Thus the master travels all day, without leaving home.
However splendid the views, she stays serenely in herself.
Why should the lord of the country flit about like a fool?
If you let yourself be blown to and fro, you lose touch with your root.
If you let restlessness move you, you lose touch with who you are.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=2347
This chapter on the above video starts at 39.05 and ends at 40.10.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
There was something formless and perfect, before the universe was born.
It is serene, empty, solitary, unchanging, infinite, eternally present.
It is the mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name, I call it the Dao.
It flows through all things, inside and outside, and returns to the origin of all things.
The Dao is great; the universe is great; earth is great; man is great.
These are the four great powers.
Man follows the earth; earth follows the universe; the universe follows the Dao; the Dao follows only itself.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=2234
This chapter on the above video starts at 37.10 and ends at 39.05.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
He who defines himself, can't know who he really is.
He who has power over others, can't empower himself.
He who clings to his work, will create nothing that endures.
If you want to accord with the Dao, just do your job then let go.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=2173
This chapter on the above video starts at 36.10 and ends at 37.10.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
If you open yourself to the Dao, you are at one with the Dao, and you can embody it completely.
If you open yourself to insight, you are at one with insight, and you can use it completely.
If you open yourself to loss, you are at one with loss, and you can accept it completely.
Open yourself to the Dao, then trust your natural responses, and everything will fall into place.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=2092
This chapter on the above video starts at 34.50 and ends at 36.10.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial.
If you want to become straight, let yourself be crooked.
If you want to become full, let yourself be empty.
If you want to be reborn, let yourself die.
If you want to be given everything, give everything up.
The master, by residing in the Dao, sets an example for all beings.
Because he doesn't display himself, people can see his light.
Because he has nothing to prove, people can trust his words.
Because he doesn't know who he is, people recognise themselves in him.
Because he has no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds.
When the ancient masters said if you want to be given everything, give everything up, they weren't using empty phrases.
Only in being lived by the Dao, can you be truly yourself.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1976
This chapter on the above video starts at 32.56 and ends at 34.50.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
The Master keeps her mind always at one with the Dao, that is what gives her her radiance.
The Dao is un-graspable, how can her mind be at one with it? Because she doesn't cling to ideas.
The Dao is dark and unfathomable, how can it make her radiant? Because she lets it.
Since before time and space were, the Dao is.
It is beyond is and is not.
How do I know this is true? I look inside myself, and see.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1903
This chapter on the above video starts at 31.43 and ends at 32.55.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
Must you value what others value, avoid what others avoid? How ridiculous!
Other people are excited as though they were at a parade; I alone don't care;
I alone am expressionless; like an infant before it can smile.
Other people have what they need; I alone possess nothing.
I alone drift about, like someone without a home.
I am like an idiot; my mind is so empty.
Other people are bright; I alone am dark.
Other people are sharp; I alone am dull.
Other people have a purpose; I alone don't know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean; I blow as aimless as the wind.
I am different from ordinary people; I drink from the great mother's breasts.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1778
This chapter on the above video starts at 29.35 and ends at 31.42.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
Throw away holiness and wisdom, and people will be a hundred times happier.
Throw away morality and justice, and people will do the right thing.
Throw away industry and profit, and there won't be any thieves.
If these three aren't enough, just stay at the center of the circle, and let all things take their course.
Reference
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu:https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1731
This chapter on the above video starts at 28.50 and ends at 29.35.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
When the great Dao is forgotten, goodness and piety appear.
When the body's intelligence declines, cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family, filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos, patriotism is born.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1689
This chapter on the above video starts at 28.09 and ends at 28.50.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
When the master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists;
Next best is a leader who is loved;
Next, one who is feared;
The worst is one who is despised.
If you don't trust the people you make them untrustworthy.
The master doesn't talk, he acts.
When his work is done, the people say: "Amazing! We did it — all by ourselves."
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu:https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1632
This chapter on the above video starts at 27.20 and ends at 28.06.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
Please find below an article relating to Nietzsche's view on self knowledge, by Christopher Janaway, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton.
This text references many concepts, philosophers, writers etc. that may be unfamiliar. I have included some of these in the Notes section below.
