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Tao Te Ching · 55 of 81

Chapter 55

He who has in himself abundantly the attributes (of the Tao) is like an infant. Poisonous insects will not sting him; fierce beasts will not seize him; birds of prey will not strike him.

(The infant’s) bones are weak and its sinews soft, but yet its grasp is firm. It knows not yet the union of male and female, and yet its virile member may be excited;—showing the perfection of its physical essence. All day long it will cry without its throat becoming hoarse;—showing the harmony (in its constitution).

To him by whom this harmony is known, (The secret of) the unchanging (Tao) is shown, And in the knowledge wisdom finds its throne. All life-increasing arts to evil turn; Where the mind makes the vital breath to burn, (False) is the strength, (and o’er it we should mourn.)

When things have become strong, they (then) become old, which may be said to be contrary to the Tao. Whatever is contrary to the Tao soon ends.

Asked of Guide

Why does Lao Tzu compare someone full of the Tao to an infant?

Lao Tzu shows the person full of the Tao as an infant because the infant embodies vulnerability and spontaneous harmony: “bones are weak and its sinews soft, but yet its grasp is firm,” and it cries all day “without its throat becoming hoarse.” That image gathers physical innocence, unforced potency, and a natural balance that repels harm—“Poisonous insects will not sting him; fierce beasts will not seize him.”

The chapter then links that harmony to wisdom: knowing the harmony reveals the “unchanging (Tao)” and places “wisdom” on its throne. This echoes Chuang Tzu’s advice to keep silence about the Tao; both texts prize a quiet, unstrained state as the source of lasting strength and warn that forced effort—making the vital breath “burn”—leads to decline.

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Echoes elsewhere

Chuang Tzu · Taoism56. 1. He who knows (the Tâo) does not (care to) speak (about it); he who is (ever ready to) speak about it does not know it. 2. He (who knows it) will keep his mouth shut and clos Cosmic Consciousness · Esotericlike an infant.* Poisonous insects will not sting him; birds of prey will not strike him [166:99]. He who knows (the Tâo) does not (care to) speak (about it);* he who is (ever read Tao, The Great Luminant · Taoismthe Tao. Who is it that can understanding the form of the formless?" Thus Lao Tzû said: (Chap. 2)4 THE GOODNESS THAT IS RECOGNIZED AS SUCH BY ALL THE WORLD IS NOT THE GOODNESS: AND