【原文】
有物混成,先天地生。寂兮寥兮,独立而不改,周行而不殆,可以为天地母。吾不知其名,强字之曰道,强为之名曰大。大曰逝,逝曰远,远曰反。
故道大,天大,地大,人亦大。域中有四大,而人居其一焉。
人法地,地法天,天法道,道法自然。
【现代汉语】
有一个浑然一体的东西,在天地形成以前就存在了。我们听不到它的声音也看不到它的形体,他独立长存,永不衰竭,循环运行而生生不息,可以为天地万物的根源。我不知道该如何称呼它,勉强称之为‘道’,再勉强形容它为‘大’。它广大无边而无所不在;它无所不在而伸展遥远;伸展遥远而返回本原。
所以说,道大,天大,地大,人也大。人便是宇宙空间中的这四大之一。
人应取法于地,地则取法于天,天取法于道,道则自法其本来面目。
【英译】
was and , into and . How it was and , , and no , and in no of ! It be as the of all .
I do not know how to name it, and I give it the of the Tao. an to give it a I call it The ‘’. Tao is so that it is ; Tao is so that it’s far-; Tao is so far- that it to its in the end.
So, Tao is ; is ; is ; and the is also . is the one of four in .
take law from the ; the the of ; the the of Tao; the law of the Tao is its what it is.