Chapter 5

天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗；
聖人不仁，以百姓為芻狗。
天地之間，其猶橐蘥乎？
虛而不屈，動而愈出。
多言數窮，不如守中。

Heaven and earth are not humane; they treat the ten thousand things as straw dogs.¹
The sage is not humane; he treats the people as straw dogs.
The space between heaven and earth, is it not like a bellows?
Empty, yet never exhausted; the more it moves, the more comes out.
Much talk soon runs dry; better to keep to the center.

Notes

1. 1. Dogs made of straw for a sacrifice. During the rite they were handled with great care; afterward they were thrown into the road to be trampled.