天下柔弱莫過於水，
而攻堅強者莫之能勝，
其無以易之。
弱之勝強，柔之勝剛，
天下莫不知，莫能行。
故聖人云，
受國之垢，是謂社稷主；
受國之不祥，是謂天下王。
正言若反。
道德經
None under heaven is more supple
and weaker than water,
Yet none may surpass the work of water
upon the firm and unbending
for none can replace it.
The weak overcomes the strong,
the supple overcomes the stiff.
All the world knows this,
yet none can walk that path.
This is why the sage spake:
They who receive the land's filth
are called the master of the shrines; and
They who receive the land's evils
are called King Under Heaven.
Truth, spoken directly,
seems roundabout and inside-out.
天下柔弱莫過於水，
而攻堅強者莫之能勝，
其無以易之。
弱之勝強，柔之勝剛，
天下莫不知，莫能行。
故聖人云，
受國之垢，是謂社稷主；
受國之不祥，是謂天下王。
正言若反。
道德經
None under heaven is more supple
and weaker than water,
Yet none may surpass the work of water
upon the firm and unbending
for none can replace it.
The weak overcomes the strong,
the supple overcomes the stiff.
All the world knows this,
yet none can walk that path.
This is why the sage spake:
They who receive the land's filth
are called the master of the shrines; and
They who receive the land's evils
are called King Under Heaven.
Truth, spoken directly,
seems roundabout and inside-out.
