第四十二章

道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物。萬物負(fù)陰而抱陽，沖氣以為和。人之所惡，唯孤、寡、不谷，而王公以為稱。故物或損之而益，或益之而損。人之所教，我亦教之。強(qiáng)梁者不得其死，吾將以為教父。

The Tao gave birth to one. One gave birth to two. Two gave birth to three. All three begat the 10,000 things. The 10,000 things carry yin and embrace yang; they achieve harmony by combining these forces. People suffer at the thought of being without parents, without food, or without worth. Yet this is the very way that kings and lords once described themselves, for one gains by losing, and loses by gaining. What others taught, I teach. The violent do not die a natural death. This is my fundamental teaching.