“When goodness is lost there is morality.”

“When men lost their understanding of the Tao, intelligence came along, bringing hypocrisy with it.”

“When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty, there arises the recognition of ugliness. When they all know the good as good, there arises the recognition of evil.”

“When people see some things as beautiful,other things become ugly.When people see some things as good,other things become bad.”

“A leader is bestWhen people barely know he existsOf a good leader, who talks little,When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,They will say, “We did this ourselves.”

“When the great Tao is forgotten,goodness and piety appear.When the body's intelligence declines,cleverness and knowledge step forth.When there is no peace in the family,filial piety begins.When the country falls into chaos,patriotism is born.”

“against warWeapons are unhappy tools,not chosen by thoughtful people,to be used only when there is no choice,and with a calm, still mind,without enjoyment.To enjoy using weaponsis to enjoy killing people,and to enjoy killing peopleis to lose your share in the common good. ...”