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Chapter 9

持而盈之

持chí而ér盈yíng之zhī,
不bù如rú其qí已yǐ;
揣chuǎi而ér锐ruì之zhī,
不bù可kě长cháng保bǎo。
金jīn玉yù满mǎn堂táng,
莫mò之zhī能néng守shǒu;
富fù贵guì而ér骄jiāo,
自zì遗yí其qí咎jiù。

a> It is better to stop pouring than to grasp it until it is full; the blade forged to full sharpness will not last long.

Halls filled with gold and jade can never be secured; pride in wealth and rank brings disaster upon itself.

b> The work being done, step out of view – that is the dao of Tian.

A modern classroom translation, with labeled subsections for study.

© 2010, 2016, 2019 Robert Eno. Freely available for personal use and not-for-profit educational settings. For other purposes, apart from fair use, copyright is not waived.