Chapter 40: Avoiding Activity
Tao Teh King (Laotzu's Tao and Wu Wei), trans. Dwight Goddard
Text
Retirement is characteristic of Tao just as weakness appears to be a characteristic of its activity. Heaven and earth and everything are produced from existence, but existence comes from nonexistence. . . .
Laozi (attributed), Tao Teh King (Laotzu's Tao and Wu Wei), trans. Dwight Goddard (1919). Public domain.