A New Translation by Ko Yuen (Aleister
Crowley)
THE EQUINOX (Volume III, No.
VIII.)
from
UMF Website
January 18, 1990 e.v.
original key entry by Soror OYAHBE, O.T.O. (British
Columbia Branch) Camp TA-NECH, from the 1st edition by
Thelema Publications and Soror Grimaud, 1975 e.v. First
proofreading and edit to conform to text and format
indication of the original typscript (1923/4, TS copy
presented by Crowley to Lady Harris), with deletion of
non-Crowley copyright material, 11/18/91 e.v. by Bill
Heidrick --- could benefit from further proof reading.
.
.
Page designations in the
TS original are here marked thus at the bottom:
{page number}.
Comments and descriptions
are also set off by curly brackets {}
Comments and notes not in the original are identified
with the initials of the source: e.g. WEH note = Bill
Heidrick note, etc.
Soror Grimaud has designated this Liber as Equinox III,
No. VIII, in posthumous interpretation of Crowley's
intent.
The endnotes from the TS have been collected to the page
citation points. All footnotes have been moved up to the
place in text indexed and set off in double wedge
brackets, viz. <<note...>> |
INTRODUCTION
I bound myself to devote my life to Magick at Easter 1898, and
received my first initiation on November 18 of that year.
My friend and climbing companion, Oscar Eckenstein, gave me
my first instructions in learning the control of the mind early in
1901 in Mexico City.
Shri Parananda, Solicitor General
of Ceylon and an eminent writer upon and teacher of Yoga from the
orthodox Shaivite standpoint, and Bhikkhu Ananda Metteya, the
great English Adept, who was one of my earliest instructors in
Magick and joined the Sangha in Burma in 1902, gave me my first
groundings in mystical theory and practice. I spent some months of
1901 in Kandy, Ceylon, with the latter until success crowned my
work.
I also studied all varieties of Asiatic philosophy, especially with
regard to the practical question of spiritual development, the Sufi
doctrines, the Upanishads, the Sankhya, Vedanta, the Bagavad Gita
and Purana, the Dhammapada, and many other classics, together with
numerous writings on the Tantra and Yoga of such men as Patanjali,
Vivekananda, etc. etc.
Not a few of these teachings are as yet
wholly unknown to scholars. I made the scope of {1} my studies as
comprehensive as possible, omitting no school of thought however
unimportant or repugnant.
I made a critical examination of all these teachers in the light of
my practical experiences. The physiological and psychological
uniformity of mankind guaranteed that the diversity of expression
concealed a unity of significance. This discovery, furthermore, was
confirmed by reference to Jewish, Greek and Celtic traditions. One
quintessential truth was common to all cults, from the Hebrides to
the Yellow Sea, and even the main branches proved essentially
identical. It was only the foliage that exhibited incompatibility.
When I walked across China in 1905-6, I was fully armed and
accoutered by the above qualifications to attack the
till-then-insoluble problem of the Chinese conception of religious
truth. Practical studies of the psychology of such Mongolians as I
had met in my travels, had already suggested to me that their
acentric conception of the universe might represent the
correspondence in consciousness of their actual psychological
characteristics.
I was therefore prepared to examine the
doctrines of their religious and {2} philosophical Masters without
prejudice such as had always rendered nugatory the efforts of
missionary sinologists and indeed all oriental scholars with the
single exception of Rhys Davids. Until his time translators
had invariably assumed, with absurd naiveté, or more often arrogant
bigotry, that a Chinese writer must either be putting forth a more
or less distorted and degraded variation of some Christian
conception, or utterly puerile absurdities.
Even so great a man as Max Muller
in his introduction to the Upanishads seems only half inclined to
admit that the apparent triviality and folly of many passages in
these so-called sacred writings might owe their appearance to
our ignorance of the historical and religious circumstances, a
knowledge of which would render them intelligible.
During my solitary wanderings among the mountainous wastes of Yun
Nan, the spiritual atmosphere of China penetrated my consciousness,
thanks to the absence of any intellectual impertinences from the
organ of knowledge. The TAO TEH KING revealed its simplicity
and sublimity to my soul, little by little, as the conditions of my
physical life, no less than of my spiritual, penetrated the {3}
sanctuaries of my spirit.
The philosophy of Lao Tze
communicated itself to me, in despite of the persistent efforts of
my mind to compel it to conform with my preconceived notions of what
the text must mean. This process, having thus taken root in my
innermost intuition during those tremendous months of wandering
across Yun Nan, grew continually throughout succeeding years.
Whenever I found myself able once more
to withdraw myself from the dissipations and distractions which
contact with civilization forces upon one, no matter how vigorously
he may struggle against their insolence, to the sacred solitude of
the desert, whether among the sierras of Spain, or the sands of the
Sahara, I found that the philosophy of Lao Tze resumed its sway upon
my soul, subtler and stronger on each successive occasion.
But neither Europe nor Africa can show such desolation as America.
The proudest, stubbornest, bitterest peasant of deserted Spain; the
most primitive and superstitious Arab of the remotest oases, these
are a little more than kin and never less than kind at their worst;
whereas in the United States one is almost always conscious of an
instinctive lack of sympathy and understanding with even the {4}
most charming and cultured people.
It was therefore during my exile in
America that the doctrines of Lao Tze developed most rapidly
in my soul, even forcing their way outwards until I felt it
imperious, nay inevitable, to express them in terms of conscious
thought.
No sooner had this resolve taken possession of me than I realized
that the task approximated to impossibility. His very simplest
ideas, the primitive elements of his thought, had no true
correspondences in any European terminology. The very first word
"Tao" presented a completely insoluble problem. It had been
translated "Reason," the "Way," "TO ON." None of these covey the
faintest conception of the Tao.
The Tao is "Reason" in this sense, that the substance of things may
be in part apprehended as being that necessary relation between the
elements of thought which determines the laws of reason. In other
words, the only reality is that which compels us to connect the
various forms of illusion as we do. It is thus evidently unknowable,
and expressible neither by speech nor by silence. All that we can
know about it is that there is inherent in it a {5} power (which,
however, is not itself) by virtue whereof all beings appear in forms
congruous with the nature of necessity.
The Tao is also the Way -- in the following sense. Nothing
exists except as a relation with other similarly postulated ideas.
Nothing can be known in itself, but only as one of the participants
in a series of events. Reality is therefore in the motion, not in
the things moved. We cannot apprehend anything except as one
postulated element of an observed impression of change. We may
express this in other terms as follows.
Our knowledge of anything is in reality
the sum of our observations of its successive movements, that is to
say, of its path from event to event. In this sense the Tao may be
translated as the Way. It is not a thing in itself in the sense of
being an object susceptible of apprehension by sense or mind. It is
not the cause of any thing, but the category underlying all
existence or event, and therefore true and real as they are
illusory, being merely landmarks invented for convenience in
describing our experiences.
The Tao possesses no power to cause
anything to exist or to take place. Yet our experience when analyzed
tells {6} us that the only reality of which we may be sure is this
path or Way which resumes the whole of our knowledge.
As for TO ON, which superficially might seem the best translation of
Tao as described in the text, it is the most misleading of the
three. For TO ON possesses an extensive connotation implying a whole
system of Platonic concepts than which nothing can be more alien to
the essential quality of the Tao. Tao is neither being nor not-being
in any sense which Europe could understand. It is neither existence
nor a condition or form of existence.
At the same time, TO MH ON gives
no idea of Tao. Tao is altogether alien to all that class of
thought. From its connection with "that principle which necessarily
underlies the fact that events occur" one might suppose that the
"Becoming" of Heraclitus might assist us to describe the Tao.
But the Tao is not a principle at all of that kind. To understand it
requires an altogether different state of mind to any with which
European thinkers in general are familiar.
It is necessary to pursue unflinchingly
the path of spiritual development on the lines indicated by the
Sufis, the Hindus and the Buddhists; {7} and having reached the
Trance called Nerodha-Sammapati, in which are destroyed all
forms soever of consciousness, there appears in that abyss of
annihilation the germ of an entirely new type of idea, whose
principal characteristic is this: that the entire concatenation of
one's previous experiences and conceptions could not have happened
at all, save by virtue of this indescribable necessity.
I am only too painfully aware that the above exposition is faulty in
every respect. In particular it presupposes in the reader
considerable familiarity with the substance, thus practically
begging the question. It must also prove almost wholly
unintelligible to the average reader, him in fact whom I especially
aim to interest.
For his sake I will try to elucidate the
matter by an analogy. Consider electricity. It would be absurd to
say that electricity is any of the phenomena by which we know it. We
take refuge in the petitio principii of saying that
electricity is that form of energy which is the principle cause of
such and such phenomena. Suppose now that we eliminate this idea as
evidently illogical. What remains?
We must not hastily answer, "Nothing {8}
remains."
There is some thing inherent in the
nature of consciousness, reason, perception, sensation, and of the
universe of which they inform us, which is responsible for the fact
that we observe these phenomena and not others; that we reflect upon
them as we do, and not otherwise. But even deeper than this, part of
the reality of the inscrutable energy which determines the form of
our experience, consists in determining that experience should take
place at all. It should be clear that this has nothing to do with
any of the Platonic conceptions of the nature of things.
The least abject asset in the intellectual bankruptcy of European
thought is the Hebrew Qabalah. Properly understood it is a
system of symbolism infinitely elastic, assuming no axioms,
postulating no principles, asserting no theorems, and therefore
adaptable, if managed adroitly, to describe any conceivable
doctrine. It has been my continual study since 1898, and I have
found it of infinite value in the study of the Tao Teh King.
By its aid I was able to attribute the
ideas of Lao Tze to an order with which I was exceedingly
familiar, and whose practical worth I had repeatedly proved by using
{9} it as the basis of the analysis and classification of all Aryan
and Semitic religions and philosophies. Despite the essential
difficulty of correlating the ideas of Lao Tze with any others, the
persistent application of the Qabalistic keys eventually unlocked
his treasure-house.
