Chapter 41

1. When the best scholars hear about the Tao, they diligently put it into practice. When average scholars hear about it, they sometimes hold onto it and sometimes let it slip. When the worst scholars hear about it, they burst out laughing. If they didn’t laugh, it wouldn’t really be the Tao.

2. That is why the makers of sayings have put it like this:

The Tao at its brightest seems dim; progress in it looks like retreat; its smooth path seems rough. The highest virtue looks like a low valley; the greatest purity seems stained; abundant virtue seems lacking. Solid virtue seems shaky; plain truth seems to shift; the largest square has no corners. The greatest vessel takes longest to finish; the loudest sound has no audible voice; the grandest form has no shape.

3. The Tao is hidden and nameless, yet it is the Tao alone that is skilled at providing for all things and bringing them to completion.