The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.

That, which others compress - will widen up and open. That, which others weaken - will strengthen. That, which others destroy - will blossom. Whoever wished to take something from the other, will inevitably loose his own.

With that gentleness I can be bold; with that economy I can be liberal; shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become a vessel of the highest honour.

The highest virtue seems as low as a valley.

Carrying body and soul and embracing the one, Can you avoid separation?

When superior people hear of the Way, they carry it out with diligence. When middling people hear of the Way, it sometimes seems to be there, sometimes not. When lesser people hear of the Way, they ridicule it greatly. If they didn't laugh at it, it wouldn't be the Way.

The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.