The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.
At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.
To lead people walk behind them.
The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own.
The wicked leader is he who the people despise. The good leader is he who the people revere. The great leader is he who the people say, 'We did it ourselves.'
One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him.
Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.
Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish. Do not overdo it.
If the Great Way perishes there will morality and duty. When cleverness and knowledge arise great lies will flourish. When relatives fall out with one another there will be filial duty and love. When states are in confusion there will be faithful servants.
He who is contented is rich.
From caring comes courage.
The people are hungry: It is because those in authority eat up too much in taxes.
When a nation is filled with strife, then do patriots flourish.
Violence, even well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself.
The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.
Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.
He who talks more is sooner exhausted.
The career of a sage is of two kinds: He is either honored by all in the world, Like a flower waving its head, Or else he disappears into the silent forest.
Without stirring abroad, One can know the whole world; Without looking out of the window One can see the way of heaven. The further one goes The less one knows.
