Chapter 14

1. We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it 'the Equable.' We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it 'the Inaudible.' We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we name it 'the Subtle.' With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One.

Commentary

Source: Editorial Summary

This chapter explores cor e 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. We look at Reason and do not see it; its name is Colorless. We listen to Reason and do not hear i t; its name is Soundless. We grope for Reason and do not grasp it; its name is Bodiless. 2. These three things cannot further be analyzed. Thus they are combined and conceived as a unity which on its surface is not clear and in its depth not obscure. 3. Forever and aye Reason remains unnamable, p. 82 and again and again it returns home to non-existence. 4. This is called the form of the formless, ...