I was able to explain to myself his
teachings in terms of familiar systems.
This achievement broke the back of my Sphinx. Having once reduce Lao
Tze to Qabalistic form, it was easy to translate the result into the
language of philosophy. I had already done much to create a new
language based on English with the assistance of a few technical
terms borrowed from Asia, and above all by the use of a novel
conception of the idea of Number and algebraic and arithmetical
proceedings, to convey the results of spiritual experience to
intelligent students.
It is therefore not altogether without confidence that I present
this translation of the Tao Teh King to the public. I hope
and believe that careful study of the text, as elucidated by my
commentary, will enable serious aspirants to the hidden wisdom to
understand with fair accuracy what Lao Tze taught.
It must however be laid to {10} heart
that the essence of his system will inevitably elude intellectual
apprehension unless it be illuminated from above by actual living
experience of the truth. Such experience is only to be attained by
unswerving application to the practices which he advocates. Nor must
the aspirant content himself with the mere attainment of spiritual
enlightenment, however sublime.
All such achievements are barren unless
they be regarded as the means rather than the end of spiritual
progress, and allowed to infiltrate every detail of the life, not
only of the spirit, but of the senses. The Tao can never be known
until it interpret the most trivial actions of everyday routine. It
is a fatal mistake to discriminate between the spiritual importance
of meditation and playing golf. To do so is to create an internal
conflict.
"Let there be no difference made
among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby
there cometh hurt."
<<WEH NOTE: Quote from AL I,22
corrected slightly.>>
He who knows the Tao knows it to be the
source of all things soever; the most exalted spiritual ecstasy and
the most trivial internal impression are from our point of view
equally illusions, worthless masks, which hide, with grotesque
painted pasteboard false and lifeless, {11} the living face of
truth.
Yet, from another point of view, they
are equally expressions of the ecstatic genius of truth -- natural
images of the reaction between the essence of oneself and one's
particular environment at the moment of their occurrence. They are
equally tokens of the Tao, by whom, in whom, and of whom, they are.
To value them for themselves is deny the
Tao and to be lost in delusion. To despise them is to deny the
omnipresence of the Tao, and to suffer the illusion of sorrow. To
discriminate between them is to set up the accursed dyad, to permit
the insanity of intellect, to overwhelm the intuition of truth, and
to create civil war in the consciousness.
From 1908 to 1918, the Tao Teh King was my continual study. I
constantly recommended it to my friends as the supreme masterpiece
of initiated wisdom, and I was as constantly disappointed when they
declared that it did not impress them, especially as my preliminary
descriptions of the book had aroused their keenest interest.
I thus came to see that the fault lay
with Legge's translation, and I felt myself impelled to
undertake the {12} task of presenting Lao Tze in language informed
by the sympathetic understanding which initiation and spiritual
experience had conferred on me. During my Great Magical
Retirement on Aesopus Island in the Hudson River during the
summer of 1918, I set myself to this work, but I discovered
immediately that I was totally incompetent.
I therefore appealed to an Adept named
Amalantrah, with whom I was at that time in almost daily
communion.
<<WEH NOTE: Amalantrah appears to be
an astral being.
Crowley's Amalantrah working with Rodey Minor
and others does not settle the question of Amalantrah being physical
or incorporeal. This consultation took the form of ritual
questioning of a spirit, and attendant visions of which the "codex"
would be one.>>
He came readily to my aid and exhibited
to me a codex of the original, which conveyed to me with absolute
certitude the exact significance of the text. I was able to divine
without hesitation or doubt the precise manner in which Legge had
been deceived.
He had translated the Chinese with
singular fidelity, yet in almost every verse the interpretation was
altogether misleading. There was no need to refer to the text from
the point of view of scholarship. I had merely to paraphrase his
translation in the light of actual knowledge of the true
significance of the terms employed.
Anyone who cares to take the trouble to
compare the two versions will be astounded to see how slight a
remodeling of a paragraph is sufficient to disperse the obstinate
{13} obscurity of prejudice, and let loose a fountain and a flood of
living light, to kindle the gnarled prose of stolid scholarship into
the burgeoning blossom of lyrical flame.
<<WEH NOTE: In other words, Crowley
used meditation and visions to attain a mental unity with the text
and Lao Tzu's mind at the point of the original writing. This may
account for Crowley's strange way of identifying Ko Yuen (Lao-Tzu)
as himself in his Liber XXI and elsewhere. This also sheds light on
Crowley's concept of incarnation from past lives -- not necessarily
literally so, but incarnation of the spirit of the former living
being. This state of mental unity with an author or sage is not
uncommon in the case of students who hand copy works by others. One
comes to feel what the next sentence will be. There is a natural
sense of being the one writing it, and criticisms may arise in the
mind of the form: "Now why did I write that ... I should have
written ..." --- this tendency is valuable for insight, but must be
checked in making true copies. It is properly expressed by
calligraphy and by careful notes and commentaries.>>
I completed my translation within three days, but during the last
five years I have constantly reconsidered every sentence. The
manuscript has been lent to a number of friends
<<WEH NOTE: Lady Harris would be one of
these. Hence, there may be other typescripts beside the one used for
this proof- reading, with later alterations by Crowley.>>,
scholars who have commended my work, and aspirants who have
appreciated its adequacy to present the spirit of the Master's
teaching.
Those who had been disappointed with
Legge's version were enthusiastic about mine. This circumstance
is in itself sufficient to assure me that Love's labour has not been
lost, and to fill me with enthusiastic confidence that the present
publication will abundantly contribute to the fulfillment of my True
Will for which I came to earth, and wring labour and sorrow to the
utmost of which humanity is capable, the Will to open the portals of
spiritual attainment to my fellow men, and bring them to the
enjoyment of that realization of Truth, beneath all veils of
temporal falsehood, which has enlightened mine eyes and filled my
mouth with song.
THE
TAO
TEH
KING
<<WEH NOTE: Pagination re-starts from this point in the
TS. The notes were collected to the back of the TS under
the heading "NOTES", beginning as page 88, but have been
moved up to citation page in this version. Chapter
numbers have been placed above chapter titles, but this
positional distinction is not made in the TS.>>
LIBER
LXXXI
THE TAO TEH KING
a new translation
by
KO YUEN
CHAPTER I
THE NATURE OF THE TAO.
1. The Tao-Path is not the All-Tao. The Name is not the
Thing named.<<Tao
parallels Pleroma, Shiva, Jod, etc. Teh parallels Logos,
Sakti, He, etc.
But the conception of Laotze unites all these at their
highest. The best
parallel is given in Liber CCXX, Caps. I. and II., where
Hadit is Tao and
Nuit, Teh -- (Yet these are in certain aspects
interchanged!) The point
of this paragraph is to make discrimination or
definition, not to assert
the superiority of either conception. The illusion of
any such
preference would depend on the Grade of Initiation of a
Student. A Magus
9 Degree = 2 Square of A.'. A.'. would doubtless esteem
the Path of
"Becoming" as his Absolute, for the law of his Grade is
Change (see Liber
I. vel Magi.) But -- who knows? -- an ipsissimus 10
Degree = 1 Square
might find a conception to transcend even this. For
instance, one might
interpret this first paragraph as saying that Becoming
is not Tao, but
that Tao is a Being whose nature is Becoming. Matter and
Motion cannot
exist separately. The reader should regard every verse
of this Book as a
text worth of the most intense and prolonged meditation.
He will not
understand the Book thoroughly until he has wrought his
mind into its
proper shape in the great Forge of Samadhi.>>
2. Unmanifested, it is the Secret Father of
########## #### ####
Heaven ########## and Earth #### ####
########## #### ####;
manifested, it is their Mother.<<This doctrine is the
initiated teaching
to hint at which priests invented legends of
parthenogenesis. ---{WEH
NOTE: This footnote includes the diagram of the Trigrams
on the Tree of
Life, but the diagram has been moved to the next page
for reasons of
space.}>>
3. To understand this Mystery, one must be fulfilling
one's will,<<In a
moral state, therefore, without desire, frictionless.>>
and if one is not
thus free, one will but gain a smattering of it.
4. The Tao is one, and the Teh but a phase thereof. The
abyss of this
Mystery is the Portal of Serpent-Wonder.<<Cf. Berashith
for the identity
of the phases of "O Degree" and "something."
Serpent-Wonder refers to
the Magical Force called Kundalini.>>
{WEH NOTE: Footnote #2 above, extended here. In the
original each of the
eleven places is enclosed in a circle for one of the ten
Sephiroth and
Da'at. This chart presents problems. Crowley did not
properly draw the
trigrams, but mostly with unbroken lines. He also
appears to have
written in the wrong names for some of the Trigrams.
These difficulties
have been corrected by reference to the diagram Crowley
made on the blank
page preceding the table of content in his copy of the
Legge Yi King.
See OTO NEWSLETTER, V. I, No. 3, p. 15.}
The Tao
.
The Teh, The Tao,
source of the Mother source of the Father
#### #### ##########
Heaven
##########
##########
##########
Ch'ien
#### #### {had #### #### Water
Fire #### #### Li, this ########## Tui {water
########## is Chen} ########## usually
is K'an}
Sun
########## {had Chen,
#### #### this is Li}
##########
########## ##########
Air ########## Sun #### #### Earth
#### #### #### #### Ken
Moon
#### ####
########## K'an
#### ####
Earth
#### ####
#### #### K'un
#### ####
{1}
CHAPTER II
THE ENERGY - SOURCE OF THE SELF.
1. All men know that beauty and ugliness are
correlatives, as are skill and
clumsiness; one implies and suggests the other.
