Tao Te Ching Chapter 46
第46章
天下有道，卻走馬以糞。天下無道，戎馬生於郊。禍莫大於不知足；咎莫大於欲得。故知足之足，常足矣。
When the Tao prevails in the world, they send back their swift horses to (draw) the dung-carts. When the Tao is disregarded in the world, the war-horses breed in the border lands.
There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; no fault greater than the wish to be getting. Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is an enduring and unchanging sufficiency.
English: James Legge (1891), The Tâo Teh King, Sacred Books of the East vol. 39 (1891) — public domain. Chinese: Wang Bi recension (王弼本), commentary removed.
Character glossary
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 卻quèstill, but; decline; retreat
- 走zǒuto walk, to run, to flee
- 馬mǎhorse; surname
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 糞fènmanure, dung; shit, excrement
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 戎róngarms, armaments; military affairs
- 生shēnglife, lifetime; birth; growth
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 郊jiāosuburbs, outskirts; wasteland, open spac
- 禍huòmisfortune, disaster, calamity
- 莫mòcannot; do not; is not; negative
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 足zúfoot; to attain, to satisfy; enough
- 咎jiùfault, defect; error, mistake
- 欲yùdesire, want, longing, intent
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 常chángcommon, general, normal; always, frequen
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
Similar passages
- Zhuangzi Perfect Happiness
- Mencius 7B.37
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Mencius 1B.5
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 69
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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