What is still is easily held;
what has not yet appeared is easily prevented;
what is fragile is easily shattered;
what is small is easily scattered.

Attend to things before they appear;
set things in order before disorder arises.

A tree that fills one’s embrace grows from a small shoot.
A tower nine stories high rises from a mound of earth.
A journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.

To force things is to fail;
to grasp things is to lose.
Therefore, the sage does not act,
and does not fail;
does not grasp,
and does not lose.

People often fail on the verge of success.
Be as careful at the end as at the beginning,
and there will be no failure.

Therefore, the sage desires no desire,
values no rare treasure,
unlearns what is learned,
and returns to what the multitude has overlooked.
She helps all things find their own nature,
yet does not dare to act upon them.