2. So also existence and non-existence pose the one the
other;<<I.e., the
thought of either implies its opposite.>> so also is it
with ease and
difficulty, length and shortness; height and lowness.
Also Musick exists
through harmony of opposites;<<nay, even.
This shows how the Tao realizes itself through its
projection in
correlative phases, expressing 0 as + 1 + (-1); to speak
like a Qabalist
or an electrician.>> time and space depend upon
contraposition.
3. By the use of this method, the sage can fulfil his
will without action,
and utter his word without speech.<<Our activity is due
to the
incompleteness of the summing-up of Forces. Thus a man
proceeds to walk
East at four miles an hour, though he is already
traveling in that
direction at over 1,000 miles and hour! The end of the
Meditation on
Action is the realization of Hadit; wherefore any action
would be a
disturbance of that perfection. This being understood of
the True Self,
the Mind and Body proceed untrammeled in their natural
path without
desire on the part of the Self.>>
4. All things arise without diffidence; they grow, and
none interferes; they
change according to their natural order, without lust of
result. The
work is accomplished; yet continueth in its orbit,
without goal. This
work is done unconsciously; this is {2} why its energy
is indefatigable.
{3}
CHAPTER III
QUIETING FOLK.
1. To reward merit is to stir up emulation; to prize
rarities is to
encourage robbery; to display desirable things is to
excite the disorder
of covetousness.
2. Therefore, the sage governeth men by keeping their
minds and their bodies
at rest, contenting the one by emptiness, the other by
fullness. He
satisfieth their desires, thus fulfilling their wills,
and making them
frictionless; and he maketh them strong in body, to a
similar end.
3. He delivereth them from the restlessness of knowledge
and the cravings of
discontent. As to those who have knowledge already, he
teacheth them the
way of non-action. This being assured, there is no
disorder in the
world.<<A lecture on the Labour Problem.>> {4}
CHAPTER IV
THE SPRING WITHOUT SOURCE.
1. The Tao resembleth the emptiness of Space; to employ
it, we must avoid
creating ganglia.<<See Liber CCXX...I.22, "let there be
no difference
made among you between any one thing & any other thing."
{WEH NOTE:
Quotation corrected from: "make no difference between
any one thing and
any other thing"} Inequality (an Illusion) and disorder
necessarily
result from the departure from homogeneity.>> Oh Tao,
how vast art Thou,
the Abyss of Abysses, thou Holy and Secret Father of all
Fatherhoods of
Things!
2. Let us make our sharpness blunt;<<For sharpness
implies a
concentration.>> let us loosen our complexes;<<For these
are the ganglia
of thought, which must be destroyed.>> let us<<On the
same principles.
Cf. the Doctrine in CCXX as to the "space-marks". The
stars are
blemishes, so to speak, on the continuity of Nuit. >>
tone down our
brightness to the general obscurity. Oh Tao, how still
art thou, how
pure, continuous One beyond Heaven!
3. This Tao hath no Father; it is beyond all other
conceptions, higher than
the highest. {5}
CHAPTER V
THE FORMULA OF THE VACUUM.
1. Heaven and earth proceed without motive, but casually
in their order of
nature, dealing with all things carelessly, like used
talismans. So also
the sages deal with their people, not exercising
benevolence, but
allowing the nature of all to move without friction.
2. The Space between heaven and earth<<I.e., the six
trigrams between
########## #### ####
########## #### ####
########## #### ####>>
is their breathing apparatus:<<and so these must not be
interfered with.>>
Exhalation is not exhaustion, but the complement of
Inhalation, and this
equally of that. Speech<<by interfering with this
regular order of
breathing.
References to the trigrams of the Yi King must be
explained by that
Book. It would be impossible to elucidate such passages
in a note. Ko
Yuen is now at work to prepare an edition of the Yi.>>
exhausteth; guard
thyself, therefore, maintaining the perfect freedom of
thy nature. {6}
CHAPTER VI
THE PERFECTING OF FORM.
1. The Teh is the immortal enemy of the Tao, its
feminine aspect. Heaven
and Earth issued from her Gate; this Gate is the Root of
their World-
Sycamore. Its operation is of pure Joy and Love, and
faileth never.<<Cf.
in The Book of Wisdom or Folly, the doctrine of "The
Play of Nuit.">> {7}
CHAPTER VII
THE CONCEALMENT OF THE LIGHT.
1. Heaven and Earth are mighty in continuance, because
their work is
delivered from the lust of result.
2. Thus also the sage, seeking not any goal, attaineth
all things; he doth
not interfere in the affairs of his body, and so that
body acteth without
friction. It is because he meddleth not with personal
aims that these
come to pass with simplicity.<<See CCXX as to "lust of
result." The
general idea of the Way of the Tao is that all evil is
interference. It
is unnatural action which is error. None {sic} action is
commendable
only as a corrective of such; to interfere with one's
own true Way is
Restriction, the word of Sin.>> {8}
CHAPTER VIII
THE NATURE OF PEACE.
1. Admire thou the High Way of Water! Is not Water
the soul of the life of
things, whereby they change? Yet it seeketh its level,
and abideth
content in obscurity. So also it resembleth the Tao, in
this Way
thereof!<<Hydrogen and chlorine (for example) will not
unite when
perfectly dry. Dryness is immobility or death. (Cf. Book
of Wisdom or
Folly, the doctrine concerning Change.)>>
2. The virtue of a house is to be well-placed; of the
mind, to be at ease in
silence as of Space; of societies, to be well-disposed;
of governments,
to maintain quietude; of work, to be skillfully
performed; and of all
motion, to be made at the right time.<<In all these
illustrations, Laotze
deprecates restlessness or friction.>>
3. Also it is the virtue of a man to abide in his place
without discontent;
thus offendeth he no man.<<This gives point to the
previous paragraph.
It is all another way of saying "Do what thou wilt." >>
{9}
CHAPTER IX
THE WAY OF RETICENCE.
1. Fill not a vessel, lest it spill in carrying. Meddle
not with a
sharpened point by feeling it constantly, or it will
soon become
blunted.<<Moderation. Let well alone.>>
2. Gold and jade endanger the house of their possessor.
Wealth and honors
lead to arrogance and envy, and bring ruin. Is thy way
famous and thy
name becoming distinguished? Withdraw, thy work once
done, into
obscurity; this is the way of Heaven.<<Attend to the
work; ignore the
byproducts thereof.>> {10}
CHAPTER X
THINGS ATTAINABLE.
1. When soul<<Neschamah.>> and body<<Nephesch.>> are in
the bond of love,
they can be kept together. By concentration on the
breath<<Prana.>> it
is brought to perfect elasticity, and one becomes as a
babe. By
purifying oneself from Samadhi one becomes whole.<<Here
we see once more
the doctrine of being without friction. Internal
conflict leads to
rupture. Again, one's Pranayama is to result perfect
pliability and
exact adjustment to one's environment. Finally, even
Sammasamadhi is a
defect, so long as it is an experience instead of a
constant state. So
long as there are two to become one, there are two.>>
2. In his dealing with individuals and with society, let
him move without
lust of result. In the management of his breath, let him
be like the
mother-bird.<<I.e., brooding like the Spirit, quiet,
without effort.>>
Let his intelligence<<Binah.>> comprehend every quarter;
but let his
knowledge<<Daath.>> cease.<<He must absorb (or
understand) everything
without conscious knowledge, which is a shock, implying
duality, like
flint and steel, while understanding is like a sponge,
or even like ocean
absorbing rivers.>>
3. Here is the Mystery of Virtue.<<Of the Tao and of him
that hath it.
Virtue -- the Teh.>> It createth all and nourisheth all;
yet it doth not
adhere to them; it operateth all, but knoweth not of it,
nor proclaimeth
it; it directeth all, but without conscious control.
{11}
CHAPTER XI
THE VALUE OF THE UNEXPRESSED.
1. The thirty spokes join in their nave, that is one;
yet the wheel
dependeth for use upon the hollow place for the axle.
Clay is shapen to
make vessels; but the contained space is what is useful.
Matter is
therefore of use only to mark the limits of the space
which is the thing
of real value.<<This introduces the doctrine of the
Fourth Dimension.
Matter is like the lines bounding a plane. The plane is
the real thing,
the lines infinitely small in comparison, and serving
only to define it.
So also the "Self" is an imaginary limit marking off the
divisions of the
Body of God. The errors of Ahamkara (the ego-making
faculty) is to take
the illusory surface for the Sphere.
Cf. Liber CCXX concerning the Nature of Nuit.>> {12}
CHAPTER XII
THE WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EXTERNAL.
1. The five colors film over Sight; The five sounds make
Hearing dull; The
five flavours conceal Taste; occupation with motion and
action bedevil
Mind; even so the esteem of rare things begetteth
covetousness and
disorder.<<This is the regular Yogi doctrine, and may be
tested by
experience of various Bhavanas and other proper
concentrations. But
Laotze draws a parallel for social or political use. To
excite cupidity
leads to theft at home, and war abroad. It is only too
evident to day
how neglect of this rule has destroyed civilization; I
need not insist on
examples of how A's potash, B's iron, C's coal and D's
trade routes have
caused E to set the world ablaze.>>
2. The wise man seeketh therefore to content the actual
needs of the people;
not to excite them by the sight of luxuries. He banneth
these, and
concentrateth on those.<<The present labour troubles are
due to the
absurd cult of material complexities miscalled
prosperity.>> {13}
CHAPTER XIII
THE CONTEMPT FOR CIRCUMSTANCE.
1. Favor and disgrace are equally to be shunned; honour
and calamity to be
alike regarded as adhering to the personality.<<And,
therefore, "ganglia"
to be loosened is written, as stated above.>>
2. What is this which is written concerning favour and
disgrace? Disgrace
is the fall from favour. He then that hath favour hath
fear, and its
loss begetteth fear yet greater of a further fall. What
is this which is
written concerning honour and calamity? It is this
attachment to the
body which maketh calamity possible; for were one
bodiless, what evil
could befall him?
