Dao De Jing

happen

It is necessary to know the end to which we must direct our actions.

As soon as we know the extract of all the things, we will have reached the state of perfection that we had proposed to ourselves.

From the most noble man to the humblest, they all have the duty to improve and to correct its own being.

Would not be more effective to achieve that the judgments were unnecessary?: Would not turn out to be more profitable to direct our efforts to the elimination of the perverse inclinations of the men?

To achieve that our intentions are straight and sincere we must act in accordance with our natural inclinations.

When the soul has been waved by the rage, he lacks this fortitude; when the soul is restrained for the fear, he lacks this fortitude; when the soul is intoxicated by the pleasure, it cannot be supported loudly; when the soul is overwhelmed by the pain, it cannot reach this fortitude either. When our spirit there is confused one for any motive, we look and do not see, listen and do not hear, eat and do not savor.

Rarely the men recognize the defects of those after those who love, and they are not also accustomed to valuing the virtues of those to those who hate.

What you disapprove of your Superiors, not practices with your subordinates, what you do not even disapprove of your subordinates you must practise it with your Superiors. What you disapprove of those who have preceded you do not practise with those who follow you, and what you disapprove of those who follow you do not do to those who are in front of you.

Not to give importance to the main thing, that is to say, to the cultivation of the intelligence and of the character, and to look only for the incidental thing, that is to say, the wealths, can only give place to the perversion of the feelings of the people, which also was valuing only the wealths and it will be delivered without brake to the theft and to the plundering.

If the prince uses the government debts to increase its personal wealth, the people will imitate this example and will give free rein to its most perverse inclinations; if, on the contrary, the prince uses the government debts for the good of the people, this one will appear to him submissively and it will be supported in order.

If the prince or the magistrates promulgate laws or unjust decrees, the people will not fulfill them and he will be opposed to its execution for violent means and also unjust. Those who acquire wealths for violent and unjust means in the same way will lose them for violent and unjust means.

Let there is a way of increasing the government debts of a kingdom: that there be great those that they produce and few ones those that they remove, that one works very much and that wears out moderately. If the whole people acts this way, the profit will be always sufficient..