“Therefore the sage, while he never does what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the greatest things.”

“Therefore the sage desires what (other men) do not desire, and does not prize things difficult to get; he learns what (other men) do not learn, and turns back to what the multitude of men have passed by.”

“The sage produces without possessing, acts without expectations, and accomplishes without abiding in her accomplishments. It is precisely because she does not abide in them that they never leave her.”

“Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and manifests it to all the world.”

“Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the) eyes.”

“Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that person is preserved.”

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