Tao Teh King, Part Ii. Chapter 55
p. 99
55.
55. 1. He who has in himself abundantly the attributes (of the To) is like an infant. Poisonous insects will not sting him; fierce beasts will not seize him; birds of prey will not strike him.
2. (The infant's) bones are weak and its sinews soft, but yet its grasp is firm. It knows not yet the union of male and female, and yet its virile member may be excited;--showing the perfection of its physical essence. All day long it will cry without its throat becoming hoarse;--showing the harmony (in its constitution).
3. To him by whom this harmony is known,
(The secret of) the unchanging (To) is shown,
And in the knowledge wisdom finds its throne.
All life-increasing arts to evil turn;
Where the mind makes the vital breath to burn,
(False) is the strength, (and o'er it we should mourn.)
4. When things have become strong, they (then) become old, which may be said to be contrary to the To. Whatever is contrary to the To soon ends.
, 'The Mysterious Charm;' meaning, apparently, the entire passivity of the To.
With pars. 1 and 2, compare what is said about the infant in chapters 10 and 20, and about the immunity from dangers such as here described of the disciple of the To in ch. 50. My 'evil' in the second triplet of par. 3 has been translated by 'felicity;' but a reference to the Khang-hs dictionary will show that the meaning which I give to
is well authorised. It is the only meaning allowable here. The third and fourth
in this par. appear in Ho-shang Kung's text as
, and he comments on the clauses accordingly;
p. 100
but
is now the received reading. Some light is thrown on this paragraph and the next by an apocryphal conversation attributed to Lo-dze in Li Hsiang's Shwo-wn, X, 4 a.
55.
55. 1. He who has in himself abundantly the attributes (of the To) is like an infant. Poisonous insects will not sting him; fierce beasts will not seize him; birds of prey will not strike him.
2. (The infant's) bones are weak and its sinews soft, but yet its grasp is firm. It knows not yet the union of male and female, and yet its virile member may be excited;--showing the perfection of its physical essence. All day long it will cry without its throat becoming hoarse;--showing the harmony (in its constitution).
3. To him by whom this harmony is known,
(The secret of) the unchanging (To) is shown,
And in the knowledge wisdom finds its throne.
All life-increasing arts to evil turn;
Where the mind makes the vital breath to burn,
(False) is the strength, (and o'er it we should mourn.)
4. When things have become strong, they (then) become old, which may be said to be contrary to the To. Whatever is contrary to the To soon ends.
, 'The Mysterious Charm;' meaning, apparently, the entire passivity of the To.
With pars. 1 and 2, compare what is said about the infant in chapters 10 and 20, and about the immunity from dangers such as here described of the disciple of the To in ch. 50. My 'evil' in the second triplet of par. 3 has been translated by 'felicity;' but a reference to the Khang-hs dictionary will show that the meaning which I give to
is well authorised. It is the only meaning allowable here. The third and fourth
in this par. appear in Ho-shang Kung's text as
, and he comments on the clauses accordingly;
p. 100
but
is now the received reading. Some light is thrown on this paragraph and the next by an apocryphal conversation attributed to Lo-dze in Li Hsiang's Shwo-wn, X, 4 a.
