"Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is a…"

"Without going out of the door, one can know the whole world. Without peeping through the window, one can see the Way of Heaven. The further one goes, the less one knows."

"He (the sage) wants all things to follow their own nature, but dares not act."

"The highest good is like water. It nourishes all things without trying to."

"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still."