文言文: 道，可道也，非恒道也；名，可名也，非恒名也。无名，万物之始也；有名，万物之母也。故恒无欲也，以观其妙；恒有欲也，以观其所噭。此两者同出而异名，同谓之玄，玄之又玄，众妙之门。 白话文: “道”，如果能够完全解说得确切明白，那它就不会是贯通古今的恒久之道。名，如果能够准确地表明事物的形态和本质，那它就不会是经常行用的恒久之名。（我所宣扬的“道”虽然不可道说其所以然，不可称名其状与形，但它却是亘贯古今、遍及万物的恒久之道。）天地万物在其孕含育养之始，则无形可见亦无名可称；而当其孕育长成而产生于世后，则有形可见而有名可称。只有那些无私无欲之人才能察知明了它的精微玄妙，而那些有欲有为之人则只能看到它所显现出的外象。万物之始孕含育与万物之产生长养虽然同出于“道”，而其名称则并不相同。它们同样都是极其玄妙，极其神奇的。那玄远幽隐、精微神妙的大“道”，乃是世间万物所共由生出的神奇之门。 英文: The divine law may be spoken of,but it is not the common law.(Truth can be known,but it may not be the well-known truth or Truth can be known,but it may not be the truth you known.)Things may be named,but names are not the things.In the beginning heaven and earth are nameless;when named, all things become known.So we should be free from desires in order to understand the internal mystery of the divine law;And we should have desires in order to observe its external manifestations.Internal mystery and external manifestations come from the same origin,but have different names.They may be called essence.The essential of the essence is the key to the understanding of all mysteries.