Chapter 59

治人事天，莫若嗇。
夫為嗇，是謂早服；
早服謂之重積德；
重積德則無不克；
無不克則莫知其極；
莫知其極，可以有國；
有國之母，可以長久；
是謂深根固柢，長生久視之道。

In governing people and serving heaven, nothing is better than sparing.
Being sparing is called early submission;¹
early submission is called storing up virtue twice over;
storing up virtue twice over, there is nothing one cannot overcome;
with nothing one cannot overcome, no one knows one’s limit;
when no one knows one’s limit, one can possess a state;
possessing the mother of the state, one can last long;
this is called deep roots and a firm stem, the Way of long life and lasting sight.

Notes

1. 1. 早服 is read here as submitting early, that is, following the Way from the start. Some texts write 服 as 備: “preparing early.”