"When the government is lax, the people are simple. When the government is meddlesome, the people are discontented."

"One who makes promises rashly rarely keeps good faith; One who is in the habit of considering things easy meets with frequent difficulties."

"When the best student hears the Tao, he practices it diligently. When the average student hears the Tao, he is half-hearted. When the worst student hears the Tao, he laughs out loud. If he did not lau…"

"The sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as foreign to him, and yet it is preserved."

"He who values himself more than the world can be entrusted with the world. He who loves himself more than the world can be charged with the world."