed three treasures that I guard and cherish. The first is compassion, The second is frugality, The third is not daring to be ahead of all under heaven. Now, Because I am compassionate, I can be brave; Because I am frugal, I can be magnanimous; Because I dare not be ahead of all under heaven, I can be a leader in the completion of affairs. If, today, I were to Be courageous while forsaking compassion, Be magnanimous while forsaking frugality, Get ahead while forsaking the hindmost, that would be death! For compassion In war brings victory, In defense brings invulnerability. Whomsoever heaven would establish, It surrounds with a bulwark of compassion.
C. Spurgeon Medhurst
It was once generally affirmed that the greater the Self the more impossible it was to compare it with anything else. [^1] Now it is just this greatness which makes it incomparable; should, however, a comparison be demanded, it would have to be described as the eternal, which is imperceptible. Now the Self has three treasures, to which it clings as to inseparables—the first is compassion, [^2] the second, self-restraint, the third, nowhere venturing to claim precedence.
Compassionate—therefore irresistible! [^3]
Self-restrained—therefore enlarged!
Nowhere venturing to claim precedence—therefore efficient! [^4]
Now-a-days men cast compassion on one side, yet expect to be irresistible! They discard self-restraint, yet look for enlargement; They forget to retire, yet demand precedence!—this is death. [^5]
As regards compassion, rely on it when you would contend, and you will overcome; rely on it when you would protect, and you will succeed.
[paragraph continues] Heaven is ever ready to deliver because of the protection compassion brings. [^6]
“He shall not strive, nor cry aloud; Neither shall anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, And smoking flax shall he not quench, Till he send forth judgment unto victory, And in his name shall the Gentiles hope.” (Matt. xii, 19-21.)
[^1] True greatness cannot be included in any one class to the exclusion of the others, and therefore it cannot be classified.
[^2] Maclagan, who translates tz’u by gentleness instead of compassion, notes that “Gentleness corresponds to the female element which appears more than once in the Tao-teh-king.”
[^3] Cf. II. Sam. xxii, 36. Hsu-hui-hi notes that compassion is irresistible because it never exerts its strength until force is unavoidable.
[^4] Lit. “a vessel of highest honor.” v. Legge in loc.
[^5] Can the flower live when the root is gone?
[^6] Students will observe that my translation differs materially from the renditions of previous laborers in the same field. Whether for better or for worse I must leave to the judgment of Chinese scholars, and the intuitions of those to whom the ancient philosopher is a teacher.
Ursula K. Le Guin
Everybody says my way is great but improbable.
All greatness is improbable. What’s probable is tedious and petty.
I have three treasures. I keep and treasure them. The first, mercy, the second, moderation, the third, modesty. If you’re merciful you can be brave, if you’re moderate you can be generous, and if you don’t presume to lead you can lead the high and mighty.
But to brave without compassion, or generous without self-restraint, or to take the lead, is fatal
Compassion wins the battle and holds the fort; it is the bulwark set around those heaven helps.
Note UKLG: The first two verses of this chapter are a joy to me. The three final verses are closely connected in thought to the next two chapters, which may be read as a single meditation on mercy, moderation, and modesty, on the use of strength, on victory and defeat.