Chapter 21

The greatest expressions of active power flow from Tao alone as their source. Who can describe what Tao is like? It escapes our sight and our touch. Yet though it eludes sight and touch, within it all the forms of things lie hidden. Though it eludes touch and sight, within it are their likenesses. Deep it is, dark and obscure; yet within it the essences of things endure. These essences hold the truth, which, once perceived, can then be spoken. So it is now; so it was of old. Its name does not pass away, and through it all things, in their beautiful array, take shape and never decay.

How do I know this holds true for all the beauties of existing things? By this — the nature of Tao.