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shang shi wen dao,
qin er xing zhi.
zhong shi wen dao,
ruo cun ruo wang.
xia shi wen dao,
da xiao zhi.
bu xiao bu zu yi wei dao!
gu jian yan you zhi:
ming dao ruo mei,
jin dao ruo tui,
yi dao ruo lei,
shang de ruo gu,
da bai ruo ru,
guang de ruo bu zu,
jian de ruo tou,
zhi zhen ruo yu.
da fang wu yu,
da qi wan cheng,
da yin xi sheng,
da xiang wu xing.
dao yin wu ming,
fu wei dao shan dai qie cheng.

Verbatim Translation:

shang shi wen dao,
superior student hear dao,

qin er xing zhi.
diligent and practice it.

zhong shi wen dao,
middle student hear dao,

ruo cun ruo wang.
sometime present sometime absent.

xia shi wen dao,
inferior student hear dao,

da xiao zhi.
great ridicule it.

bu xiao bu zu yi wei dao.
not ridicule not footing consider be dao.

gu jian yan you zhi:
thus establish sayings hold this:

ming dao ruo mei;
brightness dao equal darkness;

jin dao ruo tui;
advance dao equal retreat;

yi dao ruo lei;
level dao equal uneven;

shang de ruo gu;
summit virtue equal valley;

da bai ruo ru;
great clarity equal opaque;

guang de ruo bu zu;
vast virtue equal not enough;

jian de ruo tou;
establish virtue equal furtive;

zhi zhen ruo yu.
evident truth equal uncertain.

da fang wu yu;
great square without corner;

da qi wan cheng;
great vessel late complete;

da yin xi sheng;
great tone rare sound;

da xiang wu xing.
great image without form.

dao yin wu ming,
dao hidden without name,

fu wei dao shan dai qie cheng.
yet because dao good accepting also fulfilling.

Translations:

Frederic Henry Balfour, 1884

When scholars of the first grade hear of TAO, they sedulously practise it.
When second-rate scholars hear of it, they now observe, now lose it.
When scholars of the lowest sort hear of it, they greatly deride it. If it did not provoke derision [on the part of such], it would not be worth the name of TAO.
Wherefore, as the ancient apophthegms express it,—
Those who are illuminated quoad TAO are as though in darkness—[for its depths are unfathomable].
Those who enter TAO are as though they receded [from caution and hesitation].
Those who regard the TAO as heterodox appear as though belonging to the same class [as its true adherents].
The highest virtue resembles a ravine—[in profundity].
Great virtue resembles ignominy [in that it is not the highest].
Widespread virtue is as though insufficient.
Established virtue appears like meanness [in the eyes of foolish men].
The purest [human] character, as though liable to excess.
The Great Square has no corners.
The Great Vessel takes long to complete.
The Great Sound is but seldom heard.
The Great Simulachrum has no form.
TAO is imperceptible and nameless; and it is only TAO that excels in imparting itself [to men] and enabling them to achieve merit.

Cheng

When Tao is heard by a man of high intellect,
He practices it with diligence.
When Tao is heard by a man of average intellect,
He follows it half-heartedly.
When Tao is heard by a man of no intellect,
He will have a hearty laugh at it.
And it would not be Tao without being laughed at.
Thus there is the accepted saying:
The bright way appears dark; the progressive way, regressive; and the smooth way, uneven.
The high virtue appears hollow; the purest white, tinted; the far-reaching virtue, inadequate; the firm virtue,
lax; and the real quality, wanting.
The greatest square appears cornerless; the great talent, the last to be recognized; the great music, devoid of
appealing sound; and the great image, formless.
Tao is hidden and nameless,
Yet only Tao is capable of helping all to succeed in life.

Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English, 1972

The wise student hears of the Tao and practices it diligently.
The average student hears of the Tao and gives it thought now and again.
The foolish student hears of the Tao and laughs aloud.
If there were no laughter, the Tao would not be what it is.
Hence it is said:
The bright path seems dim;
Going forward seems like retreat;
The easy way seems hard;
The highest Virtue seems empty;
Great purity seems sullied;
A wealth of Virtue seems inadequate;
The strength of Virtue seems frail;
Real Virtue seems unreal;
The perfect square has no corners;
Great talents ripen late;
The highest notes are hard to hear;
The greatest form has no shape;
The Tao is hidden and without name.
The Tao alone nourishes and brings everything to fulfillment.

