If you want to shrink something, you must first allow it to expand. If you want to get rid of something, you must first allow it to flourish. If you want to take something, you must first allow it to be given. This is called the subtler perception of the way things are. The soft overcomes the hard. The slow overcomes the fast. Let your workings remain a mystery. Just show people the results.

Without law or compulsion, men would dwell in harmony.

High and low rest on each other.

Much knowledge will corrupt the heart,/When partly understood,/And so the people grow too smart,/But neither wise nor good.

The softest in the world surpasses the hardest in the world.

If one desires to receive one must first give. This is called profound understanding.

Abandon cleverness, discard profit, and thieves and robbers will disappear.