Source

和大怨，必有餘怨；安可以為善？是以聖人執左契，而不責於人。有德司契，無德司徹。天道無親，常與善人。

Translation Notes

1. "When a great grievance is pacified, some residual grievance will surely remain; how could it be called good?" (和大怨，必有餘怨；安可以為善？) — Alternatives considered: …some remaining resentment will surely remain; how could it be called truly good? · …even after settlement, there will surely be some leftover anger; how could that be called good? · Chose present rendering because The chosen wording preserves the gnomic compression of 必有… plus the evaluative force of the rhetorical question, while keeping the specificity of 餘怨 as more than momentary anger.
2. "Therefore the Sage holds the left tally, yet does not press claims upon others." (是以聖人執左契，而不責於人。) — Alternatives considered: …holds the left contract, and does not hold others to account. · …keeps the token of entitlement but does not demand repayment. · Chose present rendering because “Press claims” best conveys the coercive-administrative sense of 責 while remaining idiomatic English.
3. "Those with virtue manage the tally; those without virtue manage exaction." (有德司契，無德司徹。) — Alternatives considered: …govern according to contract; …govern according to levy. · …handle covenant; …handle taxation. · Chose present rendering because “Tally” matches the established metaphor in 執左契, and “exaction” is the closest concise English for the 徹 side of the antithesis.
4. "Heaven’s Way is impartial, and it constantly sides with good people." (天道無親，常與善人。) — Alternatives considered: Heaven’s Way has no partiality toward anyone, and it always helps the good. · Heaven’s Way is without kin, and it regularly assists good men. · Chose present rendering because The selected wording keeps both the doctrinal impartiality of 無親 and the person-oriented reference of 善人 in contemporary academic English.

Footnotes

1. "和大怨" (和大怨) — 和 (hé) means not simply “to be reconciled” but “to pacify/settle” an ongoing conflict so that hostilities are ended. The phrase 大怨 (“great grievance”) is therefore best heard as a large-scale resentment whose settlement may not fully remove its moral and emotional aftereffects. Du Yu (杜預, ch. 79 Jijie) glosses 和 as pacification (和為…); later commentators similarly stress that the grievance is not eradicated by formal settling.
2. "左契" (契；左契) — 契 (qì) refers to a tally, contract token, or covenant slip used to verify obligations; it was commonly split into matching halves, so each party held one. “Left tally” (左契) specifies one half (usually identified by the left-hand token). The image suggests that the sage retains the rightful instrument of claim but does not use it to press others through coercive enforcement.
3. "執左契，而不責於人" (責於人) — 責 (zé) here means to demand/press/hold someone accountable in a way that results in enforcement or exaction. The rhetorical contrast is therefore not merely “not blaming,” but “not coercively demanding repayment or compliance” even while holding the proof of one’s entitlement. The sage’s position is principled (retaining the token) yet non-coercive (refusing to press).
4. "有德司契，無德司徹" (司契；司徹；徹) — This tightly parallel antithesis contrasts two modes of administration. 司契 means to “manage/oversee through the contract/tally (契),” i.e., to rely on covenant-proof and legitimate entitlement. 司徹 (ché) is the harder term: 徹 has been explained as taxation/exaction or forced collection—often connected to levies or the more coercive administrative handling of claims. Read together, the couplet states that those governed by virtue handle claims by legitimate covenant practice, while those lacking virtue handle them through harsh exaction. The parallelism is structural as well as moral.
5. "天道無親，常與善人" (天道無親；善人) — “Heaven’s Way” (天道) refers to the moral-cosmic order, personified only figuratively. 無親 literally “has no relatives/kins,” but in established classical usage it means “impartial” or “shows no partiality,” not that Heaven is indifferent in a purely negative way. 與 (yǔ) means to side with/assist/support; the line asserts that Heaven’s order consistently aligns with good people (善人), i.e., it regularly supports those who are morally good rather than those with narrow advantage or factional grievance. This phrase is widely transmitted from older classical discourse; the Laozi reuses it to ground political ethics in cosmology.

Glossary References

契

tally/contract token · Often a split verification token or contract slip used to validate obligations; appears in the image of “holding the left tally” (執左契).

