TAO TE CHING
LIX
Translated by D.C. Lau for Penguin Books (1963)
In ruling the people and in serving heaven it is best for
a ruler to be sparing,
It is because he is sparing
That he may be said to follow the way from the start;
Following the way from the start he may be said to
accumulate an abundance of virtue;
Accumulating an abundance of virtue there is nothing
he cannot overcome;
When there is nothing he cannot overcome, no one
knows his limit;
When no one knows his limit
He can possess a state;
When he possesses the mother of a state
He can then endure.
This is called the way of deep roots and firm stems by
which one lives to see many days.
