"The sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as foreign to him, and yet it is preserved."

"If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence."

"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power."

"When the world has the Tao, the swift horses are used for hauling manure. When the world is without the Tao, war horses are bred in the suburbs."

"Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know."