《道德经》英译（第三十二章）

道常无名。

朴虽小，

天下莫能臣也。

侯王若能守之，

万物将自宾。

天地相合，

以降甘露，

民莫之令而自均。

始制有名，

名亦既有，

夫亦将知止，

知止可以不殆。

譬道之在天下，

犹川谷之于江海。

Chapter 32

The Way eternal has no name.

A block of wood untooled, though small,

May still excel the world.

And if the king and nobles could

Retain its potency for good,

Then everything would freely give

Allegiance to their rule.

The earth and sky would then conspire

To bring the sweet dew down;

And evenly it would be given

To folk without constraining power.

Creatures came to be with order’s birth,

And once they had appeared,

Came also knowledge of repose,

And with that was security.

In this world,

Compare those of the Way

To torrents that flow

Into river and sea.