YouTube video (audio only)
You can listen to the chapter from the YouTube video above. The section starting times are shown below:
00:00 The Lineage of Nietzsche
03:55 Youth 12:00 Nietzsche and Wagner 26:00 The Song of Zarathustra
38:20 Hero - Morality
51:50 The Superman
1:00:00 Decadence
1:08:00 Aristocracy
1:22:20 Criticism
1:39:10 Finale
Initials representing books by Nietzsche in the footnotes
The following initials were used by Will Durant in the footnotes of Chapter Nine of his book as short forms for some of Nietzsche's books:
Antichrist (1889)
B.G.E. - Beyond Good and Evil (1886)
B.T. - The Birth of Tragedy (1872)
C.W. - The Case for Wagner (1888)
D.D. - The Dawn of Day
E.H. - Ecce Homo (1889)
G. M. - The Genealogy of Morals (1887)
J.W. - The Joyful Wisdom (1882)
H.A.H. - Human All Too Human (1876-80)
T.O.S. - Thoughts Out of Season (1873-76)
T.I. - The Twilight of Idols (1888)
W.P. - The Will to Power (1889)
Z - Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883)
Notes
Chapter Nine in Will Durant's book references many concepts, philosophers, writers etc. that may be unfamiliar to many of us. The following are explanations of some of these:
Aeschylus — Aeschylus (c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is largely based on inferences made from reading his surviving plays.
aequanimitas — Aequanimitas, a Latin word derived from aequo animo, “with even mind”, meaning equanimity or calmness of mind.
amor fati — Amor fati is a Latin phrase that may be translated as "love of fate" or "love of one's fate". It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one's life, including suffering and loss, as good or, at the very least, necessary.
apotheosis — the highest point in the development of something; a culmination or climax.
Apollo — The national divinity of the Greeks, Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, and more.
bacchanalian — characterized by or given to drunken revelry.
bier gemütlichkeit — Bier is German for beer. Gemütlichkeit is a German-language word used to convey the idea of a state or feeling of warmth, friendliness,[1] and good cheer.
Bismarck — Otto von Bismarck, (1815–98, ), prime minister of Prussia (1862–73, 1873–90) and founder and first chancellor (1871–90) of the German Empire. Once the empire was established, he actively and skillfully pursued pacific policies in foreign affairs, succeeding in preserving the peace in Europe for about two decades. However he has been criticized for his domestic policies such as Catholic persecution, and the centralization of executive power.
Bourgeois — belonging to or characteristic of the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes; a person with social behavior and political views held to be influenced by private-property interest : capitalist.
Carlyle — Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) was a British essayist, historian, and philosopher from the Scottish Lowlands. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature, and philosophy.
Comte — Auguste Comte (1798 – 1857) was a French philosopher, mathematician and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense of the term. Comte's ideas were also fundamental to the development of sociology.
corollary—noun: a proposition that follows from (and is often appended to) one already proved.
Darwin — Charles Robert Darwin (1809–82).
Dionysus — In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre.
Fichte — Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762 – 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Kant.
Goethe — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe[a] (1749–1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour. He is widely regarded as the greatest and most influential writer in the German language, his work having a profound and wide-ranging influence on Western literary, political, and philosophical thought from the late 18th century to the present day.
Goethe's Gotz — Götz von Berlichingen is a successful 1773 drama by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, based on the memoirs of the historical adventurer-poet Gottfried or Götz von Berlichingen (c. 1480–1562). Goethe's plot treats events freely: while the historical Götz died in his eighties, Goethe's hero is a free spirit, a maverick, intended to be a pillar of national integrity against a deceitful and over-refined society, and the way in which he tragically succumbs to the abstract concepts of law and justice shows the submission of the individual in that society.
Heine — Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (1797 – 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder (art songs) by composers such as Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert. Heine's later verse and prose are distinguished by their satirical wit and irony. He is considered a member of the Young Germany movement. His radical political views led to many of his works being banned by German authorities—which, however, only added to his fame. He spent the last 25 years of his life as an expatriate in Paris.
philology — Philology (from Ancient Greek φιλολογία (philología) 'love of word') is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology.
positivism — In philosophy, a philosophical system recognizing only that which can be scientifically verified or which is capable of logical or mathematical proof, and therefore rejecting metaphysics and theism.
positivist — An adherent of the philosophical or legal theories of positivism.
"L'amour est de tous les sentiments le plus egoiste, et par consequent lorsquil est blesse, le moins genereux." — (French) Love is the most selfish of all feelings, and therefore when hurt, the least generous.
Mutius Scaevola — probably means Gaius Mucius Scaevola, who was a legendary Roman hero of the 6th century bc. According to the legend, Mucius volunteered to assassinate the Etruscan king Lars Porsena, who was besieging Rome. However, Mucius killed Porsena’s attendant by mistake. The Etruscans captured Mucius and brought him before the royal tribunal. Mucius declared that he was one of 300 noble youths who had sworn to take the king’s life. He demonstrated his courage to his captors by thrusting his right hand into a blazing fire and holding it there until it burned away. Deeply impressed and fearing another attempt on his life, Porsena ordered Mucius to be freed and made peace with the Romans before withdrawing his forces. According to the story, Mucius was rewarded with a grant of land and given the name Scaevola, meaning “left-handed.”
