原文
公有领域治人事天，莫若嗇。
夫唯嗇，是謂早服；
早服謂之重積德；
重積德則無不克，無不克則莫知其極；
莫知其極，可以有國；
有國之母，可以長久；
是謂深根固柢，長生久視之道。
王弼注
待校读莫若，猶莫過也。嗇，農夫，農人之治田務，去其殊類，歸於齊一也。全其自然，不急其荒病，除其所以荒病，上承天命，下綏百姓，莫過於此。
早服，常也。
唯重積德，不欲銳速，然後乃能使早服其常，故曰早服謂之重積德者也。
道無窮也。
以有窮而莅國，非能有國也。
國之所以安謂之母，重積德是唯圖其根，然後營末，乃得其終也。
河上公章句
待校读謂人君治理人民。
事，用也。當用天道，順四時。
嗇，愛惜也。治國者當愛民財，不為奢泰。治身者當愛精氣，不為放逸。
早，先也。服，得也。夫獨愛民財，愛精氣，則能先得天道也。
先得天道，是謂重積德於己也。
剋，勝也。重積德於己，則無不勝。
無不剋勝，則莫有知己德之窮極也。
莫知己德者有極，則可以有社稷，為民致福。
國身同也。母，道也。人能保身中之道，使精氣不勞，五神不苦，則可以長久。
人能以氣為根，以精為蒂，如樹根不深則拔，蒂不堅則落。言當深藏其氣，固守其精，使無漏洩。
深根固蒂者，乃長生久視之道。
Legge 1891
Public domainFor regulating the human (in our constitution) and rendering
the (proper) service to the heavenly, there is nothing like
moderation.
It is only by this moderation that there is effected an early
return (to man's normal state). That early return is what I call the
repeated accumulation of the attributes (of the Tao). With that
repeated accumulation of those attributes, there comes the subjugation
(of every obstacle to such return). Of this subjugation we know not
what shall be the limit; and when one knows not what the limit shall
be, he may be the ruler of a state.
He who possesses the mother of the state may continue long. His
case is like that (of the plant) of which we say that its roots are
deep and its flower stalks firm:--this is the way to secure that its
enduring life shall long be seen.