lao tse


he Tao gives birth to One.
One gives birth to Two.
Two gives birth to Three.
Three gives birth to all things.

All things have their backs to the female
and stand facing the male.
When male and female combine,
all things achieve harmony.

Ordinary men hate solitude.
But the Master makes use of it,
embracing his aloneness, realizing
he is one with the whole universe.

~ Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching, ch. 42)

...translation by S. Mitchell. For everyone who is interested in comparing with other translations, here's a link to more than 20 different translations of this 'chapter' -> http://www.wayist.org/ttc%20compared/chap42.htm