Manage a great nation as you would cook a delicate fish.

To govern men in accord with nature

It is best to be restrained;

Restraint makes agreement easy to attain,

And easy agreement builds harmonious relationships;

With sufficient harmony no resistance will arise;

When no resistance arises, then you possess the heart of the nation,

And when you possess the nation's heart, your influence will long endure:

Deeply rooted and firmly established.

This is the method of far sight and long life.

When you use the Way to conquer the world,

Your demons will lose their power to harm.

It is not that they lose their power as such,

But that they will not harm others;

Because they will not harm others,

You will not harm others:

When neither you nor your demons can do harm,

You will be at peace with them.

A nation is like a hierarchy, a marketplace, and a maiden.

A maiden wins her husband by submitting to his advances;

Submission is a means of union.

So when a large country submits to a small country

It will adopt the small country;

When a small country submits to a large country

It will be adopted by the large country;

The one submits and adopts;

The other submits and is adopted.

It is in the interest of a large country to unite and gain service,

And in the interest of a small country to unite and gain patronage;

If both would serve their interests,

Both must submit.

The Way is the fate of men,

The treasure of the saint,

And the refuge of the sinner.

Fine words are often borrowed,

And great deeds are often appropriated;

Therefore, when a man falls, do not abandon him,

And when a man gains power, do not honour him;

Only remain impartial and show him the Way.

Why should someone appreciate the Way?

The ancients said, "By it, those who seek may easily find,

And those who regret may easily absolve"

So it is the most precious gift.

Practice no-action;

Attend to do-nothing;

Taste the flavorless,

Magnify the small,

Multiply the few,

Return love for hate.

Deal with the difficult while it is yet easy;

Deal with the great while it is yet small;

The difficult develops naturally from the easy,

And the great from the small;

So the sage, by dealing with the small,

Achieves the great.

Who finds it easy to promise finds it hard to be trusted;

Who takes things lightly finds things difficult;

The sage recognizes difficulty, and so has none.

What lies still is easy to grasp;

What lies far off is easy to anticipate;

What is brittle is easy to shatter;

What is small is easy to disperse.

Yet a tree broader than a man can embrace is born of a tiny shoot;

A dam greater than a river can overflow starts with a clod of earth;

A journey of a thousand miles begins at the spot under one's feet.

Therefore deal with things before they happen;

Create order before there is confusion.

He who acts, spoils;

He who grasps, loses.

People often fail on the verge of success;

Take care at the end as at the beginning,

So that you may avoid failure.

The sage desires no-desire,

Values no-value,

Learns no-learning,

And returns to the places that people have forgotten;

He would help all people to become natural,

But then he would not be natural.

The ancients did not seek to rule people with knowledge,

But to help them become natural.

It is difficult for knowledgeable people to become natural;

So to use law to control a nation weakens the nation,

But to use nature to control a nation strengthens the nation.

Understanding these two paths is understanding subtlety;

Subtlety runs deep, ranges wide,

Resolves confusion and preserves peace.

The river carves out the valley by flowing beneath it.

Thereby the river is the master of the valley.

In order to master people

One must speak as their servant;

In order to lead people

One must follow them.

So when the sage rises above the people,

They do not feel oppressed;

And when the sage stands before the people,

They do not feel hindered.

So the popularity of the sage does not fail,

He does not contend, and no one contends against him.

All the world says,

"I am important;

I am separate from all the world.

I am important because I am separate,

Were I the same, I could never be important."

Yet here are three treasures

That I cherish and commend to you:

The first is compassion,

By which one finds courage.

The second is restraint,

By which one finds strength.

And the third is unimportance,

By which one finds influence.

Those who are fearless, but without compassion,

Powerful, but without restraint,

Or influential, yet important,

Cannot endure.

Compassion is the finest weapon and best defence.

If you would establish harmony,

Compassion must surround you like a fortress.

Therefore,

A good soldier does not inspire fear;

A good fighter does not display aggression;

A good conqueror does not engage in battle;

A good leader does not exercise authority.

This is the value of unimportance;

This is how to win the cooperation of others;

This to how to build the same harmony that is in nature.