lipu Pona la: kasi nanpa 51 pi lipu Nasin Pona

道生之		Way gives birth to it,
德畜之		Virtue rears it,
物形之		Materiality shapes it,
势成之		Activity perfects it.
是以万物莫不尊道而贵德		Therefore, there are none of the myriad things who do not venerate the Way or esteem its virtue.
道之尊德之贵夫莫之命常自然		This veneration of the Way and esteeming of its virtue is something they do naturally, without being forced.
故道生之		Therefore, the Way gives birth.
德畜之长之育之亭之		Its virtue rears, develops, raises, adjusts and disciplines,
毒之养之覆之		Nourishes, covers and protects,
生而不有		Produces but does not possess,
为而不恃		Acts without expectation,
长而不宰		Leads without forcing.
是谓玄德		This is called “Mysterious Virtue.”

Sitelen Sitelen Renderer by Olaf Janssen.

Acknowledgements / Notes