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Higher Virtue isn’t virtuous thus it possesses virtue Lower Virtue isn’t without virtue thus it possesses no virtue Higher Virtue involves no effort or the thought of effort Higher Kindness involves effort but not the thought of effort Higher Justice involves effort and the thought of effort Higher Ritual involves effort and should it meet with no response then it threatens and compels virtue appears when the Way is lost kindness appears when virtue is lost justice appears when kindness is lost ritual appears when justice is lost ritual marks the waning of belief and the onset of confusion augury is the flower of the Way and beginning of delusion thus the great choose thick over thin the fruit over the flower thus they pick this over that

HAN FEI says, “Virtue is the Tao at work.”

WANG PI says, “Those who possess Higher Virtue use nothing but the Tao. They possess virtue, but they don’t give it a name.”

YEN TSUN says, “Those who embody the Way are empty and effortless, yet they lead all creatures to the Way. Those who embody virtue are faultless and responsive and ready to do anything. Those who embody kindness show love for all creatures without restriction. Those who embody justice deal with things by matching name with reality. Those who embody ritual are humble and put harmony first. These five are the footprints of the Tao. They are not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is not one, much less five.”

WANG P’ANG says, “Kindness is another name for virtue. It differs, though, from virtue because it involves effort. The kindness of sages, however, does not go beyond fulfilling their nature. They aren’t interested in effort. Hence, they don’t think about it.”

LU HUI-CH’ING says, “Higher Kindness is kindness without effort to be kind. Kindness is simply a gift. Justice is concerned with the appropriateness of the gift. Ritual is concerned with repayment. When ritual appears, belief disappears and confusion arises.”

SU CH’E says, “These are the means whereby sages help the people to safety. When the people don’t respond, sages threaten and force them. If they still don’t respond, sages turn to law and punishment.”

FAN YING-YUAN says, “‘Augury’ means to see the future. Those in charge of rituals think they can see the future and devise formulas for human action, but they thus cause people to trade the spirit for the letter.”

WU CH’ENG says, “The Tao is like a fruit. Hanging from a tree, it contains the power of life, but its womb is hidden. Once it falls, it puts forth virtue as its root, kindness as its stem, justice as its branches, ritual as its leaves, and knowledge as its flower. All of these come from the Tao. ‘That’ refers to the flower. ‘This’ refers to the fruit. Those who embody the Tao choose the fruit over the flower.”

And yet the plastic flowers of civilization still deck a billion altars. After line six, the Wangpi and Fuyi editions add: “Lower Virtue involves effort / but not the thought of effort.” But this is the same description of Higher Kindness. I’ve followed the Mawangtui texts, which don’t include this line. The above categories (Higher Virtue, etc.) also appear as chapter titles in the Wentzu, a Taoist text ascribed to a student of Lao-tzu and fragments of which have been found dating back to the third century B.C.