He Who Stands on Tiptoe
The Text
企者不立；跨者不行。自见者不明；自是者不彰；自伐者无功；自矜者不长。其在道也，曰余食赘行。物或恶之，故有道者不处。
He who stands on tiptoe does not stand firm; he who strides does not walk far. He who displays himself does not shine; he who asserts himself has no standing; he who boasts achieves nothing; he who claims credit does not lead. These, from the way’s point of view, are excess food and tumours — disliked by all things. So the follower of the way does not settle there.
Reading it
The images are bodies straining past their own base. The chapter’s word for self-promotion is medical: tumour — growth that takes from the body and gives nothing back. There is no argument against it, only a note that nothing in nature wants it near.
意象都是身体越过自己的底座。本章给自我推销的词是医学的：赘瘤——从身体取走、却不回报的生长。没有论证，只有一句：万物都不愿它靠近。
Notice one moment you lengthened yourself to be seen. Step back onto both feet and watch what happens.
注意一次你拉长自己想被看见的时刻。双脚落回地面，看会发生什么。