Bradford Hatcher, 2005

Superior students, hearing of the way,
Are diligent and practice it
Average students, hearing of the way,
Sometimes attend & sometimes forget
Inferior students, hearing of the way,
Laugh greatly about it
Without the laughter there would be no grounds
to regard this as the way
And so the established proverbs hold that:
Brightness, to the way, is as good as darkness
Advance, to the way, is as good as retreat
Evenness, to the way, is as good as roughness
The summit of character is as good as a valley
The greatest whiteness is as good as soiled
Abundant character seems inadequate
Established character seems furtive
The evident truth seems spurious
The greatest square has no corner
The greatest capacity is last to be realized
The greatest note is the rarest sound
The greatest image has no form
The way is hidden & nameless
(But) because way is good at acceptance
(it is) also fulfilling

Tom Kunesh

When good persons hear of the way
they do their best to practice it.
When average persons hear of the way
they like to talk about it.
When lesser persons hear of the way
they disparage it by calling it godless or foreign.
If there were no derision, it would not be the way.
They say the true way,
compared to the light, often looks the darkest;
forward often looks like it goes backward;
flattest often looks the hilliest.
The best looks like the worst,
the clearest is the most obscure,
the most satisfying looks too little,
the strongest looks the weakest,
the most natural looks old and artificial.

The largest circle has no curves
great abilities take the longest to develop
the finest music has the faintest notes
the universe has no shape
the way is hidden, has no name, no map.
How can it? It is everywhere.

Herrymon Maurer, 1985

When a superior man hears about Tao,
He goes after it diligently.
When an average man hears about Tao,
He both gets it and loses it.
When an inferior man hears about Tao,
He laughs loudly at it.
If he did not laugh,
It would not be Tao.
There is an old saying:
The bright way looks dark;
The forward way looks backward;
The smooth way looks rough;
High virtue looks low;
Great whiteness looks defiled.
Broad virtue looks deficient;
Solid virtue looks illicit;
Simple virtue looks decayed.
Great space has no corners.
Great talent ripens late.
Great music is out of key.
The great symbol is out of shape.
Tao is without name and hidden.
Hence Tao helps and completes.

Charles Muller, 1997

When superior students hear of the Tao
They strive to practice it.
When middling students hear of the Tao
They sometimes keep it and sometimes lose it.
When inferior students hear of the Tao
They have a big laugh.

But “not laughing” in itself is not sufficient to be called the Tao,and therefore it is said:

The sparkling Tao seems dark
Advancing in the Tao seems like regression.
Settling into the Tao seems rough.
True virtue is like a valley.
The immaculate seems humble.
Extensive virtue seems insufficient.
Established virtue seems deceptive.
The face of reality seems to change.
The great square has no corners.
Great ability takes a long time to perfect.
Great sound is hard to hear.
The great form has no shape.

The Tao is hidden and nameless.

This is exactly why the Tao is good at developing and perfecting.

Agnieszka Solska, 2005

When the best students hear of Tao
They follow it with all their might.
When average students hear of Tao
Sometimes they heed it sometimes they don’t.
When the worst students hear of Tao
They laugh at it heartily.
Were it not laughed at,
Tao would not be what it is.

Thus it is said:
A path that is bright seems to be dim.
A path going forward seems to go back.
A path that is smooth seems to be uneven.
The highest virtue seems to be hollow.
The purest white seems to be sullied.
The amplest virtue seems insufficient.
The firmest virtue seems unsteady.
The genuine virtue seems to be fickle.
The greatest realm is without boundaries.
The finest talent matures late.
Harmonious music makes no noise.
The perfect form has no substance.

Tao is hidden and nameless.
Yet it is Tao that sustains all things
And brings them to completion.

R.L. Wing, 1986

When superior leaders hear of the Tao,
They diligently try to practice it.
When average leaders hear of the Tao,
They appear both aware and unaware of it.
When inferior leaders hear of the Tao,
They roar with laughter.

Without sufficient laughter, it could not be the Tao;
Hence the long-established sayings:

The Tao illuminated appears to be obscure;
The Tao advancing appears to be retreating;
The Tao leveled appears to be uneven.

Superior Power appears to be low;
Great clarity appears to be spotted;
Extensive Power appears to be insufficient;
Established Power appears to be stolen;
Substantial Power appears to be spurious.

The greatest space has no corners;
The greatest talents are slowly mastered;
The greatest music has the rarest sound;
The Great Image has no form.

The Tao is hidden and nameless,
Yet it is the Tao that skillfully supports and completes.