The Three Principle Texts of Daoism translated by ... - Bad Request

function to teach others and to influence them for good.It is the function of created things to conform to theirproper nature. That being so, there are things in whichEarth may excel, though they lie outside the scope ofHeaven; matters in which the Sage has no concern,though they afford free play to others. For it is clear thatthat which imparts and broods over life cannot form andsupport material bodies; that which forms and supportsmaterial bodies cannot teach and influence for good; onewho teaches and influences for good cannot run counterto natural instincts; that which is fixed in suitableenvironment does not travel outside its own sphere.Therefore the Way of Heaven and Earth will be either ofthe Yin or of the Yang; the teaching of the Sage will beeither of altruism or of righteousness; the quality ofcreated objects will be either soft or hard. All theseconform to their proper nature and cannot depart fromthe province assigned to them."On one hand, there is life, and on the other, there is thatwhich produces life; there is form, and there is thatwhich imparts form; there is sound, and there is thatwhich causes sound; there is colour, and there is thatwhich causes colour; there is taste, and there is thatwhich causes taste.Things that have been endowed with life die; but thatwhich produces life itself never comes to an end. Theorigin of form is matter; but that which imparts form hasno material existence. The genesis of sound lies in thesense of hearing; but that which causes sound is neveraudible to the ear. The source of colour is vision; but that