It is a complex and obscure being which existed before heaven and earth. Oh how still it is! Oh how it is virtual! It subsists alone and never changed. It moves periodically and never slows down. It may be the mother of the universe.
I don't know its name. If I should give it a title, I call it Tao. If I should give it a name, I call it Great. Great Tao is constantly moving. By moving, it goes far. Once away, it comes back.
This is why the Tao is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and mankind is great too.
In the universe, there are four great things, and mankind is one of them.
Mankind follows earth; earth follows heaven; heaven follows the Tao; the Tao follows the nature.