1. Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and
great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same
kind).
Commentary
Commentary
Source: Editorial Summary
This chapter explores core themes of the Tao Te Ching, including non-action, harmony with nature, and the power of simplicity.
Philosophical Insight
Source: Paul Carus (1913) - Canon of Reason and Virtue
1. "Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling. Rank bodes great heartache. It is like the body." p. 81 2. What means "Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling?" Favor humiliates. Its acquisition causes trembling, its loss causes trembling. This is meant by "Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling." 3. What means "Rank bodes great heartache, it is like the body?" I suffer great heartache because I have a body. When I have no body, what heartache remains? 4. Therefore who administers the emp...
Commentary
Commentary
Philosophical Insight