3. Therefore let him that regardeth himself rightly
administer also a
kingdom; and let him govern it who loveth it as another
man loveth
himself.<<This does not mean with extreme devotion, but
rather with
passionless indifference.>> {14}
CHAPTER XIV
THE SHEWING-FORTH OF THE MYSTERY.
1. We look at it, and see it not; though it is
Omnipresent; and we name it
the Root-Balance.<<Hadit, the root of Yod.>>
We listen for it, and hear it not, though it is
Omniscient; and we name
it the Silence.<<Nuit, the root of He.>>
We feel for it, and touch it not, though it is
Omnipotent; and we name it
the Concealed.<<Ra-Hoor-Khuit, Kether, the root of Vau.
{WEH NOTE: This
appears questionable, as the root of Vau and the Sun god
both pertain to
Tipheret.}>>
These three Virtues hath it, yet we cannot describe it
as consisting of
them; but, mingling them aright, we apprehend the One.
2. Above, it shineth not; below, it is not dark. It
moveth all
continuously, without Expression, returning into Naught.
It is the Form
of That which is beyond Form; it is the Image of the
Invisible; it is
Change, and Without Limit.<<Cf. Ain, Ain Soph, Ain Soph
Aur. Also see
"Book of Wisdom or Folly".>>
3. We confront it, and see not its Face; {15} we pursue
it, and its Back is
hidden from us. Ah! but apply the Tao as in old Time to
the work of the
present; know it as it was known in the Beginning;
follow fervently the
Thread of the Tao. {16}
CHAPTER XV
THE APPEARANCE OF THE TRUE NATURE.
1. The adepts of past ages were subtle and keen to
apprehend this Mystery,
and their profundity was obscurity unto men. Since then
they were not
known, let me declare their nature.
2. To all seeming, they were fearful as men that cross a
torrent in winter
flood; they were hesitating like a man in apprehension
of them that are
about him; they were full of awe like a guest in a great
house; they were
ready to disappear like ice in thaw; they were
unassuming like unworked
wood; they were empty as a valley; and dull as the
waters of a marsh.
3. Who can clear muddy water? Stillness will accomplish
this. Who can
obtain rest? Let motion continue equably, and it will
itself be peace.
4. The adepts of the Tao, conserving its way, seek not
to be actively self-
conscious. By their emptiness of Self {17} they have no
need to show
their youth and perfection; to appear old and imperfect
is their
privilege. {18}
CHAPTER XVI
THE WITHDRAWAL TO THE ROOT.
1. Emptiness must be perfect, and Silence made absolute
with tireless
strength. All things pass through the period of action;
then they return
to repose. They grow, bud, blossom and fruit; then they
return to the
root. This return to the root is this state which we
name Silence; and
this Silence is Witness of their Fulfilment.
2. This cycle is the universal law. To know<<and
acquiescence in>> it is
the part of intelligence; to ignore it<<or to rebel
against it.>>
bringeth folly of action, whereof the end is madness. To
know it
bringeth understanding and peace; and these lead to the
identification of
the Self with the Not-Self. This identification maketh
man a king; and
this kingliness groweth unto godhood. That godhood
beareth fruit in the
mastery of the Tao. Then the man, the Tao permeating
him, endureth; and
his bodily principles are in harmony, {19} proof against
decay, until the
hour of his Change. {20}
CHAPTER XVII
THE PURITY OF THE CURRENT.
1. In the Age of Gold, the people were not conscious of
their rulers; in the
Age of Silver, they loved them, with songs; in the Age
of Brass, they
feared them; in the Age of Iron, they despised them. As
the
rulers<<becoming self-conscious.>> lost confidence, so
also did the
people lose confidence in them.
2. How hesitating did they seem, the Lords of the Age of
Gold, speaking with
deliberation, aware of the weight of their word! Thus
they accomplished
all things with success; and the people deemed their
well-being to be the
natural course of events. {21}
CHAPTER XVIII
THE DECAY OF MANNERS.
1. When men abandoned the Way of the Tao, benevolence
and justice became
necessary. Then also was need of wisdom and cunning, and
all fell into
illusion. When harmony ceased to prevail in the six
spheres<<The solar
system.>> it was needful to govern them by manifesting
Sons.<<Dhyana --
buddhas.>>
When the kingdoms and races<<elements, signs, etc.>>
became<<Self-
conscious and therefore.>> confused, loyal
ministers<<archangels.
It is hard at first for the student to grasp the disdain
of Laotze for
what we call good qualities. But the need for this
"good" is created by
the existence of "evil", i.e., the restriction of
anything from doing its
own will without friction. Good is then merely a symptom
of evil, and so
itself a poison. A man who finds Mercury and Potassium
Iodide "good" for
him, is a sick man. Frictionless Nourishment is the
order of Change, or
Life.>> had to appear. {22}
CHAPTER XIX
RETURNING TO THE PURITY OF THE CURRENT.
1. If we forgot our statesmanship and our wisdom, it
would be an hundred
times better for the people. If we forgot our
benevolence and our
justice, they would become again like sons, folk of good
will. If we
forget our machines and our business, there would be no
knavery.
2. These new methods despised the olden Way, inventing
fine names to
disguise their baneness. But simplicity in the doing of
the will of
every man would put an end to vain ambitions and
desires.<<Samuel Butler
in Erewhon describes a people who had sense enough to
forbid all
machinery. Wells, in the War in the Air prophesies the
results of not
doing so; at the hour of writing, An XV Sun in Scorpio,
we are facing the
fulfilment of most of this prophecy. And still we make
haste to arm!>>
{23}
CHAPTER XX
THE WITHDRAWAL FROM THE COMMON WAY.
1. To forget learning is to end trouble. The smallest
difference in words,
such as "yes" and "yea", can make endless controversy
for the
scholar.<<Consider the "homoiousios -- homoiousios"
quarrel of early
Christianity.>> Fearful indeed is death, since all men
fear it; but the
abyss of questionings, shoreless and bottomless, is
worse!
2. Consider the profane man, how he preeneth, as if at
feast, or gazing upon
Spring from a tower! But as for me, I am as one who
yawneth, without any
trace of desire. I am like a babe before its first
smile. I appear sad
and forlorn, like a man homeless. The profane man hath
his need filled,
ay, and more also. For me, I seem to have lost all I
had. My mind is as
it were stupefied; it hath no definite shape. The
profane man looketh
lively and keen-witted; I alone appear blank in my mind.
They seem
eagerly critical; I appear careless and without
perception. I seem to be
as one adrift upon the sea, with {24} no thought of an
harbor. The
profane have each one his definite course of action; I
alone appear
useless and uncomprehending, like a man from the border.
Yea, thus I
differ from all other men: but my jewel is the
All-Mother!<<Cf. "Afloat
in the aether, O my God, my God!" Liber VII. It is the
"aimless winging"
which gives "joy ineffable" to the self-supported
Absolute.>> {25}
CHAPTER XXI
THE INFINITE WOMB.
1. The sole source of energy is the Tao. Who may declare
its nature? It is
beyond Sense, yet all form is hidden within it. It is
beyond Sense, yet
all Perceptibles are hidden within it. It is beyond
Sense, yet all
Perceptibles are hidden within it. It is beyond Sense,
yet all Being is
hidden within it. This Being excites Perception, and the
Word thereof.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
its Name<<Teh.
Zero contains all possibilities, for it may be written
0= X (-X), where
X is anything soever and -X its opposite. However
complex X may be, it
is always to be cancelled by its -X. Thus the universe
is always
potentially anything and everything, yet actually
Nothing.>> operateth
continuously, causing all to flow in the cycle of
Change, which is Love
and Beauty. How do I know this? By my comprehension of
the Tao. {26}
CHAPTER XXII
THE GUERDON OF MODESTY.
1. The part becometh the whole. The curve becometh
straight; the void
becometh full; the old becometh new. He who desireth
little
accomplisheth his Will with ease; who desireth many
things becometh
distracted.<<Thus he hath none of them.>>
2. Therefore, the sage concentrateth upon one Will, and
it is as a light to
the whole world. Hiding himself, he shineth; withdrawing
himself, he
attracteth notice; humbling himself, he is exalted;
dissatisfied with
himself,<<since the one Will is not yet attained.>> he
gaineth force to
achieve his Will. Because he striveth not, no man may
contend against
him.
3. That is no idle saw of the men of old; "The part
becometh the whole"; it
is the Canon of Perfection.<<Any part X becomes the
whole Zero, by
cancelling itself through "love" of -X.>> {27}
CHAPTER XXIII
THE VOID OF NAUGHT.
1. To keep silence is the mark of one who is acting in
full accordance with
his Will. A fierce wind soon falleth; a storm-shower
doth not last all
day. Yet Heaven and Earth cause these; and if they fail
to make violence
continue, how much less can man abide in spasm of
passion!
2. With him that devoteth him to Tao, the devotees of
Tao are in accord; so
also are the devotees of Teh,<<Because Teh is part of
Tao.>> yea, even
they who fail in seeking those are in accord.<<because
to him who has Tao
all things are realized as harmonious.>>
3. So then his brothers in the Tao are joyful, attaining
it; and his
brothers in the Teh are joyful, attaining it; and they
who fail in
seeking these are joyful, partaking of it. But if he
himself realize not
the Tao with calm of confidence, then they also appear
lacking in
confidence.<<He who has Tao all things rightly disposed;
his own failure
creates the illusion of general failure.>> {28}
CHAPTER XXIV
EVIL MANNERS.
