Laozi in the Tao Te Ching, Ch.1, as interpreted by Ursula K. Le Guin (1998).

The unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants. Two things, one origin, but different in name, whose identity is mystery. Mystery of all mysteries! The door to the hidden.

— Laozi on Mystery

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The unwanting soul sees what's hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants. Two things, one origin, but different in name, whose identity is mystery. Mystery of all mysteries! The door to the hidden." in the context of "Laozi in the Tao Te Ching, Ch.1, as interpreted by Ursula K. Le Guin (1998)." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Mystery" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Laozi

About Laozi

老子 Lǎozi (c. 6th – 5th century BC) was a Chinese monist philosopher; also called Lao Zi, Lao Tzu, Lao Tse, or Lao Tze. The Tao Te Ching (道德經, Pinyin: Dào Dé Jīng, or Dao De Jing) represents the sole document generally attributed to Laozi.