Thirty-nine

The wholeness of life has,
From old, been made manifest in its parts:
Clarity has been manifest in heaven,
Firmness in earth,
Purity in spirit,
In the valley conception,
In the river procreation.

And so in a leader are the people made manifest for wholeness of use.
But for clarity, heaven would be veiled,
But for firmness, the earth would have crumbled,
But for purity, spirit would have fumbled,
But for conception, the valley would have failed,
But for procreation, the river would have run dry.
So, save for the people, a leader will fail.
Always the low carry the high;
They are the root from which leaders grow.

What can stand lofty without a firm foundation?
No wonder that leaders of a land profess their stature and their station
To be servitude and lowliness.
If the rim and spoke were not,
Where would be the chariot?
Who would prefer the jingle of jade pendants if
They have heard stone growing in a cliff?