64

"Things at rest are easy to hold. Things unbegun are easy to plan.* Fragile things are easy to shatter. Tiny things are easy to scatter.** Manage things before they exist.*3* Set things in order before they become chaotic.*4* A tree as big as one's embrace originates from a rootlet. A nine-story terrace begins with a heap of earth. A thousand-li journey starts from beneath one's feet. To act means to fail; To insist means to lose.*5* The Sage does not act and therefore never fails; He does not insist and therefore never loses. When the people undertake to do something, They almost always fail at the point of success.*6* One should be cautious at the end as at the beginning, Then there will be no failure. Therefore the Sage desires no desires, Values not the rare treasures,*7* Learns from the unlearned, Reverses the faults of the people,*8* And assists all things in their natural development, Never daring to interfere."