1. He who knows (the Tao) does not (care to) speak (about it); he
who is (ever ready to) speak about it does not know it.
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. One who knows does not talk. One who talks does not know. Therefore the sage keeps his mouth shut and his sense-gates closed. p. 113 2. "He will blunt his own sharpness, His own tangles adjust; He will dim his own radiance, And be one with his dust." 3. This is called profound identification. 4. Thus he is inaccessible to love and also inaccessible to enmity. He is inaccessible to profit and inaccessible to loss. He is also inaccessible to favor and inaccessible to disgrace. Thus he becomes w...
Commentary
Commentary
Philosophical Insight