| 1 |
企者不立﹔跨者不行﹔自見者不明﹔自是者不彰﹔自伐者無功﹔自矜者不
長。 |
He who stands on his tiptoes does not stand firm; he who stretches
his legs does not walk (easily). (So), he who displays
himself does
not shine; he who asserts his own views is not distinguished;
he who
vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged;
he who is self-
conceited has no superiority allowed to him. |
One on tiptoe is not steady;
One astride makes no advance.
Seff-displayers are not enlightened,
Self-asserters lack distinction,
Self-approvers have no merit,
And self-seekers stunt their lives.
|
It is not natural to stand on tiptoe, or being astride one does not walk. One
who displays himself is not bright, or one who asserts
himself cannot shine. A self-approving man has no merit,
nor does one who praises himself grow.
|
| 2 |
其在道也，曰：餘食贅形。物或惡之，故有道者不處。 |
Such conditions, viewed from the standpoint of the Dao, are like remnants of
food, or a tumour
on the body, which all dislike. Hence those who pursue (the course) of the Dao
do not adopt and allow them.
|
Before Reason this is like surfeit of food; it is like a wen on the body with
which people are apt to be disgusted. Therefore the
man of reason will not indulge in it. |
The relation of these things (self-display, self-assertion, self-approval) to Dao is the same as offal is to food. They are excrescences
from the system; they are detestable; Dao does not
dwell in them. |
