Chapter 51

道生之，德畜之，物形之，勢成之。
是以萬物莫不尊道而貴德。
道之尊，德之貴，夫莫之命而常自然。
故道生之，德畜之；
長之育之；
成之熟之；
養之覆之。
生而不有，為而不恃，長而不宰。
是謂玄德。

The Way gives them birth, virtue rears them, things give them shape, circumstance completes them.
So the ten thousand things all revere the Way and honor virtue.
The Way is revered and virtue honored not by anyone’s command, but because this is always so of itself.
So the Way gives them birth, virtue rears them;
grows them, nurtures them;
completes them, ripens them;
feeds them, shelters them.
It gives life but does not possess, acts but does not presume, raises but does not rule.
This is called dark virtue.