1. He who standeth a-tiptoe standeth not firm; he who
maketh rigid his legs
walketh ill. He who preeneth himself shineth not; he who
talketh
positively is vulgar; he who boastheth is refused
acceptance; he who is
wise in his own conceit is thought inferior. Such
attitudes, to him that
hath the view given by understanding the Tao, seem like
garbage or like
cancer, abhorrent to all. They then who follow the
Way<<of Tao.>> do not
admit them. {29}
CHAPTER XXV
IMAGES OF THE MYSTERY.
1. Without Limit and Perfect, there is a Becoming,
beyond Heaven and Earth.
It hath nor motion nor Form; it is alone, it changeth
not;<<because it
comprehendeth Change.>> it extendeth all ways; it hath
no Adversary. It
is like the All-Mother.
2. I know not its Name, but I call it the Tao. Moreover,
I exert myself,
and call it Vastness.
3. Vastness, the Becoming! Becoming, it flieth afar.
Afar, it draweth
near. Vast is this Tao; Heaven also is Vast; Earth is
vast; and the Holy
King is vast also.<<for they conform to the Tao.>> In
the Universe are
Four Vastnesses, and of these is the Holy King.
4. Man followeth the<<magick.>> formula of Earth; Earth
followeth that of
Heaven, and Heaven that of the Tao. The formula of the
Tao is its own
Nature. {30}
CHAPTER XXVI
THE NATURE OF MASS.
1. Mass is the fulcrum of mobility; stillness is the
father of motion.
2. Therefore the sage King, though he travel afar,
remaineth near his
supplies. Though opportunity tempt him, he remaineth
quietly in proper
disposition, indifferent. Should the master of an host
of chariots bear
himself frivolously? If he attack without support, he
loseth his base;
if he become a raider, he forfeiteth his throne.<<This
is all obvious
military metaphor. If we depart from the Tao, we become
engaged in
futile activities which lead nowhere, and we find
ourselves in the Abyss
of Choronzon.>> {31}
CHAPTER XXVII
SKILL IN THE METHOD.
1. The experienced traveler concealeth his tracks; the
clever speaker giveth
no chance to the critic; the skilled mathematician useth
no abacus; the
ingenious safesmith baffleth the burglar without the use
of bolts, and
the cunning binder without ropes and knots.<<The
reference is to certain
"puzzles," as we should call them, common in China.>> So
also the sage,
skilled in man-emancipation-craft, useth all men;
understanding the value
of everything, he rejecteth nothing. This is called the
Occult Regimen.
2. The adept is then master to the zelator, and the
zelator assisteth and
honoreth the adept. Yet unless these relations were
manifest, even the
most intelligent observer might be perplexed as to which
was which. This
is called the Crown of Mystery.<<The adept has become so
absolutely
natural that he appears unskillful. Ars est celare artem.
It is only he
who has started on the Path that can divine how sublime
is the Master.>>
{32}
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE RETURN TO SIMPLICITY.
1. Balance thy male strength with thy female weakness
and thou shalt attract
all things, as the ocean absorbeth all rivers; for thou
shalt formulate
the excellence of the Child<<WEH NOTE: The TS has a mark
for a footnote
at this point. None is found in the end notes to match
it. Crowley's
intent cannot be definitely defined, but probably
relates to the "Childe"
of LIBER AL, possibly as Hoor-pa-Kraat.>> eternal,
simple, and perfect.
Knowing the light, remain in the Dark. Manifest not thy
Glory, but thine
obscurity. Clothed in this Child-excellence eternal,
thou hast attained
the Return of the First State. Knowing splendour of
Fame, cling to
Obloquy and Infamy; then shalt thou remain as in the
Valley to which flow
all waters, the lodestone to fascinate all men. Yea,
they shall hail in
thee this Excellence, eternal, simple and perfect, of
the Child.
2. The raw material, wrought into form, produceth
vessels.<<Homogeneous
developed into heterogeneous: 0 Degree understood
as"something.">> So
the sage King formulateth his Wholeness in divers
Offices; and his
Law<<being concordant with the nature of his people.>>
is without
violence or constraint. {33}
CHAPTER XXIX
REFRAINING FROM ACTION.
1. He that, desiring a kingdom, exerteth himself to
obtain it, will fail. A
Kingdom is of the nature of spirit, and yieldeth not to
activity. He who
graspeth it, destroyeth it; he who gaineth it, loseth
it.<<The usurper
merely seizes the throne; the people are not with him,
as with one who
becomes king by virtue of natural fitness. The usurper
has but the mask
of power.>>
2. The wheel of nature revolveth constantly; the last
becometh first, and
the first last; hot things grow cold, and cold things
hot; weakness
overcometh strength; things gained are lost anon. Hence
the wise man
avoideth effort, desire and sloth.<<Effort is the
Rajo-Guna, and makes
one go faster than is natural. Sloth is the Tamo-Guna,
and makes one go
slower than is natural. Desire is the disturbance of the
Satwa-Guna,
exciting the lust of Change, in one direction or the
other, from the
natural.
Things gained: see Liber AL cap II vv {WEH NOTE: not in
TS, but
sometimes added: 57-60}.>> {34}
CHAPTER XXX
A WARNING AGAINST WAR.
1. If a king summon to his aid a Master of the Tao, let
Him not advise
recourse to arms. Such action certainly bringeth the
corresponding
reaction.
2. Where armies are, are weeds. Bad harvests follow
great hosts.
3. The good general striketh decisively, once and for
all. He does not
risk<<counter-attack.
In other words, he acts according to the rules of the
game, without
losing his head by vain-glory, ambition or hatred.>> by
overboldness. He
striketh, but doth not vaunt his victory. He striketh
according to
strict law of necessity, not from desire of victory.
4. Things become strong and ripe, then age.
This<<forcing-on of strength,
instead of allowing natural growth.>> is discord with
the Tao; and what
is not at one with the Tao soon cometh to an end. {35}
CHAPTER XXXI
COMPOSING QUARREL.
1. Arms, though they be beautiful, are of ill omen,
abominable to all
created beings. They who have the Tao love not their
use.
2. The place of honour is on the right in wartime; so
thinketh the man of
distinction. Sharp weapons are ill-omened, unworthy of
such a man; he
useth them only in necessity. He valueth peace and ease,
desireth not
violence of victory. To desire victory is to desire the
death of men;
and to desire that is to fail to propitiate the people.
3. At feasts, the left hand is the high seat; at
funerals, the right. The
second in command of the army leadeth the left wing, the
commander-in-
chief, the right wing; it is as if the battle were a
rite of mourning!
He that hath slain most men should weep for them most
bitterly; so then
the place of the victor is assigned to him with
philosophical propriety.
{36}
CHAPTER XXXII
THE WISDOM OF TEH.
1. The All-Tao<<comprehending Change within itself.>>
hath no name.
2. It is That Minute Point<<Hadit.>> yet the whole world
dare not contend
against him that hath it. Did a lord or king gain it and
guard it, all
men would obey him of their own accord.
3. Heaven and Earth combining under its spell, shed
forth dew,<<This "dew"
refers to the Elixir of the Fraternity R.C. and of the
O.T.O. It has
been described, with proper caution, in various passages
of "The Equinox"
and of "The Book of Lies.">> extending throughout all
things of its own
accord, without man's interference.
4. Tao, in its phase of action, hath a name. Then men
can comprehend it;
when they do this, there is no more risk of wrong or
ill-success.
5. As the great rivers and the oceans are to the valley
streams, so is the
Tao to the whole universe. {37}
CHAPTER XXXIII
THE DISCRIMINATION (VIVEKA) OF TEH.
1. He who understandeth others understandeth Two; but he
who understandeth
himself understandeth One. He who conquereth others is
strong; but he
who conquereth himself is stronger yet.<<For the same
reason as in the
first sentence.>>
Contentment is riches; and continuous action<<equable
and carefree;>> is
Will.
2. He that adapteth himself perfectly to his
environment, continueth for
long; he who dieth without dying, liveth for ever.<<The
last paragraph
refers once more to a certain secret practice taught by
the O.T.O. See,
in particular, the Book of Lies.>> {38}
CHAPTER XXXIV
THE METHOD OF ATTAINMENT.
1. The Tao is immanent; it extendeth to the right hand
as to the left.
2. All things derive from it their being; it createth
them, and all comply
with it. Its work is done, and it proclaimeth it not. It
is the
ornament of all things, yet it claimeth not fief of
them; there is
nothing so small that it inhabiteth not, and informeth
it.
All things return without knowledge of the Cause
thereof; there is
nothing so great that it inhabiteth not, and informeth
it.
3. In this manner also may the Sage perform his Works.
It is by not
thrusting himself forward that he winneth to his
success. {39}
CHAPTER XXXV
THE GOOD WILL OF THE TEH.
1. The whole world is drawn to him that hath the
likeness of the Tao.<<I.e.,
the Teh.>> Men flock unto him, and suffer no ill, but
gain repose, find
peace, enjoy all ease.
2. Sweet sounds and cates lure the traveler from his
way. But the Word of
the Tao; though it appear harsh and insipid, unworthy to
hearken or to
behold; hath his use all inexhaustible. {40}
CHAPTER XXXVI
THE HIDING OF THE LIGHT.
1. In order to draw breath, first empty the lungs; to
weaken another, first
strengthen him; to overthrow another, first exalt him;
to despoil
another, first load him with gifts; this is called the
Occult Regimen.
2. The soft conquereth the hard; the weak pulleth down
the strong.
3. The fish that leaveth ocean is lost; the method of
government must be
concealed from the people.<<The single argument that can
be aduced in
favour of an Enlightened Democracy is that it provides
more completely
for the fooling of the Sovereign People than any other
known system.>>
{41}
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE RIGHT USE OF GOVERNMENT.
1. The Tao proceedeth by its own nature, doing nothing;
therefore there is
no doing which it comprehendeth not.
