Chapter 23 of the Laozi

Chinese Text

希xī言yán自zì然rán.
飘piāo风fēng不bù终zhōng朝zhāo, 骤zhòu雨yǔ不bù终zhōng日rì.
孰shú为wéi此cǐ?
天tiān地dì.
天tiān地dì尚shàng不bù能néng久jiǔ, 而ér况kuàng于yú人rén?
故gù从cóng事shì而ér道dào者zhě, 道dào德dé之zhī; 同tóng于yú德dé者zhě, 德dé德dé之zhī; 同tóng于yú失shī者zhě, 道dào失shī之zhī.
信xìn不bù足zú, 有yǒu不bù信xìn.

Translation

He who does not speak (attains) non-action.
A strong wind does not last all morning; a sudden rain does not last all day.
Who produces these things? Heaven and Earth.
If Heaven and Earth cannot last forever, how can man?
Therefore, if a man devotes himself to the Tao, he identifies with the Tao; if he devotes himself to virtue, he identifies with virtue; if he devotes himself to crime, he identifies with crime.
He who identifies with the Tao gains the Tao; he who identifies with virtue gains virtue; he who identifies with crime gains (the shame of) crime.
If one does not believe strongly (in the Tao), one ends up not believing at all.

Notes

The author means, in this chapter, that the Sage forgets words (or renounces words) to identify with the Tao. We have seen above: "He who talks much will be silenced; it is better to keep to the middle way." He who gives in to the violence of his nature and loves to argue moves further and further away from the Tao. Below, 老子 Lǎozǐ compares these men who love to argue, whose loquacity cannot be sustained for long, to a strong wind that cannot last all morning, and to a sudden rain that cannot last all day. The immoderate taste for discussion comes from an inner agitation of the soul, just as a strong wind and sudden rain are produced by the disordered action of Heaven and Earth. If the disturbance of Heaven and Earth cannot last long, the same will be true, all the more so, of man's loquacity.

希言 xī yán, that is, "not to speak." He explains this expression with 寡言 guǎ yán "to speak little."

自然 zìrán, that is, 无为 wúwéi "to practice non-action." Absolute silence seems an easy and unimportant thing, yet 老子 Lǎozǐ regards it as the path that leads to non-action. If those who study (the Tao) can reflect deeply on this, they will not fail to see its effects soon.

Man must remain calm and tranquil; he must not imitate the furious wind or the impetuous rain, which, because of their very violence, cannot last long. See the end of note 187.

According to 河上公 Héshàng Gōng, we must understand here not the duration of Heaven and Earth, but the duration of the things they produce. Heaven and Earth are endowed with a divine virtue. However, when they come together to produce a strong wind and sudden rain, they cannot make them last all morning or all day. All the more so, man cannot last long if he indulges in violent and disorderly acts. E: the words 不能久 bùnéng jiǔ "not lasting long" correspond to the previous words: "not lasting all morning, not lasting all day."

Ibid. The strong wind and sudden rain are here the symbol of force, violence, and activity (which 老子 Lǎozǐ blames). This commentator seems to think that it is about the short duration that Heaven and Earth would have if they were to lose their balance. In this hypothesis, 老子 Lǎozǐ would suppose that they are in absolute rest, and that this rest is the guarantee of their duration. We read in chapter II, 2nd part: If the earth were not at rest, it would break apart.

He who is empty, calm, silent, and non-acting is he who devotes himself to the practice of the Tao.

He lasts long like the Tao.

The Chinese text of lines 8 to 10 seems to me almost inexplicable in terms of syntax and accepted meanings. The words 德者 dé zhě and 失者 shī zhě are hardly suitable to mean "he who devotes himself to virtue" and "he who devotes himself to crime." The four words 同于德者 tóng yú dé zhě are even more doubtful than the previous ones. I have nevertheless preferred to follow 释德清 Shì Déqīng and 苏辙 Sū Zhé rather than leave thirty-four words untranslated. E: He who is endowed with filial piety, respect for his elders, who loves to do good without ever tiring, he, I say, devotes himself to virtue.

He is estimable and surrounded by blessings like virtue.

Blameworthy excesses are called 失 shī. He who rebels against the Tao, who opposes virtue and believes himself safe in the midst of dangers, or when he is about to perish, he, I say, devotes himself to crime.

He becomes hateful and a target of calamities, like crime.

苏辙 Sū Zhé considers the word 道 dào as the direct object of the word 得 dé "to acquire." He who conforms to the Tao obtains the Tao.

I still follow 苏辙 Sū Zhé, who explains the word 德 dé "virtue" as the object of the verb 得 dé "to obtain."

The construction of the four words 同于失者 tóng yú shī zhě being exactly the same as that of 道德之 dàodé zhī, I have thought it possible to consider the word 失 shī "fault, crime" as the direct object of the verb 得 dé "to acquire, to gain"; but I am far from guaranteeing such an explanation of the four words 同于失者 tóng yú shī zhě, which have puzzled all the commentators of 老子 Lǎozǐ.

H explains 德者 dé zhě differently: "Those who imitate the corruption of the age also love (several editions have 乐 lè) to possess themselves." This explanation of 德者 dé zhě is not admissible.

Aliter 苏辙 Sū Zhé: If unfortunately he fails (失 shī), even if he fails in his undertakings, he cannot fail to succeed in the Tao and virtue. But this meaning does not agree with the previous words: 同于失者 tóng yú shī zhě "If he devotes himself to crime, he identifies with crime."

苏辙 Sū Zhé: He who does not know the Tao does not have a solid faith in the Tao, and then his lack of faith increases day by day.

Aliter A: If the prince does not have enough confidence in his subordinates, they will return the same.

Aliter H: He who has true confidence in himself gains the confidence of the people of the age, even if he does not speak. But those who love to argue, who constantly abandon themselves to the intemperance of their tongue, the more they speak, the less they are believed. This incredulity comes solely from the fact that they do not have enough confidence in themselves.