The Mother of the World

There is form arisen from chaos,
born prior to the universe;
silent and empty it stands alone without change:
this can be regarded as the mother of the world.
Though we do not yet know its name,
we can designate it as the dao;
forced to give it a name we can call it great.

"Great" means the "source,"
the "source" means "going far,"
"going far" means "returning."

Therefore:
The dao is great,
the heavens are great,
the earth is great,
and human beings are also great.

There are four things that are
great within the realm
and human beings count
as one of them.

Human beings emulate the earth,
the earth emulates the heavens,
the heavens emulate the dao,
and the dao emulates
what is naturally so.

-- Tao Te Ching