Chapter 29: Not Forcing Things (Wu Wei)
Tao Teh King (Laotzu's Tao and Wu Wei), trans. Dwight Goddard
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One who desires to take and remake the Empire will fail. The Empire is a divine thing that cannot be remade. He who attempts it will only mar it. He who seeks to grasp it, will lose it. People differ, some lead, others follow; some are ardent, others are formal; some are strong, others weak; some succeed, others fail. Therefore the wise man practices moderation; he abandons pleasure, extravagance and indulgence.
Laozi (attributed), Tao Teh King (Laotzu's Tao and Wu Wei), trans. Dwight Goddard (1919). Public domain.