Chapter 4

They should think their (coarse) food sweet; their (plain) clothes beautiful; their (poor) dwellings places of rest; and their common (simple) ways sources of enjoyment.

Commentary

Commentary

This chapter explores cor e themes of the Tao Te Ching, including non-action, harmony with nature, and the power of simplicity.

Philosophical Insight

1. Reason is empty, but its use is inexhaustible. In its profundity, verily, it p. 76 resembleth the arch-father of the ten thousand things. 2. "It will blunt its own sharpness, Will its tangles adjust; It will dim its own radiance And be one with its dust." 3. Oh, how calm it seems to remain! I know not whose son it is. Apparently even the Lord it precedes. Next: 5. The Function of Emptiness | « Previous: The Canon of Reason and Virtue (Tao te Ching): The Old Ph... Next: The Canon of Reason and...