When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating.
The surrounding passage

When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) babe. When he has cleansed away the most mysterious sights (of his imagination), he can become without a flaw.

The work and its creator

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Creator: Laozi (traditional attribution)
Nationality / cultural background: Chinese
Work / edition: 1891 translation

Translation: James Legge · English

Historical public-domain text. Selected passage; line-end whitespace normalised. No generated quotation.

In the source: PART 1.; paragraph 30 in the selected body section

Selected for the Brief on 2 Oct 2026. This date records our selection, rather than when the work was created.