Chapter 24
企者不立
企者不立;
跨者不行;
自见者不明;
自是者不彰;
自伐者无功;
自矜者不长。
其在道也,曰:
馀食赘形。
物或恶之,
故有道者不处。
One on tiptoe cannot stand; one whose legs are spread cannot walk.
One who shows himself cannot be bright; one who asserts himself cannot shone; one who praises himself can be meritorious; one who boasts of himself cannot endure.
For the Dao, these are called “excess store and superfluous acts.” Things detest them; therefore, the man of the Dao does not abide in them.
A modern classroom translation, with labeled subsections for study.
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