At the beginning of the beginning, even Nothing did not exist. Then came the period of the Nameless.
"The Nameless," says the Tao-Tê-Ching, ch. i, "was the beginning of heaven and earth." See also [ch. ii], ante.
When One came into existence, there was One, but it was formless. When things got that by which they came into existence, it was called their virtue.
Sc. that, by virtue of which they are what they are. See p. [45].
That which was formless, but divided,
I.e. allotted.
though without interstice,
Unbroken in continuity.
was called destiny.
Then came the movement which gave life, and things produced in accordance with the principles of life had what is called form. When form encloses the spiritual part, each with its own characteristics, that is its nature. By cultivating this nature, we are carried back to virtue; and if this is perfected, we become as all things were in the beginning. We become unconditioned, and the unconditioned is great. As birds join their beaks in chirping,