The best fighter is never angry.

The hard and stiff are death's companions. The soft and weak are life's companions.

If I have just an ounce of sense, I follow the great Way, and fear only to stray from it.

Those who are self-righteous are not prominent.

He who is able to conquer others is powerful; he who is able to conquer himself is more powerful.

The one who does not honor the teacher and the one who does not honor the task, although ever so knowledgeable, they are confused.

Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.