Poem Version
A tower nine stories high begins with a mound of earth.
A journey of a thousand miles begins under one's feet.
(Found in Dao De Jing Chapter 64)
The complete Chapter 64 in the Dao De Jing 道 德 經 is as follows:
What stays still is easy to hold.
Without omens it is easy to plan.
The brittle is easy to shatter.
The minute is easy to scatter.
Handle things before they appear.
Organize things before there is confusion.
A tree as big as a person's embrace grows from a tiny shoot.
A tower nine stories high begins with a mound of earth.
A journey of a thousand miles begins under one's feet.
To act is to fail.
To grab is to lose.
Therefore the wise do not act and do not fail.
They do not grab and do not lose.
In handling things people usually fail
when they are about to succeed.
Be as careful at the end as at the beginning,
and there will be no failure.
Therefore the wise desire to have no desires.
They do not value rare treasures.
They learn what is unknown,
returning to what many have missed
so that all things may be natural without interference.
其安易持,其未兆易謀.
其脆易泮,其微易散.
為之於未有,治之於未亂.
合抱之木,生於毫末;
九層之台,起於累土;
千里之行,始於足下.
為者敗之,執者失之.
是以聖人無為故無敗,無執故無失.
民之從事,常於幾成而敗之.
慎終如始,則無敗事.
是以聖人欲不欲,不貴難得之貨;
學不學,復眾人之所過.
以輔萬物之自然,而不敢為.
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