Chapter 25

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The Tao is metaphorically referred to as the 'Mother of all things,' attributing a gendered role.

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

[auto] The passage describes the Tao as 'undefined,' 'formless,' and states 'I do not know its name,' relying heavily on negation to describe the divine.

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The alignment of laws between Man, Earth, Heaven, and Tao suggests a structural correspondence across levels.

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

[auto] The text emphasizes the Tao's remoteness and ineffability, stating 'I do not know its name' and that it becomes 'remote.'

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

[auto] The Tao is depicted as 'standing alone' and 'undergoing no change,' indicating an undivided, simple nature.

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

[auto] A clear chain of dependence is outlined: Man follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, and Heaven follows the Tao.

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

The Tao functions as an ordering principle or 'law' that governs Heaven, Earth, and Man.

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

The Sage King is listed as one of the four Greats, aligning the human ruler with cosmic principles.

The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.

[auto] The Tao is described as 'standing alone,' 'complete,' and the singular source from which all things flow.

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The text explicitly identifies four that are great in the universe, assigning significance to this number.

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The author admits not knowing the name while simultaneously assigning designations like 'Tao' and 'The Great,' creating a paradox of naming the unnameable.

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The passage describes a cyclical movement where the Great becomes remote and then returns to its origin.

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The Tao is called the 'Mother of all things' and reaches everywhere, suggesting a fundamental oneness underlying existence.

Effortless action aligned with the spontaneous flow of the Dao; non-coercive, non-striving conduct that yields results without forcing — the sage acts without acting.

The law of the Tao is defined as being what it is, establishing the principle of naturalness underlying effortless action.