When a simple man hears of the TAO, he immediately begins to embody it. When a worldly man hears of the TAO, he half believes it, half doubts it, and soon forgets. When a foolish man hears of the TAO, he laughs out loud. If he didn't laugh, it wouldn't be the TAO. The path into the light seems dark and heavy; the path forward seems to go back; the direct path seems long; the smooth path seems rough; the straight path seems crooked; true power seems weak; true purity seems tarnished; the steadfastness seems changeable; true clarity seems obscure; the greatest art seems unsophisticated; the greatest love seems indifferent; the greatest wisdom seems childish. The TAO is nowhere to be found, yet it nourishes and fulfills all beings. The summit is a valley; wealth appears as poverty; stability is change; fullness appears void; its noise is silence; exposed it remains concealed; going far is to return; as ONE it appears as many; as none it appears as ONE; serious it seems to be a joke; the peaceful path seems scary, wrought with danger; real it appears unreal; its form is without form; its beauty appears bland. To the ignorant person, the dark, weak, passive, "nothing" nature of the TAO appears as imperfections, a lack of power, and a lack of existence; hence, a reason for scorn and ridicule. The humble qualities of TAO protect it, and the TAOist, from abuse. The TAO at its brightest is obscure. Who advanceth in that way, retireth.