Archie Bahm (1958):
It is because we single out something and treat it as distinct from other things that we get the idea of its opposite. Beauty, for example, once distinguished, suggests its opposite, ugliness. And goodness, when we think of it, is naturally opposed to badness. In fact, all distinctions naturally appear as opposites. And opposites get their meaning from each other and find their completion only through each other. The meaning of "is" and "is not" arise from our distinguishing between them. Likewise "difficult and easy," "long and short," "high and low," "loud and soft," "before and after" - all derive their meanings from each other. Therefore the intelligent man accepts what is as it is. In seeking to grasp what is, he does not devote himself to the making of distinctions which are then mistaken to be separate existences. In teaching, he teaches, not by describing and pointing out differences, but by example. Whatever is exists, and he sees that nothing is gained by representing what fully exists by a description - another lesser, diluted kind of existence. If something exists which cannot be wholly revealed to him with his viewpoint, he does not demand of it that it be nothing but what it seems to him. If some one else interprets him, he does not trust that interpretation as being equal to his own existence. If some part of him stands out as if a superior representative of his nature, he will not surrender the rest of his nature to it. And in not surrendering the whole of his nature to any part of it, he keeps himself intact. This is how the intelligent man preserves his nature.
Frank J. MacHovec (1962):
Whenever the most beautiful is perceived ugliness arises, the least beautiful. Whenever good is perceieved evil exists, its natural opposite. Thus, perception involves opposites: reality and fantasy are opposing thoughts; difficult and simple oppose in degree; long and short oppose in distance; high and low oppose in height; shrill and deep oppose in tone; before and after oppose in sequence. The truly wise accept this and they work diligently without allegiance to words. They teach by doing, not by saying; are genuinely helpful, not discriminating; are positive, not possessive; do not proclaim their accomplishments, and because they do not proclaim them, credit for them can never be taken away.
D. C. Lau (1963)
The whole world recognizes the beautiful as the beautiful, yet this is only the ugly; the whole world recognizes the good as the good, yet this is only the bad. Thus Something and Nothing produce each other; The difficult and the easy complement each other; The long and the short off-set each other; The high and the low incline towards each other; Note and sound harmonize with each other; Before and after follow each other. Therefore the sage keeps to the deed that consists in taking no action and practises the teaching that uses no words. The myriad creatures rise from it yet it claims no authority; It gives them life yet claims no possession; It benefits them yet exacts no gratitude; It accomplishes its task yet lays claim to no merit. It is because it lays claim to no merit That its merit never deserts it.
Gia-fu Feng and Jane English (1972)
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil. Therefore having and not having arise together. Difficult and easy complement each other. Long and short contrast each other: High and low rest upon each other; Voice and sound harmonize each other; Front and back follow one another. Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking. The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease, Creating, yet not possessing. Working, yet not taking credit. Work is done, then forgotten. Therefore it lasts forever.
Hua-Ching Ni (1979)
As soon as the world regards something as beautiful, ugliness simultaneously becomes apparent. As soon as the world regards something as good, evil simultaneously becomes apparent. In exactly the same manner, existence and nonexistence give birth to each other. Difficult and easy define each other. Long and short form each other. High and low make each other distinguishable. Silence and sound make each other conspicuous. Front and back connect each other. Realizing this, one does not separate one's being from the subtle essence of the universe. One holds no preconceptions, and does things without insisting on personal conditions. One guides people by living in accord with the essence of life. One brings good things about, but has no intention of possessing them. One performs work, but has no intention to acquire personal power. When one's task is accomplished, one lets go of it and seeks no reward or recognition. Because one does not claim credit for oneself, one does not do any damage to oneself.
