Page:Zhuang Zi - translation Giles 1889.djvu/108

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74
Chuang Tzŭ

one was likewise one. In that which was one, they were of God; in that which was not one, they were of Man. And so between the human and the divine no conflict ensued. This was to be a pure man.

Life and Death belong to Destiny. Their sequence, like day and night, is of God, beyond the interference of man, an inevitable law.

A man looks upon God as upon his father, and loves him in like measure. Shall he then not love that which is greater than God?

Sc. Tao.

A man looks upon a ruler of men as upon some one better than himself, for whom he would sacrifice his life. Shall he not then do so for the Supreme Ruler of Creation?

Sc. Tao, the omnipresent, omnipotent Principle which invests even God himself with the power and attributes of divinity.
The careful student of pure Taoism will find however that the distinction between Tao and God is sometimes so subtle as altogether to elude his intelligence.

When the pond dries up, and the fishes are left upon dry ground, to moisten them with the breath or to damp them with spittle is not to be compared with leaving them in the first instance in their native rivers and lakes. And better than praising Yao and blaming Chieh would be leaving them both and attending to the development of Tao.