Classical grammar words in the Dao De Jing
也 yě
In the Dao De Jing, 也 (yě) closes a statement as a judgment, “this is so”, 8 times, and 5 times marks a pause after a topic.
In classical Chinese 也 is a particle with no meaning of its own. At the end of a statement it presents it as a judgment or an explanation, much as a firm tone of voice would: 不可为也 (chapter 29), “cannot be acted upon”. English does not translate it.
In modern Chinese 也 is an adverb, “also, too” (我也去, “I am going too”). The old final 也 survives only in quotations and formal writing.
也 as “final particle (assertion)”
Pattern statement + 也
A particle of assertion. At the end of a clause it marks a statement of fact or a judgment, “this is so”: 精之至也 (chapter 55), “this is vital essence at its height.” It can be followed by 哉 for an exclamation, as in 非道也哉 (chapter 53), “This is not the Way!”
8 times in 8 lines.
常使民无知无欲，使夫智者不敢为也，
Always keep the people without knowledge and without desire, and make the clever ones not dare to act.
Chapter 3, line 6我愚人之心也哉！
Mine is the mind of a fool!
Chapter 20, line 13天下神器，不可为也。
The world is a sacred vessel that cannot be acted upon.
Chapter 29, line 3天下莫能臣也。
no one in the world can make it a subject.
Chapter 32, line 2非道也哉！
This is not the Way!
Chapter 53, line 10精之至也。
this is vital essence at its height.
Chapter 55, line 6
Show 2 more lines
终日号而不嗄，和之至也。
He cries all day without growing hoarse: this is harmony at its height.
Chapter 55, line 7若肖，久矣其细也夫！
If it resembled something, it would long since have become small!
Chapter 67, line 4
也 as “pause particle (after a topic)”
Pattern topic + 也, comment
In the middle of a sentence, after a topic, 也 marks a pause before the comment, like a comma: “as for …,”. 人之生也柔弱 (chapter 76), “People are soft and weak when alive”: 人之生 “people’s life” is the topic, 柔弱 the comment. Chapter 76 does it four times in three lines; chapter 24 once, 其在道也, “as for one who abides by the Way”.
5 times in 4 lines.
其在道也，曰余食赘行。
One who abides by the Way calls these "leftover foods" and "wasted actions",
Chapter 24, line 4人之生也柔弱，其死也坚强。
People are soft and weak when alive, hard and stiff when dead.
Chapter 76, line 1万物草木之生也柔脆，
The myriad things, grass and trees, are soft and tender when alive,
Chapter 76, line 2其死也枯槁。
dry and withered when dead.
Chapter 76, line 3
How to tell them apart
Its two uses are told apart by place: at the end of a statement 也 is a judgment; in the middle, after a topic, a pause. 也 also has neighbors. 也 states what is: a judgment that does not change. 矣 states what has come about or will: a change or a result. 哉 and 乎 add feeling or a question. Chapter 67 has three of them in one line: 久矣其细也夫, “it would long since have become small!”: 矣 after 久 “long” marks the time gone by, 也 and 夫 close the line as an exclamation.
When 也 is not at the end of the sentence, look at what comes before it: a topic such as 人之生 “people's life” (chapter 76). The pause it marks is like a comma: “as for …,”.