持而盈之，不如其已。
揣而梲之，不可長保。
金玉滿堂，莫之能守。
富貴而驕，自遺其咎。
功成、名遂、身退，天之道。
chí ér yíng zhī, bùrú qí yǐ.
chuāi ér zhuó zhī, bùkě cháng bǎo.
jīnyù mǎntáng, mò zhī néng shǒu.
fùguì ér jiāo, zì yí qí jiù.
gōng chéng, míng suì, shēn tuì, tiān zhī dào.
Fill a cup to overflowing, And it will spill.
Hone a sword to the very sharpest, And it won't stay sharp for long.
Fill your halls with gemstones, And you won't be able to guard them.
Be proud with wealth and status, And you will cause your own fall.
Withdraw when your work is done. This is the way of heaven.
揣而梲之，不可長保。
金玉滿堂，莫之能守。
富貴而驕，自遺其咎。
功成、名遂、身退，天之道。
chí ér yíng zhī, bùrú qí yǐ.
chuāi ér zhuó zhī, bùkě cháng bǎo.
jīnyù mǎntáng, mò zhī néng shǒu.
fùguì ér jiāo, zì yí qí jiù.
gōng chéng, míng suì, shēn tuì, tiān zhī dào.
Fill a cup to overflowing, And it will spill.
Hone a sword to the very sharpest, And it won't stay sharp for long.
Fill your halls with gemstones, And you won't be able to guard them.
Be proud with wealth and status, And you will cause your own fall.
Withdraw when your work is done. This is the way of heaven.
This is just one translation, and there are many. Dao De Jing has been translated into many languages, and even Chinese scholars still argue over the true translations due to the lack of Classical Chinese punctuation marks, seperations of commas and full stops can drastically alter the meanings of passages.
Text Source:
Chinese Characters
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