Sacred Books of the East Vol. 40: Taoism Vol. 2

{fn. 3_1. A sequel to the preceding paragraph. Lî Hsî-yüeh observes that the having no feeling of kindness is equivalent to Lâo-dze's 'doing nothing.' See the T. T. K., ch. 35, 'The Tâo does nothing, and so there is nothing which It does not do.'} 4. It is by its breath that we control whatever creature we grasp. Life is the root of death, and death is the root of life. Kindness springs from injury, and injury springs from kindness. He who sinks himself in water or enters amidst fire brings destruction on himself.{fr. 4_1} {fn. 4_1. The first member of this paragraph is very difficult to construe. Mr. Balfour gives for it:--'The Laws affecting the animal creation reside in the Breath or Vital Fluid.' The first character of it properly denotes 'birds.' It is often found with another denoting 'quadrupeds;' and again it is found alone denoting both birds and beasts. It is also interchanged with another of the same name, denoting to {footnote p. 263} seize or grasp,' in which meaning I have taken it; but the bearing of the saying on the general meaning of the Treatise I have not apprehended. The next four sayings are illustrations of Lâo-dze's 'contraries' of Tâoism. The final saying is a truism;--is it introduced here as illustrating that whatever is done with design is contrary to the Tâo?} {p. 263} 5. The stupid man by studying the phenomena and laws of heaven and earth becomes sage; I by studying their times and productions become intelligent. He in his stupidity is perplexed about sageness; I in my freedom from stupidity am the same. He considers his sageness as being an extraordinary attainment; I do not consider mine so.{fr. 5_1}