Under heaven all consider my 'Tao' to be grand, seemingly unlike (anyt

三寶 · Sān Bǎo

Classical Chinese Text

天下皆谓我"道"大，似不肖。夫唯大，故似不肖。若肖，久矣其细也夫！
我有三宝，持而保之：一曰慈，二曰俭，三曰不敢为天下先。慈故能勇；俭故能广；不敢为天下先，故能成器长。今舍慈且勇；舍俭且广；舍后且先；死矣！夫慈，以战则胜，以守则固。天将救之，以慈卫之

Translation & Meaning

Under heaven all consider my 'Tao' to be grand, seemingly unlike (anything). For its grandness, it seems to be unlike (anything). For if it was like something, it will not be considered grand.

Linguistic & Character Analysis

  • 天 (tiān): heaven / nature / cosmos
  • 下 (xià): under / earthly realm / humble
  • 皆 (jiē): all / universally
  • 谓 (wèi): called / named / designated
  • 我 (wǒ): classical character (wǒ)
  • 道 (dào): The Way / Logos / to speak
  • 大 (dà): classical character (dà)
  • 似 (sì): seems / resembles
  • 不 (bù): not / un- / without
  • 肖 (xiào): classical character (xiào)
  • 夫 (fū): for / indeed / now
  • 唯 (wéi): only / precisely because
  • 故 (gù): therefore / thus / consequence
  • 若 (ruò): classical character (ruò)
  • 久 (jiǔ): classical character (jiǔ)
  • 矣 (yǐ): [modal particle of realization]
  • 其 (qí): its / their / his / her
  • 细 (xì): classical character (xì)
  • 也 (yě): [modal particle of assertion]
  • 有 (yǒu): manifest being / cosmos / to possess
  • 三 (sān): classical character (sān)
  • 宝 (bǎo): classical character (bǎo)
  • 持 (chí): classical character (chí)
  • 而 (ér): yet / and / but
  • 保 (bǎo): classical character (bǎo)
  • 之 (zhī): particle: of / possessive / it
  • 一 (yī): classical character (yī)
  • 曰 (yuē): classical character (yuē)
  • 慈 (cí): classical character (cí)
  • 二 (èr): classical character (èr)
  • 俭 (jiǎn): classical character (jiǎn)
  • 敢 (gǎn): dare / venture forward
  • 为 (wèi): act / deem / become
  • 先 (xiān): before / front
  • 能 (néng): fruitful / capacity / ability
  • 勇 (yǒng): classical character (yǒng)
  • 广 (guǎng): classical character (guǎng)
  • 成 (chéng): complete / fulfill
  • 器 (qì): classical character (qì)
  • 长 (cháng): long / enduring / grow
  • 今 (jīn): classical character (jīn)
  • 舍 (shè): classical character (shè)
  • 且 (qiě): classical character (qiě)
  • 后 (hòu): after / behind
  • 死 (sǐ): classical character (sǐ)
  • 以 (yǐ): in order to / by means of
  • 战 (zhàn): classical character (zhàn)
  • 则 (zé): classical character (zé)
  • 胜 (shèng): classical character (shèng)
  • 守 (shǒu): classical character (shǒu)
  • 固 (gù): classical character (gù)
  • 将 (jiāng): classical character (jiāng)
  • 救 (jiù): classical character (jiù)
  • 卫 (wèi): classical character (wèi)