These things of old obtained the One:
Heaven obtained it and became clear.
Earth obtained it and became stable.
Spirits obtained it and gained their power.
Valleys obtained it and were filled to overflowing.
The ten thousand things obtained it and gained life.
Rulers obtained it and became a model for the world.

Without the One:
Heaven would lose its clarity and shatter.
Earth would lose its stability and crumble.
Spirits would lose their power and fade.
Valleys would lose their fullness and run dry.
All things would lose their life and perish.
Rulers would lose their position and fall.

Therefore, the noble must have humility as their root;
the high must have the low as their foundation.
Rulers call themselves orphaned, lacking, and unworthy.
Is this not how humility becomes their root?

The highest fame is no fame.
Do not desire to shine like jade,
but be steady and plain, like a stone.