Religion
Chapter 71
Translated by James Legge (1891) · From The Tao Teh King (1891)
To know and yet (think) we do not know is the highest (attainment); not to know (and yet think) we do know is a disease.
It is simply by being pained at (the thought of) having this disease that we are preserved from it. The sage has not the disease. He knows the pain that would be inseparable from it, and therefore he does not have it.
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Codex Note
Prose translation of a largely rhymed original, with occasional rhymed renderings by Legge; words in parentheses are his supplied additions.
Cite this poem
MLA
Laozi (Lao Tzu). “Chapter 71.” Translated by James Legge. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/laozi/70/.
Chicago
Laozi (Lao Tzu). “Chapter 71.” Translated by James Legge. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/laozi/70/.
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