Daily quote by Laozi

• • Ch. 48
• Block the passages, shut the doors,
  And till the end your strength shall not fail.
  Open up the passages, increase your doings,
  And till your last day no help shall come to you.
  • Ch. 52 as translated by Arthur Waley (1934)
• He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.
  • Ch. 56
• The more prohibitions that are imposed on people,
  The poorer the people become.
  The more laws and regulations that exist,
  The more thieves and brigands appear.
  The more laws and order are made prominent,
  the more thieves and robbers there will be.
  • Ch. 57
  • Variant translation: The more prohibitions there are, the poorer the people will be.
• 千里之行始於足下。
  • Qiān lǐ zhī xíng shǐ yú zú xià.
  • A journey of a thousand li starts with a single step.
    • Ch. 64, line 12
  • Variant translations:
  • A journey of a thousand [miles] starts with a single step.
  • A journey of a thousand miles started with a first step.
  • A thousand-mile journey starts from your feet down there.
    • As translated by Dr. Hilmar Klaus
  • Every journey begins with a single step.
  • Often misattributed to Confucius. Jones, Paul Anthony (2025-11-10). 12 Famous Quotes Everyone Misattributes. Mental Floss. Retrieved on 2025-11-14.
• Governing a large country is like frying a small fish.
  • Ch. 60
• When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster.
  • Chapter 72, translated by Gia Fu Feng
• People starved because the ruler taxed too heavily.
• People are difficult to be ruled,
  Because the ruler governs with personal desire and establishes too many laws to confuse the people.
  • Ch. 75
• Wise men don't need to prove their point;
  men who need to prove their point aren't wise.
  The Master has no possessions.
  The more he does for others, the happier he is.
  The more he gives to others, the wealthier he is.
  The Tao nourishes by not forcing.
  By not dominating, the Master leads.
  • Ch. 81 as interpreted by Stephen Mitchell (1992)
• Truthful words are not fancy;
  fancy words are not truthful.
  The good are not argumentative;
  the argumentative are not quite good.
  The wise know the truth not by storing up knowledge;
  those who focus on storing up knowledge do not know the truth.
  The sage does not hoard for herself.
  The more she helps others,
  the richer life she lives.
  The more she gives to others,
  the more abundance she realizes.
  The Tao of heaven benefits all beings without harming anyone.
  The Tao of the sage assists the people without competing with anyone.
  • Chapter 81, translated by Yuhui Liang