2. If kings and princes were to govern in this manner,
all things would
operate aright by their own motion.
3. If this transmutation were my object, I should call
it Simplicity.
Simplicity hath no name nor purpose; silently and at
ease all things go
well. {42}
PART II
CHAPTER XXXVIII
CONCERNING THE TEH.
1. Those who possessed perfectly the powers<<Teh.>> did
not manifest them,
and so they preserved them. Those who possessed them
imperfectly feared
to lose them, and so lost them.
2. The former did nothing, nor had need to do. The
latter did, and had
need to do.
3. Those who possessed benevolence exercised it, and had
need it; so also
was it with them who possessed justice.
4. Those who possessed the conventions displayed them;
and when men would
not agree, they made ready to fight them.<<Teh appears
as Chokmah-Binah,
Benevolence as Chesed, Justice as Geburah, Convention as
Tiphereth. Thus
Kether alone is "safe"; even Chokmah-Binah risks fall
unless it keeps
Silence.>>
5. Thus, when the Tao was lost, the Magick Powers
appeared; then, by
successive degradations, came Benevolence, Justice,
Convention. {43}
6. Now convention is the shadow of loyalty and good
will, and so the herald
of disorder. Yea, even Understanding is but a Blossom of
the Tao, and
foreshadoweth Stupidity.<<This repeats the doctrine of
the danger of
Binah. The attack on Tipereth is to be regarded as a
reference to the
"Fall", death of Hiram at high noon, etc. etc.>>
7. So then the Tao-Man holdeth to Mass, and avoideth
Motion; he is attached
to the Root, not to the flower. He leaveth the one, and
cleaveth to the
other.<<That is, if his road be towards the Tao. In our
language, he
adores Nuit; but the Perfect Man, when he needs to
manifest, is on the
opposite curve. Cf. the "Book Of Lies"; "The Brothers of
the A.'. A.'.
are Women; the Aspirants to A.'. A.'. are Men.">> {44}
CHAPTER XXXIX
THE LAW OF THE BEGINNING.
1. These things have possessed the Tao from the
beginning: Heaven, clear and
shining; Earth, steady and easy; Spirits, mighty in
Magick;
Vehicles,<<"Spirits" and "Vehicles" refer to the Lance
and Cup,
correlatives of Heaven and Earth.>> overflowing with
Joy; all that hath
life; and the rulers of men. All these derive their
essence from the
Tao.
2. Without the Tao, Heaven would dissolve Earth disrupt,
Spirits become
impotent; Vehicles empty; living things would perish and
rulers lose
their power.
3. The root of grandeur is humility, and the strength of
exaltation in its
base. Thus rulers speak of themselves as "Fatherless," "Virtueless,'
"Unworthy," proclaiming by this that their Glory is in
their shame.<<It
is the invisible that is all-important: See Cap. II.>>
So also the
virtue of a Chariot is not any of the parts of a
Chariot, if they be
numbered.<<Cf. "The Questions of King Milinda." where is
the discussion
of what a carriage really is.>> They do not seek to
appear fine like
jade, but inconspicuous like common stone.<<English good
manners are
similarly inconspicuous, and were so devised as a
protection. Jade is
liable to be seized and carved; ordinary stone may
escape. (Cf. Kwang-
tze on the rotten tree, etc. Zan Kien Shieh. S. B. E.
XXXIX, p.217.>>
{45}
CHAPTER XL
OMITTING UTILITY.
1. The Tao proceeds by correlative curves, and its might
is in weakness.
2. All things arose from the Teh, and the Teh budded
from the Tao.<<The law
of the Tao is constant compensation; its method is
always to redress the
balance, and reduce the equation to zero. In its action
it resembles the
form of Energy which we call gravitation very closely.
It is an inertia
always tending to minimize stress.>> {46}
CHAPTER XLI
THE IDENTITY OF THE DIFFERENTIAL.
1. The best students, learning of the Tao, set to work
earnestly to practice
the Way. Mediocre students now cherish it, now let it
go.
The worst students mock at it. Were it not thus mocked,
it were unworthy
to be Tao.
2. Thus spake the makers of Saws: the Tao at its
brightest is obscure. Who
advanceth in that Way, retireth. Its smooth Way is
rough. Its summit is
a valley. Its beauty is ugliness. Its wealth is poverty.
Its virtue,
vice. Its stability is change. Its form is without form.
Its fullness
is vacancy. Its utterance is silence. Its reality is
illusion.
3. Nameless and imperceptible is the Tao; but it
informeth and perfecteth
all things. {47}
CHAPTER XLII
THE VEILS OF THE TAO.
1. The Tao formulated the One.<<Kether or the First
Aethyr.>>
The One exhaled the Two.<<Chokmah-Binah or Yin and
Yang.>>
The Two were parents of the Three.<<The second Triad.>>
The Three were parents of all things.<<The third Triad
and Malkuth.>>
All things pass from Obscurity to Manifestation,
inspired harmoniously by
the Breath of the Void.<<The Tao.>>
2. Men do not like to be fatherless, virtueless,
unworthy: yet rulers
describe themselves by these names. Thus increase
bringeth decrease to
some, and decrease bringeth increase to others.
3. Others have taught thus; I consent to it. Violent men
and strong die not
by natural death. This fact is the foundation of my law.
{48}
CHAPTER XLIII
THE COSMIC METHOD.
1. The softest substance<<Water-Yoni.>> hunteth down the
hardest;<<rock-
Lingam.>> the unsubstantial<<the Luminiferous ether.>>
penetrateth where
there is no opening. Here is the Virtue of Inertia.
2. Few are they who attain: whose speech is Silence,
whose Work is Inertia.
{49}
CHAPTER XLIV
MONITORIAL.
1. What shall it profit a man if he gain fame or wealth,
and lose his life?
2. If a man cling to fame or wealth, he risketh what is
worth more.
3. Be content, not fearing disgrace. Act not, and risk
not criticism. Thus
live thou long, without alarm. {50}
CHAPTER XLV
THE OVERFLOWING OF TEH.
1. Despise thy masterpieces; thus renew the vigor of thy
creation.
Deem thy fullness emptiness; thus shall thy fullness
never be empty.
Let the straight appear crooked to thee, thy Craft
clumsiness; thy Musick
discord.
2. Exercise moderateth cold; stillness heat. To be
pure<<Brahmacharya --
Chastity in the secret Parzifal -- O.T.O. sense. See
also the Khing Kang
King.>> and to keep silence, is the True Law of all that
are beneath
Heaven. {51}
CHAPTER XLVI
THE WITHDRAWAL FROM AMBITION.
1. When the Tao beareth away on Earth, men put swift
horses to night-carts.
When it is neglected, they breed chargers in the border
marches.
2. There is no evil worse than ambition; no misery worse
than discontent; no
crime greater than greed. Content of mind is peace and
satisfaction
eternal. {52}
CHAPTER XLVII
THE VISION OF THE DISTANT.
1. One need not pass his threshold to comprehend all
that is under Heaven,
nor to look out from his lattice to behold the Tao
Celestial. Nay! but
the farther a man goeth, the less he knoweth.
2. The sages acquired their knowledge without travel;
they named all things
aright without beholding them; and, acting without aim,
fulfilled their
Wills. {53}
CHAPTER XLVIII
OBLIVION OVERCOMING KNOWLEDGE.
1. The scholar seeketh daily increase of knowing; the
sage of Tao daily
decrease of doing.
2. He decreaseth it, again and again, until he doth no
act with the lust of
result. Having attained this Inertia all accomplisheth
itself.
3. He who attracteth to himself all that is under Heaven
doth so without
effort. He who maketh effort is not able to attract it.
{54}
CHAPTER XLIX
THE ADAPTABILITY OF THE TEH.
1. The wise man hath no fixed principle; he adapteth his
mind to his
environment.
2. To the good I am good, and to the evil I am good
also; thus all become
good. To the true I am true, and to the false I am true;
thus all become
true.
3. The sage appeareth hesitating to the world, because
his mind is detached.
Therefore the people look and listen to him, as his
children; and thus
doth he shepherd them. {53}
CHAPTER L
THE ESTIMATION OF LIFE.
1. Man cometh into life, and returneth again into death.
2. Three men in ten conserve life; three men in ten
pursue death.
3. Three men also in ten desire to live, but their acts
hasten their journey
to the house of death. Why is this? Because of their
efforts to
preserve life.
4. But this I have heard. He that is wise in the economy
of his life,
whereof he is warden for a season, journeyeth with no
need to avoid the
tiger or the rhinoceros, and goeth uncorsleted among the
warriors with no
fear of sword or lance. The rhinoceros findeth in him no
place vulnerable
to its horn, the tiger to its claws, the weapon to its
point. Why is
this? Because there is no house of death in his whole
body. {56}
CHAPTER LI
THE TEH AS THE NURSE.
1. All things proceed from the Tao, and are sustained by
its forth-flowing
virtue. Every one taketh form according to his nature,
and is perfect,
each in his particular Way. Therefore, each and every
one of them
glorify the Tao, and worship its forth-flowing Virtue.
2. This glorifying of the Tao, this worship of the Teh,
is constantly
spontaneous, and not by appointment of Law.
3. Thus the Tao buddeth them out, nurtureth them,
developeth them,
sustaineth them, perfecteth them, ripeneth them,
upholdeth them, and
reabsorbeth them.
4. It buddeth them forth, and claimeth not lordship over
them; it is
overseer of their changes, and boasteth not of his
puissance; perfecteth
them, and interfereth not with their Ways; this is
called the Mystery of
its Virtue. {57}
CHAPTER LII
THE WITHDRAWAL INTO THE SILENCE.
1. The Tao buddeth forth all things under Heaven; it is
the Mother of all.
2. Knowing the Mother, we may know her offspring. He
that knoweth his
Mother, and abideth in Her nature, remaineth in surety
all his days.
