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"When all under heaven know beauty (mei) as beauty, There is then ugliness (o); When all know the good (shan) good, There is then the not good (pu shan). Therefore being and non-being give rise to each other, The difficult and easy complement each other, The long and short shape each other, The high and low lean on each other, Voices and instruments harmonize with one another, The front and rear follow upon each other. Therefore the sage manages affairs without action, Carries out (hsing) teaching without speech (yen). Ten thousand things arise and he does not initiate them, They come to be and he claims no possession (yu) of them, He works (wei) without holding on, Accomplishes (ch'eng) without claiming merit. Because he does not claim merit, His merit does not go away."