四十二章
道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。
万物负阴而抱阳，冲气以为和。
人之所恶，唯「孤」、「寡」、「不谷」。
而王公以为称。
故，物或损之而益，或益之而损。
人之所教，我亦教之：「强梁者不得其死」，吾将以为教父。
Out of Tao, One is born;
Out of One, Two;
Out of Two, Three;
Out of Three, the created universe.
The created universe carries the yin at its back
and the yang in front;
Through the union of the pervading principles it
reaches harmony.
To be ‘orphaned,’ ‘lonely’ and ‘unworthy’ is what men hate most.
Yet the princes and dukes callthemselves by such names.
For sometimes things are benefited by being taken away from,
And suffer by being added to.
Others have taught this maxim,
Which I shall teach also:
‘The violent man shall die a violent death.’
This I shall regard as my spiritual teacher.
