Chapter V
THE TAO OF THE SOVEREIGN[1]
Tao is the beginning of the myriad things, the standard of
right and wrong. That being so, the intelligent ruler, by
holding to the beginning, knows the source of everything,
and, by keeping to the standard, knows the origin of good
and evil. Therefore, by virtue of resting empty and reposed,
he waits
[2]
for the course of nature to enforce itself so that all
names will be defined of themselves and all affairs will be
settled of themselves. Empty, he knows the essence of
fullness: reposed, he becomes
[3]
the corrector of motion.
Who utters a word creates himself a name; who has an
affair creates himself a form. Compare forms and names and
see if they are identical. Then the ruler will find nothing to
worry about as everything is reduced to its reality.
Hence the saying: "The ruler must not reveal his wants.
For, if he reveals his wants, the ministers will polish their
manners accordingly. The ruler must not reveal his views.
For, if he reveals his views, the ministers will display their
hues differently." Hence another saying: "If the like and
hate of the ruler be concealed, the true hearts of the ministers
will be revealed. If the experience and wisdom of the
ruler be discarded, the ministers will take precautions."
Accordingly, the ruler, wise as he is, should not bother but
let everything find its proper place; worthy as he is, should
not be self-assumed but observe closely the ministers'
motivating factors of conduct; and, courageous as he is,
should not be enraged but let every minister display his
prowess. So, leave the ruler's wisdom, then you will find the
ministers' intelligence; leave the ruler's worthiness, then
you will find the ministers' merits; and leave the ruler's
courage, then you will find the ministers' strength. In such
cases, ministers will attend to their duties, magistrates
will have definite work routine, and everybody will be
employed according to his special ability. Such a course of
government is called "constant and immutable".
Hence the saying: "So quiet, it rests without footing;
so vacant, it cannot be located." Thus, the intelligent ruler
does nothing, but his ministers tremble all the more. It is
the Tao of the intelligent ruler that he makes the wise men
exhaust their mental energy and makes his decisions thereby
without being himself at his wits' end; that he makes the
worthy men exert their talents and appoints them to office
accordingly without being himself at the end of his ability;
and that in case of merits the ruler gains the renown and in
case of demerit the ministers face the blame so that the ruler
is never at the end of his reputation. Therefore, the ruler,
even though not worthy, becomes the master of the worthies;
and, even though not wise, becomes the corrector of
the wise men. It is the ministers who do the toil; it is the
ruler who gets the spoil. This is the everlasting principle of
the worthy sovereign.[4]
Tao exists in invisibility; its function, in unintelligibility.
Be empty and reposed and have nothing to do-Then
from the dark see defects in the light. See but never
be seen. Hear but never be heard. Know but never be
known. If you hear any word uttered, do not change it nor
move it but compare it with the deed and see if word and
deed coincide with each other. Place every official with a
censor. Do not let them speak to each other. Then everything
will be exerted to the utmost. Cover tracks and
conceal sources. Then the ministers cannot trace origins.
Leave your wisdom and cease your ability. Then your
subordinates cannot guess at your limitations.
Keep your decision and identify it with the words and
deeds of your subordinates. Cautiously take the handles[5]
and hold them fast. Uproot others' want of them, smash
others' thought of them, and do not let anybody covet them.
If the ruler is not cautious of the locking or if he does not
keep the gate in good repair, the tiger will come into
existence. If the ruler does not take precautions for his sway
or if he does not cover his realities, the traitor will make his
appearance. Who murders the sovereign and takes his place
and finds the whole people side in awe with him, is called
a tiger. Again, who serves the country by the sovereign's
side and watches for his secret faults with villainous motives,[6]
is called a traitor. Scatter his partisans, arrest his supporters,[7]
lock up the gate, and deprive him of all assistance. Then
there will be no tiger in the country. Be too great to be
measured, be too profound to be surveyed, identify norms[8]
and names, scrutinize laws and manners, and chastise those
doing as they please. Then there will be no traitor in the
country.
For these reasons, the lord of men always has to face five
kinds of delusion: delusion by ministers impeding the
sovereign, delusion by ministers controlling public resources
and revenues, delusion by ministers issuing decrees at
random, delusion by ministers distributing personal favours,
and delusion by ministers feeding dependents. When
ministers impede the sovereign, the sovereign loses his
viewpoint. When they control public resources and revenues,
he loses his advantages.
[9]
When they issue decrees at random,
he loses his ruling authority. When they distribute personal
favours, he loses his name. When they feed their dependents,
he loses his supporters. All their doings as such should be
based on the initiative of the lord of men and should not be
started by the ministers at their pleasure.
The Tao of the lord of men regards tranquillity and
humility as treasures. Without handling anything himself,
he can tell skilfulness from unskilfulness; without his own
concerns of mind, he can tell good from bad luck. Therefore,
without uttering any word himself, he finds a good reply
given; without exerting his own effort,[10]
he finds his task
accomplished. Whenever a reply is given to his question,
he holds to its covenant. Whenever any task is accomplished,
he holds to its result. And out of coincidence and discrepancy
between the consequences of tasks accomplished and the
covenants of words uttered reward and punishment are born.
Therefore, when a minister utters a word, the ruler should
according to the word assign him a task to accomplish, and
according to the result of the accomplishment call the task[11]
to account. If the result corresponds with the task and the
task with the word, the minister should be rewarded. If the
result corresponds not with the task and the task not with
the word, he should be censured. It is in accordance with
the Tao of the intelligent ruler that every minister should
utter no word that corresponds not with its proper task.
For this reason, the intelligent ruler, in bestowing rewards,
is as benign as the seasonable rain that the masses profit by
his graces; in inflicting punishments, he is so terrific like
the loud thunder that even divines and sages cannot atone
for their crimes. Thus the intelligent ruler neglects no
reward and remits no punishment. For, if reward is neglected,
ministers of merit will relax their duties; if punishment is
remitted, villainous ministers will become liable to misconduct.
Therefore, men of real merit, however distant and
humble, must be rewarded; those of real demerit, however
near and dear, must be censured. If both the reward of the
distant and humble and the censure of the near and dear are
infallible,[12]
the distant and humble will not go idle while
the near and dear will not turn arrogant.