徹

exaction/levy (coercive collection) · In the antithesis 司徹, read as forced collection/exaction; the precise administrative referent is debated, but it functions as the coercive counterpart to covenant-based administration (司契).

天道

Heaven’s Way · Cosmic-moral order; figurative personification in classical usage, used to ground political ethics.

無親

impartial; no partiality · In this maxim, 無 is not merely literal absence but technical impartiality (not favoritism/kinship bias). ---

Context

This passage comes from chapter 79 of the Laozi (Daodejing), a foundational Warring States text of early Daoist thought, traditionally associated with Laozi but more plausibly compiled over time between the late Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The chapter reflects concerns characteristic of that era: political disorder, cycles of grievance and retaliation, skepticism toward punitive governance, and the search for a higher normative order embodied in the Way of Heaven. The closing line, 天道無親，常與善人, is also a well-known earlier formulation found in the Shangshu tradition, where it expresses Heaven's impartiality and its regular support for good people; the Laozi's reuse of it places Daoist political ethics in conversation with older classical discourse on Heaven's mandate and moral order.

The passage draws on the material culture of agreements and obligations. 契 refers to a tally, covenant-token, or contract slip, often split into matching halves held by different parties and used to verify claims or debts. 執左契 evokes the creditor's or rightful holder's retained half of the tally: the sage preserves the token of claim yet does not press others for repayment. 司契 and 司徹 contrast two modes of administration: one grounded in trust and moral authority, the other in exaction, taxation, or forced collection. The chapter therefore speaks to ancient practices of debt settlement, covenant validation, and bureaucratic extraction, while transforming them into a moral-political analogy. The final appeal to Heaven's Way situates human conduct within a broader cosmological order in which moral efficacy does not depend on coercive enforcement.

Themes

1. Reconciliation and residual grievance The opening asserts that even when a great grievance is settled, some residual resentment remains. This is a realistic diagnosis of conflict: formal resolution does not erase emotional or moral aftereffects.
2. Non-coercive governance The sage does not demand repayment from others even while holding the legitimate basis of a claim. The passage advocates restraint, forbearance, and rule through virtue rather than coercive enforcement.
3. Virtue versus exaction The contrast between 有德司契 and 無德司徹 opposes governance by integrity and trust to governance by harsh collection or fiscal extraction. Political legitimacy rests on virtue, not on squeezing compliance from others.
4. Heaven's impartial moral order The closing maxim presents the Way of Heaven as impartial and as regularly assisting good people. Human government should align itself with this higher pattern rather than with personal grievance or partial advantage.

Idioms

1. 和大怨，必有餘怨 A famous Laozi formulation meaning that even after major resentments are patched over, lingering grievance remains. It captures the Daoist suspicion that externally imposed settlements do not fully heal human conflict.
2. 執左契 Literally 'to hold the left tally.' It evokes holding one's contractual proof or rightful claim without aggressively enforcing it. The phrase has become a compact image of principled restraint.
3. 天道無親，常與善人 A celebrated maxim also associated with the Shangshu tradition. 無親 should be read in its established technical sense as 'impartial' or 'showing no partiality,' not merely as lacking favoritism toward relatives. 善人 refers to good people, not an abstract quality alone. The line means that the Way of Heaven is impartial and consistently supports good people.

Literary Devices

1. Paradox The sage possesses the token of a valid claim yet does not press the claim. This apparent contradiction is central to Daoist ethics: true power lies in not enforcing power to the limit.
2. Rhetorical question 安可以為善？ sharpens the argument by asking how such a compromised settlement could count as genuinely good. The question is not information-seeking but evaluative and corrective.
3. Antithetical parallelism 有德司契，無德司徹 is a tightly balanced contrast in syntax and idea. It juxtaposes virtue and lack of virtue, covenantal stewardship and coercive extraction.
4. Aphoristic closure The final sentence universalizes the preceding political observation by invoking the Way of Heaven. This move from specific case to cosmic principle is characteristic of the Laozi's concise argumentative style.

