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The operation (of the Dao) in nourishing things

"All things are produced by the Tao, and nourished by its outflowing operation. They receive their forms according to the nature of each, and are completed according to the circumstances of their condition. Therefore all things without exception honour the Tao, and exalt its outflowing operation. This honouring of the Tao and exalting of its operation is not the result of any ordination, but always a spontaneous tribute. Thus it is that the Tao produces (all things), nourishes them, brings them to their full growth, nurses them, completes them, matures them, maintains them, and overspreads them. It produces them and makes no claim to the possession of them; it carries them through their processes and does not vaunt its ability in doing so; it brings them to maturity and exercises no control over them;--this is called its mysterious operation."

Author

Lao Tzu

All Translations

Chinese

"道生之, 徳畜之, 物形之, 勢成之。 是以萬物莫不尊道而貴徳。 道之尊, 徳之貴, 夫莫之爵而常自然。 故道生之, 徳畜之, 長之育之, 亭之毒之, 盖之覆之。 生而不有, 爲而不恃, 長而不宰, 是謂玄徳。"

Czech

"Tao je rodí, tek je vydržuje; hmota je vytváří, síla je dokonává. Proto není jedné z deseti tisíců bytostí, jež by nectila Tao a neměla ve vážnosti ctnost. O úctě k Tau a vážnosti ke ctnosti (platí): nikdo jich neporoučí, a přece trvají věčně samy od sebe. Nebo Tao je rodí, udržuje je, vychovává je, podporuje je, dokonává je, přivodí ke zralosti, živí je, ochraňuje je. Dáti život a nemíti, udělati a nezakládati si na tom, vychovati a neovládati - to zove se hlubokou ctností."

German

"Tao erzeugt sie, seine Tugend nährt sie, sein Wesen gestaltet sie, seine Kraft vollendet sie. Daher ist unter allen Wesen keines, das nicht Tao verehrt und seine Tugend wertschätzt. Taos Verehrung, seiner Tugend Wertschätzung ist niemandes Gebot und immerdar freiwillig. Denn Tao erzeugt sie, seine Tugend nährt sie, erhält sie, zieht sie auf, vollendet sie, macht sie reif, pflegt sie, schirmt sie. Erzeugen und nicht besitzen, wirken und nichts darauf geben, erhalten und nicht beherrschen, das heißt tiefe Tugend."

English

"All things are produced by the Tao, and nourished by its outflowing operation. They receive their forms according to the nature of each, and are completed according to the circumstances of their condition. Therefore all things without exception honour the Tao, and exalt its outflowing operation. This honouring of the Tao and exalting of its operation is not the result of any ordination, but always a spontaneous tribute. Thus it is that the Tao produces (all things), nourishes them, brings them to their full growth, nurses them, completes them, matures them, maintains them, and overspreads them. It produces them and makes no claim to the possession of them; it carries them through their processes and does not vaunt its ability in doing so; it brings them to maturity and exercises no control over them;--this is called its mysterious operation."

Spanish

"El dao engendra, la virtud alimenta, la materia da forma, y así surgen los diversos seres. Por eso los seres reverencian al dao y honran a la virtud. El dao es reverenciado, la virtud es honrada, no por imposición jerárquica, sino de manera espontánea. El dao, produce y alimenta, hace crecer y madurar, forma y cuida, nutre y protege. Engendra sin apropiarse, obra sin considerar el propio mérito, es el primero y no manda, esta es la virtud profunda y misteriosa."

French

"Le Tao donne la vie aux dix mille êtres, et par sa vertu il les nourrit. La matière modèle leur forme et le milieu les fait s'épanouir. C'est pourquoi tous ont, pour le Tao et sa vertu, respect et adoration. Personne, pourtant, ne le leur demande. Ils ne font que suivre la loi de la nature, le Tao. Qui donne sans posséder. Régit sans diriger. Réchauffe sans feu et protège sans armes. Sa vertu est mystérieuse. En réalité, la voie les met au monde, les fait croître et se développer, leur permet de mûrir et de se parfaire, et les accompagne toute leur existence. Elle donne la vie sans vouloir posséder, elle agit sans rien demander, elle régit sans contraindre. Elle est la vertu primordiale."

Hungarian

"A tao életre hívja (a dolgokat), a tö pedig táplálja őket. A dolgok formát öltenek (hszing), erősségük [képességük] kiteljesedik. Ezért a létezők (van-vu) között nincs olyan, amely ne tisztelné a tao-t, s ne becsülné nagyra a tö-t. A tao-t tisztelet illeti, a tö-t becsülés illeti, (mert) egyik sem parancsol (ming), hanem (maga) az örök természetesség (ju-zsan). A tao tehát életre hívja (a dolgokat), a tö táplálja őket, vezeti és neveli őket, érleli és tökéletesíti őket, ápolja és védelmezi őket. Életre hív, de nem birtokolja; létrehoz, de nem tartja meg, vezet, de nem parancsolgat: íme, ez a titokzatos tö."

Italian

"la via genera la virtú nutre la materia dà forma l’energia completa perciò tutte le creature venerano la via e onorano la virtú venerano la via e onorano la virtú senza imposizioni spontaneamente la via genera la virtú nutre e alleva completa e matura mantiene e protegge generare senza possedere agire senza pretendere guidare senza dominare questa è la virtú profonda"

Romanian

"Calea Tao produce toate lucrurile, Virtutea (Te) le întreține. Armonia se întreține urmând Calea Tao, Valoarea lucrurilor se naște Din a poseda Virtutea (Te). Urmând Virtutea (Te) este progres și dezvoltare, Lucrurile sunt îngrijite, protejate, ființele hrănite. Deși totul e-n Tao, se manifestă ca și cum n-ar poseda nimic. Așa-i și Înțeleptul, seamănă Virtutea (Te) în tot ce face, Nimic nu-și însușește, e astfel pe Cărare."

Russian

"Дао рождает [вещи], дэ вскармливает [их]. Вещи оформляются, формы завершаются. Поэтому нет вещи, которая не почитала бы дао и не ценила бы дэ. Дао почитаемо, дэ ценимо, потому что они не отдают приказаний, а следуют естественности. Дао рождает [вещи], дэ вскармливает их, взращивает их, воспитывает их, совершенствует их, делает их зрелыми, ухаживает за ними, поддерживает их. Создавать и не присваиваить, творить и не хвалиться, являясь старшим, не повелевать - вот что называется глубочайшим дэ."

Vietnamese

"Đạo sinh mà Đức dưỡng nuôi, Khoác hình vật chất mà đời nên công. Muôn loài nhớ tổ, nhớ tông. Nên tôn Đạo cả, mà sùng Đức cao. Đạo cao, Đức cả từ bao, Tự nhiên vốn dĩ đời nào nhờ ai. Đạo sinh mà Đức tài bồi, Chăm nom dưỡng dục chẳng ngơi tác thành. Sinh nhưng chẳng giữ cho mình, Tác thành nào kể công trình trước sau. Tuy hơn mà chẳng đè đầu, Đó là Đức cả nhiệm mầu huyền vi."

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