《道德经》英译（1-10，许渊冲版）

第二章

天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。
故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随。
是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教，万物作焉而不辞，生而不有，为而不恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。

Chapter 2

If all men in the world know what is fair,
then it is unfair.
If all men know what is good,
then it is not good.
For "to be" and "not be" co-exist,
There cannot be one without the other:
without "difficult", there cannot be "easy";
without "long", there cannot be "short";
without "high", there cannot be "low";
without sound, there can be no voice;
without "before", there cannot be "after";
The contrary complement each other.
Therefore the sage does everything without interference,
teaches everyone without persuasion,
and lets everything begin uninitiated
and grow unpossessed.
Everything is done without being his deed,
and succeeds without being his success.
Only when success belongs to nobody
does it belong to everyone.