Chapter 14
第十四章
We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it 'the Equable.'
视之不见名曰夷，
We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it 'the Inaudible.'
听之不闻名曰希，
We try to grasp it, and we do not get hold of it, and we call it 'the Subtle.'
搏之不得名曰微。
With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One.
此三者不可致诘，故混而为一。

Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part is not obscure.
一者，其上不皦，其下不昧。
Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named, and then it again returns and becomes nothing.
绳绳不可名，复归于无物，
This is called the Form of the Formless, and the Semblance of the Invisible; this is called the Fleeting and Indeterminable.
是谓无状之状、无物之象，是谓惚恍。
We meet it and do not see its Front; we follow it, and do not see its Back.
迎之不见其首，随之不见其后。
When we can lay hold of the Tao of old to direct the things of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the beginning, this is called (unwinding) the clue of the Tao.
执古之道，以御今之有，能知古始，是谓道纪。