The Tao Teh King: A Short Study in Comparative Religion: Chapter LXXXI
The Tao Teh King: A Short Study in Comparative Religion, by C. Spurgeon Medhurst, [1905]
Sincere words are not (necessarily) pleasant, nor are pleasant words (necessarily) sincere.
The good are not (necessarily) skillful debaters, nor are skillful debaters (necessarily) good men. 1
The wise are not (necessarily) well-informed, nor are the well-informed (necessarily) wise. 2
The Holy Man does not accumulate. He works for others, yet ever has abundance for himself; he gives to others, yet himself ever possesses superabundance.
The divine way is advantageous, without danger; the way of the Sages is effective without struggle. 3
131:1 "Confucius remarked, 'With plausible speech and fine manners will seldom be found moral character.'" Analects.
131:2 "Confucius remarked, 'A man who possesses moral worth will always have something to say worth listening to; but a man who has something to say is not necessarily a man of moral worth.'" Analects.
131:3 The last sentence is according to the rendering of Mr. T. W. Kingsmill.
Lit.—"Heaven's Tao benefits but injures not; the Holy Man's Tao acts but strives not."
131:* Quoted by Dr. Legge from Bunyan, in loc.