Guide them by edicts, keep them in line with punishments, and the common people will stay out of trouble but will have no sense of shame. Guide them by virtue, keep them in line with the rites, and they will, besides having a sense of shame, reform themselves.

All things are nourished together without their injuring one another. The courses of the seasons, and of the sun and moon, are pursued without any collision among them. The smaller energies are like river currents; the greater energies are seen in mighty transformations. It is this which makes heaven and earth so great.

It is when those who are not strong enough have made some moderate amount of progress that they fail and give up.

Signs and symbols rule the world, not words nor laws.

See a person's means ... Observe his motives. Examine that in which he rests. How can a person conceal his character?

A man without persistence will never make a good shaman or a good physician.

One who can move mountains start with the little stones.