The Tao of the sage is work without effort.

Those who praise themselves do not prevail.

The highest virtue seems as low as a valley.

What has not yet emerged is easy to prevent.

The Tao principle is what happens of itself.

The sage's Way is to act and not to contend.

If good happens, good; if bad happens, good.

Abandon knowledge and your worries are over.

The Tao is near and people seek it far away.

The highest benevolence acts without purpose.

Those who stand on their toes are not steady.

No disaster is worse than being discontented.

Excellent leaders of people lower themselves.

Greed is costly. Assembled fortunes are lost.

I am wearied, as if I lacked a home to go to.

The one who rules like the mother lasts long.

There is no greater disaster than discontent.

When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

Where there is no conflict, there is no fault.

Cautious, like crossing a river in the winter.

Perfection is the willingness to be imperfect.

Those who are self-righteous are not prominent.

Those who take long steps cannot keep the pace.

The Tao is like a well; used but never used up.

The sage wears coarse clothes, concealing jade.

What should be shrunken must first be stretched.

Who can wait in stillness while the mud settles?

That so few understand me is why I am treasured.

When there is no desire, all things are at peace

He who does not trust enough will not be trusted.

When people are unsettled, loyal ministers arise.

Those who know when it is enough will not perish.

The greatest virtue is to follow the Way utterly.

What's the difference between beautiful and ugly?

Cultivate virtue in yourself, and it will be true.

To retreat after a work well done is Heaven's Way.

If you want to become full, let yourself be empty.

Let the country be small, and the inhabitants few.

The Way that can be walked is not the eternal Way.

The biggest in the world is small in its beginning.

The soft and weak can overcome the hard and strong.

The wise are not learned, the learned are not wise.

Those who act will fail. Those who seize will lose.

Lightly given promises must meet with little trust.

Lao Tsu says the way of life is water, to be fluid.

The Way is empty, yet inexhaustible, like an abyss!

A good door needs no lock, still it can't be opened.

Let people take death seriously, and not travel far.

Taking things lightly must lead to big difficulties.

Pounding an edge to sharpness will not make it last.

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