Aspire to the Way; hold fast to virtue; trust in humaneness; refresh yourself with the arts.
Translation note: This passage is full of difficult to translate words and structures. The original is elegant and profound, but there is no corresponding grammar in English and, what’s more, many of the words are extremely subtle. I am going to attempt to compensate for this by explaining literally every word.
Each of these phrases is simple [character]於[character]. 於 is at its heart a directional particle, meaning “at, on, unto, in, with, from, than.” In this case it is giving the direction of each of the first things, so for each of the topics we see where it should be directed.
志 means “willpower, ambition, the will, aspirations.”
道 is an extremely complex term, which means “path,” “to walk,” “teaching,” “moral philosophy,” and many other things besides. The idea is that it is a teaching, a school, and way of life, but also that it is the correct teaching, school, way of life. I have translated it many different ways, depending on context, but here it is being discussed as a concrete thing, so I’ve translated it as “the Way.”
So literally “direct your aspiration to the Way” or perhaps “set your will to traveling the Way.”
據 is literally “to seize, to occupy” in the sense of military force, but also has a meaning of “act according to” or “depend on.” Probably the closest English word is “hold” which has both connotations of dependency and of conquest.
德 is another complex term, meaning “virtue,” or “greatness.” In general I translate it as “virtue” in the Confucian context, and so I’ve stuck with that here, but please see my note about it.
So literally “seize and depend upon virtue.”
依 means “to depend upon” or “to trust” or “to comply with” or “to be near to.” It again has a feeling of closeness, but in this case, the feeling is less grasping and more being nestled among, taking shelter in, allowing oneself to be mastered by.
仁 is the virtue that I largely translate as “humanity.” The character depicts a human and the number 2, and while it strongly overlaps with the English-language virtue of “humanity,” it specifically means to recognize the worth, complexity, and humanity of others.
游 in this context means both “to be refreshed” and also “to travel, to wander within.” The sense is of refreshment and ease, but not of a passive refreshment and ease. Rather, it is about actively exploring and participating.
藝 means “art” or “skill.” In this case, it’s describing artistic endeavor in the broadest possible sense-- hence why I translate it as “the arts.” It is not merely limited to visual arts, but includes all manner of aesthetic excellence, including poetry, music, history, and so on.