3. With the mouth closed, and the Gates of Breath
controlled, he remaineth
at ease all his days. With the mouth open, and the
Breath directed to
outward affairs, he hath no surety all his days.
4. To perceive that Minute Point<<Hadith.>> is True
Vision; to maintain the
Soft and Gentle<<Nuith.>> is True Strength.
5. Employing harmoniously the Light Within<<Ra-Hoor-Khuith.
Paragraphs 3-5 refer to certain technical practices
which may be studied
in "Book 4", "The Equinox" and "Liber AL vel. CCXX".>>
so that it
returneth to its Origin, one guardeth even one's body
from evil, and
keepeth Silence before all men. {58}
CHAPTER LIII
THE WITNESS OF GREED.
1. Were I discovered by men, and charged with
government, my first would be
lest I should become proud.
2. The true Path is level and smooth; but men love
by-paths.
3. They adorn their courts, but they neglect their
fields, and leave their
storehouses empty. They wear elaborate and embroidered
robes; they gird
themselves with sharp swords; they eat and drink with
luxury; they heap
up goods; they are thievish and vainglorious. All this
is opposite to
the Way of Tao. {59}
CHAPTER LIV
THE WITNESS OF WISDOM.
1. If a man plant according to the Tao it will never be
uprooted; if he thus
gather, it will never be lost. His sons and his son's
sons, one
following another, shall honour the shrine of their
ancestor.
2. The Tao, applied to oneself, strengtheneth the
Body,<<Teh>> to the
family, bringeth wealth;<<Teh>> to the district,
prosperity;<<Teh>> to
the state, great fortune.<<Teh>> Let it be the Law of
the Kingdom, and
all men will increase in virtue.<< Teh.
Teh is always the Magick Power; it need not be explained
diversely as in
the text.>>
3. Thus we observe its effect in every case, as to the
person, the family,
the district, the state, and the kingdom.
4. How do I know that this is thus universal under
Heaven?
By experience. {60}
CHAPTER LV
THE SPELL OF THE MYSTERY.
1. He that hath the Magick powers<<Teh.>> of the Tao is
like a young child.
Insects will not sting him or beasts or birds of prey
attack him.
2. The young child's bones are tender and its sinews are
elastic, but its
grasp is firm.<<A baby can hang from a bough for quite
an indefinitely
long period. This is because of monkey-atavism; in other
words, it is
the subconscious of the child that is at work. This
subconsciousness is
of its true nature, therefore, in accord with the Tao.>>
It knoweth
nothing of the Union of Man and Woman, yet its Organ may
be excited.
This is because of its natural perfection. It will cry
all day long
without becoming hoarse, because of the harmony of its
being.
3. He who understandeth this harmony knoweth the mystery
of the Tao, and
becometh a True Sage. All devices for inflaming life,
and increasing the
vital Breath,<<Prana.>> by mental effort<<Hatha-Yoga,
etc.>> are evil and
factitious.
4. Things become strong, then age. This<<forcing-on of
strength instead of
allowing natural growth.>> is in discord with the Tao,
and what is not at
one with the Tao soon cometh to an end. {61}
CHAPTER LVI
THE EXCELLENCE OF THE MYSTERY.
1. Who knoweth the Tao keepeth Silence; he who babbleth
knoweth it not.
2. Who knoweth it closeth his mouth and controlleth the
Gates of his Breath.
He will make his sharpness blunt; he will loosen his
complexes; he will
tone down his brightness to the general obscurity. This
is called the
Secret of Harmony.
3. He cannot be insulted either by familiarity or
aversion; he is immune to
ideas of gain or loss, of honour or disgrace; he is the
true man,
unequalled under Heaven. {62}
CHAPTER LVII
THE TRUE INFLUENCE.
1. One may govern a state by restriction; weapons may be
used with skill and
cunning; but one acquireth true command only by freedom,
given and taken.
2. How am I aware of this? By experience that to
multiply restrictive laws
in the kingdom impoverisheth the people; the use of
machines causeth
disorder in state and race alike. The more men use skill
and cunning,
the more machines there are; and the more laws there
are, the more felons
there are.
3. A wise man has said this: I will refrain from doing,
and the people will
act rightly of their own accord; I will love Silence,
and the people will
instinctively turn to perfection; I will take no
measures, and the people
will enjoy true wealth; I will restrain ambition, and
the people will
attain simplicity. {63}
CHAPTER LVIII
ADAPTATION TO ENVIRONMENT.
1. The government that exerciseth the least care serveth
the people best;
that which meddleth with everybody's business worketh
all manner of harm.
Sorrow and joy are bedfellows; who can divine the final
result of either?
2. Shall we avoid restriction? Yea; restriction
distorteth nature, so that
even what seemeth good in it is evil. For how long have
men suffered
from misunderstanding of this.
3. The wise man is foursquare, and avoideth aggression;
his corners do not
injure others. He moveth in a straight line<<according
to his Will.>>
and turneth not aside therefrom; he is brilliant<<like a
Star.>> but doth
not blind with his brightness.<<because he keeps to his
own orbit.>> {64}
CHAPTER LIX
WARDING THE TAO.
1. To balance our earthly nature and cultivate our
heavenly nature, tread
the Middle Path.
2. This Middle Path alone leadeth to the Timely Return
to the True Nature.
This Timely Return resulteth from the constant gathering
of Magick
Powers.<<Teh.>> With that Gathering cometh Control. This
Control we
know to be without Limit<<Like the Tao.>> and he who
knoweth the
Limitless may rule the state.
3. He who possesseth the Tao continueth long. He is like
a plant with well-
set roots and strong stems. Thus it secureth long
continuance of its
life. {65}
CHAPTER LX
THE DUTY OF GOVERNMENT.
1. The government of a kingdom is like the cooking of
fish.<<This means, it
is the simplest possible operation.>>
2. If the kingdom be ruled according to the Tao, the
spirits of our
ancestors will not manifest their Teh.<<I.e., their
Magick Powers, from
indignation at the mischief wrought by their
descendents.>> These
spirits have this Teh, but will not turn it against men.
It is able to
hurt men; so also is the Wise King; but he doth not.
3. When these powers<<the spirits and the Wise King.>>
are in accord, their
Good Will produceth the Teh, endowing the people
therewith. {66}
CHAPTER LXI
THE MODESTY OF THE TEH.
1. A state becometh powerful when it resembleth a great
river, deep-seated;
to it tend all the small streams under Heaven.
2. It is as with the female, that conquereth the male by
her Silence.
Silence is a form of Gravity.<<It is not that there is
any "virtue" in
humility; it is simply that all lines converge at the
center of the
Web.>>
3. Thus a great state attracteth small states by meeting
their views, and
small states attract the great state by revering its
eminence. In the
first case this Silence gaineth supporters; in the
second, favour.
4. The great state uniteth men and nurtureth them; the
small state wisheth
the good will of the great, and offereth service; thus
each gaineth its
advantage. But the great state must keep Silence. {67}
CHAPTER LXII
THE WORKINGS OF THE TAO.
1. The Tao is the most exalted of all things. It is the
ornament of the
good, and the protection and purification of the
evil.<<Cf. "Soul of
Goodness in Things Evil.">>
2. Its words are the fountain of honour, and its deeds
the engine of
achievement. It is present even in evil.
3. Though the Son of Heaven were enthroned with his
three Dukes appointed to
serve him, and he were offered a round symbol- of-rank
as great as might
fill the hands, with a team of horses to follow, this
gift were not to be
matched against the Tao, which might be offered by the
humblest of men.
4. Why did they of old time set such store by the Tao?
Because he that
sought it might find it, and because it was the
Purification from all
evil. Therefore did all men under Heaven esteem it the
most exalted of
all things. {68}
CHAPTER LXIII
FORETHOUGHT AT THE OUTSET.
1. Act without lust of result; work without anxiety;
taste without
attachment to flavour; esteem small things great and few
things many;
repel violence with gentleness.
2. Do great things while they are yet small, hard things
while they are yet
easy; for all things, how great or hard soever, have a
beginning when
they are little and easy. So thus the wise man
accomplisheth the
greatest tasks without undertaking anything important.
3. Who undertaketh thoughtlessly is certain to fail in
attainment; who
estimateth things easy findeth them hard. The wise man
considereth even
easy things hard, so that even hard things are easy to
him. {69}
CHAPTER LXIV
ATTENDING TO DETAILS.
1. It is easy to grasp what is not yet in motion, to
withstand what is not
yet manifest, to break what is not yet compact, to
disperse what is not
yet coherent. Act against things before they become
visible; attend to
order before disorder ariseth.
2. The tree which filleth the embrace grew from a small
shoot; the tower
nine-storied rose from a low foundation; the ten-day
journey began with a
single step.
3. He who acteth worketh harm; he who graspeth findeth
it a slip. The wise
man acteth not, so worketh no harm; he doth not grasp,
and so doth not
let go. Men often ruin their affairs on the eve of
success, because they
are not as prudent at the end as in the beginning.
4. The wise man willeth what others do not will,<<He
does his own Will,
instead of aiming at a standardized goal.>> and valueth
not things
rare.<<and so sought after by others.>> He learneth what
others learn
not, and gathered up what they despise. Thus he is in
accord with the
natural course of events, and is not overbold in action.
{70}
CHAPTER LXV
THE PURITY OF THE TEH.
1. They of old time that were skilled in the Tao sought
not to enlighten the
people, but to keep them simple.
2. The difficulty of government is the vain knowledge of
the people. To use
cleverness in government is to scourge the kingdom; to
use simplicity is
to anoint it.
3. Know these things, and make them thy law and thine
example. To possess
this Law is the Secret Perfection of rule. Profound and
Extended is this
Perfection; he that possesseth it is indeed contrary to
the rest, but he
attracteth them to full accordance. {71}
CHAPTER LXVI
PUTTING ONE'S SELF LAST.
