The Short of It:
Despised people despise people.
72. The Love of Self.
When people do not stand in awe of present dangers, they run into greater ones. They should beware of finding their house too narrow, and despising their condition of life. If they do not despise it, it will not despise them. This is why the sage, while [they know themselves, do] not show [themselves] off; and while [they love themselves, do] not rate [themselves] high. [They put] aside the one thing, that [they] may attend to the other.
72. ‘Loving One’s Self.’
72.1 When the people do not fear what they ought to fear, that which is their great dread will come on them.
72.2 Let them not thoughtlessly indulge themselves in their ordinary life; let them not act as if weary of what that life depends on.
72.3 It is by avoiding such indulgence that such weariness does not arise.
72.4 Therefore the sage knows (these things) of [themselves], but does not parade ([their] knowledge); loves, but does not (appear to set a) value on, [themselves]. And thus [they put] the latter alternative away and [make] choice of the former.
72. To Cherish One’s Self
When people are too ignorant to fear the fearsome thing, then it will surely come. Do not make the place where they dwell confining, the life they live wearisome. If they are let alone, they will not become restless. Therefore the wise [person] while not understanding [themselves] regards [themselves], while cherishing [they do] not overvalue [themselves]. Therefore [they discard] flattery and [prefer] regard.
the long of it:
Despised people despise other people.
People are all people. Treat them as you would treat yourself, lest you find yourself on the receiving end.
Chapter 72 is one of the harder chapters to comprehend. Translators take huge liberties trying to make sense of it. This is no doubt due to the paradoxical nature of the writing.
Here is an amalgam of the whole chapter, each line from a different author:
Line 1: “When the people don’t respect those in power, then what they greatly fear is about to arrive” (Henricks 170).
Line 2: “Do not reduce the size of their places of residence/ And do not lower their standard of living” (Ames 191).
Line 3: “Only a ruler who does not detest/ Is accordingly not detested” (Hoff 177).
Line 4: “Hence the sage knows [themselves] but does not display [themselves], loves [themselves] but does not exalt [themselves]” (Lau 134).
Line 5: “[They reject] the latter in favour of the former” (Giles 18).
Robert Henricks might have the most insight:
“In two places in the chapter the author plays on multiple meanings of words. In line one the word wei (to “fear,” “stand in awe of,” “respect,” “dread,” but also the “awesome,” “powerful,” “authority”) is used three different times: the line literally says, “When the people do not wei wei, then the great wei is about to arrive.” Then in line [3], the text literally says, “It’s simply because you do not yen (oppress) them, that they therefore will not be yen (here meaning ‘fed up’)”. (Henricks 170).
We’ve mentioned Lao Tsu was the Shakespeare of his time (Chap 67). Unfortunately, after two thousand years of translation his genius has been watered down a lot, especially in chapters like 72.
-TB
works cited
Lao Tzu. Giles, Lionel. The Sayings of Lao Tzu (1904). Delhi Open Books. Kindle Edition. 2021.
Lao-tzu. Lau, D.C. Tao Te Ching. United Kingdom: Penguin Publishing Group, 1963.
