Chapter 50
IndexThe Dao gives birth to it, virtue nurtures it, matter shapes it, and circumstances complete it.
Therefore, all things without exception revere the Dao and honor virtue.
The reverence for the Dao and the honor for virtue are not commanded, but arise naturally and constantly.
Thus, the Dao gives birth to them, virtue nurtures them; it grows them, raises them; shelters them, matures them; nourishes them, protects them.
It gives life without possessing, acts without expecting, nurtures without dominating. This is called the mysterious virtue.