The road of the Way is not steep.
It runs on all four sides.
When wind blows it's not deafened
When the rain dries it doesn't last a whole day.
All these things cannot make it long.
Therefore,
The wise leader chooses the path which conforms to Tao
And values the Tao,
Though he does not realize Tao's greatness.
When the Tao in the leadership is lost
Wise men become:
Bad neighbors.
When they lose faith in their leaders
Succession begins.
other readings further drafts from the same generation
deeper strata where the meaning thins
the original
1. The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty,
full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he
whose (desires) are many goes astray.
2. Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of
humility), and manifests it to all the world. He is free from
self-display, and therefore he shines; from self-assertion, and
therefore he is distinguished; from self-boasting, and therefore his
merit is acknowledged; from self-complacency, and therefore he
acquires superiority. It is because he is thus free from striving
that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him.
3. That saying of the ancients that 'the partial becomes complete' was
not vainly spoken:--all real completion is comprehended under it.