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The Way gives birth to them, |
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Virtue nourishes them, |
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Things shape them, |
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Power completes them. |
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Therefore, all things honor the Way and value Virtue. |
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The honor of the Way, |
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the value of Virtue— |
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no one commands them; they are always natural. |
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Therefore, the Way gives birth to them, |
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Virtue nourishes them; |
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grows them, nurtures them; |
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shelters them, urges them; |
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sustains them, covers them. |
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gives birth but does not possess, |
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acts but does not claim, |
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grows them but does not rule, |
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this is called mysterious Virtue. |