Lao Tzu Tao Sayings - Verse 78

Nothing under heaven is
softer or more yielding than water.
Yet it has no equal for attacking things
that are hard and stiff.
Nothing can withstand it.

Everyone knows that the yielding overcomes the stiff,
and the soft overcomes the hard.
Yet no one applies this knowledge.

Therefore, an Old One said:
Only a person who has accepted the country’s dirt
is a leader worthy to offer sacrifice
at its shrines of earth and grain.

Only a person who takes up the country’s burdens
deserves to be a leader
among those who dwell under heaven.
Straightforward words seem crooked.

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