How could man rejoice in victory and delight in the slaughter of men?

Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.

Obscure, like muddy waters.

When the government is quite unobtrusive, people are indeed pure. When the government is quite prying, people are indeed conniving.

Better stop short than fill to the brim. Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt. Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it.

Of all that is good, sublimity is supreme. Succeeding is the coming together of all that is beautiful. Furtherance is the agreement of all that is just. Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.

Do not fear the aging of the body for it is the body's way of seeking the root.