德圆四 - Te Chapter 64

亓安也 易持也

亓未兆也 易谋也

亓脆也 易判也

亓微也 易散也

为之于亓未有也 治之于亓未乱也

合抱之木 生于毫末

九成之台 作于羸土

百仁之高 始于足下

安定的局面比较容易维护和保持；事物没有显出征兆（没有发力）的时候比较容易图谋；事物脆弱的时候比较容易进行分离；事物细微的时候比较容易散失。 （所以）做事的时候需要在事件没有发生的时候行事；治国的时候需要在没有发生动乱的时候实行治理手段。 众人合抱的大树，是从细小的萌芽成长起来的；九层的高台，是从一筐筐泥土夯筑起来的；百仞的高地，是从脚下一步步丈量出来的。

仁，仞，周制八尺。

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It is easier to maintain and preserve a stable situation; it is easier to plan when things have not yet shown signs of development; it is easier to separate things when they are fragile; it is easier to scatter things when they are insignificant.

Therefore, when doing things, it is necessary to act before the event occurs; when governing a country, it is necessary to implement measures before unrest occurs.

A large tree that is embraced by all is grown from small seedlings; a nine-story tower is built from a basket of mud; a hundred-foot high ground is measured step by step from the ground.

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为之者败之 执之者失之

是以圣人无为也 故无败也

无执也 故无失也

民之从事也 恒于亓成事而败之

故慎终若始 则无败事矣

是以圣人欲不欲而不贵难得之货 学不学而复众人之所过 能辅万物之自然而弗敢为

故曰

为道者 非以明民也 将以愚之也

坚持践行总有力有不逮的时候；坚持持守的事物总有失去的那一天。所以通达事理的人做事的时候不会想着自己的付出，对结果也不会有“一定要把事办成”的诉求，因此不会遭遇“失败”的心境；不会想象着持久把持控制任何事物，因此也不会遭遇“失去”。 而普通人做事，常常在快要成功的时候遭遇失败，所以要自始至终保持谨慎的心态，就不容易遭遇失败。 所以通达事理的人有意识的控制自己的欲望，主观不看重有价值的稀缺物品；从错误和失败中进行学习，复盘前人遭遇的挫折和过失，从而吸取其经验和教训；从而以安在无为的心态，根据世间万物的内在秉性，辅助万物以实现其自我驱动。 所以说，遵循基本道理行动的人，并不奢望能让他人明了一切，而是要使他人了解到自身蒙昧的状态。

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When sticking to practice, there will always be times when it is not successful; things that persist will always be lost one day. Therefore, people who understand the principle of things will not think about their own efforts when doing things, nor will they have the demand of "I must succeed" for the result, so they will not encounter the mentality of "failure"; they will not imagine that they can control any thing for a long time, so they will not encounter "loss".

Ordinary people often fail when they are about to succeed, so they should always keep a cautious attitude and not easily encounter failure.

Therefore, people who understand the principles of things consciously control their desires and subjectively do not value scarce valuable items. They learn from mistakes and failures, review the setbacks and mistakes encountered by previous generations, and thus absorb their experiences and lessons. As a result, with a calm and inactive attitude, according to the innate nature of all things in the world, they assist all things to achieve their self-motivation.

Therefore, people who act according to basic principles do not expect others to understand everything, but rather want to make others aware of their own ignorance.