"The great square has no corners. The great vessel takes a long time to complete. The great sound is faint. The great image has no form."

"The Tao is always at ease. It is still, yet it moves the world."

"The empire is a sacred vessel and cannot be acted on. He who acts on it harms it; he who grasps it loses it."

"The more prohibitions there are, the poorer the people will be."

"Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish. Too much handling will spoil it."