"Seal the openings, shut the doors, and until your last day you will not be exhausted. Widen the openings, interfere, and until your last day you will not be safe."

"The greatest good is like water. Water benefits all things and does not contend."

"Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his instructions without the use of speech."

"Govern a state by justice, wage war by surprise, and take the world by doing nothing."

"The best ruler is one whose existence is merely known by the people. The next best is one who is loved and praised. The next is one who is feared. The next is one who is despised."