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A warning against (trusting in) strength - Version One
Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. So it is with all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered.
Thus it is that firmness and strength are the concomitants of death; softness and weakness, the concomitants of life. Hence he who (relies on) the strength of his forces does not conquer; and a tree which is strong will fill the out-stretched arms, (and thereby invites the feller.)
Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below, and that of what is soft and weak is above.[1]
A warning against (trusting in) strength - Version Two
A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. Green plants are tender and filled with sap. At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.
Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle. A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and strong will fall. The soft and weak will overcome.[2]
References
- James Legge (1891). Tao Te Ching. Lao Tsu, Chinese Text Project
- Gia-Fu Feng (1972). Tao Te Ching. Lao Tsu
