Thought for the Day

知人自智自知者明

勝人者有力自勝者强



"Knowing others is wisdom; knowing oneself is Enlightenment.
 Victory over another is power; victory over oneself is strength."



This is Lao Tzu, from Chapter 33 of Dao de Jing.
A predominant feature of this passage is the contrasting of terms:
 

智 - wisdom

 明 - Enlightenment (in the Classical context, though today its meaning is usually "bright")   

力 - power

强 - strength

In the first line, the language can be translated word-for-word as follows:

know(ing) -- person (general "human") -- person (self) --wisdom

person (self)--know(ing)--person (specific individual)--Enlightenment

Here, one must ponder the differences between wisdom and Enlightenment.

Lao Tzu lets us know that Enlightenment is far superior to wisdom; but, he

probably wanted to leave it to the reader/listener to compare and contrast the two concepts.

The second line can be translated similarly:

  victory [over]--person (general)--person (specific)--to have--power;

  person (self)--victory--person (specific)--strength

Again, Lao Tzu is asking us to compare two terms--power and strength--in order to catch the truer sense of the verse.  The character for power focuses more on physical strength, whereas the latter term describes strength in a more general sense, including personal conviction/fortitude as well as physical power. 

I have always liked this quotation, since it is so inspirational and simple.  Lao Tzu (or, more precisely, "the Lao Tzu writer") always aims for simplicity of expression in Dao de Jing, for philosophical reasons: the utter simplicity of the Dao, as well as pedagogical reasons, having intended his verses to be

introduced to the student directly by the teacher.

Give it some thought, and don't forget what Lao Tzu was trying to help us understand.