In yielding we are like the water, by nature placid, conforming to the hollow of the smallest hand; in time, shaping even the mountains to its will. Thus we keep duty and honor. We cherish clan and civilization. We are Chinese.

If mortals wait until the gods remake the world to their liking to be happy, they are already in hell.

to ask for anything of consequence from friends who cannot refuse is uncivilized.

The young see what they wish to see. The old see what they do not wish.

Principles have a way of yielding to power.

prophecies do not alter fate, only confirm it.

What harm is there in dreaming, if it eases pain? What good is reality, if it blots out hope? Can a man's mind be washed without bleaching his soul?