Longing to take hold of all beneath heaven and improve it . . .
I’ve seen such dreams invariably fail.
All beneath heaven is a sacred vessel,
something beyond all improvement.
Try to improve it and you ruin it.
Try to hold it and you lose it.
For things sometimes lead and sometimes follow,
sometimes sigh and sometimes storm,
sometimes strengthen and sometimes weaken,
sometimes kill and sometimes die.
And so the sage steers clear of extremes,
clear of extravagance,
clear of exhaltation.