Next to heaven and earth are the “myriad things” that is, the animate and inanimate objects which surround us; and here again it must be borne in mind that Lao-tzŭ’s allusions to these matters are only incidental and by way of illustration generally. As has been seen, all things spring from and participate in Nature, which is, as it were, their mother. This Nature (Tao) is, as we have seen, imperceptible in itself, and when considered merely as a potentiality; but it bodies itself forth and takes a local habitation and a name in all the objects which exist in the universe, and thus it becomes palpable to human observation—not in its essence but only in its workings. Now this manifestation of Nature constitutes for each object or class of objects in the world its Tê (德)—that is, what it has received or obtained from Tao, according to some commentators. Tê is usually translated by _virtue_, but this word very inadequately represents the meaning of the word in this connection. Sometimes it seems to be almost synonymous with Tao, and has functions assigned to it which at other times are represented as pertaining to this latter. If, however, we regard Tao as the great or universal Nature, we may consider Tê as the particular Nature with which creatures are endowed out of the former. It is also the conscious excellence which man and all other creatures obtain when spontaneity is lost. Thus Lao-tzŭ regards all things as equally with man under the care of Nature, which produces and nourishes all alike. Heaven and earth, he says, have no partialities—they regard the “myriad things” as the straw-made dogs which were formed for the sacrifices and prayers for rain, and cast aside when the rites were finished.[25] In another passage of the Tao-tê Ching it is said that Tao generates all things, Tê nourishes all things, Matter (Wu 物) bodies them forth, and Order (勢) gives them perfection.[26] Lao-tzŭ, in accordance with popular Chinese ideas, speaks of five colours, five sounds, and five tastes;[27] and he attributes to these a baneful influence on man, whom he teaches to overcome and nullify them as much as possible. All things in the world, moreover, are arranged in a system of dualism.[28] Motion is always followed by rest, and this again by motion. Long and short, high and low, mutually succeed each other, and are merely relative terms. Solidity gives the object, and hollowness gives its utility, as in the case of wooden or earthen vessels. When a thing is to be weakened it must first have been strengthened; to that from which there is to be taken there must first have been given. This dualism will be seen to extend into other regions besides the physical world, and it is needless to refer to it at greater length at present.