The slaying of multitudes should be mourned with sorrow. A victory should be celebrated with the funeral rite.

Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

Use justice to rule a country. Use surprise to wage war. Use non-action to govern the world.

Happiness perches on misery. Misery crouches beneath happiness.

Fail to honor people, they fail to honor you.

The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnamable is the eternally real. Naming is the origin of all particular things. Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations. Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source. This source is called darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gateway to all understanding.

The subtlest of subtleties, this is the gateway to all mysteries.