"Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tsu

• Nine:Better stop short then fill to the brim.
  Over-sharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt.
  Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it.
  Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow.
  Retire when the work is done.
  This is the way of heaven.
• Eleven:Thirty spokes share the wheel’s hub;
  It is the center hole that makes is useful.
  Shape clay into a vessel;
  It is the space within that makes it useful.
  Cut doors and windows for a room;
  It is the holes which make it useful.
  Therefore profit comes from what is there;
  Usefulness from what is not there.
• Twenty-Nine:Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?
  I do not believe it can be done.
  The universe is sacred.
  You cannot improve it.
  If you try to change it, you will ruin it.
  If you try to hold it, you will lose it.
  So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind;
  Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily;
  Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness;
  Sometimes one is up and sometimes down.
  Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excess, and complacency.
• Thirty:Whenever you advise a ruler in the way of Tao;
  Counsel him not to use force to conquer the universe.
  For this would only cause resistance.
  Thorn bushes spring up wherever the army has passed.
  Lean years follow in the wake of a great war.
  Just do what needs to be done.
  Never take advantage of power.
  Achieve results,
  But never glory in them.
  Achieve results,
  But never boast.
  Achieve results,
  But never be proud.
  Achieve results,
  Because this is the natural way.
  Achieve results,
  But not through violence.
  Force is followed by loss of strength.
  This is not the way of Tao.
  That which goes against the Tao comes to an early end.
• Thirty-One:Good weapons are instruments of fear; all creatures hate them.
  Therefore followers of Tao never use them.
  The wise man prefers the left.
  The man of war prefers the right.
  Weapons are instruments of fear; they are not a wise man’s tools.
  He uses them only when he has no choice.
  Peace and quiet are dear to his heart,
  And victory no cause for rejoicing.
  If you rejoice in victory, then you delight in killing;
  If you delight in killing, you cannot fulfill yourself.
  On happy occasions precedence is given to the left,
  On sad occasions to the right.
  In the army the general stands on the left,
  The commander-in-chief on the right.
  This means that war is conducted like a funeral.
  When many people are being killed,
  They should be mourned in heartfelt sorrow.
  That is why a victory must be observed like a funeral.
• Thirty-Three:Knowing others is wisdom;
  Knowing the self is enlightenment.
  Mastering others requires force;
  Mastering the self needs strength.
  He who knows he has enough is rich.
  Perseverance is a sign of will power.
  He who stays where he is endures.
  To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.
• Forty-Two:The Tao begot one.
  One begot two.
  Two begot three.
  And three begot the ten thousand things.
  The ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang.
  They achieve harmony by combining these forces.
  Men hat to be “orphaned,” “widowed,” or “worthless,”
  But this is how kings and lords describe themselves.
  For one gains by losing.
  And loses by gaining.
  What others teach, I also teach; that is:
  “A violent man will die a violent death!”
  This will be the essence of my teaching.
• Forty-Three:The softest thing in the universe
  Overcomes the hardest thing in the universe.
  That without substance can enter where there is no room.
  Hence I know the value of non-action.
  Teaching without words and work without doing
  Are understood by very few.
• Forty-Six:
  When the Tao is present in the universe,
  The horses haul manure.
  When the Tao is absent from the universe,
  War horses are bred outside the city.
  There is no greater sin than desire,
  No greater curse than discontent,
  No greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself.
  Therefore he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
• Fifty-Six:Those who know do not talk.
  Those who talk do not know.
  Keep your mouth closed.
  Guard your senses.
  Temper your sharpness.
  Simplify your problems.
  Mask your brightness.
  Be at one with the dust of the earth.
  This is primal union.
  He who has achieved this state
  Is unconcerned with friends and enemies,
  With good and harm, with honor and disgrace.
  This therefore is the highest state of man.
• Fifty-Seven:Rule a nation with justice.
  Wage war with surprise moves.
  Become master of the universe without striving.
  How do I know that this is so?
  Because of this!
  The more laws and restrictions there are,
  The poorer people become.
  The sharper men’s weapons,
  The more trouble in the land.
  The more ingenious and clever men are,
  The more strange things happen.
  The more rules and regulations,
  The more thieves and robbers.
  Therefore the sage says:
  I take no action and people are reformed.
  I enjoy peace and people become honest.
  I do nothing and people become rich.
  I have no desires and people return to the good and simple life.
• Fifty-Eight:When the country is ruled with a light hand
  The people are simple.
  When the country is ruled with severity,
  The people are cunning.
  Happiness is rooted in misery.
  Misery lurks beneath happiness.
  Who knows what the future holds?
  There is no honesty.
  Honesty becomes dishonest.
  Goodness becomes witchcraft.
  Man’s bewitchment lasts for a long time.
  Therefore the sage is sharp but not cutting,
  Pointed but not piercing,
  Straightforward but not unrestrained,
  Brilliant but not blinding.
• Sixty-Four:Peace is easily maintained;
  Trouble is easily overcome before it starts.
  The brittle is easily shattered;
  The small is easily scattered.
  Deal with it before it happens.
  Set things in order before there is confusion.
  A tree as great as a man’s embrace springs from a small shoot;
  A terrace nine stories high begins with a pile of earth;
  A journey of a thousand miles starts under one’s feet.
  He who acts defeats his own purpose;
  He who grasps loses.
  The sage does not act, and so is not defeated.
  He does not grasp and therefore does not lose.
  People usually fail when they are on the verge of success.
  So give as much care to the end as to the beginning;
  Then there will be no failure.
  Therefore the sage seeks freedom from desire.
  He does not collect precious things.
  He learns not to hold on to ideas.
  He brings men back to what they have lost.
  He helps the ten thousand things find their own nature,
  But refrains from action.
• Sixty-Six:Why is the sea king of a hundred streams?
  Because it lies below them.
  Therefore it is the king of a hundred streams.
  If the sage would guide the people, he must serve with humility.
  If he would lead them, he must follow behind.
  In this way when the sage rules, the people will not fell oppressed;
  When he stands before them, they will not be harmed.
  The whole world will support him and will not tire of him.
  Because he does not compete,
  He does not meet competition.
• Sixty-Eight:A good soldier is not violent.
  A good fighter is not angry.
  A good winner is not vengeful.
  A good employer is humble.
  This is known as the Virtue of not striving.
  This is known as ability to deal with people.
  This since ancient times has been known as the ultimate unity with heaven.
• Seventy-Five:Why are the people starving?
  Because the rulers eat up the money in taxes.
  Therefore the people are starving.
  Why are the people rebellious?
  Because the rulers interfere too much.
  Therefore they are rebellious.
  Why do the people think so little of death?
  Because the rulers demand too much of life.
  Therefore the people take death lightly.
  Having little to live on, one knows better than to value life too much.
• Seventy-Nine:After bitter quarrel, some resentment must remain.
  What can one do about it?
  Therefore the sage keeps his half of the bargain
  But does not exact his due.
  A man of Virtue performs his part,
  But a man without virtue requires others to fulfill their obligations.
  The Tao of heaven is impartial.
  It stays with good men all the time.