Chapter 76

Humility Nature

Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered. Thus it is that firmness and strength are the concomitants of death; softness and weakness, the concomitants of life. Hence he who (relies on) the strength of his forces does not conquer; and a tree which is strong will fill the out-stretched arms, (and thereby invites the feller.) Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below, and that of what is soft and weak is above.

Commentary

BEWARE OF STRENGTH. 1. Man during life is tender and delicate. When he dies he is stiff and stark. p. 1 27 2. The ten thousand things, the grass as well as the trees, while they live are tender and supple. When they die they are rigid and dry. 3. Thus the hard and the strong are the companions of death. The tender and the delicate are the companions of life. Therefore he who in arms is strong will not conquer. 4. When a tree has grown strong it is doomed. 5. The strong and the great stay below. The tender and the de...

Sources: Paul Carus (1913) - Chapter heading; Paul Carus (1913) - Canon of Reason and Virtue