Stan Rosenthal (1984)
LETTING GO OF COMPARISONS. We cannot know the Tao itself, nor see its qualities direct, but only see by differentiation, that which it manifests. Thus, that which is seen as beautiful is beautiful compared with that which is seen as lacking beauty; an action considered skilled is so considered in comparison with another, which seems unskilled. That which a person knows he has is known to him by that which he does not have, and that which he considers difficult seems so because of that which he can do with ease. One thing seems long by comparison with that which is, comparatively, short. One thing is high because another thing is low; only when sound ceases is quietness known, and that which leads is seen to lead only by being followed. In comparison, the sage, in harmony with the Tao, needs no comparisons, and when he makes them, knows that comparisons are judgments, and just as relative to he who makes them, and to the situation, as they are to that on which the judgment has been made. Through his experience, the sage becomes aware that all things change, and that he who seems to lead, might also, in another situation, follow. So he does nothing; he neither leads nor follows. That which he does is neither big nor small; without intent, it is neither difficult, nor done with ease. His task completed, he then lets go of it; seeking no credit, he cannot be discredited. Thus, his teaching lasts for ever, and he is held in high esteem.
Jacob Trapp (1985)
RELATIVITY. It is man's limitation to know Beauty in contrast to ugliness, Goodness in contrast to evil, Being in contrast to non-being. Men think in terms of opposites: The difficult or the easy, in doing; Short or long, in measurement; High or low, in position or tone; Earlier or later, in time. The sage knows how relative Are all these oppositions; He does not attempt to make the one Prevail over or exclude the other. Thus he acts without contending; He teaches without words; He accepts what comes without turning away; He loves but does not possess; He enjoys but does not appropriate; He accomplishes but claims no credit. Because he refuses to be given credit, It cannot be taken from him.
Stephen Mitchell (1988):
When people see some things as beautiful, /other things become ugly. /When people see some things as good, /other things become bad. //Being and non-being create each other. /Difficult and easy support each other. /Long and short define each other. /High and low depend on each other. /Before and after follow each other. //Therefore the Master /acts without doing anything /and teaches without saying anything. /Things arise and she lets them come; /things disappear and she lets them go. /She has but doesn't possess, /acts but doesn't expect. /When her work is done, she forgets it. /That is why it lasts forever.
Victor H. Mair (1990)
When all under heaven know beauty as beauty, already there is ugliness; When everyone knows goodness, this accounts for badness. Being and nonbeing give birth to each other, Difficult and easy complete each other, Long and short form each other, High and low fulfill each other, Tone and voice harmonize with each other, Front and back follow each other - it is ever thus. For these reasons, The sage dwells in affairs of nonaction, carries out a doctrine without words. He lets the myriad creatures rise up but does not instigate them; He acts but does not presume; He completes his work but does not dwell on it. Now, Simply because he does not dwell on them, his accomplishments never leave him.
Michael LaFargue (1992)
When everyone in the world recognizes the elegant as elegant ... then ugliness has just appeared. When all recognize goodness as good ... then the not-good has just appeared.
Yes: 'Being' and 'nothing' give birth one to the other 'the difficult' and 'the easy' give full shape to one another 'what excels' and 'what falls short' form one another 'the noble' and 'the lowly' give content to one another the music and the voice harmonize with one another the back and the front follow one another. Always.
And so the Wise Person: Settles into his job of Not Doing carries on his teaching done without talking. The thousands of things arise and are active - and he rejects none of them. He is a doer but does not rely on this he achieves successes but does not dwell in them. He just does not dwell in them, and so they cannot be taken away.
Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo (1993)
Recognize beauty and ugliness is born. Recognize good and evil is born. Is and Isn't produce each other. Hard depends on easy, Long is tested by short, High is determined by low, Sound is harmonized by voice, After is followed by before. Therefore the sage is devoted to non action, Moves without teaching, Creates ten thousand things without instruction, Lives but does not own, Acts but does not presume, Accomplishes without taking credit. When no credit is taken, Accomplishment endures.
Ursula K. Le Guin (1997)
SOUL FOOD. Everybody on earth knowing that beauty is beautiful makes ugliness. Everybody knowing that goodness is good makes wickedness. For being and nonbeing arise together; hard and easy complete each other; long and short shape each other; high and low depend on each other; note and voice make the music together; before and after follow each other. That’s why the wise soul does without doing, teaches without talking. The things of this world exist, they are; you can’t refuse them. To bear and not to own; to act and not lay claim; to do the work and let it go: for just letting it go is what makes it stay.
