Volume II — Te

If I Have Even a Little Knowledge

Chapter 53 of the Tao Te Ching

使我介然有知，行於大道，唯施是畏。大道甚夷，而民好徑。朝甚除，田甚蕪，倉甚虛；服文綵，帶利劍，厭飲食，財貨有餘；是謂盜夸。非道也哉！

If I have even a little knowledge, walking the great way, my only fear is straying. The great way is very level, yet people prefer the byways. The court is immaculate, the fields are overgrown, the granaries are empty. They wear elegant clothes, carry sharp swords, are glutted with food and drink, possess wealth in abundance— this is called the boasting of thieves. It is not the way!

Commentary

This verse contrasts the simplicity of the great way with the elaborate corruption that departs from it. "If I have even a little knowledge, walking the great way, my only fear is straying"—shi wo jie ran you zhi, xing yu da dao, wei shi shi wei (使我介然有知，行於大道，唯施是畏). Jie ran (介然) means just barely, slightly, a little. The speaker's knowledge is modest; the only fear is departure from the way. Shi (施) here means to stray, to go off to the side. The one with genuine understanding fears only one thing: losing that understanding by straying into bypaths. "The great way is very level, yet people prefer the byways"—da dao shen yi, er min hao jing (大道甚夷，而民好徑). Yi (夷) is level, smooth, easy. The great way is not difficult; it is the easiest path available. Yet people prefer jing (徑)—the small paths, the shortcuts, the clever detours. This is a fundamental human error: choosing complexity over simplicity, choosing difficulty while thinking it is ease. "The court is immaculate, the fields are overgrown, the granaries are empty"—chao shen chu, tian shen wu, cang shen xu (朝甚除，田甚蕪，倉甚虛). This describes a society that has strayed from the way. The court—the center of government—is swept clean, impressive, maintained. But the fields where food grows are neglected, overgrown with weeds. The granaries where food is stored are empty. The appearance is beautiful; the substance is hollow. "They wear elegant clothes, carry sharp swords, are glutted with food and drink, possess wealth in abundance"—fu wen cai, dai li jian, yan yin shi, cai huo you yu (服文綵，帶利劍，厭飲食，財貨有餘). Those who have created this situation dress elaborately, arm themselves, eat excessively, and accumulate beyond any possible use.

The full commentary continues with deeper analysis of internal cultivation, classical perspectives, and cross-references. Read the complete chapter →

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