you must not use wood to put out the fire.

prophecies do not alter fate, only confirm it.

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

Like most Chinese, I am basically a fatalist - too sophisticated for religion and too superstitious to deny the gods.

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?

A secret, like a chore, always seems to lead to another, one even more troublesome than the first.

Principles have a way of yielding to power.