TAO TE CHING

Traditionally attributed to Lao Tzu, an older contemporary of Confucius (551 - 479 BC), it is now thought that the work was compiled in about the fourth century BC. An anthology of wise sayings, it offers a model by which the individual can live rather than explaining the human place in the universe. The moral code it encourages is based on modesty and self-restraint, and the rewards reaped for such a life are harmony and flow of life. A discourse on government as well as personal deportment, the 'Tao Te Ching' is more practical than mystical and, in this acclaimed translation by Richard Wilhelm, its exquisite clarity and economy of expression ensure that it may be enjoyed as poetry as well as philosophy.