The wise man puts himself last and finds himself first.

A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.

Giving birth and nourishing, Bearing yet not possessing, Working yet not taking credit, Leading yet not dominating, This is the Primal Virtue.

A tree trunk the size of a man grows from a blade as thin as a hair. A tower nine stories high is built from a small heap of earth.

Returning is the movement of the Way.

That the soft overcomes the hard, and the yielding overcomes the resistant, is a fact known by all, but practiced by few.

The highest virtue is not virtuous. Therefore it has virtue. The lowest virtue holds on to virtue. Therefore it has no virtue.