Dao De Jing 3 and 4
Part three
不尚贤使民不争。
Holding the most able men above others, brings the people only strife
不贵难得之货使民不为盗
Valuing rare goods above common ones, instigates the people to become thieves
不见可欲使民心不乱。
Seeing what one wants, causes confusion in the people’s hearts
是以圣人之治
It is for a wise man to harness the people by
虚其心
Emptying their hearts
实其腹
Filling their bellies
弱其志
Weakening their will
强其骨
Strengthening their bones
常使民无知无欲
Truly enable the people to posses no knowledge, no desires
使夫智者不敢为也
And cause men with wisdom to dare not act
为无为则无不治
Act without acting, in doing so disorder vanishes
Notes: This was relativily straight foward, I changed some negative statments into postive ones because it sounded better in english
Part 4
道冲而用之或不盈
Pour out practice, use it up, or never be filled
渊兮似万物之宗
From an abyss appears everything we encounter
解其纷
Their tangles are straitened
和其光
Their discord is harmonized
同其尘
Their dust is settled
湛兮似或存
In the depths it seems to have survived
吾不知谁之子
I do not know who reared it
象帝之先
It seems as if it was prior to god
Notes: The first line in this one is a bitch to parse. I like what I came up with but I don’t know if I carried over the feeling of flowing and water that is in this section. The it refers to practice or “dao”
May 26th, 2006 at 2:32 pm
Ralf,
these posts are too damn long. One time i translated a Jean Jenet novel into morris code by tapping my dick against tuned champagne flutes. Interestingly enough, the notes sounded out the theme song to Happy Days. Blah Blah blah. Get back on a boat and write about dolphins.
May 26th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
I’m on a boat why do you think I have the time to translate shit?
Anyway, as for dolphins I’m pissed off because the people at wikipedia seem to think dolphins aren’t whales, when they are clearly part of the whale famly, bloody pricks
June 1st, 2006 at 11:16 am
WFT, I haven’t been here for couple days and you are translating the “Dao De Jing”? This world is going to hell. Will your raft ever come to my island?
Rehm, stop calling a strap on dildo “your dick”.
June 1st, 2006 at 1:39 pm
fucking hilarious.
June 1st, 2006 at 2:14 pm
I don’t know when I’m coming down there, how long you gonna be there? any good time for cheap flights?
How was your little lover’s retreat fuzz and habib, I would have came but I had to work
June 1st, 2006 at 5:02 pm
It was lovely, aside from habib’s constant bitching, sandy vagina was in full force. Of course it’s hot outside, it’s the fucking caribbean.
“work”? where are you now? We are going to PR next weekend, wanna come?
June 2nd, 2006 at 7:55 am
i got to be on top. of all the ferry ships we rode together. wow, there’s no way i could make that trip sound any less homoerotic. three virgins in three days, it was an AFU TRIBUTE TRIP.
actually, all of fan’s friends are lawyers who drink like frat boys. it was entertaining. and i saw a lot of fish.