第二章

天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。

故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随。

是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教，万物作焉而不辞，生而不有，为而不恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。

Chapter 2

It is because {L—End}everyone under Heaven recognizes beauty as beauty,that the idea of ugliness exists.

And equally if {L—End}everyone recognized virtue as virtue,this would merely create fresh conceptions of wickedness.

For truly "Being and Not—being grow out of one another,

Difficult and easy complete one another.

Long and short test one another;

High and low determine one another.

Pitch and mode give harmony to one another.

Front and back give sequence to one another".

Thereforethe Sage relies on actionless activity,

Carries on wordless teaching,

But the myriad creatures are worked upon by him;he does not disown them.

He rears them,but does not lay claim to them,

Controls them,but does not lean upon them,

Achieves his aim,but does not call attentionto what he does;

And for the very reason that he does not call attention to what he does;

He is not ejected from fruition of what he has done.