Advice, Laozi, Dao De Jing

大直若屈，大巧若拙，大辯若訥。

- 老子, 道德經

The moat straightness seems crooked. The greatest skill seems clumsy, and the outstanding eloquence seems inarticulate.

- Laozi, Dao De Jing

Advice, Laozi, Dao De Jing

善行無轍迹，善言無瑕讁；善數不用籌策；善閉無關楗而不可開，善結無繩約而不可解。

- 老子, 道德經

The skilful traveller leaves no traces of his wheels or footsteps; the skilful speaker says nothing that can be found fault with or blamed; the skilful reckoner uses no tallies; the skilful closer needs no bolts or bars, while to open what he has shut will be impossible; the skilful binder uses no strings or knots, while to unloose what he has bound will be impossible.

- Laozi, Dao De Jing

Advice, Laozi, Dao De Jing

是以聖人欲上民，必以言下之；欲先民，必以身後之。

- 老子, 道德經

So it is that the sage, wishing to be above men, puts himself by his words below them, and, wishing to be before them, places himself behind them.

- Laozi, Dao De Jing

Advice, Laozi, Dao De Jing

希言自然，故飄風不終朝，驟雨不終日。

- 老子, 道德經

Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning; a sudden rain does not last for the whole day.

- Laozi, Dao De Jing

Advice, Laozi, Dao De Jing

聖人處無為之事，行不言之教。

- 老子, 道德經

The sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his instructions without the use of speech.

- Laozi (老子, 604 BC-? ), Dao De Jing

---

http://ctext.org/dao-de-jing

Female, Laozi, Dao De Jing

谷神不死，是謂玄牝。

- 老子, 道德經

The valley spirit dies not, aye the same; The female mystery thus do we name.

- Laozi (老子), Dao De Jing (道德經)

---

http://ctext.org/dao-de-jing