Following up on my previous postings about the Tao Te Ching, here is one possible rendering of the very last poem, number 81:
The true words aren't the pretty words
The pretty words are far from true
The good man argues not at all
The arguer is far from good
The wise man doesn't know it all
The know-it-all is far from wise
The sages aren't acquisitive
The more they help, the more they have
The more they give, the more they gain
The Way of Heaven is to help and do no harm
The Way of sages is to act and not compete
I love how Lao Tzu ends by saying, in beautiful words, that beautiful words are far from true. That's quite a twist and makes you ponder the meaning of the entire book...
(Cross-posted at philosopher.coach.)
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