Nibelungs — (or Nibelungen), in Germanic and Scandinavian mythology, a race of dwarfs or elves dwelling in Niflheim (or Nibelheim), a realm of mist or darkness. According to some accounts, the Nibelungs were the descendants of Nibelung, a legendary Scandinavian king, and heirs to a vast treasure hoard of gold and jewels that had been amassed in some ancient time.
Sadowa and Sedan — refer to the battle of the Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) and The Battle of Sedan.
Schiller's Karl Moor — The Robbers is the first drama by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The plot revolves around the conflict between two aristocratic brothers, Karl and Franz Moor. Karl (Charles) Moor, the older son, is a self-confident idealist. He is good-looking and well liked by all. He holds feelings of deep love for Amalia. After his father, misled by brother Franz, curses Karl and banishes him from his home, Karl becomes a disgraceful criminal and murderous arsonist.
Shelley (p378) — probably Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achievements in poetry grew steadily following his death and he became an important influence on subsequent generations of poets.
Spencer — Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in Principles of Biology (1864) after reading Charles Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species. The term strongly suggests natural selection, yet Spencer saw evolution as extending into realms of sociology and ethics.
Stendhal — Marie-Henri Beyle (1783 – 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black, 1830) and La Chartreuse de Parme (The Charterhouse of Parma, 1839), he is highly regarded for the acute analysis of his characters' psychology and considered one of the early and foremost practitioners of realism. A self-proclaimed egotist, he coined the same characteristic in his characters' "Beylism".
Stirner — Johann Kaspar Schmidt (1806 – 56), known professionally as Max Stirner, was a German post-Hegelian philosopher, dealing mainly with the Hegelian notion of social alienation and self-consciousness. Stirner is often seen as one of the forerunners of nihilism, existentialism, psychoanalytic theory, postmodernism and individualist anarchism.
supererogation — the performance of more work than duty requires.
Vaterlanderei — (German) fatherlandism
Voltaire — François-Marie Arouet ( 1694–1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his nom de plume M. de Voltaire, he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—especially of the Roman Catholic Church—and of slavery. Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state.
Umana commedia — Italian - human comedy.
Wagner's Siegfried — Siegfried, is the third of the four epic music dramas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. It premiered at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring cycle.
Empty your mind of all thoughts, let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return.
Each separate being in the universe, returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.
If you don't realize the source, you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you come from, you naturally become tolerant, disinterested, amused — kindhearted as a grandmother, dignified as a king.
Immersed in the wonder of the Dao; you can deal with whatever life brings you.
And when death comes, you are ready.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1555
This chapter on the above video starts at 25:50 and ends at 27.20.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
We discussed the Monty Hall problem and the Sleeping Beauty problem in class on Wednesday 10/5/23. The following videos and web pages provide some information on the two problems:
Prithwiraj Dhang, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
道德經 - 第十五章
古之善為士者，微妙玄通，深不可識。
夫唯不可識，故強為之容。
豫兮若冬涉川；猶兮若畏四鄰；
儼兮其若容；渙兮若冰之將釋；
敦兮其若樸；曠兮其若谷；
混兮其若濁；孰能濁以靜之徐清？
孰能安以久動之徐生？
保此道者，不欲盈。
夫唯不盈，故能蔽不新成。
Daodejing - Chapter Fifteen
The ancient masters were profound and subtle; their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it; all we can describe is their appearance.
They were careful as someone crossing an iced-over stream,
alert as a warrior in enemy territory,
courteous as a guest,
fluid as melting ice,
shapeable as a block of wood,
receptive as a valley,
clear as a glass of water.
Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles, and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?
The master doesn't seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting, she is present and can welcome all things.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1473
This chapter on the above video starts at 24:30 and ends at 25.50.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
Seamless, unnamable, it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms, image without an image, subtle beyond all conception.
Approach it and there is no beginning; follow it and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it.
At ease in your own life, just realize where you come from, this is the essence of wisdom.
References
The above translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell. His reading of the work can be found on the following YouTube video: Tao Te Ching, The Book Of The Way by Lao Tzu: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk?t=1380
This chapter on the above video starts at 23:00 and ends at 24.30.
You can find the complete 81 chapters of Daodejing in Chinese and English (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website: https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
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