Verse 1

¹How many principles have the sages counted, lord of all, master? Nine, eleven, five, three — so you have said here, and so we have heard. ²Some say twenty-six, others twenty-five; some seven, some nine, some six; others four, and eleven; some say seventeen, some sixteen, some thirteen. ³With what meaning in view do the sages sing the counts, each so many and each apart? Long-lived one, you should tell us this.