Dharma & Dao

Tao Te Ching · Chapter 13 of 81

Chapter 13

modern paraphrase of James Legge's 1891 translation

Modern paraphrase. This is an AI-generated retelling in contemporary English (model: claude-opus-4-7). It is not the James Legge translation. The original is one click away.

  1. Favor and disgrace are both things to fear; honor and great misfortune should both be seen as conditions tied to having a self.

  2. What does it mean to say favor and disgrace are both to be feared? Disgrace is a fall from favor. Receiving favor brings anxiety about losing it, and losing it brings fear of worse to come — that is why both favor and disgrace are to be feared.

And what does it mean to say honor and great misfortune are conditions tied to the self? What exposes me to great misfortune is having a body, a self; if I had no self, what misfortune could touch me?

  1. So the one who values the kingdom as he values his own person can be given it to govern; the one who cares for the kingdom as he cares for his own person can be trusted with it.

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