第五十五章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 55
Full virtue is like a newborn: soft, whole and in harmony; forcing life goes against the Way.
Text
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含德之厚，比于赤子。
One who holds virtue in fullness is like a newborn child.
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蜂虿虺蛇不螫，猛兽不据，
Wasps, scorpions and snakes do not sting him, wild beasts do not seize him,
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攫鸟不搏。
birds of prey do not strike him.
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骨弱筋柔而握固。
His bones are weak, his sinews soft, yet his grip is firm.
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未知牝牡之合而全作，
He knows nothing of the union of male and female, yet his member stirs:
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精之至也。
this is vital essence at its height.
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终日号而不嗄，和之至也。
He cries all day without growing hoarse: this is harmony at its height.
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知和曰常，知常曰明。
Knowing harmony is called the constant; knowing the constant is called clarity.
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益生曰祥。
Forcing life is called ill-omened.
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心使气曰强。
The mind driving the breath is called forcing.
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物壮则老，
Things that grow strong grow old:
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谓之不道，
this is called going against the Way,
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不道早已。
and what goes against the Way soon ends.
Words in this chapter
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 含 | hán | to hold within |
| 德 | dé | virtue |
| 之 | zhī | of, 's (linking particle) |
| 厚 | hòu | thick, heavy, generous |
| 比 | bǐ | to compare with |
| 于 | yú | to, at |
| 赤子 | chì zǐ | the newborn child |
| 蜂 | fēng | wasp, bee |
| 虿 | chài | scorpion |
| 虺 | huǐ | viper |
| 蛇 | shé | snake |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 螫 | shì | to sting |
| 猛兽 | měng shòu | wild beasts |
| 据 | jù | to seize |
| 攫 | jué | to snatch (prey) |
| 鸟 | niǎo | bird |
| 搏 | bó | to strike (as prey) |
| 骨 | gǔ | bones |
| 弱 | ruò | weak, weakness |
| 筋 | jīn | sinews |
| 柔 | róu | soft, supple |
| 而 | ér | and yet, but |
| 握 | wò | grip |
| 固 | gù | firm |
| 未 | wèi | not yet |
| 知 | zhī | to know |
| 牝 | pìn | female (animal) |
| 牡 | mǔ | male (animal) |
| 合 | hé | to join |
| 全 | quán | his member (other editions) |
| 作 | zuò | to arise, come forth |
| 精 | jīng | essence, vital seed |
| 之 | zhī | that (clause particle) |
| 至 | zhì | the most, utmost |
| 也 | yě | final particle (assertion) |
| 终日 | zhōng rì | all day long |
| 号 | háo | to cry, to howl |
| 嗄 | shà | hoarse |
| 和 | hé | in harmony |
| 曰 | yuē | is called, to say |
| 常 | cháng | constant, eternal |
| 明 | míng | clarity, insight; clear |
| 益 | yì | to increase, to gain |
| 生 | shēng | to live |
| 祥 | xiáng | omen (here ill) |
| 心 | xīn | heart, mind |
| 使 | shǐ | to make, to cause |
| 气 | qì | breath, vital energy |
| 强 | qiáng | to force, to dominate |
| 物 | wù | thing, beings |
| 壮 | zhuàng | vigorous, at the peak |
| 则 | zé | then |
| 老 | lǎo | to age, to wither |
| 谓 | wèi | to call, to be called |
| 之 | zhī | it, them (object) |
| 道 | dào | the Way |
| 早 | zǎo | soon, early |
| 已 | yǐ | to stop |
Compare: James Legge (1891)
He who has in himself abundantly the attributes (of the Tao) is like an infant. Poisonous insects will not sting him; fierce beasts will not seize him; birds of prey will not strike him.
(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).
To him by whom this harmony is known,
(The secret of) the unchanging (Tao) 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.)
When things have become strong, they (then) become old, which may be said to be contrary to the Tao. Whatever is contrary to the Tao soon ends.
Public domain. Source: Wikisource.
Meaning of chapter 55
Chapter 55 takes the newborn child as its picture of a person whose virtue is whole. Stinging insects, wild beasts and birds of prey leave the infant alone; its bones are weak and its sinews soft, yet it grips firmly and cries all day without growing hoarse. The text sees two things at their height in the child: vital essence (精) and harmony (和).
The second half turns from the image to a warning. Knowing harmony is called the constant, and knowing the constant is clarity, words that echo chapter 16. Against this stands forcing: trying to add to life, or letting the mind drive the breath. The last three lines repeat the end of chapter 30: what grows strong grows old, and what goes against the Way soon ends.
Two lines are read in different ways. In line 5, Wang Bi's text has 全, which he takes as "whole"; other editions write a character for the infant's member, and the house translation follows that sense. In line 9, 祥 usually means a good omen, but here, as Wang Bi reads it, it is an ill one: adding to life cuts it short.