Translation Challenges

1. 和大怨，必有餘怨 — 和 can mean 'reconcile,' 'pacify,' or 'smooth over'; the translator must decide whether to emphasize genuine reconciliation or merely temporary settlement. 餘怨 is not simply 'remaining anger' but lingering grievance or residual resentment after formal resolution; this nuance should be preserved. The line is gnomic and compressed, so over-expansion can blunt its force.
2. 安可以為善 — 安 here means 'how' or 'how could,' forming a rhetorical question rather than expressing peace or stability. 為善 may mean 'be considered good,' 'count as good policy,' or 'amount to good'; the translator must determine whether the target is moral judgment, political technique, or both.
3. 執左契，而不責於人 — 左契 refers to one half of a tally or contract token; without a note, modern readers may not recognize the institutional reference. 責於人 can mean to demand, press, exact, or hold someone to account. The phrase suggests refraining from pressing a rightful claim, not simply declining to blame others. The syntax presents a moral posture: retaining legitimacy while renouncing coercive enforcement. This should be made clear.
4. 有德司契，無德司徹 — 司契 is metaphorical and may mean 'manage through covenant/tally' or 'act as steward of agreement'; a literal rendering alone may be opaque. 司徹 is textually and interpretively difficult. 徹 has been explained as taxation, exaction, levying, or forced collection; the translator should reflect the contrast with 司契 and may need a note. The couplet is highly compressed and parallel; preserving both intelligibility and formal balance is challenging.
5. 天道無親，常與善人 — 無親 should be rendered with the established technical meaning 'is impartial' or 'shows no partiality,' rather than a narrower phrasing focused only on favoritism. 善人 should be translated as 'good people,' preserving the plural reference to persons rather than turning it into the abstract phrase 'the good.' 與 can mean 'be with,' 'assist,' or 'side with.' The translator must choose wording that conveys steady alignment without anthropomorphizing Heaven too heavily. Because the line echoes older classical formulations, a note on the allusion may be warranted.

Translation Principles

1. Preserve the aphoristic compression of the passage; do not over-explain within the main translation. Use notes, if needed, for tally-contract imagery and textual allusion.
2. Render 和大怨 as reconciliation or pacification of great grievance in a way that preserves the idea that formal settlement leaves residual resentment.
3. Translate 執左契 concretely enough to retain the contractual/tally metaphor, but ensure the reader understands that the sage holds a rightful claim without pressing others for repayment.
4. Preserve the antithetical balance of 有德司契，無德司徹 with parallel English syntax, even if a note is needed to explain the difficult term 徹.
5. Render 天道 as 'the Way of Heaven' or 'Heaven's Way' consistently, maintaining the elevated cosmological register.
6. Translate 無親 with the established technical sense 'is impartial' or 'shows no partiality,' not a narrower phrase centered only on favoritism.
7. Translate 善人 as 'good people,' preserving the plural personal reference rather than abstracting it into 'the good.'

Segmentation

1. 和大怨，必有餘怨； `sentence` `ambiguous`
2. 安可以為善？ `clause`
3. 是以聖人執左契，而不責於人。 `sentence`
4. 有德司契，無德司徹。 `sentence`
5. 天道無親，常與善人。 `sentence` `ambiguous`

Segmentation Notes

Segmentation is guided by conventional aphoristic/balanced syntax: (1) 因果/必 for the first proverb; (2) rhetorical question anchored by 安可; (3) 是以 as a clear causal marker; (4) 而 for contrast in the 3rd sentence; (5) 有德/無德 parallel antithesis; (6) the final 天道無親 / 常與善人 boundary is less formally marked (no explicit connective particle), so its confidence is slightly lower.

Tone & Style

The tone is terse, admonitory, and reflective. It begins with sober realism about the persistence of grievance, turns normatively prescriptive in presenting the sage's conduct, and concludes with elevated moral-cosmic authority in the maxim about the Way of Heaven.

The style is classic Laozi prose: lapidary, aphoristic, and densely compressed, with political thought expressed through concrete institutional imagery and sharpened by paradox and parallelism. The register is elevated but economical, inviting commentary because key terms carry layered technical and philosophical meanings.

No embedded verse or song quotation appears in this passage. The final line is an allusive reuse of a well-known classical maxim associated with the Shangshu tradition, but it is not an embedded poem and does not require verse formatting.