第七十三章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 73
Daring brings death and restraint brings life; heaven's net is wide, yet nothing slips through.
Text
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勇于敢则杀，
Bravery in daring leads to death;
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勇于不敢则活。
bravery in not daring leads to life.
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此两者，或利或害。
Of these two, one benefits and the other harms.
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天之所恶，孰知其故？
What heaven loathes, who knows why?
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是以圣人犹难之。
So even the sage finds it difficult.
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天之道，不争而善胜，
The Way of heaven does not contend, yet is good at winning;
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不言而善应，不召而自来，
does not speak, yet is good at answering; is not summoned, yet comes of itself;
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繟然而善谋。
is unhurried, yet is good at planning.
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天网恢恢，疏而不失。
Heaven's net is vast; its mesh is wide, yet nothing slips through.
Words in this chapter
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 勇 | yǒng | brave, bravery |
| 于 | yú | to, at |
| 敢 | gǎn | to dare |
| 则 | zé | then |
| 杀 | shā | to kill |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 活 | huó | to live, to survive |
| 此 | cǐ | this, these |
| 两者 | liǎng zhě | these two |
| 或 | huò | some ... others |
| 利 | lì | to benefit; profit |
| 害 | hài | to harm |
| 天 | tiān | heaven |
| 之 | zhī | that (clause particle) |
| 所 | suǒ | that which, what |
| 恶 | wù | to loathe |
| 孰 | shú | who, which |
| 知 | zhī | to know |
| 其 | qí | its, his, their |
| 故 | gù | the reason |
| 是以 | shì yǐ | therefore, for this reason |
| 圣人 | shèng rén | the sage |
| 犹 | yóu | even, still |
| 难 | nán | difficult |
| 之 | zhī | it, them (object) |
| 之 | zhī | of, 's (linking particle) |
| 道 | dào | the Way |
| 不争 | bù zhēng | not contending |
| 而 | ér | and yet, but |
| 善 | shàn | to be good at |
| 胜 | shèng | to overcome; victory |
| 言 | yán | words, to speak |
| 应 | yìng | to respond |
| 召 | zhào | to summon |
| 自 | zì | oneself, by oneself |
| 来 | lái | to come |
| 繟 | chǎn | unhurried, at ease |
| 然 | rán | so, thus |
| 谋 | móu | to plan for |
| 网 | wǎng | net |
| 恢恢 | huī huī | vast, wide |
| 疏 | shū | wide-meshed |
| 失 | shī | to lose; loss |
Compare: James Legge (1891)
He whose boldness appears in his daring (to do wrong, in defiance of the laws) is put to death; he whose boldness appears in his not daring (to do so) lives on. Of these two cases the one appears to be advantageous, and the other to be injurious. But
When Heaven's anger smites a man,
Who the cause shall truly scan?
On this account the sage feels a difficulty (as to what to do in the former case).
It is the way of Heaven not to strive, and yet it skilfully overcomes; not to speak, and yet it is skilful in (obtaining a reply; does not call, and yet men come to it of themselves. Its demonstrations are quiet, and yet its plans are skilful and effective. The meshes of the net of Heaven are large; far apart, but letting nothing escape.
Public domain. Source: Wikisource.
Meaning of chapter 73
Chapter 73 sets two kinds of courage side by side. Bravery in daring leads to death; bravery in not daring leads to life. One benefits and the other harms, yet when heaven loathes something, no one can say why.
Line 5, "so even the sage finds it difficult", repeats a line of chapter 63 and is missing here in some early manuscripts; the site keeps it, as Wang Bi's text does. Then comes a portrait of 天之道 (the Way of heaven) in four parallel lines: it does not contend yet is good at winning, does not speak yet is good at answering, is not summoned yet comes of itself, is unhurried yet is good at planning.
The chapter ends with a famous image: heaven's net is vast, its mesh is wide, yet nothing slips through (天网恢恢，疏而不失). Today it is often quoted to say that wrongdoers cannot escape; in the chapter it describes how heaven works without strain. Chapter 74, on who may take a life, follows directly, and chapter 76 returns to the hard and the soft.