Something mysterious
and perfect existed before even heaven
and earth were born. Silent, immeasurable,
standing alone and unchanging, moving
without end or exhaustion, it is the
mother of the known and
unknown universe.
I don’t know
its name, so I call it by an
alias: tao. Forced to describe
it, I only say, “It is
great.”
That which is great continues.
That which continues goes far.
That which goes far returns.
Therefore tao is great,
Heaven is great, earth is great,
a person of tao is great. These
are the four greatnesses
in the universe.
A person of tao follows earth.
Earth follows Heaven.
Heaven follows tao.
Tao follows its
own nature.
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