Wang Keping (1998)
When the people of the world know the beautiful as beauty, There arises the recognition of the ugly. When they know the good as good, There arises the recognition of the evil. This is the reason why Have-substance and have-no-substance produce each other; Difficult and easy complete each other; Long and short contrast with each other; High and low are distinguished from each other; Sound and voice harmonize with each other; Front and back follow each other. Thus, the sage conducts affairs through take-no-action; He spreads his dictrines through wordless teaching; He lets all things grow without his initiation; He nurtures all things but takes possession of nothing; He promotes all things but lays no claim to his ability; He accomplishes his work but takes no credit for his contribution. It is beacuse he takes no credit That his accomplishment stays with him for ever.
Ron Hogan (2002)
If something is beautiful, something else must be ugly. If something is good, something else must be bad. You can't have something without nothing. If no task is difficult, then no task is easy. Things are up high because other things are down low. You know when you're listening to music because you don't hear noise. And something else came first, so this must be next. The Masters get the job done without moving a muscle and signify without saying a word. When things around them fall apart, they stay cool. They don't own much, but they use whatever's at hand. They do the work without expecting any favors. When the job is finished, they move on to the next job. That's why their work is so damn good.
Roger T. Ames and David L. Hall (2003)
As soon as everyone in the world knows that the beautiful are beautiful, There is already ugliness. As soon as everyone knows the able, There is ineptness. Determinacy (you) and indeterminacy (wu) give rise to each other, Difficult and easy complement each other, Long and short set each other off, High and low complete each other, Refined notes and raw sounds harmonize (he) with each other, And before and after lend sequence to each other — This is really how it all works. It is for this reason that sages keep to service that does not entail coercion (wuwei) And disseminate teachings that go beyond what can be said. In all that happens (wanwu), The sages develop things but do not initiate them, They act on behalf of things but do not lay any claim to wthem, They see things through to fruition but do not take credit for them. It is only because they do not take credit for them that things do not take their leave.
Red Pine (2009)
All the world knows beauty /but if that becomes beautiful /this becomes ugly /all the world knows good /but if that becomes good /this becomes bad the coexistence of have and have not /the coproduction of hard and easy /the correlation of long and short /the codependence of high and low /the correspondence of note and noise /the coordination of first and last /is endless thus the sage performs effortless deeds /and teaches wordless lessons he doesn't start all the things he begins /he doesn't presume on what he does /he doesn't claim what he achieves /and because he makes no claim /he suffers no loss
William Scott Wilson (2010)
Everybody understands the beautiful to be "beautiful," But this only creates the concept of "ugly"; Everybody understand the good to be "good," But this only creates the concept of "bad." There can be no existence without nonexistence; No difficult without easy; No long without short; No high without low; And without the sounds of musical instruments and human voices, where would their harmony -- and cacophony -- be? Before and after only depend on which one follows first. Therefore the sage resides in nonfabrication, and conducts himself according to wordless teachings. All objects in the world come into existence, but he does not judge them; They are born, but he does not possess them. The sage acts, but relies on nothing; He accomplishes and moves on. By moving on, he never has to leave.
David Hinton (2015)
All beneath heaven knows beauty is beauty only because there’s ugliness, and knows good is good only because there’s evil. Being and Absence give birth to one another, difficult and easy complete one another, long and short measure one another, high and low fill one another, music and noise harmonize one another, before and after follow one another that’s why a sage abides in the realm of nothing’s own doing, living out that wordless teaching. The ten thousand things arise without beginnings there, abide without waiting there, come to perfection without dwelling there. Without dwelling there: that’s the one way you’ll never lose it.
Bruce R. Linnell (2015)
In the world, when all know that the action of beauty is beautiful, then ugliness ensues. When all know that the action of good is goodness, then not-good ensues. Therefore: being and non-being create each other, Difficult and easy complete each other, Long and short contrast each other, High and low lean on each other, Tone and voice harmonize each other, Before and after follow each other. Thus the sage: Lives by using non-action in his duties, And practicing no-talking in his teachings. The ten thousand creatures arise, but do not have a beginning. Creating but not possessing; Acting, but not concerned with the results; Accomplishing tasks, but not dwelling on them. Now: only because there is no dwelling, Thus the results do not depart.
