77.
The Way of heaven is like drawing a bow;
the top gets pulled down,
and the bottom end gets pulled up
So too does Heaven take away from those who have too much,
and give to those that have not enough
Men, however take away from those that have not enough
in order to make offerings to those who already have too much
Who is there who can take what he himself has in excess
and offer this to the empire?
Only he who has the way
Therefore the sage benefits without expectation,
accomplishes his task without taking credit,
has no desire to display his merit
78.
Nothing in the world is more submissive and weak than water,
yet for attacking the solid and the strong, nothing is better
There is nothing that can take its place
The weak overcome the strong;
the supple overcome the stiff
Everybody knows this
yet few can put this knowledge into practice
Therefore the sage says;
He who accepts the dung of the nation,
becomes the master of the altars of soil and sustenance
He who deals with the evils of the nation,
becomes king of the entire empire
True words seem paradoxical
79
After a bitter quarrel, some resentment must remain
What can be done about it?
Therefore the sage accepts his obligations,
but does not press for repayment
A man of Virtue concerns himself with what he owes others,
while the Virtueless quibbles over what others owe him
It is the way of heaven to show no favouritism
It is forever on the side of the good man
80.
The ideal community is small in size and population
Even though there are efficient machines, no one has use for them
They regard death gravely and do not go on distant campaigns
Even though there are boats and carriages, no one uses them
Even though there are weapons, there are no occasions to display them
Let the people's responsibilities be few enoughÂ
that they may remember them by knotting a string
Let them enjoy their food,
and find beauty in their clothes,
be satisfied with their homes,
and be happy in their customs
Though the next village is in sight,
and the crowing of roosters barking of dogs is heard,
they are content to die of old age
without having gone to see it
