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德 Teh
Chapter 70

1. My words are very easy to know, and very easy to practise; but there is no one in the world who is able to know and able to practise them.

2. There is an originating and all-comprehending (principle) in my words, and an authoritative law for the things (which I enforce). It is because they do not know these, that men do not know me.

3. They who know me are few, and I am on that account (the more) to be prized. It is thus that the sage wears (a poor garb of) hair cloth, while he carries his (signet of) jade in his bosom.

七 十 章

吾 言 甚 易 知 , 甚 易 行 。
天 下 莫 能 知 , 莫 能 行 。
言 有 宗 , 事 有 君 。
夫 唯 無 知 , 是 以 不 我 知 。
知 我 者 希 , 則 我 者 貴 。
是 以 聖 人 被 褐 懷 玉 。

Key Terms

Observations and Comments

Legge Translation Notes

###, 'The Difficulty of being (rightly) Known.' The Tâo comprehends and rules all Lâo-dze's teaching, as the members of a clan were all in the loins of their first father (###), and continue to look up to him; and the people of a state are all under the direction of their ruler; yet the philosopher had to complain of not being known. Lâo-dze's principle and rule or ruler was the Tâo. His utterance here is very important. Compare the words of Confucius in the Analects, XIV, ch. 37, et al.

Par. 2 is twice quoted by Hwâi-nan, though his text is not quite the same in both cases.