Saturday, June 04, 2005

Chapter 27 第二十七章

第二十七章

  善行,無轍跡﹔善言,無瑕謫﹔善數,不用籌策﹔善閉,無關楗而不可開﹔善結,無繩約而不可解。是以聖人常善救人,故無棄人﹔常善救物,故無棄物。是謂神明。故善人者,不善人之師﹔不善人者,善人之資。不貴其師,不愛其資,雖智大迷。是謂要妙。

27. Perfection
The perfect traveller leaves no trail to be followed;
The perfect speaker leaves no question to be answered;
The perfect accountant leaves no working to be completed;
The perfect container leaves no lock to be closed;
The perfect knot leaves no end to be ravelled.

So the sage nurtures all men
And abandons no one.
He accepts everything
And rejects nothing.
He attends to the smallest details.

So the strong must guide the weak,
For the weak are raw material to the strong.
If the guide is not respected,
Or the material is not cared for,
Confusion will result, no matter how clever one is.

This is the secret of perfection:
When raw wood is carved, it becomes a tool;
When a man is employed, he becomes a tool;
The perfect carpenter leaves no wood to be carved.

Retrived From Here

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