1. The oceans and the rivers attract the streams<<as it
were, tribute and
worship.>> by their skill in being lower than they; thus
are they masters
thereof. So the Wise Man, to be above men, speaketh
lowly; and to
precede them acteth with humility.
2. Thus, though he be above them, they feel no burden;
nor, though he
precede them, do they feel insulted.
3. So then do all men delight to honour him, and grow
not weary of him. He
contendeth not against any man; therefore no man is able
to contend
against him. {72}
CHAPTER LXVII
THE THREE JEWELS.
1. They say that while this Tao of mine is great, yet it
is inferior. This
is the proof of its greatness. If it were like anything
else, its
smallness would have long been known.
2. I have three jewels of price whereto I cleave;
gentleness, economy, and
humility.
3. That gentleness maketh me courageous, that economy
generous, that
humility honoured. Men of today abandon gentleness for
violence, economy
for extravagance, humility for pride: this is death.
4. Gentleness bringeth victory in fight; and holdeth its
ground with
assurance. Heaven wardeth the gentle man by that same
virtue. {73}
CHAPTER LXVIII
ASSIMILATING ONE'S SELF TO HEAVEN.
1. He that is skilled in war maketh no fierce gestures;
the most efficient
fighter bewareth of anger. He who conquereth refraineth
from engaging in
battle; he whom men most willingly obey continueth
silently with his
Work. So it is said: "He is mighty who fighteth not; he
ruleth who
uniteth with his subjects; he shineth whose will is that
of Heaven." {74}
CHAPTER LXIX
THE USE OF THE MYSTERIOUS WAY.
1. A great strategist saith: "I dare not take the
offensive. I prefer the
defensive. I dare not advance an inch; I prefer to
retreat a foot."
Place therefore the army where there is no army; prepare
for action where
there is no engagement; strike where there is no
conflict; advance
against the enemy where the enemy is not.<<This is quite
orthodox
strategy, to avoid battle where the enemy is strong, to
concentrate on
the weak points of his line.>>
2. There is no error so great as to engage in battle
without sufficient
force. To do so is to risk losing the
gentleness<<Elasticity.
A general who is compelled to fight at any point has
lost the initiative
at the point.>> which is beyond price. Thus when the
lines actually
engage, he who regretteth the necessity is the victor.
{75}
CHAPTER LXX
THE DIFFICULTY OF RIGHT APPREHENSION.
1. My words are easy to understand and to perform; but
is there anyone in
the world who can understand them and perform them?
2. My words derive from a creative and universal
Principle, in accord with
the One Law. Men, not knowing these, understand me not.
3. Few are they that understand me; therefore am I the
more to be valued.
The Wise Man weareth sack-cloth, but guardeth his jewel
in his bosom.
{76}
CHAPTER LXXI
THE DISTEMPER OF KNOWLEDGE.
1. To know, yet to know nothing, is the highest; not to
know, yet to pretend
to knowledge, is a distemper.
2. Painful is this distemper; therefore we shun it. The
wise man hath it
not. Knowing it to be bound up with Sorrow, he putteth
it away from him.
{77}
CHAPTER LXXII
CONCERNING LOVE OF SELF.
1. When men fear not that which is to be feared, that
which they fear cometh
upon them.<<They should fear Restriction of their True
Wills; if not,
they become slaves.>>
2. Let them not live, without thought, the superficial
life.<<They must
discover the True Will, and do it. See the Book of
Wisdom or Folly.>>
Let them not weary of the Spring of Life!<<The true,
subconscious will.>>
3. By avoiding the superficial life<<Rational, instead
of subconscious
reaction to environment.>>, this weariness cometh not
upon them.<<One
must make a habit of doing one's true will; at first it
is irksome,
because of conflict with the accidents of life.>>
4. These things the wise man knoweth, not showeth: he
loveth himself,
without isolating his value.<<confounding the
space-marks, etc.>> He
accepteth the former and rejecteth the latter. {78}
CHAPTER LXXIII
ESTABLISHING THE LAW OF FREEDOM.
1. One man, daring, is executed; another, not daring,
liveth. It would seem
as if the one course were profitable and the other
detrimental. Yet when
Heaven smiteth a man, who shall assign the cause
thereof? Therefore the
sage is diffident.<<This difficult passage deprecates
the security
afforded by worldly prudence. He who fights and runs
away may get cut
down by pursuing cavalry. The only way is to adapt
oneself to one's
environment; that is, to the Way of the Tao, which is
everywhere.>>
2. The Tao of Heaven contendeth not, yet it overcometh;
it is silent, yet
its need is answered; it summoneth none, but all men
come to it of their
free will. Its method is quietness, yet its will is
efficient. Large
are the meshes of Heaven's Net; wide open, yet letting
none escape.<<Cf.
-- "Through the mills of God" etc.>> {79}
CHAPTER LXXIV
A RESTRAINT OF MISUNDERSTANDING.
1. The people have no fear of death;<<for the meddlesome
governments have
made their lives intolerable.>> why then seek to awe
them by the threat
of death? If the people feared death<<their lives being
pleasant.>> and
I could put to death evil-doers, who would dare to
offend?
2. There is one appointed to inflict death.<<Azrael in
the lore of Islam.
This chapter is again difficult. Par. 2 shows capital
punishment as
interference with Heaven's privilege. Yet in Par. 1 we
see the threat of
it kept as a ruler's last resort. Only, this is a
"fool's knot"
proposal; for such punishment is effective only when the
people are so
happy that they fear it infinitely, so that none ever
incurs it. Hence
it need never be carried out.>> He who would usurp that
position
resembleth a hewer of wood doing the work of a
carpenter. Such an one,
presumptuous, will be sure to cut his own hands. {80}
CHAPTER LXXV
THE INJURY OF GREED.
In such a state of insecurity it is better to ignore the
question of living
than to set store by it.<<These chapters 74 and 75 are
an interpolation,
describing the conditions resulting from neglect of the
Tao. The last
sentence is not to be taken as didactic, as though a
counsel of despair.
It is the climax of the lamentation.>> {81}
CHAPTER LXXVI
A WARNING AGAINST RIGIDITY.
1. At the birth of man, he is elastic and weak; at his
death, rigid and
unyielding.<<unable to adapt himself to his
environment.>> This is the
common law; trees also, in their youth, are tender and
supple; in their
decay, hard and dry.
2. So then rigidity and hardness are the stigmata of
death; elasticity and
adaptability, of life.
3. He then who putteth forth strength is not victorious;
even as a strong
tree filleth the embrace.<<is ready for cutting, and
also, unable to grow
further, decays.>>
4. Thus the hard and rigid have the inferior place, the
soft and elastic the
superior. {82}
CHAPTER LXXVII
THE WAY OF HEAVEN.
1. The Tao of Heaven is likened to the bending of a bow,
whereby the high
part is brought down, and the low part raised up. The
extreme is
diminished, and the middle increased.
2. This is the Way of Heaven, to remove excess, and to
supplement
insufficiency. Not so is the way of man, who taketh away
from him that
hath not to give to him that hath already excess.
3. Who can employ his own excess to the weal of all
under Heaven? Only he
that possesseth the Tao.
4. So the Wise Man acteth without lust of result;
achieveth and boasteth
not; he willeth not to proclaim his greatness. {83}
CHAPTER LXXVIII
A CREED.
1. Nothing in the world is more elastic and yielding
than water; yet it is
preeminent to dissolve things rigid and resistant; there
is nothing which
can match it.
2. All men know that the soft overcometh the hard, and
the weak conquereth
the strong; but none are able to use this law in action.
3. A Wise Man hath said: "He that taketh on the burden
of the state is a
demigod worthy of sacrificial worship; and the true King
of a people is
he that undertaketh the weight of their sorrows."
4. Truth appeareth paradox. {84}
CHAPTER LXXIX
TRUTH IN COVENANT.
1. When enemies are reconciled, there is always an
aftermath of illwill.
How can this be useful?
2. Therefore, the Wise Man, while he keepeth his part of
the record of a
transaction, doth not insist on its prompt execution. He
who hath the
Teh considereth the situation from all sides, while he
who hath it not
seeketh only to benefit himself.<<The Magick Powers must
be exerted only
according to the whole Will of the Universe without
partiality.>>
3. In the Tao of Heaven, there is no distinction of
persons in its love; but
it is for the True Man to claim it. {85}
CHAPTER LXXX
ISOLATION.
1. In a little kingdom of few people it should be the
order that though
there were men able to do the work of ten men or five
score, they should
not be employed.<<at this high pressure.>> Though the
people regarded
death as sorrowful, yet they should not wish to go
elsewhere.
2. They should have boats and wagons, yet no necessity
to travel; corslets
and weapons, yet no occasion to fight.
3. For communication they should use knotted cords.<<The
curse of modern
society is the Press: babble of twaddle, like a drunk
prostitute
vomiting. One should say only things strictly
necessary.>>
4. They should deem their food sweet, their clothes
beautiful, their houses
homes, their customs delightful.
5. There should be another state within view, so that
its fowls and dogs
should be heard; yet to old age, even to death, the
people should hold no
traffic with it. {86}
CHAPTER LXXXI
THE SHEWING-FORTH OF SIMPLICITY.
1. True speech is not elegant; elaborate speech is not
truth. Those who
know do not argue; the argumentative are without
knowledge. Those who
have assimilated are not learned; those who are gross
with learning have
not assimilated.
2. The Wise Man doth not hoard. The more he giveth, the
more he hath; the
more he watereth, the more is he watered himself.
3. The Tao of Heaven is like an Arrow, yet it woundeth
not; and the Wise
Man, in all his Works, maketh no contention. {87}
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