Verse 23

To talk little is to follow nature.
A whirlwind does not last all morning.

A sudden shower does not last all day.
Who produces these things?

Heaven and earth!
Even heaven and earth cannot make

wild things last long.
How then can people hope to do so?

People of the Tao conform to the Tao.
People of Virtue conform to Virtue.

People who lose the way conform to the loss.
Those who conform to the Tao are welcomed into the Tao.

Those who conform to Virtue are welcomed into Virtue.
Those who conform to the loss are welcomed into the loss.
Those who do not trust enough will not be trusted.

Verse 24

The person on tiptoe is not steady.
The person with legs astride cannot walk.

Those who look only at themselves see little.
Those who justify themselves are not distinguished.
Those who brag have no merit.

The work of prideful people will not endure.
From the standpoint of the Tao, these things are
“excessive food and tumours of the body.”

As they bring sickness, followers of the Tao do not linger around them.

Verse 25

Something formless yet complete, existing before heaven and earth.
Silent and limitless, it stands alone and does not change.
Reaching everywhere, it does not tire.
Perhaps it is the Mother of all things under heaven.
I do not know its name so I call it “Tao.”

When I have to describe it I call it “great.”
Being great it flows.
It flows far away.
Having gone far away, it returns.

Therefore, the Tao is great.
Heaven is great.
Earth is great.
People are also great.
Thus, people constitute one of the
four great things of the universe.

People conform to the earth.
The earth conforms to heaven.
Heaven conforms to the Tao.
The Tao conforms to its own nature.

Verse 26

The solid must be the root of the light.
The still must be the master of the restless.

Therefore, wise people when travelling all day
do not lose sight of their baggage cart.

Although there are beautiful scenes to see,
they remain quietly in their own place.

Should a lord of ten thousand chariots
appear more frivolous than a simple traveller?

To be light is to lose the root.
To be restless is to lose the master.