81. True Words
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
信言不美，美言不信。
English translation
Trustworthy words are not always pleasing; pleasing words are not always trustworthy.
Honest speech aims first at truth, not at winning approval. Polished language can hide what is real, so words should be judged by their reliability, not merely by how attractive they sound.
Original Chinese text
善者不辩，辩者不善。
English translation
Those who are truly good do not argue to prevail; those intent on prevailing in argument are not truly good.
Here, argument means contentious display rather than careful discussion. A person of genuine character and ability relies on conduct and facts, without needing to defeat others in words.
Original Chinese text
知者不博，博者不知。
English translation
Those who truly understand do not seek to know everything; those who collect knowledge about everything do not necessarily understand.
The amount of information one possesses is not the same as depth of insight. Grasping what is fundamental matters more than gathering facts without connecting them.
Original Chinese text
圣人不积，既以为人己愈有，既以与人己愈多。
English translation
The sage does not hoard. The more the sage does for others, the more the sage possesses; the more the sage gives to others, the more abundant the sage becomes.
Wisdom and character do not diminish when shared as possessions might. Helping and giving can enlarge one's abilities, relationships, and sense of a life well lived.
Original Chinese text
天之道，利而不害；圣人之道，为而不争。
English translation
The way of nature benefits all things without harming them; the way of the sage is to act without contending.
Good action supports life without advancing itself through harm. It accomplishes what is needed without making rivalry, credit, or gain its aim. The chapter closes by joining truthfulness, generosity, and non-contention into one way of living.